by Tricia
I haven’t been around much lately the last few days. I’m not even sure what to talk about today on here. So I guess I will give an update as to what is going on “behind the scenes.”
Lately, I’ve been on a money-making kick. More income will greatly help our debt reduction progress. Here’s what I’ve been doing:
- Listing for sale domains that I purchased but never developed – I am hoping that they will sell, but you never know. It depends on if someone else thinks they are as neat as I did when I purchased them.
- Reading more about eBay – I have quite a few things that will sell well on eBay if I can get the courage to just do it. I’m so nervous about selling on it for some reason.
- Looking through Craigslist for gigs – I say “gigs” because I don’t want another job. I’m happy with mine. I’m just looking for little things I could possibly do to bring in a few dollars here and there.
- Looking at the WAHM forum for gigs – It’s another good place to look besides Craigslist.
- Keeping an eye out for contests and entering them – I’ve had some decent luck lately with contests. I won a $200 gift certificate (to be used for Christmas) and I won a book. Might as well try for any other ones that I come across.
- Studying for increasing my education with my full-time job – Okay, I haven’t actually started yet…but it’s on my list!
So, that’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve been working on making some more money. I have a thirst for debt reduction that cannot be quenched (<- not sure where that came from…must be because I’m pretty tired right now!). 😛
With that, I am going to take care of a few things and go to bed.
I’ve spent some time trying to figure out the whole eBay thing as well since we have quit a pile of stuff that would probably do well there as opposed to on a garage sale. I think it’s very simple, but it’s so easy to get overwhelmed with all the options and features eBay has these days that I always end up getting sidetracked before actually listing anything.
Soon I’m just going to fill in the basics with their listing wizard and just go with a no-frills listing to see what happens just to get things moving. All the additional stuff can be figured out after some practice I guess.
Have you had any luck getting started with that? I’d love to hear more about your experience with it. (we want to declutter ourselves before looking toward other income streams)
Congratulations on winning the gift certificate! I have about as much luck as…I have no luck.
I recently just started working more hours and have noticed a substantial increase in our net worth. It hasn’t risen so high since we got married (wedding gifts).
I read an interesting tidbit this week. It said that if you earn an additional $100 (from a part time job, for example), after taxes and working expenses you net about $60. But if you cut expenses by $100, you have $100 extra. I thought that was food for thought….also, I agree that Ebay can be very intimidating. It has gotten very complex with options. I’ve sold a few things and I’m not sure that it’s worth it for me. I’m very busy and it’s just another thing to keep up with on my to do list.
Honestly, there’s not much to “figure out” when it comes to selling on Ebay. I’ve been doing it for years, and especially now, everything is very self explanatory when you’re going through it. I’d say just start out with a low value item and list it.
Also, do it before November 4 (or 5th maybe?) because they’re having a 30% of listing fee sale. So I’ve been selling a lot of clothes with a starting bid of .99 cents, and it’s only costing me .45 cents to list each item (and it’s that much because I pay the .35 cents to have a picture accompany my listing in the search results).
All the costs are indicated when you list, so there are no surprises! Good luck!
Hey Tricia, if you do end up listing things on Ebay would you mind doing a post sort of breaking it down? I have a ton of stuff to sell and I am also irrationally scared of Ebay.
Thanks!
There’s absolutely nothing to be afraid of when selling on Ebay. I’ve been buying and selling on it since 1997. I’m super crazy to get out of debt and have spent many weekends listing online. The key is to use a great description title.
Clothing that is name brand sells the best. The trick is to estimate shipping and to avoid ebay fees. I use basic listing features to save more money. Vintage items and new items also do well. The buyers are savvy so try not to sell broken or soiled items – it will save you hassles down the line.
I think I average about $20 an hour with the amount of time I spend listing – this is OK because I have no social life until my debts are gone! I’ve made approximately $2,000 this year on ebay! 🙂 Sell your crap! Become a saver instead of a spender! You guys can do it! 🙂 🙂 🙂
For those of you who sell on eBay, how do you estimate shipping? I think that’s the part I’m getting hung up on. Do you have scales that you use?
