On the last post I briefly spoke about selling books and particularly in niche markets. When people ask my advice on listing items they are always fixated on selling through eBay.

 

There is an alternative and profitable alternative that we know about and that is Amazon. Amazon allows, even encourages you to resell your purchases though its growing market place, simply go to amazon.com or amazon.co.uk and sign up for an account. Often books command a greater price on Amazon.

 

The advantages are that there are no listing fees unlike eBay, you can list an item for 30 days (renewable) and you only pay a fee when the item sells. You can instantly see the price that the same book is selling for from other vendors. You can pitch the price of your book competitively. The price for postage is also worked out for you so no guess work.

 

That’s great but how will I know it will sell? Sometimes it won’t so remember to research. In niche markets there is usually a great demand for items. As an example I once bought a few assorted railway books from a small book shop in Settle, I took a gamble and it paid off handsomely (I wish I had bought the lot now).

 

A final thought, does your local library have book sales where old stock is sold for a few pennies. There maybe some potential in this. Also local table, jumble sales and Sunday second hand markets.

 

Some more ideas next time.

Rob

Remember when selling your own stuff there is a limit, remember you are unlikely to make a profit on most of your personal items. All you are doing is recouping an amount of money that otherwise would be dormant.

 

The good news is that you now have some seed capital to obtain new stock. But where to get it from?

 

What if I told you that there are places that you can find a never ending supply of products that you can pick up for a few pounds and resell for a profit.

 

Would you believe me?

How do you find them?

Do you have to spend a minimum amount with them?

Do they only sell to trade?

 

They do exist.

You can find them in any town or city.

You can spend a few pence or a few pounds

They sell to anyone

 

They are called charity shops. Today’s charity shops such as Oxfam and Barnardos are rather more savvy and tend to know the value of most of the stock, the really good items are creamed off and are then auctioned. You will come across the occasional designer label or item missed by the staff that run the shop but it doesn’t happen often.

 

Take time to look at the items in the shop amongst the junk will be some good items that will fetch more than the ticket price. Remember the completed items search facility use that to consider if it’s worthwhile making a purchase.

 

RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH

 

Books are often a good seller, but be selective leave the paperback bodice rippers on the shelf. Time to find a niche!!

 

Look at the more specialist non fiction items. Cookery books are good sellers, you won’t find Jamie, Gordon, Hugh or Heston there but there is always Delia and she never lets you down. What’s the worst that can happen? You could lose a few pounds but also brush up your cookery skills. You may even gain a few pounds

 

Are there any other good sellers from charity shops? Yes, but I will tell you about them next time.

Rob

So how do I start making money?

 

Most of the information products on eBay start with the following

 

Sell the stuff you don’t want!

 

How many items have you around the house that you do not want that others might like? I bet there are lots. But are they worth anything? eBay has a search facility that allows you to search for current items for sale so you can get a feel about what items are hot sellers or even just steady sellers. You can see the number of each item for sale by entering key words that describe the item.

 

What key words are best? Think like a buyer! If you wanted to buy the item you want to sell what words would you use to try to find it? Think like a buyer and you will be able to find the item on sale, the current price, what is being charged for postage etc.

 

This is the most fantastic research tool, but it gets better! By using the advanced search facility you can search for completed items in the past 30 days. It will tell you what has sold and what has not, the price it sold for, the number of bids on each item, and bid history which will help you to set a realistic starting price.

 

Look at the descriptions written for similar items, what appeals to you about the description? What could you improve upon?

 

Make sure you have a good clear picture or pictures, many people have these own digital camera these days so getting a good picture should not be a problem. Even phones with built in camera produce a very good quality digital print. Take the time to get the picture just right, this could by the difference between selling the item and not selling it.

 

But how much of your stuff can you sell?

 

Where do I go after this?

Some more ideas in the next post.

Rob

This is my first Post: It is about eBay.

 

As an eBay powerseller I am often asked by friends and work mates for advice on selling items on eBay, how to list, what price to start an auction at? Should I sell with a buy it now? Or even more simply. How do I make a start?

 

The majority of people I speak to simply want to make an extra income in addition to their existing employment. This appears to be more and more the case as I write this in February 2009.

 

With the present credit crunch and uncertainty in the employment market, people are increasingly looking for ways to supplement their income. Very occasionally some people wish to know how to set up a part time or maybe even a full time business selling on eBay.

 

One of the factors that stop people even before they start is the thought of loosing money, buying stock that they simply cannot sell. Therefore what was intended as a money making venture ends up as a loss maker. This is often enough to put people off for life.  The ideas here are suitable for those that only want to take a minimum risk or commitment in financial and time terms.

 

So how do I start? Well by reading this blog you have made the start. You will  have in your hands some information to help you to start. All this is tried and tested, I know it works because this is how I started myself.

 

But remember it’s down to you to do something with the information.

 

I am assuming you have already got an eBay account and have registered with paypal, in this respect all the hard work is completed. If not the web site itself www.ebay.com or www.ebay.co.uk (there are many countries who have eBay websites each with there own extension) is really the best source of information.

 

Beware of some of the e-books on sale telling you all about eBay, this is frequently just padding out the e-book to make it sound better value. If you want to know how to sign up, list items, deal with any aspect of the business just use eBay’s extensive help system. If you cannot find the answer you are looking for you can e-mail a question to them.

 

So how do I start making money?

 

I will use the next post to show you how I started to make money and how you can too with a minimum outlay!

 

See you soon

Rob