7 Items to Sell on EBay at a Nice Profit

Jrboins

Pieces of toast with elvis imprinted on it..

junk farmer

I once sold a piece of Royal Doultan on eBay for over a thousand dollars. Yeah toby jugs/mugs are quite valuable. Some more than others.

DLB

I’ve been selling on eBay since 1997 and these suggestions are as old as the hills. Check eBay and you’ll see most of these categories are over-saturated with junk, copies and reproductions. There are true collectibles in these categories, but they’re rare and hard to find because you’re competing for them with people who know their stuff. You don’t go out and just happen upon a piece of Royal Daulton or a vintage Steiff bear. The best advice in the column is to do your research.

Wile E. Coyote (Supergenius)

I agree. I’m a Power Seller, though it isn’t actually that hard to reach that category, but things that sell like hot cakes are CD’s in very good to like new condition, musical instruments in excellent condition, even books, which will generally sell for more than you’d get for them in a yard sale. Library of America, Folio Society, Limited Editions club, etc., probably won’t get you your money back on the purchase, but every once in awhile I get surprised. I sold a couple of Howard Shore LOTR complete soundtracks recently for roughly 500 bucks after Ebay’s rake-off, which was a pretty good day at the office!
Nancy Charest

I found a perfect little Steiff elephant in a parking lot 35 years ago. I still have him though and wouldn’t consider selling him. I’ve always been curious about how much he is worth, though.
- Kondokev
  
  I have over 800 transactions on E-Bay & have been totally satisfied after all these years. From clothing to barware to jackets being sold new & without the tag, rechargeable batteries. It’s all on E-Bay & I’m very very happy !!!
- iamloved22
  
  I would hold on to your elephant, they aren’t selling well right now and for less than $30 when they do sell.
  - Nancy Charest
    
    I don’t plan to sell him or give him up. He is adorable. Thank you very much for your feedback, though!
    - MsM
      
      You can research how much things like your elephant are currently selling for on ebay by clicking on “Advanced Search” , then type in your item, and check the “Sold items” then search. It will show you similar sold items recently.
    - Another commenter
      
      Thank you.
zarf21

You said it. Power Seller here and have been selling on eBay for eleven years, The market is constantly changing, too–and so, too the research. We picked up a vintage oil company wall clock at a yard sale once and haggled it down to twenty bucks, smelling a trend and hoping we could get back at least 40% on it, It turned out to be one of those rare few surprises that had a crazy bidding war on it the last two minutes of the auction and went for over $400. But–these are few and far between and every sale is never going to be a killing. You also cannot look at the cost of one individual item and obsess on the profit on that specific item. If you spent $100 on five items at cost and one of them alone makles $200–you’ve made your money–and anything else is gravy to keep pouring back into inventory. This article cracked me up with the stuffed animal thing–dead giveaway the author or someone near and dear got taken for those Beanie Babies back in the ’80′s. And saving clothing ” for the season”? Brick and mortar retailers don’t even do that. Bathing suits are out in March. WInter coats in July or August,. And that’s in areas with distinct seasonal changes. Your market, whether nationwide alone or worldwide, has climate differences, Limiting your selling to what the weather is like right outside your own window is just ridiculous.
BobTheDouche

The big picture here is that these are not suggestions. Read the title again: “7 Items To Sell On Ebay At A Nice Profit”, in other words, if you have it, or happen to come across it, sell it. Nothing more, nothing less.
Gary Jarrell

I sell once in a while on eBay and Amazon. I was thinking I had seen these ‘suggestions’ before.

Guest

You can find cheap vintage fishing lures at estate sales and flea markets, and make a killing on EBay. When lure collectors see something they want, they don’t hesitate to pay more for it. I’ve also done well with CB radio equipment.

Gino Schafer

Just like anything else, you need to know you stuff with old lures. There are a LOT of collectors scanning flea markets, so big finds are very rare, and there is a lot of cheap junk lures out there that are worth nada.

Ken3580

I’ve seen used Disney items selling on e-bay and amazon that were twice the price that you could currently get them for new by merely calling the Disney World store and having it shipped.

mendonik

That doesn’t mean they actually sold at that inflated price.
- Clearly confused
  
  Not when it’s a “Buy it Now” but when it a closing auction, it does.
  - NotYour UsualPolitics
    
    The best way to see if certain items have sold and what the average price was is to simply go to the sold items section. You can even tell about how well an item will sell using this format. First go to sold items and see what number sold then switch to closed auctions and see that number. As an example say 108 of a particular toy sold but closed items show there were 802 previously listed. You now know you have about a 1 in 8 chance of selling it and you may have to price it at a little lower than the average sold price to move it out of your inventory and recover your money to invest elsewhere. I’ve been on Ebay 13 years now and while I hate some of the changes they’ve made they are currently still the best game in town so to speak with craigslist pulling up a close second depending on what you have for sell.
    - radoak .
      
      Not your usual. You are right that EBay is the best deal in town. Try going to a consignment shop and paying their 70%. Buy at $25. Sell it at a consignment shop for $100 and you get $30 back and a profit of $5 and the shop owner makes $70. Needless to say I didn’t consign there. The antique malls cuts are just as bad. 50 to 60 percent. Hastings buys your used books at 50 cents to a dollar and sells them for 10 or 15 dollars. EBAY is the best deal in town, not perfect but it works for me.

SomebuddySaid

Please remember… that a newcomer is born every minute, not all are blessed to be Power $eller$, and a single sale is oft equivalent to one hundred

papa11

I’m going to post my teddy bear on e-bay.

Joe

Best thing to sell is just about anything but Id have to say, when I bought Legos for my son, the auctions were rediculous. They sell them by the pound just like gold and silver. Definitely an easy way to make extra cash.

http://batman-news.com Dublinkim

I’ve been selling on eBay for 14+ years and am also a Powerseller and I’ve found you can sell just about ANYTHING on eBay! You just never know what someone is going to search for and I sell a wide variety of clothes, antiques, toys, collectibles etc. If it’s good quality and can be purchased at a reasonable price, you can sell it on eBay quite easily and make a great living or side income!

carla

what happens if someone wants to return an item. who pays the shipping?
- Kondokev
  
  The buyer Always does. It’s never the shipper because you may have to do that particular transaction twice, to please the buyer.
  - Powerseller420
    
    Kondokev your wrong. For instance I recently sold a vintage item for $20, and it cost $20 for me to ship the item (which yes the buyer did pay). The buyer decided they didnt like them item and claimed it was not as described. I had 12 photos of the item, it was described in detail, and the item was listed “As Is”. The buyer wanted a full ($40) refund and wanted to keep my item. Bear in mind this was a buyer with over 750 Feedbacks. I offered to refund her full $40 ($20 +$20 s&h), if she shipped my item back (at her cost). which means I lose $20 even if I get the item back. The case still hasn’t been resolved and I am expecting a negative feedback from her. Oh I almost forgot it took me 2 hours to package and ship her item. I’ve also noticed that while the case has been open my sales have dropped off dramatically. No doubt there is eBay software that limits buyers search results for your items, while you have a case open against you. So yeah – eBay sks! But like someone else said before me “It’s still the best game in town, with Craigslist running a close second.”
- Olga O. Pina
  
  The buyer usually pays for the shipping. The seller pays for shipping the item to the buyer.
- Dennis
  
  That can be negotiated. If the item was damaged in shipment to the buyer, and if the seller shipped with insurance, then a claim can be filed for the damaged item as well as for postage paid to ship it to the buyer. Returns can be for any reason, but if it is a buyer mistake or the buyer simply doesn’t like or want it, then the buyer should pay. If the item wasn’t described properly or adequately and the buyer is dissatisfied, then this would likely be the seller’s fault, and the seller should reimburse for shipment back to the seller, or offer another means to have the item returned (i.e., providing the buyer with a shipping label for return shipment).

hdkrazee

I have a Mickey Mouse phone from the 70s. think I could get anything for it?