I did order those boxes from eBay that have a set shipping with USPS (forgot exactly how much it costs to ship one of them), but it seems so expensive to ship!
Karen – that is an excellent point!
Tricia, I estimate shipping using the USPS online postage estimator. To simplify things in many ways, I do not ship internationally. If you’re interested in eBay, I would recommend going down to your local post office and picking up one of every priority shipping box. They are free and give you an idea of what you can ship cost effectively via Priority Mail. For smaller, first class items (light items that can be shipped in padded envelopes), I usually charge about $2 (which includes the cost of a Walmart shipping envelope). For Priority items, I charge somewhere between $5 (small video box) and $10 (largest priority box that’s not too heavy). That usually comes out about accurate. Any bigger than a Priority box is REALLY costly right now, it’s cheaper to ship via UPS in that instance (USPS now charges shipping based on the size of the box). For now, try out a few items that fit easily in one of the Priority boxes. Shipping Priority is about as easy as you can get.
Where are you listing your domains for sale? I have a bunch of monuments to my laziness that I’d like to sell off but wasn’t sure where…
There are shipping calculators on Ebay for UPS, USPS, and FedEx. I like shipping stuff priority mail, because the priority mail packages prices are a flat rate, regardless of how heavy they are. So for instance, I ship blouses and shirts in a priority mail envelope which costs $4.60. I ship pants in a priority mail box which has different flat rate. The boxes are free at the post office, but you can also have them delivered for free from here http://ebaysupplies.usps.com/ (then you can avoid the post office altogether by printing postage at home and leaving it for your mailman)
You won’t get it perfect at first, but it’ll improve over time. If you’re shipping something fragile and don’t have bubble wrap or newspaper, make sure you add some handling costs to your shipping price!
I’m not a pro Ebay-er or anything, but when I was getting out of debt, I sold some cameras and other higher-end items on Ebay. Just start small and go from there. It doesn’t have to be any more complicated than you want to make it. Charge whatever you want for shipping. I just added up what I thought my costs were, including my time and going to UPS, and rounded up. If they want the item, they’ll pay the shipping. Otherwise you can do free shipping if you want, just wrap that into the cost of the item. Honestly, I didn’t get that much money for my stuff, compared to how much I originally paid, but I just had the philosophy that at least it wasn’t taking up space in my house anymore, and I just put whatever I made onto our debt. Good stuff!
I’ve sold a few things on eBay. I was intimidated at first, but read a Dummies book on it. Since I didn’t have a digital camera, I bought a good, old used one on eBay that was recommended for close-ups. The pictures are GREAT. Following eBay’s template for listing an item is pretty easy. I actually bought some time ago a postal scale from the post office and it is right on the money. I tend to pad my postal fees a little bit to make sure I don’t scrimp on padding. I want to get nothing less than excellent feedback for how well I ship things.
One thing I find to b discouraging is making any money to speak of. Everytime I go to list something, I see that there are zillions of it already being listed, and it seems like a buyer’s market. I’ve actually posted small things at 99 cents that haven’t sold at all!
But I’ve sold a few things I was astounded about. One was a small package of Christmas napkins, with a cartoon on them. Unopened package. What I did was research the cartoonist online and then I wrote a very detailed description, telling everyone who the cartoonist was, etc.
I find the more details you give in your description, and if you are very honest about any conceivable flaw or problem with the item, it helps a lot.
About postage: If you do have a scale, you then go to usps.com and plug in the zip codes, weight, dimensions, and packaging and it will tell you the various costs. I opened a PayPal account and use it to pay for the postage and print out a shipping label (the account links to my eBay account); it gives me a free delivery-confirmation option if I mail a package via priority.
I bought my scale for around $30 a few years ago at the post office itself. I wanted an “official” scale (I use it for mailing work-at-home packages as well). I’ve heard you can buy the same type of scale on eBay itself. (I also can use it for weighing food items!)
