How easy is it to sell items on Ebay? About This Page:

[GATechGal]

I don't want to do this for a living. But I've got some scrapbook stuff that I want to get rid of and use the proceeds for a new Cricut machine. So I would have about 11 listings. Really that's all. I would just have a garage sale, but I don't think I could get enough money for it. So, for all you ebay sellers, what's your recommendation?

[OffKilter_Lynn]

Given the fees involved, I find it harder and harder to make much of a profit. There's a good calculator I use to see if it's even worth me listing an item.

eBay Fee Calculator by Ryan Olbe

eBay.com Fees

On a $5 sale, it would cost you $1.19 in fees to eBay! Want to take credit card payments via PayPal? Add another $0.45 in fees and your profit is down to $3.36. That doesn't even include the time it takes for you to take pictures, write a description, etc.

If you can bundle things together for a higher amount, the fees aren't so bad. It's the per-item base fee that quickly eats into any profit.

Another option is an eBay drop-ship seller. You take your items to them and for a fee, they'll list them for you. It cuts out a lot of the work you have to do but they take an equally high profit in exchange.

Lately, I've had better results with Craigs list or my local paper classified ads. I'd rather lower my price and get the cash quickly than mess around with fees and postage. Sigh. I must be getting older.

[eff051102]

Selling on eBay isn't hard it just takes time. I do big groups once or twice a
month and take all the pictures at one time.

Another option that I mentioned before was to see if you have a friend who
already sells on eBay. If it's just 11 items see if they will list them for you
at the price you want and offer them something for doing it.

If that isn't an option, take a look around your house and do a 1 time purge.
If you are selling multiple items then the fees aren't that bad. Take all the
pictures at one time and then sit down and type up the descriptions. If you
still aren't sold on doing it yourself then I would go to an eBay Sell It store
but I would take many more items to hopefully lessen the hit the fees will
give you.

[GATechGal]

Sadly this is what I feared. Sigh. Looks like I'd fair better with a garage sale. I actually have an I Sold It on Ebay store right down the street. The only problem is they won't take anything under a $75 value. I think mine is less than that unless I sell it as a lot. I'll think it over. Thanks for the info guys.

[chezp]

Wow, I haven't sold on e-bay in some time - probably about three years and those fees have increased.

[mommababs]

I would try to group like items or sell it all as a lot. Try your local craigslist first. Good luck

[DVC_Increda_Man]

We average about 300 auctions a week not counting Ebay store stuff
and our fees are low.

Your biggest thing is not going to be the fees, its going to be
the shipping of your item and this is where most new people lose
their profits.

Before you list anything on any site anywhere, you need to first find out
how much your item weights and how much the shipping material is
going to cost you to pack it in, and then how much its really going to
cost you to ship the thing.

You really really need to know this first thing so you will know how much to
charge the buyer for shipping so you don't lose more of your
profits or in some cases all of your profits.