Captain Catfish

Sounds interesting.
hobbyist1957

Yes you can if its in fairly good to excellent condition to a collector of Disney products. Place it under collectables and see where it leads you. I’ve seen some collectables go for thousands of dollars to collectors if they want it bad enough. You ONLY need try and see.

Tiger Joe Sallmen

The trick is to find small items that are sought after and easy to ship. I call those ‘eBayable’. The Zippo lighters easily fall under that category. Stuffed animals, not so much.

In general you are better off being a specialist than a generalist. LP records are an excellent examples. Or books. Or even old license plates. Extensive knowledge is required to separate wheat from chaff and recognizing diamonds on the rough, what can be resold for profit and what cannot. Plus when you sell in one category, it’s easier to streamline your operations (i.e. in shipping, you have the process down pat, but you will not when you have sold a watch, a chair, a fragile stemware glass and a beanie baby).

eBay fees need to be mentioned. When you sell, don’t forget you’re working for eBay. They set the house rules, you pay a fair commission to them to sell (used to be cheap, now it’s on par with a lot of live auction houses) and you also become a slave to the post office. Plus you need to maintain their minimum customer service standards (their standards, not yours) or else you’ll be ‘fired’. Doesn’t mean you can’t make a living at it, but managing these costs and concerns will be critical to your success.

rat

great suggestions and advice!
tom turkey

you should use fufillment by amazon tiger it will set you free
Badger BadgerBadger

yep… yep… yep… yep… yep… yep… and yep
DrDan

Ebay consideres the sellers to be their employees. or perhaps slaves….
Mike

Ebay sucks as far as it’s fees and their ‘standards’ which they don’t even try to maintain. Paypal is owned by Ebay and so they get to hit you twice for fees. Charging a percentage on mailing costs is outrageous. They want you to sell stuff so they can make the money off of you. But, the buyer doesn’t have any consequences. They can libel you, cheat you, cheat EBay’s system and the seller is supposed to take it in the butt for them. I quit using Ebay almost a year ago. They can go phugh themselves. This is nothing more than an ad for Ebay.
- moaab
  
  Their fees are horrible. I used to be a PowerSeller on eBay, but their fees have risen so much that, in my category, it was no longer profitable for me to sell anymore.
- helbentgrrl
  
  here’s a hint. Don’t EVER sell text books. We got burned on them. You advertise something as 3rd edition in CAPS, students order them, then return them cuz the professor wants them to have the 4th or 5th edition. And Ebay counts that against you. You don’t get to defend yourself.
- L G
  
  So where do you sell online then? There are so many places. I used to sell on Ebay but like you said it has gotten dicey. I know a lot of people do sell on Etsy. Seems though, that it is indeed about profit and customer and not the seller on Ebay. My GF had a lot of trouble on Ebay and she finally just quit. I didn’t have the problems she had though. Just the ever increasing fees and crap. Would like to start selling again, but I noticed they have done more changes and seller increases. any help as to where would be a good place to go would be appreciated.
  - Kate M Mihailoff
    
    Have you heard of Bonanza? Check them out, I hear they used to be top rank Powersellers on ebay and left for various reasons and started their own site. Feel free to pm me via FB if you have any questions.
    - Cindy
      
      I sell on Bonanza and love the site! A must for sellers and buyers! Pay them a visit!
- stach54000
  
  I found out very quickly not to use their mailing service. Go direct to USPS, same discount with no added fee.
Ray

I found just the opposite. I’ll sell everything from vintage pocket watches to guitar amps. I have no problem shipping larger items and the profit I make on a guitar or an amp are far greater than a zippo lighter. Sure, it will take longer to package a guitar but the hundreds of dollars in profit is well worth the extra work involved. The trick is making as much profit as you can on a single item, not a bunch of smaller items. It takes the same amount of time to write up a listing for a guitar as it does for a zippo lighter.

Jack Madison

I think the United States is just exhausting to live in anymore…

Warstorm Trading

Just wait until the next crash comes. We have made such a big money bubble through QE that has to be payed for, that either a collapse or massive inflation will be the only way out. That will be the exhausting part, this is just annoying.
- Martin_vanburen
  
  Was the Rapture exhausting too?
  - MPM
    
    LOL!!!!! Love it!
  - Joseph Panciotti
    
    The Rapture is a sure thing. I would bank on that compared to EBay.
    - Martin_vanburen
      
      Which Rapture, the one from last year, or was that the year before…. what, it didn’t happen, how exhausting…..
    - Janice Gering
      
      Don’t worry it will happen sooner than later! ..And when you least expect it!
- William Hofmeister
  
  Who’s to say we won’t get both massive inflation and collapse?
  - Scammer Slammer
    
    look around . We’re getting both now
    - UdaFool
      
      Huh? Not on my planet. Inflation is very low and the stock market is soaring.
    - sallysue
      
      I don’t know what planet you live on, but here on earth, in the US, we do have high inflation, it is just being hidden. Food and energy are not in the CPI there by giving a false number.
    - nicole
      
      Some folks believe anything the O says…instead of reality. This way they are not required to use any brain cells.
    - Ob-Gyn Doc
      
      Sallysue you are absolutely correct.
      The inflation we see in numbers are absolutely wrong.
      Because food costs are hidden – they might appear the same – but that same $4 box of cereal costs the same but the contents have been cut by a 1/3 – that is a 33% inflation rate over 4 years (divide that out – that comes to an 8.5% inflation rate – that is VERY high – look at gas prices – that is an astounding 15% inflation rate.
      Look at jobs – most people are taking home less – with the average paycheck falling by 5% this year alone – make overall inflation rate for MOST people around 8 to 10% alone this past year alone. This does not take a genius to figure out the true numbers – we are all paying a lot more for everything. Even college tuition – this year alone it is up 15%.
    - Scammer Slammer
      
      open your eyes and look around your planet because foreclosures are up again , more citizens are out of work and can not find a job than before, 50,000- 60,000 homeless veterans living on the streets each night who can not get help while we go way outta our way to give hundreds of billions in welfare to ILLEGAL immigrants,
      That’s all while banks, who we bailed out, increase interest rates and ‘fee’s’ to the same taxpayers who bailed them out, like the one who 6 months ago sent me a ”Preapproved Credit card’ with Only 149.99% interest”
      and the fact that US Business makes tons more profit by moving manufacturing out of the USA such as the GMC Suburban , now made in Mexico and the Chevy S10 Blazer now made in Brazil, not because of lower labor rates, they moved to avoid compliance with US Environmental laws, so pardon me if I don’t cheer while the top three greedy anti American groups, bankers and Wall-Streeters and Congress are getting more wealthy for selling out America, because that’s the planet most Americans live on
    - Rick Boughton
      
      Although I am an American, I tend to see things around me slightly different than other “Americans”. For one, the internet, and therefor the comment sections on the pages are not all about America. America is NOT the focal point of Earth, never was, never will be. We “Americans” tend to think in a linear mode as if everyone is ‘one of us’ UDAFOOL is completely correct in his assessment and people such as his detractors are of the weak minded sorts. True, the American economy is tanking, yet by comparison, the Chinese (and other asian) economies are BOOMING.
      
      Lose the American mindset when you think of commenting on someones perspective. To do otherwise is to BEDAFOOL…
    - frank
      
      with a soar comes a crash. it has happened every time
    - Matthews John
      
      the stock market is a bubble created by qe.
      inflation is not very low they have only changed what figures they include to calculate inflation. they have done that sevral times over the last couple decades. notice things like oil gas are not included in the inflation index.
    - Joseph Panciotti
      
      As it was in 2008. Remember that the market is cyclical.
      However, like so many ADDers, it is to easy to become distracted. Any other advice about selling stuff on line?
      Stay focused folks.
afimedia

You can always leave.
- Feliz Navidad
  
  Who can afford to leave?
- Scammer Slammer
  
  @ afimedia
  
  It’s people like you with your simplistic attitude and ignorance of what is happening in this country, supporting the morons wasteful and corrupt spending policies that keep this country down.
  
  We have become the EXACT opposite of what the Founders and soldiers who fought the Revolution for and died for.
  