I was also nervous about selling on eBay too but I just jumped in one day. It’s not hard at all! Once you get the hang of it, it really is smooth sailing. I would definitely set up a PayPal account since a lot of people like to pay that way. As for shipping, I package the item how I am going to ship it and then stick it on a food scale. I use the “calculate shipping” option when I am listing the item. This just requires you to put in the weight of the package and it will tell the buyer what the costs are based on their zip code. You can also let them pick their shipping method also.
Just go for it! Pick one item that you think it will do well and do it. Once you sell your first thing you will get addicted! Now is a good time too since people are starting their Christmas shopping.
the oposite of earning money is saving money. Since I don’t live in the states it doesn’t help me but thought it might help you
from wisebread
http://www.wisebread.com/free-shopping-at-walgreens
I bought my scales on ebay for about $11 about 2 years ago. Someone said the priority boxes are flat rate but they are not although you can get ones that are. You can order all of the boxes for FREE at usps.com by setting up an account. I have used this account to send Christmas presents from because they now discount shipping if you do it online. I sell mostly fabric so I know my weights up front and estimate how much the furthest place from me will cost to ship and put that on for shipping cost in the listing. If the person lives closer I will discount the shipping when I send an invoice or if they pay quickly including the higher shipping I add a inexpensive sewing notion to the package for a thank you. Also, selling in bulk lots can increase sales especially if items are small like popular magazines, some baby/children clothing, and book sets.
As far as all the extras ebay has you don’t need to purchase all the little extras like Bold Title, Featured Listing or pre-made layouts. Be sure to include a good photo and describe it accurately. I’ve only had to refund someone once because I missed a flaw in a vase I sold. Also, paypal is essential for getting paid quickly and getting more impulse bids because it makes it easy for buyers to pay.
i visit the wahm boards myself. the only thing i can see myself doing is the sms chat operators. i apply at so many places and never hear a word back. i just can never see how so many start up services or jump in with referrals and do well. i am also looking into using offercentric as a means to bring in income again. it worked for me before. i don’t want to look like i am spamming you so i’ll stop there. i don’t think selling on ebay is difficult at all, i just hate they raised their fees. i would love to have a large store, but where do you get the products without shelling out so much money or joining a drop ship service that may not be reliable?
i’m just not having a lot of luck finding the ‘work at home’ type of “gigs”
Hey! I read your blog all of the time…and I’m sorry your hubby didn’t get the job. I have a great place for you to earn extra money with your computer skills…have you heard of the mahalo.com part time guide system, where you write search results and get paid $10-$15 per each one you finish? so many SAHMs and retired people are getting in on it, it’s really great to earn money and help out at the same time. email me if you want more info, and here is the site! http://greenhouse.mahalo.com/howto.html
I hope this helps!
Selling domains is a tough ticket, especially as these days it’s more about how you cultivate a site than the name itself. Though if someone is looking for your exact domain name there is hope of a semi-decent profit. It sounds like you had ideas when you bought those domains, money-making ideas. So why throw those away?
eBay is a great resource for turning your clutter into cash!
I’ve been very successful over the past year in selling old baby clothes, toys, books on CD, computer games I no longer have time to play, baby gear, and a host of other stuff I was going to throw out.
The actual use of eBay isn’t that complicated once you get used to it, so you should start small and read up on tips and tricks where ever you come across them. You never know when you’ll learn a new tip that could get you a few extra dollars.
Here’s some tips that I’ve found helpful, but the Internet is loaded with sites and articles about eBay.
http://hubpages.com/hub/7-steps-for-successful-selling-on-eBay
BTW: Thanks for the link to http://wahm.com/forum/… I’ll being passing that along to my wife 🙂
-mab.
I have had much much better luck selling on craigslist.org than on ebay. Local sellers mean pickup or local delivery so you don’t have to worry about calculating shipping. And there tend to only be one or two of the item you are selling (depending on your area) and generally nothing exactly like what you are selling, so if someone wants what you have, they have to go to you.
if you have a lot of articles or content on Hubpages, you can really get lots of traffic and in turn you can make lots of money from it.~:”