Monday, May 3, 2010

Ebay it!

I'm sure all of you have heard of Ebay, which is an online auction site that has basically been around since the dawn of the internet. I am typically a half.com seller, however, this past week I have decided to try and sell some things on Ebay with the hope of making some extra cash.

My father-in-law visited recently, and brought us to a Kansas City Royals game, where they were having a promotional giveaway of a bobblehead doll of their star pitcher, Zach Greinke. While I enjoy going to baseball games very much, most of the time, I don't really care for the giveaways unless it is clothing or a baseball cap...something I can wear. When we got back to our house, I said to my father-in-law, "What am I going to do with this? Do you want two?". And then he suggested to put it on Ebay, which for some reason had never crossed my mind before. Before I knew it, I had it posted and earning bids, and made a $30 profit off of a free item, which was almost enough to pay for my ticket from the game! With game giveaways especially, since there are a limited number made (usually 20,000) it makes them more desirable to the public, in particular collectors and fans.

I also decided to post my Nintendo DSi, something that I never use anymore. The problem with Ebay, is that for the most part, you want to keep it to a smaller item, since you will have to ship it. However, commission costs are low. Whereas half.com will take a percentage of the commission, Ebay charges a base fee, usually of 50 cents, and charges based on the extra stuff you want to put in your ad. Electronics items cost a bit more, but still incredibly cheap for an auction in my opinion. Plus, I think the site is very user friendly, and has a help area to those who are new, which I found myself using multiple times.

Ebay can be a great alternative to things like a rummage sale, which I also have plans for coming up. With a national audience, you can certainly get more money for your item than you would at a rummage sale, where for the most part, since they are the only buyer, will talk you down from your set price. More on rummage sales for a later entry.

Upon your time spring cleaning, assess some items in the house and their frequency of use. While I like my Nintendo DSi, I just flat out don't use it. I'd rather put the money towards something I can actually use, or, you could be smart and put it into savings (which is not what I do). Anyways, check out Ebay as a seller and see how easy it is to make some extra money decluttering your home. Another man's trash is another man's treasure, right?

1 comment:

Al @ Seed Cards Direct said...

Excellent reminder. Have you found ebay to still have a lot of people shopping? I haven't used it in years.