How to get started on eBay

           I often speak with individuals who would really like to sell on eBay and make money online.  Typically, I hear the same exact thing again and again, "I don't know how to get started."

          Well here are the very most basic steps of getting started on eBay.  I believe that anybody who has even half a brain can sell on eBay.  If you really want to make great money on eBay it will take some time.  The great thing about selling on eBay is that you can learn how to be successful, it's not a lottery favoring a certain few.

eBay. First of all, click here to Set up an ebay account. At the very top left of the page you'll see where you can Set up an ebay account. It's FREE!

PayPal.  You now need a Paypal account to make sure that you can get paid for items you sell and pay for items you buy.  Sign up for a Paypal account here. It's FREE! After clicking the link, look for the sign up button in the top right corner.

If you haven't set up your eBay account or Paypal account, take the time now to do so before continuing on.

       Now that you have set up your accounts, you are ready for the next steps.

Feedback. Because you are new to eBay, you do not have a reputation of being a good member, yet.  You'll need to get your feedback score up to about 5 or 10 before you start selling any items. A feedback score is basically a score given to an eBay member according to buying and selling transactions that he or she has had with other members on eBay.  When members have good experiences, they leave positive feedback.  When members have bad experiences, they leave negative feedback.  YOU DO NOT WANT NEGATIVE FEEDBACK, it will kill your chances of selling any items on eBay. You can find your feedback score next to your user id when logged in to eBay.


Start Buying. Start buying really inexpensive items on eBay.  Buying items between $.01-$.25 cents total (includes shipping) is the fastest and cheapest way to raise your feedback score. (CLICK here for current inexpensive penny auction items on eBay). 

          After you have received some feedback, you are ready to start listing and selling items.  Read the next blog posts by clicking on them here: "what to sell" and "how to list an item.  

        If you are interested in a book about selling on eBay, I've found this one to be really good "The Official Ebay Guide to Buying, Selling and Collecting Just About Anything By Kaiser, Laura Fisher/ Kaiser Laura Fisher/ Kaiser, Michael B.

Current Hot eBay items

     

          If you have any items laying around the house that you aren't using; now would be the time to sell them!  The Pre-Christmas season is upon us, Football season is upon us, and Basketball season is about to start.  Although it seems way too early in the season to even start thinking about Christmas, this is the time.

        There are a few items that are selling very well right now:

• Vintage Sports Apparel 
• Sports memorabilia 
• Anything Electronic

Speaking of vintage sports apparel, check out one of my current items below.

 A vintage LA/Oakland Raiders jacket.  I picked this up at a free garage sale (everything was free! I've never seen a free garage sale before and don't plan on seeing many more!)

Here is the link: Vintage L.A./Oakland Raiders Jacket

I expect this jacket to sell for well over $50.00, as it currently has over 17 people watching it with nearly 9 days until the auction ends.

Next week I will post another hot item that I am currently selling, so stay tuned!!

What else can I sell on eBay?

A Few Ebay Items I've Sold in the Past

This month I will be posting about many of the items that I have sold on eBay in the past couple of years.  Below are just a few of the items I've sold and a few groups of items that have sold very well on eBay.

Oakley Snowboarding Goggles.  I picked these goggles up from a girl who had won them at an event she had attended.  I knew they were brand new and worth well over $100 dollars, so I offered her $60 for them and told her to think about it and let me know.  She called me the next day and sold them to me for $60.  I listed them and they sold on eBay for $140.00 plus shipping.

Pots and pans are a hot commodity on eBay. Pots and pans sell very well because people are always looking for new cookware and lids.  Think about all of the people searching eBay who live in the countryside or far from a shopping outlet where these items are readily available.  People would much rather pay for an item to be shipped right to their door rather than have to spend the extra $20 in gas to get to the nearest city to buy it.  Makes sense right?  I've sold many pans with profits between $30-$60 per pan.

So this is a small picture of my first bedroom when I really started getting into selling on eBay.  I had about 80 pairs of brand new Authentic Puma shoes.  These sold well, especially right around the start of school.

People are always looking for clothes online.  Not only do people want to buy new clothes, they want to buy used clothes that have been lightly used.  If you have any old clothes lying around in your room or closet that you are thinking about giving to your nearest donation location, you may want to think about selling them on eBay to get a little extra spending cash.  Don't get me wrong, I love donating old used stuff to people in need, but sometimes it's necessary to sell your own stuff to be able to afford some newer items.

Seasonality plays a large role in whether or not your items will sell.  Although, keep in mind that just because the sun isn't shining in your neighborhood doesn't mean it isn't shining in somebody else's.  Coats, sunglasses, sports items, etc will sell year round, but will sell best when they are in season. 

Questions or Comments? Wondering if certain items you have will sell online?  Ask me below 

Why you might want to Sell Used Books on eBay and Amazon.com

A short guide to starting and running an online book business, 

by eBay seller, Trent Crane

Used books are probably some of the easiest and most profitable items you can sell online today.  If you would like to work from home and enjoy running your own business, consider a used books business.

In the United States alone, nearly $8 Billion dollars worth of books are sold each year. Nearly $2 Billion dollars worth of those books are sold on eBay.com and Half.com.  Amazon will not release the book figures from its' sales, but it is expected to be over $1 Billion annually.  There is a lot of money being made here, wouldn't you like to be a part of it?

If you are interested in selling books on Amazon.com and eBay.com, there are a few things to know.

One of the easiest businesses that a person can have is selling books online.  Look around, have you noticed how many resellers of books have popped up in strip malls and near college campuses in recent years?  Well....it's because there is so much money to made in the used book industry.  It doesn't take much to get a used book business up and going either.  Normally, you can start for around $20-$100 dollars.  Anybody can do this.

Selling books online is super easy and failure is nearly impossible if you are willing to put in a little effort.

 The only reasons people could fail in this business:

• Not willing to work, laziness.
• They won't learn how it works.

Why should I Sell Used Books Online?

Let's take a look at the advantages:

• Demand. People are always buying books.
• Access. You probably have books lying around the house that you aren't using.
• Books are easy to stack and easy to ship.
• Discount shipping using media mail (specifically for books, and cheap).
• Stores are always having clearance sales on books.
• Where else can you buy an item for $0.25 or $0.75 and sell it for $10, $30, or $60+?
• Putting them online is as easy as scanning a barcode with your smartphone!
• Books don't take up a lot of space.
• IT'S EASY.

Make money your first week

 I talk with people almost every day who are struggling to find the right items to sell online.  They are struggling because there are a lot of sellers who are selling the same items making high profit margins nearly impossible.  Used books may have some competition, but it doesn't matter, you can find used books just as easily as anyone else.  Even if you list the books you buy and you don't sell them for tons of profit, chances are you will at least break even and not lose money.  Try it out, what do you have to lose? Gain? 

Profit margins on used books are like none other

Okay, so you might be thinking, "I know nothing about books or which ones would sell."  Don't worry, I'll help you out below.  I always look up a book online before I buy it.  There are several apps out there for smartphones that have barcode scanners that allow you to see where else they are currently selling online, and for how much.  Also, read my article http://tinyurl.com/9gm927o to get more tips on how to research items and the prices that they have sold for in the past.

 The best books to sell online:

• Cookbooks

• College textbooks

• How To books

• Photography and Art

• Legal books

• Medical books

• Books about cars, trains, trucks, airplanes, etc.

• History books

• Sports books

• Children's books

 Now get out there and try it! Good Luck!

Please comment if you have any questions or need clarification.