It’s Saturday morning which means it’s time for the fourth post in my ‘How to Make Money‘ series.
I do hope you’re enjoying the ideas that I’ve been sharing and that you’ve enjoyed reading my fellow UK Money Bloggers experiences, I know I’ve learned a lot personally from them and I think it’s better for you guys that I ask others to share their real life experiences instead of me just googling the information to share with you. 😉
This week’s post is all about how to make money from selling on eBay which is definitely something I’ve considered doing in the past but as I haven’t done more than sell the odd thing here and there I’ve asked the lovely Michelle to share her experience with you.
Michelle blogs over at timeandpence.com where she writes about different ways to make money, save money and have more time.
I make money on eBay regularly and have done for many years. I have lots of experience selling a variety of items, some more successful than others. There are lots of things you can sell on eBay including your old used items, charity shop finds and handmade crafts but today I’m going to share with you how you can make money on eBay buying and selling new products.
What Can You Sell?
If you want to make money on eBay selling new products, you have a huge choice of what to sell! It’s sometimes difficult to know where to start. I find it helps to sell something that you are interested in and maybe even know a little bit about, but that’s only useful if it sells. Maybe take a look at eBay’s categories and see what catches your eye.
Just a few questions you can ask yourself:
• What products do you like and regularly buy yourself?
• Is there anything that is particularly popular all year round? (ie kids toys and accessories).
• What storage space do you have and do you want to sell small or large items?(you need to take into consideration space, packing materials and time).
• Do you have a particular interest in anything, are you knowledgeable about a product and the market? (I know somebody who made his fortune selling military badges on eBay, something I know nothing about)!
• Is it a range you can get excited about? (This helps as you will be dealing with it every day).
How Can You Find Out Whether it Will Sell or Not?
Spend a little bit of time researching your product. You can do this by doing the following:
• Click on the ‘Advanced’ button on the top right hand side of your home page.
• This takes you through to another page where you can then type in the name of your product.
• You then click on ‘Sold’ and eBay will show you all the items with that product name that has recently sold.
• You also have the option to click on ‘Completed’ and this will show you completed listings. The ones in green are the ones that have sold. This can also be useful because you can see which items didn’t sell!
The chances are, if somebody is already selling it, then you will be able to sell it too to make money on eBay, as long it isn’t already completely saturated.
If your item isn’t on there, it could be for one of two reasons:
1. Nobody else has thought of it and you could have found a Niche and may do very well out of it.
2. People have tried to sell it before and nobody buys it.
Pricing Your Product
Use the ‘Advanced’ button again to have a look at the products that have sold and see what price they sold for. This will give you an idea of what to sell your own items for.
Don’t forget to include postage and packaging too. You can include this in your overall price and sell with Free Postage or provide a separate cost. Both have worked for me but see what others are doing in your Niche and test it out with your first few products.
Also, when pricing, remember to take into consideration eBay charges.
Where To Find Stock
This is the big question that I always used to ask which is why I now share the information freely to people. I used to get so frustrated trying to find Wholesalers but there are some key places you can look. Here are just a few sites to start you off so you can begin to make money on eBay straight away!
Alibaba.com
Aliexpress.com
Thewholesaler.co.uk
Thetrader.co.uk
Once you have done your research and you know what sells, you can also shop around at retailers during their Sale periods to buy products at discounted prices, then sell them on eBay. Many people make a full-time income doing just this.
How Much Can You Expect to Make
The sky really is the limit! I always aim to make a profit of at least £4 per item and if I can’t do that I don’t sell the product. However, there are lots of people who sell small items at a lower profit in larger quantities.
Once you work out your profit margin and you know your products sell, you can add to your listings and build on your range. The income you make then just becomes a numbers game. Simply the more you list the more you earn.
Some people are happy to make £200 per month but if you want more and are willing to put in the time and effort then a full-time income in the thousands is attainable.
If you research your product, price it right and be consistent with your listings, you too can make money on eBay by selling new products. Good luck!
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