  We have THE most egotistical worthless congress and Presidents in our countries history. As well as the HIGHEST TAXES in the world.
  BOTH PARTIES SUCK Electing a moron like both Bush’s and following up by re-electing a liar like Obama is the reason this country was and will continue to be attacked . Sadly people like you who condone our terrible government are the reason they flourish.
  look at where your money goes. Is Russia our friend? No ! yet we still give foreign aid to Russia, who in turn gives foreign aid to other countries including NORTH KOREA and IRAN and CUBA
  among others.
  Also look at the job they are doing, cutting military pay, cutting medical help for combat related illness, wounds and stress, cutting money for senior’s cutting welfare for Americans while increasing all of the above for ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS! Of course they are also pushing for higher raises for themselves .
  While USA infrastructure need a lot of work all over the USA, We have no money, however we rebuilt highways, bridges and cities all over the world , even in Afghanistan and Iraq DURING WARS! What schmuck ever did that before? NONE because NO ONE WAS EVER THAT FREAKIN STUPID!
  I can go on and on especially about the near identical bail out plan of Bush and the one Obama passed for banks who in turn screwed the taxpayers whose tax dollars paid for it!
  - disqus_OsdPhFea96
    
    This is where you are misinformed, Obama did not pass bailout for the banks, Bush did that for $700Billion before he left office..
    - Matthews John
      
      actually this is where you are misinformed.
      bush held meetings with both obama and mcain during that election and advised both of them of what was going on and what solutions they had and all 3 of them agreed on what they thought was best. the reason for this was it was all being done just before we all voted for the new president.
      
      also there were increases to these bailouts after obama took office. any idiot that watches tv during that election should know this it was all the talk on every news channel left or right wing.
    - carlito pendleton
      
      Stop worrying about the banks and all the stuff that has been done, look at how you have lost your rights and the over 2,000 page laws that are being voted on that congress hasn’t read like Obama care and others, the new currency law July 1, will collapse the dollar, don’t know if it will be over time or very soon but our way of life and what we take for granted is about to change, last year the European nations ask us to take the dollar down as the world reserve currency but we declined to do that because it would create a panic here, but because we have printed ourselves into a corner it’s only a matter of time before it does collapse, China, Russia and Iran and a few more have stopped using the dollar as it’s currency it uses to do business, most nations on this planet have been using the dollar to do business which means it they wanted to do business like buy oil they had to come to us for the dollar to allow them to do business and in return after profits they would buy our bonds too, also all the banks around the world uses the dollar because it’s the world reserve currency to do their business, we have been able to print and borrow our way out of the mess the government has created so far but when enough nations stop using the dollar it will slow down or stop it’s circulation to the point where it will ruin our economy, the dollar’s value is it’s ability to be printed and circulated, you see there’s no intrinsic value to the dollar or very little value at all, because they stole the gold out of this country during the bankruptcy of 1933, we are living a big lie where we believe we are paying our bills but the dollar has no value what so ever because it is a promise to pay in the future and a chargeback instrument, pubic policy which is hjr192 states this, you need to read it, also read the history of money to understand what real money was and that these notes we call dollars were created to only use between banks. Real money that has intrinsic value used to say “will pay to the bearer on demand” that meant that if you had a ten dollar bill the bank would have to pay you ten dollars in gold, it’s not on these notes. So, as I was saying when the dollar stops or slows down enough to cause the collapse which will happen because we keep printing more dollars at about I believe 5-6 billion a day it’s going to collapse so fast we’ll never know it, the billionaires are selling their stock in anticipation of this so after the collapse they’ll come in and buy the stock cheap like they did back in the 30′s, the banks will close again probably around the world but here they certainly will closed and when they open back up your money will be worth maybe half it’s value too. As and American we are family that’s why I’m giving you a heads up we all know that the government is printing up too much money, hope this helps you.
  - UConnKid
    
    @Scammer – I agree with more than a little of what you’re saying but you’re not seeing the forest because of the trees. This problem is bigger than any politician and goes back way before many of them even ran for office.
    Please read “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man” by John Perkins. It’s the story of his life working for corporations that manage to legally strangle developing countries. Of course they want to strike back at the US, after these guys force them into abject poverty and slavery. “Confessions” even explains why “we” build roads in countries we’re at war with and not here at home.
    Everyone who cares about our country needs to learn all they can about what got us here, and this book is an excellent place to start. You should be able to read it for free; I checked my state library system and at least 50% of the libraries have a copy.
    - Scammer Slammer
      
      i agree with you UConnKid, but that’s in addition and not in place of what I said
  - OnTay Johnson
    
    the founders based their whole economic system on slavery…yeah great bunch.
    - Milan Mccandle
      
      Not true. The South did. The North didn’t. Where was the Boston Tea Party? Not in a slave state. The two economies were based on different things – hence, civil war. Read some history.
    - Geronimo
      
      Boston Tea Party was the response for Taxation without representation with England. Revolutionary War. Slavery and the South vs the North is the Civil War.
    - Just sayin’
      
      I thought this discussion was about selling on Ebay.
    - Milan Mccandle
      
      I am not talking about JUST the Revolutionary War. I am talking about the basis for the economies of the North vs. the South. The founders of the U.S., were based in the Northeast, for the most part (Boston for example). The economy of the North was based on commerce, NOT slavery. Which was a reason for their fury over the taxation imposed by Britain, hence the Boston Tea party; a catalyst for the Revolutionary War, which was the basis for the formation of the U.S. The economy of the South was based on slave labor for an agricultural economy i.e. cotton, etc. Pretty silly to think I was confusing the Revolutionary war with the Civil War. So I stand by my comment to OnTay Johnson that the U.S. founders did not base our whole economic system on slavery; only the South was based on slavery, the North was based on commerce.
    - rockgardenplants
      
      Glad someone said before me… I’m getting too slow
  - irishblueileen
    
    Well, here’s a fact. We certainly do not have the highest taxes in the world which put all of your other assertions into question. We get less for our tax dollars but they are certainly not even among the highest in the world.
    - Scammer Slammer
      
      oh? name the higher countries and include all taxes , not just income, sales and energy taxes, Include all the ‘
      
      151 hidden taxes’ on a loaf of bread. which are exempt from some exports and imports which is why you can buy a tube of colegate toothpaste in NJ that was made in Camden NJ for $3.95 and travel 1/2 way around the world to China and buy that same tube of toothpaste made in Camden NJ for only $0.50 and why you can go to a Dollar Store here in the USA and buy that same size tube of Colegate toothpaste made in China then shipped 1//2 way around the world that you’ll only pay $1 for here. It’s the thousands of hidden taxes that kill us
      Also don’t forget retirement taxes, burial taxes, taxes on home improvements, fees, surcharges,
      drivers, dog , cat, boat, motorcycle, fishing, food vendor, alcohol, peddlers, business, real estate, and a few gazillion other licenses plus, code violation and traffic tickets that are all taxes!
      The United States is the only nation on the planet that tries to tax citizens on what they earn in foreign countries, even if the earner has lived outside of the USA for decades, as long as you keep US Citizenship they’ll tax you everywhere you go!!!. So please tell me what country has higher taxes? The answer is NONE!
    - Matthews John
      
      actually they are among the highest. last list i checked had us above middle of the pack.
      
      but we have a very complex progressive tax system.
      and alot of the charts i’ve seen don’t calculate all taxes just income state federal and corporate tax rates.
      
      id did not include sales tax or taxes on invesments. and all the other taxes we get.
  - Ladyhawk98
    
    @ Scammer – you need to chill out. You are not going to change the world with the words you are typing in a place very few see. Who died and left you to judge the world and their policies? Go find a nice hobby and try to have a happy life.
  - usmale
    
    Have you sent a copy of this to your senator?
    I wish you would.
    When I send mail like this to Inhofe I never get a response.
    I wonder why.
  - fedupwithlies
    
