SEE HOW EASY IT IS TO LIST AN ITEM

My Purpose

If you have not figured it out already, I am relatively new to selling on Ebay and new to blogging. I hope to offer a fresh point of view for Ebay selling. I am not a professional seller or writer. I hope that everyone can find the kind of success that I have had this past year. I know that there are people that make a living on Ebay but you do not need to be a pro to get started. In today's economy I only hope Ebay will help pay some bills and allow my family (and yours)to afford the occasional luxury of eating out or buying something we want rather than only needs.Ebay has helped our family keep our dignity by not having to apply for government assistance. Ebay can make that difference in your finances. Ebay is a second job that does not keep me from my family. I only list items once a week on a day off from my job and I ship items on my way to work. We keep our inventory in a spare room in the house and we stop at garage sales , thrift stores ,flea markets, and other places we use to find bargains on our way out to shop for groceries or on our way to work. My wife and I enjoy working together to find bargains. If you invest a year of your spare time you can easily make an extra $500 a month. Begin educating yourself on the value of items that turn up frequently at garage sales, used book stores , ect..
Browse completed ebay listings and auctions to know average selling prices. Remember to only buy an item that you can at least double your money on because you still have to pay fees associated with your listing.  What we have done anyone can do. We did not read anyone's book and had no guidance. We have no special education. If perhaps everyone took some small initiative to do something extra to provide for themselves then our economy could grow and our reliance on government handouts would diminish. May you and your family prosper.

KEEP YOUR BALANCE

You will experience many highs and lows as an Ebay seller. Enjoy your success and have fun but do not get discouraged with problems.Take care of them quickly and move on. I have had the thrill of selling an Item that I paid $6 for $250! I have also had someone return a $500 item at a great loss in shipping fees and condition of the item. Be careful to avoid mistakes and have understanding when someone has a problem with their purchase. You will make mistakes and learn from them. I learned very early on not to be sloppy or cheap with packaging and to always understate an item's condition. Even with your best efforts you will sometimes come across a buyer who just cannot be made happy or someone who you think is unreasonable and plain stupid. Learn to control your emotions , take a deep breath , act professionally and go the extra mile. While there will be people that take advantage of your service policies your reputation will far outweigh any loss of money. Good reputation creates more business.
You will discover that the more time you invest, the more money you can make. Be careful to not go too far with your ambition. Save time for your family , remember to have fun. You can strive and work yourself to death but it is God who distributes his blessing to whoever he chooses. Be content with whatever profit you bring in and don't let it go to your head. The higher you let yourself fly the harder the crash is when a problem comes. May you be prospered in this new year with your Ebay business!

LOOK FOR ITEMS THAT GO TOGETHER

As you search for bargains bring together a few inexpensive items to create a theme or set or items that go together. It will make your listing unique from everyone else's. You can collect random books with decorative bindings and sell them together, put together a few sets of baby cloths , list video games of the same genre , decorative pieces that go well together, group together books on the same subject, put together kits ( everything you need for a new pet , a baby , tool sets , ect...) It is much easier to sell items in large groups than individually. Often you will get more money this way just because no other listing looks like yours.

START NOW FOR BIG PAYOFFS LATER

If you are just getting started on Ebay use this time to experiment with pricing. Test what little product you have and see just how high you can price it and get a sale. While you are building your inventory there is no need to sell off slow items. Only when your storage are is filling up do you need to worry about moving product.Use only buy it now format and also remember to use Ebays listing catalog. If your item is in their catalog , it will only cost you 5 cents a month to list.You could list your item for a year and still pay less than a dollar in listing fees!You can also use the free auctions Ebay offers.Just remember to make you start bidding at the high sell price - all you need is one bid. By the end of this year you will have a firm grasp on pricing. Your inventory will slowly sell down over the year and you will find many great items this year.You don't have to sell them yet. Make sure you get top dollar, once your item has sold you cannot sell it again - it is gone. This year I had on average $100 in sales a week (not profit - just sales). In November and December I had $100 in sales each day for 57 days in a row. The Christmas rush is the time you need to save your inventory for! Every item that sold made top dollar!

ANOTHER GREAT FREE BOOK

SAVE MONEY ON PACKING COSTS

When you go to the grocery store or other retail stores and you see clerks stocking items to the shelf ask for their boxes. Most of the time it is store policy to give boxes to any customer that asks. You can also call a store in advance and some will save them for you. Sometimes you can even get star-foam and bubble wrap to recycle. Plastic grocery bags can also be used as bubble wrap. If you put your item in a bag and tie it with some air in the bag then stuff that bag into another and tie and then another and tie it provides great padding for your items. I have even used paper bags to wrap small books or other small items. Wrap it , tape it shut and print the address right on the bag. 
While it is ok to save money getting free shipping supplies it is not ok to be sloppy with your packing. Make sure all boxes are sturdy and sufficient packing material to make the box feel solid. If you feel comfortable using your packaged item as a football then you did a good job packing. Most people have seen the awful home videos of delivery men throwing and mishandling packages. Assume your delivery person will be irresponsible. Make your item impossible to break. I have started using duct tape and lots of packing material on my heavier boxes and have had nothing damaged so far with this new technique. While you should fill your box with packing material do not overfill as too much inside pressure can cause the box to burst as well.

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN

Be aware of what you see every day in your normal routine. At my regular job I count large amounts of money each day. I look for silver coins in the change and other old coins . I also have found lots of unique dollar bills with collectible serial numbers. If the serial number reads the same forward and backward such as 1100660011 it can sell for 20 - 30 dollars. I have found coin errors and paper money errors.
My wife works at a library and there is a library next to the company that I work at. We check the books for sale section every day for great bargains. I pass thrift stores and garage sales on the way to work and stop at these. We have found numerous retail locations that have large clearance sections. Once a week we drive to 15 stores to replenish our inventory.
Don't go out of your way for items just open your eyes to what you see every day!