eBay has been around for about 15 years, so most people are somewhat familiar with it. You've probably bought a few things in the past and might have some experience selling. While my last few posts were about how to save money, this post is going to focus more on how to make some quick cash!
I have been selling on eBay for about 10 years. While it has its pros and cons, it is still the best website to sell your items. You will get the most exposure and the best price with a very minimal amount of work. I sell high end children's clothing and toys and make on average $500 per month. I realize for most of you that is not something you are familiar with. But everybody has some area of knowledge that can make you some extra cash!! It can be comic books, camera's, vintage items, fine art, etc. Check out your local classifieds and thrift stores for these items, and list them on eBay!
If you don't have an eBay account, its very simple to get one. You just need to fill out your basic contact information, email address and set up a Paypal account so you can accept payments from buyers(we'll get to that later).
Getting Started Selling on Ebay
Ebay gives you 50 completely free listings each month! That means you can take a chance listing something for sale with no upfront costs involved! You can list auction style with a starting price and the item goes to the highest bidder, or as a buy it now with a fixed price and the auction will end when someone purchases it at the asking price.
You don't need to make your listing fancy for your item to sell. Just be honest about the condition, note any wear or defects and highlight the positives about the item. I also like to note that I have a smoke free, cat friendly home so people are aware of that when they buy the item. eBay takes a small fee depending on the ending price, when the item sells and invoices you at the end of the month. You can also set up automatic payments through your bank account and they will send you an email reminder before they withdraw the money.
Now on to getting paid! eBay only accepts Paypal as their payment option now, so you need to set up an account before you start selling.
Paypal account registration
After you create your PayPal Account, they ask you to link your bank account, debit card, or credit card. Then, you can start using PayPal right away. PayPal also takes a small fee when someone sends you a payment. It's usually about .50 to $2.00 for payments under $50. I also have the PayPal debit card, which you can use like a bank debit card at any stores and online. It gives you 1.5% cash back on all your purchases. This helps to offset some of those fees. I have earned almost $800 cash back with my PayPal debit card since I got it!
Now that you've gotten paid, you need to ship the item. PayPal has a very convenient shipping option on their website. It keeps track of the payments you receive, and lets you input the shipping information and print labels directly from their site! You can also do this through the USPS website if you click directly on your sold item from eBay and set up a selling account with USPS.com. You can even print international labels to ship to Canada. This is something they just implemented this year. You never have to go to the post office and stand in line ever again. YAY!! When you ship online, you also get free delivery confirmation which saves you .90 if purchased at the post office, and the shipping rates are slightly cheaper than the post office as well.
To ship from home, there are a few things you will need.
1. A small postage scale. You can buy them at Walmart, Amazon or even the post office. This is a really nice one with a 75lb weight limit on Amazon for $21.59.
2. Mailing envelopes and boxes
You can use USPS Priority rate supplies for free. They have all different sizes of envelopes and boxes you can get at the post office, or you can order them online and ship to your house free! My favorite is the padded flat rate envelope. You can stuff these things full and its just $5.05 to ship with the online price! Priority mail is for items you ship that are over 1lb.
Free priority mail boxes and envelopes
If you are shipping small items that weigh 13oz. or less, you can use your own envelopes and ship first class rate. This will be considerably cheaper than priority mail, and get there is about the same amount of time. I order my mailers on Amazon, they are much cheaper than buying at the store.
You can print your shipping labels onto regular paper, cut them and then tape to the package. I do this as a last resort. But to make things much easier, I order the peel and stick labels on Amazon. It prints two on a page and you just peel it off and stick it to the package! I love these, they are up there with the invention of the microwave for me!
Now that you have your items packaged and ready to ship, you can schedule a pick-up! Enter your address and the date for pick up and your mailman will pick up your packages for you.
It takes a little time to get used to shipping online so don't be discouraged if you are confused. Just keep trying, and email if you have any questions or need advice on selling or shipping. I have encountered just about any situation you could imagine, and would be happy to help walk you through it! Good Luck!