    Your repeated use of the term ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS betrays your inherent prejudice and neutralizes your rant to meaninglessness. But I do agree the banks held our nation hostage, and the government paid them trillions of dollars, but this wouldn’t have been necessary if BUSH the shrub not the elderberry(did you see what I did there?), hadn’t have put to wars on the credit card creating this mess in the first place, it all goes back to raygun whom you probably adore.
    - YankeeBelle64
      
      Oh stop with the politically correct nonsense. Stop trying to control people’s thoughts by controlling their words. Personally, I hate the term illegal immigrants because they are not immigrants. They are criminals who broke the law to come here. Maybe we should use crimigrants. What other country in the world houses, feeds, educates and pays medical care for foreign citizens who broke their immigration laws while their own veterans are left to die due to lack of money? That is what they ever so caring liberal mentality wrought. Perhaps it is time the American people started looking out for their own self interest by deporting these criminal aliens.
- Grammar nazis
  
  Yeah because leaving is better than fixing the problem………. THis isn’t the United states it use to be anymore… people that leave should be the ones who go against everything we stand for
  - Dave Kalin
    
    The United States has never been the placed it used to be.
    - just sayin…
      
      That is worth repeating…It certainly isn’t!
    - RenDog
      
      AMEN!!!
    - RenDog
      
      The reason why the United States is where it presently is, is because of its own epic cancerous historical past, consisting of rascalism, cronyism, nepotism, treasonous collusion and conspiracy, service to the interests, etc… The United States’ history is rife with these special interests (mostly European) attempting to gain control of her wealth. All this culminating into her present state. Who can fight against these entities, made up of individuals with the sort of wealth, power, and influence that the wield. America has been the target of scams and hidden agendas from its birth as a nation. Anytime you embark on explaining how this country has been hi-jack, you must think of darker and more nefarious schemes and conclusions!
    - RenDog
      
      Amen!!!
  - JaimeLobo
    
    Funny online name — considering all the errors in your post. :o)
    - mad
      
      This was the funniest and best response yet! (I agree)
    - L G
      
      Centering importance on errors in grammar is pointless in any discussion. It only shows you have nothing better to add. The US educational system is a huge failure and some people are dyslexic. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise anymore. Plus, you are taking away from the discussion by tearing down the individual in an area that as I said, is pointless. There are other issues like posting from phones that cause those issues. I know people do not seem to care anymore about such things, sadly. However, to point such things out in an important discussion that has nothing to do with grammar, seems counterproductive.
  - Delores Smith
    
    The people who complain about this country do not contribute to fixing it so that is why Jack Madison was told to leave. I have been of the belief many presidents ago, that if you are 18 years old or older and do not like where you live (the city, state or country), you should leave. Why be miserable. Just leave unless you just like to complain and not fix the problem.
    - DDM1
      
      How do you know who has contributed or has not?
    - Matthews John
      
      how do you know the people complainin g arent trying to fix the problem?
      
      also complaining is shining the light on a problem and that is the first step to fixing a problem.
    - L G
      
      To tell people to leave if they do not like something is rather dumb. Half this country would leave if they could and there was a better place to go! I would be long gone. I looked into it. All the great places to go do not allow easy entrance. They are not stupid. They do not want an influx of people adding a burden to their countries. You need a sponsor now to move to Canada. Heck, you can’t even get into Canada without a passport now! People can’t just leave like they have no family ties, jobs and life here, many for generations. If people could leave where they live in this world where they don’t like being, you can bet millions of people would be up and gone from other countries too. To tell people to leaves shows a person’s total ignorance to the whole situation. The answer is to fix what is wrong…and that is just as hard to do as to “leave”!!!
- DDM1
  
  Yawn. Not helpful, and there is always some dull-headed jerk who feels clever or self-righteous for making this statement. Plus one can NOT always leave, lacking the means to do so.
  - Native American
    
    Plus one can NOT always leave, lacking the means to do so.
    
    Exactly. why does everyone think I can just go “welp, I hate this place, guess it’s time to just pack up and move to canada right now”. To all those who say “just leave”, believe it or not, immigration is kind of a difficult and lengthy process, and I know you know this so why even spit out that useless garbage? Not to mention, I probably have more Native American blood in me than those who say that….
- Bean Jelly
  
  No, actually, because you need money to leave and the economy is bad and jobs are scarce.
- usmale
  
  Always a wonderfuf cop out.
  You types were borm with a silver spoon,
  and are not the other 99 % er’s.
  You make me sick to my stomach.
Jack Moore

so, leave already.
dennis

sell everything you have on e-bay and move on
Badger BadgerBadger

Doesn’t get much better anywhere else. The people might be nicer, but that’s because their life is harder.
Litho529

I agree. I’m trying to figure out where to go to retire-that is, out of US.
Carol Egyhazi

I too find this life in the US exhausting. Let me out of here.
joeythew

Buck up Buddy!

IYI

I’m contantly amazed at what sells on Ebay and what doesn’t. A old bag of marbles sold for $50.00, couldn’t give away antique candle holders!!

Liquidfx Xboxdude

marbles can be used to put up in places. paste taste nice.
- Chrispy
  
  What?
Badger BadgerBadger

who uses candles?

Warstorm Trading

Trading card games are another way to make money, but require you to be quick with opening and placing them up for order, or finding a cheap one and waiting for the fool that will pay double for the item, when few are available.

chim richalds

ebay is a joke, only sell if your not worried about getting ripped off. ebay has made it so easy for the buyer to complain and get things for free its pathetic, ebay policy and paypal CAN NOT be trusted as a seller plain and simple.

Sandy Rich

If the buyers don’t like the item, you don’t have to let them keep it. You seem to be implying that you were blackmailed into giving them the item and their money. If so, that is your fault, not ebay’s.
- chim richalds
  
  Wow, you have obviously never used ebay or paypal to sell an item. So until you do keep your kunt mouth shut and don’t speculate on a situation you know nothing of………………Notice the 20 up votes, I know what Iam talking about dumbass.
  - eastcoastseller12345
    
    My husband and I make a nice living selling on Ebay. We find most customers very easy to deal with. We have a feedback score of over 11,000 and are a plantium power seller with a 100% feedback score. We do every once in awhile have a customer that is hard to deal with but Ebay and PayPal have always been very helpful.
    - SusanNJ74
      
      I have to ask – do you sell a lot of small, cheap items, or have you sold more expensive ones, too? Because it’s been my experience that the more value an item has, the more scammers it lures. And Ebay & PayPal were of ZERO help when I needed them. In one example – neither of them wanted to take any responsibility, even though PayPal allowed the buyer to reverse payment without my consent. (He waited til he got confirmation of shipping then IMMEDIATELY reversed payment via PayPal – PayPal allowed it, then refused to take responsibility, even though they agreed with me it sounded fraudulent. That was my last straw with them.)
    - surfbird
      
      What are you selling?
    - owise
      
      Salute! It is very hard to find a seller that strives to keep their feedback at 100%
    - Isila
      
      I would love to do this! I need to be schooled by you!
  - [email protected]
    
    It’s strange and sad that you would get so irritated – to the point of childish name-calling – at a stranger’s post. What a powerless little world you must life in to let a harmless comment unravel your ego in such a way. Obviously you spend too much time on the internet to have a real life where you interact with real humans, else Sandy’s simple statement wouldn’t cause a meltdown.
    - Badger BadgerBadger
      
      I’ve figured out how to navigate eBay’s biases and policies, but I have seen many incidents where eBay has deeply upset people by remaining distant and unwilling to interest themselves in the details of a dispute or clerical error on their part.
  - Dave Kalin
    
    Bit moody, aren’t ye! lol
- chim richalds
  
  wow, another person with a undeserved since of entitlement that has obviously never used ebay or paypal to any length to sell items. what your speculating is wrong and i dont need to explain just notice the 20 up votes, i know what iam talking about.
  - Dave Kalin
    
    Here! You missed these: n, sense, W.
    
    Also, one should never end a sentence with a preposition.
    
    lol ; )
    - CPL in SoCal
      
      Grammar myths #1: is it wrong to end a sentence with a preposition?
      
      Maybe when speaking Latin; however, English is not Latin therefore stranded prepositions are nothing to fret about.
      
