News1 min ago
E bay
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You here all these stories about people making thousands of � but what do they actually sell in order to achieve this, and where do they obtain their goods from?
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.As with any business that makes money, it is very simply about biuying something cheap and selling it for more.
That could be by buying ex-catalogue goods, going to car boot sales, buying from auctions, or having a contact in an industry like the films (there was a programme recently about a person selling old film props on ebay).
Some people have good ideas which they sell, some people sell things they create (clothes etc) and some people resell other people's ideas.
I'm a seller, and I get most of my stuff from car boot sales. It's just a matter of learning what sells. Everyone makes mistakes to start off with, but you soon get the hang of it. I sell practically anything - jewellery, clothes, computer spares, books, you name it. I don't make masses of money, but that's more because I only bother to list stuff about once a month than anything else. I do quite well usually.
You can also buy from wholesalers, sell stuff that friends are throwing out (you'd be AMAZED what sells!), and even buy from eBay to re-sell - check out the 'bulk' lots category. If you are planning to start selling, watch your postage costs - I lost a fair bit of money on the first listings I did, because I didn't calculate them properly. You need to remember items will be heavier once they are packed, and add on a bit for packing materials too.
You can also buy from wholesalers, sell stuff that friends are throwing out (you'd be AMAZED what sells!), and even buy from eBay to re-sell - check out the 'bulk' lots category. If you are planning to start selling, watch your postage costs - I lost a fair bit of money on the first listings I did, because I didn't calculate them properly. You need to remember items will be heavier once they are packed, and add on a bit for packing materials too.
Many of the people who make lots of money from e-Bay do so illegally. I once bought a second-hand printer from a guy who lived at a hard-to-find address in the country, so he agreed to meet me in his car so that I could follow him. He turned up in a smart BMW convertible. When we got to his house we went up to his bedroom so that he could demonstrate the printer. I made a comment about his nice car and he said "Oh yes, I'm rather pleased with that. I paid for it with 9 months profit from dabbling on e-Bay". Now I can't prove that he was doing anything illegal but his bedroom had banks of CD-writers everywhere and a big pile of CD-sized jiffy-bags waiting to be posted. Unfortunately, the reality behind many of these peope who make lots of money on e-Bay is that they're selling fake goods.
This isn't to say that it's not possible to make a living legally from e-Bay. It's just that it'll take quite a bit of hard work.
One article I read, in one of the Sunday supplements, featured a woman who bought and sold designer clothes. She bought from many sources (inlcluding e-Bay itself) but primarily from charity shops and sold only at fixed ('Buy It Now') prices through her e-Bay shop. She was making about �40kpa.
(Incidentally, that's one idea I'm thinking of trying to emulate. Hands off, I got there first!).
Chris
This isn't to say that it's not possible to make a living legally from e-Bay. It's just that it'll take quite a bit of hard work.
One article I read, in one of the Sunday supplements, featured a woman who bought and sold designer clothes. She bought from many sources (inlcluding e-Bay itself) but primarily from charity shops and sold only at fixed ('Buy It Now') prices through her e-Bay shop. She was making about �40kpa.
(Incidentally, that's one idea I'm thinking of trying to emulate. Hands off, I got there first!).
Chris