Well, I am back with my totals. They aren't great but I still ended up with my personal items free and making a little profit. This time of year, just after Christmas, has never been the Best time for me selling on eBay. The Carhartt shirts didn't sell, the Harley hoodie didn't sell, and the Nike dri-fit didn't sell either. I will re list those this coming weekend. I did return the three items I didn't want to keep for a refund of $9.77. This brought my total purchase amount down to $38.31. I only sold two of my items. The giraffe print cardigan $28.05 and the Coleman thermal lined flannel shirt sold for $19.99. Which is a total of $48.04.
I went shopping again!(my favorite pastime) and found a few things to list. I paid $1.00 for this vintage coat, and sold it for $41.00. The woman's Carhartt sold for $11.50. Those two sold for more than I spent!! I have others left to list. I will begin listing again this coming weekend. Due to a short trip we are planning, we didn't want any of the listings to end while we were away. There could be questions and the shipping needs to be done within 24 hours after the item is paid for.
The reason we started selling on eBay was the extra income. My husband lost his job in a blink of an eye, without any warning. He was collecting unemployment but that was a lot less than his paycheck. He was unable to find another job right away. I work full time so I was able to pick up the insurance so we didn't have that to worry about. After reading "My Dear Trash" blog, I thought I can do that! I read all their tips and tricks for when to shop and what brands they had the best luck with. I went to a local Goodwill (which is only about a mile away) and search for a few of the suggested brands. I brought them home, took pictures, and listed them on eBay.
I have had an eBay account for several years, randomly selling a few things, but used more for buying.
Well, we watched that first week as each thing sold and we were amazed at how well we had done. I took that money and bought several more things and in no time at all, We were making about $200.00 every week that we listed. I do the buying, the listings, and some of the pictures. My husband does the shipping and some of the pictures. That works out so well for us.
There were times when my husband though that I might have spent too much money but I was confident and it wouldn't take long before I could show him how much I had made from my Large purchases.
I remember going to an estate sale for a middle aged wealthy woman. She had bought the nicest of everything. I bought clothes (most New with Tags). I spent $174.00. When I got home, I counted the pieces and there were 174 pieces of clothing. Two of the items I sold covered the total I spent at the auction. They were large size clothing and they sold easily. Yep! he was impressed.
I also remember spending $82.00 at another auction. He seemed to be a little upset. I told him not to worry! The Teddi bear I had bought for $7.00 would cover the whole amount I spent at the auction. He looked at me as if to say "oh right!". Well.....Mr. Teddi bear sold for $719.00. I think that is when he became a believer.
I have had a vintage bartender book sell for about $180.00, a sewing pattern for $157.00, a sewing gadget sold for about $150.00. These items were all in box lots that I spent about $2.00 for.
We made it through his unemployed months with few worries. He did find a job about a year and a half later and is still employed there.
We now use the eBay money to buy Birthday, Christmas, Easter gifts and to give ourselves a getaway every once in a while.