      There are four main types of situation in which it is more natural to end a sentence or clause with a preposition:
      
      Passive structures (she enjoys being fussed over)
      
      Relative clauses (they must be convinced of the commitment that they are taking on)
      
      Infinitive structures (Tom had no-one to play with)
      
      Questions beginning with who, where, what, etc. (what music are you interested in?)
      
      Most attempts to avoid stranding or deferring prepositions in the following examples end up sounding over-formal, if not downright awkward. For example:
      “Gail has much to be happy about” vs. “Gail has much about which to be happy. [over-formal]” Correct somebody’s grammar with the latter form and you will likely have that somebody slap the quiche and chardonnay right out of your freshly manicured hand!
      
      To sum up, the deferring of prepositions sounds perfectly natural and is part of standard English. Once you start moving the prepositions to their supposed ‘correct’ positions you find yourself with very stilted or even impossible sentences.
      
      Finally, a prepositional joke, courtesy of http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/11/grammar-myths-prepositions/:
      
      A snobbish English teacher was sitting in an Atlanta airport coffee shop waiting for her flight back to Connecticut, when a friendly Southern belle sat down next to her.
      
      ‘Where y’all goin’ to?’ asked the Southern belle.
      
      Turning her nose in the air, the snob replied ‘I don’t answer people who end their sentences with prepositions’.
      
      The Southern belle thought a moment, and tried again. ‘Where y’all goin’ to, be-atch?’
    - CPL in SoCal
      
      Dave:
      
      If you are going to be the grammar police, you better get it right.
      
      Grammar myths #1: is it wrong to end a sentence with a preposition?
      
      Maybe when speaking Latin; however, English is not Latin therefore stranded prepositions are nothing to fret about.
      
      There are four main types of situation in which it is more natural to end a sentence or clause with a preposition:
      
      Passive structures (she enjoys being fussed over)
      
      Relative clauses (they must be convinced of the commitment that they are taking on)
      
      Infinitive structures (Tom had no-one to play with)
      
      Questions beginning with who, where, what, etc. (what music are you interested in?)
      
      Most attempts to avoid stranding or deferring prepositions in the following examples end up sounding over-formal, if not downright awkward. For example:
      
      “Gail has much to be happy about” vs. “Gail has much about which to be happy. [over-formal]” Correct somebody’s grammar with the latter form and you will likely have that somebody slap the quiche and chardonnay right out of your freshly manicured hand!
      
      To sum up, the deferring of prepositions sounds perfectly natural and is part of standard English. Once you start moving the prepositions to their supposed ‘correct’ positions you find yourself with very stilted or even impossible sentences.
      
      Finally, a prepositional joke, courtesy of http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/11/grammar-myths-prepositions/:
      
      A snobbish English teacher was sitting in an Atlanta airport coffee shop waiting for her flight back to Connecticut, when a friendly Southern belle sat down next to her.
      
      ‘Where y’all goin’ to?’ asked the Southern belle.
      
      Turning her nose in the air, the snob replied ‘I don’t answer people who end their sentences with prepositions’.
      
      The Southern belle thought a moment, and tried again. ‘Where y’all goin’ to, bitch?’
    - Marly Duran
      
      You missed ‘you’re’ and punctuation after ‘explain’ and “I” also ‘I space am’
- marcymrp
  
  If buyers don’t like the item (or DO like it, but want it for free), all they have to do is contact eBay and LIE…. it was misrepresented, poor quality, etc. and eBay will MOST times, side with the buyer, regardless of the seller’s protest that the buyer has a history of scamming. One person I know (and this is one of MANY of this type of transaction between seller and thief) sold a beautiful reborn doll for close to $1000. The buyer complained, ebay told her to send it back and the buyer was refunded by paypal before she even mailed it back….. so YES, she got the item AND got to keep her money! THEN, when the artist got the package, instead of the beautiful work of art she had sent, opened the box to an old raggy garage sale doll that had no resemblance at ALL to the sold item. Also, you CAN block someone, but when they’re blocked sufficiently by everyone in an industry (for this example, I’ll stick with dolls), they’ll close their ebay account and open another one under their child’s or husband’s or parent’s name. I still buy things on ebay (after CAREFUL consideration) but will NEVER list anything (of any value) for sale there again! So, yes, it IS eBay’s fault! And no matter WHAT scam a buyer continues to pull, a seller can’t list an honest feedback for that scam artist, so as to warn OTHER sellers to beware of them!
  - Habs4Eva
    
    Block them. I’ve never done that to a buyer. I don’t buy clothes without measurements and good pictures or from sellers who don’t have decent ratings and I’ve been very happy with what I got. We’re not all out to skin the sellers.
Delores Smith

I’ve been on ebay since 2001. You sound like one of those sellers who allows buyers to bully you. Do you send your items with delivery confirmation? This protects you against item not received disputes. If you’ave encountered a problem buyer, add them to your blocked bidders list. If a bidder has a history of leaving negative or neutral feedback for other sellers, cancel their bid and add them to your blocked bidders list. Set your buyer requirements to block bidders with 4 or more policy violatioins in the past 6 months; who have 2 or more unpaid item strikes in the past 12 months; who do not live in countries you ship to; who do not have a paypal account; who have a feedback score of -1 or less and anyone who seems like they will be a pain should be added to your blocked bidders list.
- owise
  
  Excellent advice Delores! 5 Stars
  - lou
    
    However, there is definitely a risk involved with PayPal. We do not sell items, we sell tickets to events which have a date on them. Once the person receives the ticket they go to the event, then you get a charge-back from PayPal a month later, and they won’t tell you why…it is not an item that can be “returned” as the date for the event has already passed and the ticket is not longer good anyway… PayPal and eBay are not very cooperative in saying why the charge-back, but my guess is that some PayPal accounts are hacked, or people use stolen credit cards to open accounts, and by the time this is all discovered, they have already gone to the event and had a good time at your (my) expense. There is much too much crime going on, and nobody is doing anything about it. Also, nobody cares. You are on your own. The little guy against the Big Guys: eBay, PayPal, the Government who won’t go after folks who use stolen credit cards…they just let the little guy take the lumps…it seems it’s more important to fight wars half way around the world than to take care of your own people.
    - Milan Mccandle
      
      You are right, and I know this from experience. Both IRL and online. I sold a valuable antique (left to me by my grandmother) on ebay for $2000, which was less than it was worth because I needed the money as soon as possible. I sold the item to someone in China. Big mistake! First, because I am new to ebay, they held the funds for 21 days even though it was paid on Buy it Now. Then, after I had sold several other things, they froze my account because the buyer claimed there was “wear on the gilding” of beads on a very, very old antique, of which there are none without wear on the gilding of the beads. They froze my entire account for weeks because of this scammer. So, I couldn’t get any of my money for anything else I sold. The entire reason I was selling antiques on ebay was because I was broke and needed the money for FOOD. Eventually ebay decided in my favor, but after the damage was done. I couldn’t send other things that I sold right away because of EvilBay and PayPal. They also pulled funds to pay for a $6 postage cost from my bank account because they wouldn’t release funds from things that had already been paid for; which led to a $35 overdraft fee at my idiot creep bailed out by the taxpayers bank! What a racket ALL of it is. The IRL fraud was far worse, which put me in the situation to begin with, the police, nobody gave a damn and the criminal is still out there doing it to the next person, and he had done it to many people before. They didn’t care that he had 26 credit cards in his possession that weren’t his.
    - PeachyBreyer
      
      If you speak to your bank & haven’t had an overdraft for the past year or so, they’ll usually give you a one-time credit in a situation like this. You can also ask that any debit that would overdraft you be refused & returned from now on, which can be changed whenever you feel like it.
SusanNJ74

Chim – I’ve run into the same problems with scammers. That’s when I stopped dealing with EBAY (as a seller) altogether and went other routes. I still BUY off of EBAY – you can get some good deals. But as a seller, I haven’t sold through them in years. Disgusts me what they let scammers get away with – even when they tell you they agree it’s fraud, but they still won’t do anything about it and claim they aren’t liable!

