Side Hustle - Selling on EBay
If you would like to earn some extra money by selling items on EBay as a side hustle idea, here are a few tips based on my experience over the years. There are other sites you can use, but EBay has the best platform / audience and a high degree of trust which is critical, especially if you are selling something valuable.
I like to use the EBay app to setup a listing; you can use your phone to take pictures of the item
If the item is fairly common, the app will be able to pre-populate a lot of the listing details for you
Use auction format to get maximum value - start with a $0.99 listing price if you want to get a lot of interest; you can also accept offers until the first bid comes in or you can just do "buy it now" at a fixed price (but people can still make offers)
Make sure you take lots of pictures and use all of the 12 available photo slots
Description should be honest, detailed and informative; the more detailed, the less emails you will get with questions (which can be annoying)
Make sure you calculate the shipping correctly before you list (I prefer to have buyer pay but you can also setup your listing where you pay the shipping) - either way, use USPS flat rate Priority Mail packaging where you can, since the cost is fixed and you can ship anywhere in the US - just make sure your item fits in the box or envelope
Make sure you pack your item well (use bubble wrap or other padding and make sure your item is in a sturdy box and doesn't "rattle" around)
Selling internationally gets complicated with shipping and customs, so I don't do it
Post your listings on your social media accounts to get more "looks"
Ship quickly and leave buyer feedback right away
Don't ship until you have confirmed payment first (usually best through PayPal)
Be careful of scammers who buy your item, pay and receive the shipment and then file a claim with EBay for a refund - this happened to my son and it was a bummer because he had to pay back the sales proceeds and never got the item he sold back.
Make sure the person you are selling to has good ratings and isn't a brand new account, which can be a red flag
EBay usually waives the listing fee for the first 50 items per month and charges a final value fee of 10% of the item (including shipping charge, if any). PayPal fees add another 3%. An easy to use EBay fee calculator is located here.
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