Clean Out Those Closets

eBay
is a great way to clean out those closets, attics and basements and get CASH
for all that junk you are no longer using or never needed in the first place!

The eBay website has great tutorials on how the process works, how
to set up an account and all themechanics of selling your items but here
are a few tips that I have learned in my years of selling items on eBay!

  • Start small – sell only one item the first time you are
    selling on eBay.
    Don’t try to sell everything at once – you will get overwhelmed with the
    email questions, watching the auction and then packing and shipping
    everything when it sells!
  • Be realistic about the price you want for this
    item.Forget that you paid $50 for that sweater and it is brand new
    and you never wore it.It is unlikely you will sell it for $50 -
    probably more like $10.Look at the bright side – $10 is better than
    it just sitting in your closet for another year!
  • Be careful about calculating shipping costs – let eBay do it for you based on the
    buyer’s zip code.
  • Add a handling cost to the item’s final price
    whenyou list it.You forget that you need packaging, tape, a
    label, bubble wrap if the item is breakable, etc.Those items cost
    you money and if you don’t charge for those items – you may end up losing
    money on the sale!
  • Don’t get nervous if no one has bid on your item and it
    has been listed for days.I have found that most bids are made in
    the final hours of the auction.
  • Be honest about the condition of your item – you want a
    good rating from buyers to sell the rest of your items.
  • Ship things right away once you have been paid -
    otherwise it will end up back in the closet by mistake!
  • Consider selling sets of items as single items -
    sometimes buyers just need one and not a full set.Think about the
    sets of plates in your home with only 7 plates because you broke one – you
    don’t want a whole set- just one plate.I have found my single
    items sold for more per piece then I would have sold them for as a set.
  • Don’t ship anything until you have received
    confirmation from eBay
    that you have been paid.
  • Last but not least – have fun – it is like an on line
    garage sale without the hot sun or rain issues!