Sam Kaner

Occupied Japan? They attacked us and their neighbors and killed and molested in every country around them. You make in sound like the US where the Imperialist.

Greg Degen

The writer is not creating the term here. Items manufactured for a period (sorry don’t know the time frame and other details) after the war have labels or printing on them that actually says “Made in Occupied Japan”. These items usually command a better price than an ordinary “Made in Japan” labeled item. I think that was the point being referred to.
Robert CCC

Uh, the article is talking about the term “Occupied Japan” as it was printed on all goods made in Japan during that time period. The author did not make up that term. And technically, it was indeed “occupied Japan” as the US had control over that country during the years right after WW2

stuhuzz1981

Good luck selling old Disney VHS copies. Everyone and their mom still has a rack of them.

Python’s Ordeal

I have a Rafael Nadal signed tennis racket that my dad got from 2007 championship games. I have to do more research on exactly what game its from before I sell it. But being from the championship game by Rafael Nadal, I’m pretty sure I can sell it for over $2000.

daniel

Ebay is a joke.. Ebay’s final value (selling )
fees – outrages …Ebay customer services are lousy –
impossible to get any help if you need any and when you call them you
got transferred from one department to another… Sellers have no
actual rights on Ebay – Ebay’s sellers protection policy is a joke…

chim richalds

couldnt have said it beter my self accept for instead of lousy I would have said non existent for the customer service, good luck to you if your still attempting to sell on ebay.
William Hofmeister

Sorry to hear that. From the other end, their buyer’s protection plan has functioned well for me. I can’t tell you how many times I get the wrong item shipped, damaged items, items not as advertised. They have always gotten me my money back. Sellers are usually quite helpful in straightening out the errors, even at great cost to them. I am sure they are trying to stay in ebay’s good graces, which furthers confidence in using ebay.
- Badger BadgerBadger
  
  Agreed… I had a guy sell me EXPIRED software and had no interest in refunding me. His reply was that if I hadn’t checked up on it I would never know it was expired. Wrong – I simply wouldn’t have known until it was too late to dispute it with eBay. He ended up both paying for return shipping, and refunding me. The system worked. I lost nothing.
Nice Nancy

For the most part I’ve had good experiences as both a buyer and a seller. But, once I sold a very expensive, rare Halloween costume to a woman, who didn’t pay and kept making excuses as to why she couldn’t pay. “Oh please hold it, my poor little Jacob will be soooo disappointed…”When I was finally able to report her as non-payment the season has ended,.
Another seller, wouldn’t ship a huge lot of GI Joe’s (After I paid) because she realized I got an excellent deal. Once again excuses, “My husband has chicken pox” So???? Finally, I reported her and she shipped it and then gave ME a bad rating and I couldn’t retract it.
- James
  
  A seller cannot leave a bad rating. That is part of the problem. As a Top Power Seller, and having over 35,000 feedback, you are often blackmailed by the fear of negative feedback from buyers who know how to work the system.
  - Notorious
    
    That’s a good thing…all we need are sellers selling damaged, incomplete, misrepresented, and/or Chinese contraband, then wanting the ability to retaliate against a buyer with negative feedback because they themselves knew they were likely to receive negative feedback from the crap they were selling!!!
    
    I always communicate with the seller about any problems prior to leaving feedback because if it’s an issue that can be resolved, I don’t believe in damaging a seller’s reputation through feedback!!!
    
    There are buyers that will not try to resolve an issue, and leave negative feedback right away…I don’t agree with this!!!
    
    If you’re an honest seller, who always properly represents their products, and always ensures a worry-free transaction, you have nothing to worry about!!!
    - James
      
      I agree that it is needed. But the discussion was about eBay Merchant Support being worthless pretty much. When a buyer does not try to communicate with the seller, they should not be allowed to leave negative feedback. Also, eBay should be able to go through communication, and look and see that a prompt refund was given as well as courteous friendly responses and other steps were taken to appease the customer, and the customer just likes to be negative. There are always those customers, and eBay needs to take the side of the seller sometimes. After all, the better the sellers eBay experience, the more money they spend with eBay. But eBay seems more interested in trying not to give us the 20% discount than it actually does protecting the seller against blackmail. You are a buyer, not a seller based off of your response so of course you think all sellers are potentially evil without eBay giving the buyers 100% of their money back and letting them keep the product every time there is an issue.
      
      Merchant Support sent me this in response to a customer who was blocked by me for breaking eBay policy several times, so they got a new user ID to buy from me, “I know it is frustrating to try and resolve an issue for a customer but by bending over backwards you create a memorable experience even if the ideal resolution isn’t reached. I will report the buyer’s for going around your bidder/buyer block list.” If only eBay would take their own advice as I am a $600,000 a year customer to them.
      
      The reason I am all over merchant support is because of a situation I had last year where a guy bought 40 parts from me at 1 time and paid for half of them, then wanted me to ship the other items over seas and he would pay COD. When I would not do that, he left negative feedback on the 20 items he paid for before he even received them, and eBay said “that is his opinion, he did not break ebay policy.” Coincidentally, he did break eBay policy because in the email he stated that he would leave negative feedback if we didn’t follow his demands. This also kept us from getting a 20% discount from eBay over the next 3 months and made ebay about $25,000 more dollars off of us.
      
      I am an honest seller, and I have a lot of experience on this subject. eBay needs to support sellers more was my point. Allowing sellers to leave negative feedback can potentially be a problem so I agree it is not the solution.

tammy

buy at discount store to sell??? the fees for ebay have gone way up…including you have to pay a fee on the shipping cost…can’t make any money here

Dennis

There are literally millions of things out there available to sell on ebay. I find things all day long, and rarely ever pay more than $5 per item. I sell all day long to collectors and buyers with deep pockets, and it is typical for me to make 1,000 – 10,000% profit (markup) on each item I list. Just for comparison, if I buy something for $1 and sell it for $2, that is a 100% markup. Buying for $1 and selling for $11 is 1,000% markup, and buying for $1 and selling for $100 is a 9900% markup. Sounds impossible, but I’ve been selling like this forever.
MM

Yes, it’s unfortunate there are fees on shipping costs as shipping costs keep increasing every year, many times costing more than the item itself. But that is because of sellers in the past selling items for .99 cents and charging $50.00 or more for shipping to avoid paying fees for shipping and making a huge profit off a shipping payment.

davebray

I don’t sell on Ebay, but on Amazon. My stock is entirely books. LPs and sheet music. No matter how “good” things are said to be, sales have not been nearly as good as they were since before everybody and their mother got into the game. It’s miserable competing against huge book storage units that contain millions of titles, whose owners sell anything for only a penny only to make their money on postage.

William Hofmeister

Online selling and buying is a two way street. For the seller it opens your customer base from the old brick and mortar walk in traffic to world wide coverage. Many more customers. For buyers, the competition often gives you a lower price than you get walking into the antique store and finding that one in a million item. It also saves a lot of walking. I do have a question for you sellers though. Every once in a while I find an item on Amazon, not ebay, that sells for ridiculous amounts of money. Sometimes it is a $10 item someone has listed for $1000. I always wonder what scam is up with that? On the other end, I’ll see a book or DVD for $0.39 or something equally cheap, and that includes shipping. I can never understand why that happens.
mshafer

Tell me about selling sheet music. I have BOXES of my mother’s old sheet music. (still need to go through most of it)

JB

The title should be “Things I collect and want to sell on ebay once I raise awareness of them.

Reincarnated FF

I was a so called “power seller” at one time, but left Ebay due to their asinine rules and expenses. I never looked back. I can’t wait for them to disappear. Amazon is much much better.

Debra Matthies

ebay is no longer the trusted place to sell. Seller beware – it’s about the buyer now.They decide they aren’t happy and ebay sides them no questions asked. Think twice before selling here. It is NOT the ebay it used to be.

