Every once in awhile I clean out the house and find a couple of items that I might just be able to sell. I typically search eBay for similar items and then determine whether or not it’s worth my time to list them.
We have less and less clutter these days but I’ve had good luck selling items like video games and high-end clothing in the past. My rule is that an item has to sell for at least $10 to make it worth my time and energy, otherwise PayPal and eBay fees eat away any decent form of profit.
Two weeks ago I placed watches on items similar to the ones I intended to sell and noticed that the video games were selling for close to $15 each. I also planned to sell a high-end baby gift that was out of season for my little tyke. That one item was selling in new condition for roughly $35.
Well I priced my items low and waited to see what would happen. I kept watch over similar items and watched their prices go higher and higher, but unfortunately this week the cards didn’t play out in my favor.
I’m not sure why. My auctions had good pictures and details. I typically run auctions from Saturday to Saturday, but this time they all ended on a Sunday evening. Perhaps less people bid on eBay auctions on Sunday evenings, since they are going to bed early and preparing for the week of work that lies ahead.
I’m not sure what happened. At the end of the day my baby item sold for $23, which was $12 less than comparable auctions and my video games sold for $7 each, which was less than half of what I expected.
It’s certainly not the end of the world, but it is a bit frustrating. Add to that the fact that one of the items was too big to drop in a postal slot, so I had to wait on line at the post office just to hand over a box with prepaid postage. I would’ve left it outside for the mailman, but I hate giving him extra stuff to carry as he delivers our neighbor’s mail.
If I attempt eBay at any point in the future I’m going to choose a different end date for my auctions and only provide UPS postage options. It might be more expensive but I despise the post office!
If it’s any consolation, selling has been slowgoing on Ebay lately. I put up some items that I had no question would sell only to get ZERO bids. I’m hoping sales will pick up soon.
I only put things up for auction I was 99.9% sure would sell. I have other things I considered, but ultimately sent them off to a donation center. I was too lazy to photograph and write descriptions of them. Good luck on your sales. Someone told me spring is tough cause people spend less time at their computers when the weather gets warmer.
Yeah that’s why I’ve avoided it and sold mostly on craigslist. I kind of just hate the hassle of shipping, but then again I might be missing out on bigger sales.
I’m leery of Craigslist, especially now that I’ll have to bring my son along. What have you sold on there?
I love craigslist. I buy and sell on there all the time. Obiously i am a 6’4 man and have a little less scary. But I buy snow blowers, dishwasher, i find people to take away our scrap metal from old water heaters. You name it. We rent our apt out through there and that is where we actually found our house.