Learn how I got started making money online by selling on eBay so you can do it too!
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The year was 2014, and I was just starting to learn about the different ways that you can make money online. I had just discovered blogs with different topics all detailing how they make extra money online, and some were even making a full time income from their internet ventures. I didn’t know exactly how I was going to do it, but I immediately knew that it needed to happen for me too.
Ever since my teenage years, I knew that I did NOT want to work a ‘normal’ job and live the 9-5 or tiring shift-work that everyone around me seemed to absolutely hate. I became familiar with the rat race and I wanted no part of it. I knew that I would have to get creative if I wanted to make this alternate dream a reality, because I also dreamed of owning a house with a nice backyard and somehow, someway, all of this had to happen.
While pouring over blog post after blog post and taking in as much information as I could, I learned that other people were making real money by selling things on eBay. I didn’t even have an eBay account at the time, but I was intrigued enough to open a new account and keep reading these blog posts about other people’s successes. If they could do something like this, why couldn’t I?
So now I was armed with a brand new eBay account, some exciting knowledge imparted on me by bloggers, and motivation to earn some extra money from the comfort of my home.
Starting a new business venture often requires a lot of time and money upfront, but if you follow my initial footsteps, it will be an easy and very inexpensive way to start. Getting started selling on eBay wasn’t complicated for me, and I’ll tell you exactly what I did so that it isn’t complicated for you either.
Once you have your free eBay account created, you’re going to take a look around your home. Is there clutter that you’ve been putting off clearing out? Donation bags that haven’t made it to your thrift store yet? Clothing that hasn’t fit you in a couple of years but you hang on to anyway? Perfect, that’s your ticket in! How I got started (and how you can get started) selling on eBay is by selling items that you already have laying around your home. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure – you just have to get it up for sale!
eBay offers a huge assortment of categories for sellers to sell their products, so you will definitely be able to find your perfect niche. Go through each room in your home and look at it through the eyes of someone who can make money from these items. If you no longer love or use a product, consider listing it for sale. With over 182 million active buyers on eBay, there is bound to be a buyer for whatever it is that you want to sell.
The first item I ever sold on eBay was a CD. I sold it for around $10, which isn’t all that much, but it was $10 that I made all by myself and I was ecstatic. After that, I was hooked. I had caught the selling bug and knew that I would be selling online for as long as I could. Here we are several years later, and I’m still successfully selling on eBay! My approach has shifted many times throughout the past few years, but I still believe that the way that I got started on eBay is the perfect way for everyone to get started.
I went in to my selling journey pretty unaware of exactly what I should sell, so I’ve made a list of items I’ve discovered over the past few years to be quite good sellers:
- media – CD’s, DVD’s, Video Games
- clothing – this is a HUGE contributor to eBay’s yearly sales, and it’s something that everyone needs so the market base is also huge
- board games – old and obscure board games are a huge hit on eBay because they can’t be purchased in stores anymore. Another way to sell your board games is to sell them off piece by piece. People often lose random pieces of their board games over time, and they’ll hop on eBay to see if they can find the specific pieces they need instead of having to re-buy the entire game
- electronics – working and not working. Similar to the board game idea, you can list items on eBay as ‘for parts or repair’, and customers can buy them from you either in hopes of repairing it themselves or to scrap the item and use it for parts. So even if you think that your item is garbage because it hasn’t been working, someone on eBay might be looking for that exact piece!
- collectibles – lots of us have random collections of items that we no longer want or no longer have the space for – eBay is the perfect place to sell your collections and earn more while freeing up space
- jewelry – whether it’s costume or fine jewelry, listing it on eBay is a great place to make money on the pieces that you no longer wear
The items that everyone has laying around their home (and items that they’re willing to part with) will be different for everyone. The list above should give you an idea of where to get started to make money on eBay. And always remember – the more that you list, the more you will sell!
Now that you have your products ready to sell, getting started listing on eBay also requires very little cost. In fact, it actually doesn’t cost you anything until after your item sells! eBay allows sellers to list 50 items per month completely free, and you only pay their 10% selling fee after your item sells. That is more than enough free listings to get you started, and if you want to list more after that than you just have to pay a small insertion fee. If you’re able to find great success selling your items on eBay, you can then consider opening a store. There’s no need to think about that at the beginning though, you’ll discover what works best for you as you continue to sell.
The benefit of starting out this way with your new eBay selling venture is that you won’t get in too deep to handle, so it shouldn’t lead to overwhelm with your new selling journey. With very little monetary investment, a little bit of starter knowledge, and an optimistic view – you will be successful and will be able to start earning extra money for yourself!
If you’re ready to get started selling on eBay and start earning more money for yourself online, sign up for an account here and start earning!
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