Dennis

Not necessarily. I’ve won many cases when the buyer has allegedly been dissatisfied with a purchase for whatever reason. My listings are written in such a manner as to literally force the buyer to know what he is buying, to know that he has every opportunity to ask questions or to request additional pictures of the item beforehand, etc., etc. If the buyer does not take advantage of these opportunities, then I can make my case that the buyer should have known what it was he was buying before clicking Buy-It-Now. In other cases, I say that the buyer is buying the item as-is, and that returns are only acceptable if I, the seller, have made an egregious error in the listing. In any case, before I make any refund whatsoever, I insist that the item is returned back to me in the same condition as it was when it left my hands. If it arrives back to me damaged or clearly was switched by an unscrupulous buyer, I can fare better with ebay customer support . Ebay decides about 80% of all buyer-initiated claims in my favor because of all the safeguards I put in place to protect me.
- John Crippen
  
  I need a good article on how to write up something like that. Have a few things to sell (not making a business) but want to cover my…self
d n springfield

Respectfully, yes it would be obvious and great to still bomb the jerk bidders with deserved negative feedback, BUT, I have seen that eBay does try to help both sides. From the filters a seller can use for bidders to the eBay resolution center, they are trying to manage an unbelievable task of overseeing 10′s of
millions of unknown faceless members with innumerable opinions,
perspectives, interpretations, etc.

What I personally have seen is this. We listed a pair of modern/current pair of gently used designer jeans and measured carefully and quite accurately all respective measurements (we’ve been using ebay since 1997). In our description we mentioned that any and all questions and concerns should be addressed and answered BEFORE bidding.

Of course, person buys the jeans and upon receipt, looks at the “vanity”* size on the tag and tells us what size she wears and how the jeans are not her size. That auction mentioned to read the actual measurements.
*”vanity” sizes are not true historic standard sizes but rather the 20-30 year old revamped make the American Market feel better about our larger bodies sizing (including us-so everyone read in context
and save the hate). Which is why European and many other foreign sizing has remained consistent while American sizing has ben altered-that is except wiht certain tailoring standards most notably in wedding dress sizing (their sizing seems to remain true to historical standards) American vintage clothing mostly is aligned with historical sizing and modern people are shocked at what true size they actually wear.

We explain to her that a refund, as stated in the description, is possible only if the item or measurements are grossly inaccurate. To restate, we have done thousands and thousands of auctions and were sure to measure to the closest 1/8 inch. Nevertheless, she goes wild butt on us and is cursing us out etc through various ebay messages. (Which brings up another point-always correspond with bidders/sellers ONLY through eBay which eBay can peer into and review and police) We refrained from going off on her and instead made 3-4 attempts to reach an understanding and then simply turned her over to eBay, by reporting her and her abusive actions and tone. We never heard another word, she didn’t give us a negative feedback (which I think eBay explains is a by-product of a dispute case, they prevent either parties from using feedback on the other) and eBay didn’t make us: refund, repay them, do anything. They nipped it in the bud.

Yes it’s more tedious at times but they really are trying to find a middle ground. Do I miss being able to blast a lying bidder? Of course, but frankly I have too much going on in life for some moron to give me a heart attack or stress me too much. Hope you hear my tone is meant to help, not put you down nor discount your opinion.
Anne

I sympathize with sellers who have been scammed. BUT…as someone who has bought on Ebay for 14 years, I can tell you that “the Ebay that used to be” was heavily-biased in favor of sellers. Ebay supposedly tried to rectify this, but now the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction. I wish that they’d find a happy medium. Meanwhile, what auction sites are good to go to sell one’s things?

Sandy Rich

It’s great if you have “A Good Eye” meaning that you can instantly size up an item at a flea market or thrift store and know whether money can be made on it. It takes experience. It’s is better to specialize and learn everything about your area that you can, and have a smart phone to look things up before you shell out a big investment. As one comment suggested, look up sold prices on ebay to see what the item last sold for not what people are trying to get on current auctions. The other thing is that if you don’t know what an item is or you don’t know if it is gold, don’t try to get away with saying it is or implying it is. That only leads to unhappy buyers and a poor reputation. For instance, if you buy a brooch at a flea market and the flea market seller says it’s gold, don’t take it and put it on ebay unless it is marked gold or you have it tested by a jeweler. Don’t trust a seller who says he tested it with your reputation. You may have just been taken in, and if you resell and say it has been tested, it had better be gold because that is the same as theft in the jewelry business. Don’t call things antique unless they really are antiques. That means 100 years old. You can call something vintage if it is between 20 and 100 years old. If it isn’t 20 years old or more, it’s just USED! So, you should specialize in something that interests you. Keep it small so that packing and shipping is easy, and try something where there are examples of that area still available such as action figures or vintage linens. And when you stand in front of the item at a flea market, ask yourself: How much do I need to resell this for to make it worth my investment and my time? Who is going to purchase it? Will it photograph well? and one more good question: Why hasn’t someone else bought it? Buying and selling is a complicated business and half of the people are using deceptive or mildly deceptive techniques to part you from your money. If they know what they have and it is so valuable, why aren’t they selling it on Ebay? So in spite of these articles, unless uyou are just selling a few of your own items, buying items for resale is a time consuming and costly business unless you have done a lot of research or already have knowledge in a specific area such as a life-long collection. It’s a great way to dispose of those terrific finds you happen upon once in a while if you are a thrifter but it if start focusing on it to try to make a living, remember that you will be in competition with hundreds if not thousands of others who have been in the business for years.

Olga O. Pina

I recently purchased a ‘wooden doll’ at a store and it turned out it was a Kachina Doll from the 20s. Hopi village label was still on it. I ended up selling it for $750.00. Also I purchased a silver, signed pin for $35.00 and sold it for $1800.00 after finding out that this was a premier artist from the 20s…

annie

1st edition

Grammar nazis

You don’t have to know how to read em to make money off em
Florence Millard

You took the words right out of my fingers!
- mad
  
  Of course, in today’s world, money is all that matters. Forget spelling, forget grammar, let’s just be greedy. No need to go to school either. Won’t get you a job.
  - Matthews John
    
    what you just posted is funny because the pursuit of education is usually done to get a better job making more money so wouldnt that be an act of greed using your logic?
    - Dana
      
      That stuff people go and get the piece of paper for, that’s not an actual education, because as soon as they have the piece of paper they forget 2/3rds of it.
    - linbodin
      
      I agree degree’s like temperatures go up and down
    - Jehovah Jones
      
      Perhaps in your world an education has such a narrow function. If so, you should probably try to broaden your horizons a bit.

Lora

I would also like to add if you are terminating a cell phone contract that had expired with Verizon, check if it’s unlimited grandfathered. I sold mine for 331 dollars.

Badger BadgerBadger

Oh god… that’s YOU?

BuckNeccid

One thing that I’ve never seen mentioned, but is one of the most valuable tools I’ve found on e-Bay is the “completed item” list. On the left side of the search, there are options to refine your search, and one of those is listing only completed items. Red prices are items that did not sell at asking or beginning price, Black are items that didn’t get one bid, and green prices are the ones that actually sold, and the price it brought. Regardless of how many times you see an item listed asking $100 or whtever, it’s meaningless unless the item actually sold. If you see that item in completed listings, say several that sold @ $40 instead of the asked for $100, then you know that people on average are actually willing to pay the $40 price and that gives a truer idea of the value than any expert, book, or price guide.

Marly Duran

I’ve never sold on ebay, but I’ve bought things from ebay sellers and I couldn’t be happier with my experience. Everything I’ve purchased (more than 60 items) has met or exceeded my expectations. And I’m talking about a wide variety of things. From new items like watches & jewelry to used clothing and polished stones in bulk. Besides the quality of the goods, all the sellers have been super nice & easy to work with.

Delores Smith

Don’t be fooled by this article. Not everything that is listed on ebay will sell. Even the Disney items will be unsold. Many people have the same idea and list the same items that they found at a discount price thinking it will sell like hotcakes on ebay. It’s the one-of-a-kind, hard to find items that can fetch a good price but sometimes not even those items get a high bid. Ebay is very unpredictable. There are no guarantees.

Darryl Phillips

Agreed. When looking, check the box for sold items and see what did and didn’t and at what price.

jj

Comments always turn into a pissing contest…. pathetic

http://www.thefoxnation.com/ keltic1

100 people = 100 different views, nothing new.
http://www.thefoxnation.com/ keltic1

No two people think alike on every subject. Makes life interesting.

SellYourSoulToEbay

Okay, all you eBay bashers, how about giving us a REASONABLE alternative to eBay, one where our items will sell and fetch a decent amount? I have sold about 100 items on eBay and I have a lot of problems with eBay — mostly it gets way too complicated with a zillion options for everything and customer service blows — but I don’t know a better option.

1984isnow

Try finding a local list site. We have one in my area that is outstanding. Dealing with people in your area, and no other parties involved. The one I participated in is very active.

owise

I’ve sold quite a few personal items on eBay. Starting every auction off at .99 is a little daunting at times. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. But in either case I got something for it, which is better than nothing. I for one have no idea what the general public is willing to pay for an item at any given time. Although I use all the tools provided me, getting a certain price for an item is at best just a guessing game. I use eBay because it’s easier than setting up at the flea market, or holding a yard sale. I get more people looking at my items on eBay than I do at flea markets or yard sales, and I don’t have to deal with the rude “I’ll give you $1 for it, or I’ve got one at home in better condition” people that seem to frequent such places. I don’t mind doing business with a +1 new seller because I once was a +1 seller, and at 296 feed back, I’m hardly a power seller! I do eBay for fun, and some extra cash. I personally feel that a power seller with 100% feedback is working extremely hard for that feedback, and worth investing in. Reading Feedback is important too! A lot can be learned about a buyer, and a seller. Do the research and become a better eBuyer, or eSeller, you stand a better chance at not “getting ripped off!” HAPPY BIDDING!

Sidney

Craigslist is the best. Get paid in cash in person. Always do the transaction in the parking lot of a major store to be safe. No greedy ebay or paypal robbing you either.

Marly Duran

It comes from years of correcting my kids, I have a lot of them. But the plus side is~ one of them is going to Magic Mountain for being at the top in his school, and they’ve all gotten awards in school. I suppose I could lighten up now.

Habs4Eva

You’re wrong that a swimsuit won’t sell in January — you’ll probably do better then than in May, with people going off as snowbirds or on cruises.

Calvin Vickery

In my opinion eBay has seen it’s day. Time to move on. I sell on local lists in my hometown and pay no one for the right to do so. You can have an idea what will sell but you really never know. You can call me: A used to be eBay seller, but no longer and life is easier.

Marsha

this list is silly it may be what people are watching but buying??? I don’t sell but I watch lol and I see as DLB said these areas are saturated…they may not be copies or reproductions as they suggest but they are pretty much worthless even as originals…seriously, one Disney pin for 99 cents- 2$?, or get 25 for 12$, or 50 for 25$ (can you imagine the amount of $ that was spent on the Disney tickets to collect them to begin with save that instead and not go lol)will NOT make you big bucks as suggested it’s hardly paying the mailing price…

michelle

I used to sell on eBay, but as a casual seller. I would get rid of things I didn’t need and cover the original costs. Now, though, eBay charges the same percentage as Christie’s! True, my amount if less since I’m not selling $10,000 items, but when I am selling a small item, 10% + the 3% Pay Pal fees is more than I end up making. At this point, I am down to selling 1 or 2 items a year. The days of avoiding a garage sale with eBay are over.

Ronald Zuprin

Ironically, you can’t sell “hot cakes” on eBay.

Told U So

EBAY IS DEAD at least the concept is down the toilet. Used to be fun to pick out items and bid. Even had bidding wars going on at the count down.. Thats just about all gone as no one sells with that spirit any more. Anything you look for now is for all the money they can get. 9 times out of 10 I find better deals on Amazon.

nydiation

Are You Kidding Me?? Reading a simple email about ebay and beanie babies today turns into a massive political conversation about what’s “wrong” or “right” with our country? That my friends, is All I need to know that something is seriously wrong…with all of us. Instead of working together to build a better America, we resort to petty arguments and childish remarks towards each other. When people turn on each other, in any country, (everywhere you look), that is the BIG problem. I share many of the opinions here, on both sides, but…..”a house divided” is the first sign that we are in for trouble. History shows us that “splintering off” and picking sides is the first sign of unrest, then labels and buttons and flags (Oh My!), aggressive protests, violent behavior, and yes, finally….anarchy. It is imperative that we find common goals in order to turn this around. “History repeats itself” is much more than a cliche’ ….. it is happening, and it is happening to All of Us, and happening NOW. Wake up America, wake up (those with common sense), those who really care about living in a country that we can All be proud of. Where are my moderate friends who see that it takes working together, to find real solutions? And, at the very least, allow all of us to continue in our own “pursuit of happiness,” whatever form that takes for each one of us. Where to find folks like me, who want to save this country, but are frustrated and tired of all the useless rhetoric and arguing? Is it possible that we have a new, and more clueless return of the “Silent Majority?” Wake up Americans, wake up everyone, from Every walk of life…..or this dream will soon become a nightmare.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
~Edmund Burke

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.
~Dr. Seuss

Victor Calamity

Good heavens, man! What are you talking about? This is an article about selling items on eBay, not the rise and fall of the American Empire!

gaga257

I’m also a “Power Seller” on eBay and I too find this article really dated. People want stuff and the stuff they want changes almost daily. There is a huge Lemming Reflex when it comes to bidding and sometimes folks are more carried away with beating the bids of others so they keep bidding when prices no longer constitute a good buy.

People tend to spend way too much and sometimes Sellers get lucky with 2 or more Buyers who bid against each other for the same item; that’s where the real money is on eBay, if you have anything left over after the PayPal-eBay Conglomerate rips into your auction income to the tune of 20 to 25% of your Net; they put quite a bite on their Dealers’ profits.
I started dealing in Lionel model trains but found that Lionel is just as bad as eBay; Lionel continually jacks up their prices and all their modern train stuff is junk made in China. Lionel also continually re-introduces copies of train cars and locomotives from the past which can really confuse collectors, bidders and dealers alike.
Your best bet with Lionel and eBay auctions is to Do Your Homework and Know What You’re Bidding On before you bid; use Google to look up Lionel & Marx trains & toys online which will give you the current value on these items.

I have switched to Prewar (WWII) to 1960s Marx Tinplate and Plastic Model Trains & Toys because the interest in these American Made toys is really building and many of these little toy items can fetch thousands of dollars at auction.
Good Luck and Good Bidding to you all!
John George
North Carolina

Albert Strickland

Ebay the name conjures up unpleasant feeling… I was twice taken advantage of buying things that didn’t work…never again. Lightning struck my house in 2011
all my appliances were fried. I set out my Technics Multi CD player along with the amplifer and low and below a few weeks later I saw the exact items appearing on Ebay…

Theda

I was really interested in helpful tips on selling online, not a host of political views. Anybody got a prediction on futures for Fostoria coin glass, McCoy and other pottery, vintage jewelry and clothes?

Mcflyer54

The best thing to do is research the sale history of items you might be interested in selling. The market is truly one of supply and demadnd and it fluctuates. Predictions for many items are really nothing more than guesses – sometimes good but sometimes bad. I’ve had items that in the past has literally flown out the door – I couldn’t get them fast enough. A couple of those items now are worth less than 1/10th of what I was selling them for less than 2 years ago. You also have to realize that many of the outlets that used to be good sources for resale (ebay/Amazon) items are now selling online themselves and are no longer offering prices low enough that someone else can afford to buy from the for resale. If you items are truly collectible (or unique) you should be able to market them at a nice profit. However, if they were mass produced (example: collectible plates) then unless you have something really really rare you won’t get back what you originally paid if you bought retail. If you have really valuable items then you might want to look at an auction house rather than online sales – an auction house offers many advantages over online sales for better quality collectibles.

Mcflyer54

I’ve been on ebay since 1998 and a selling coach for a local non-profit, The first thing I tell potential sellers is “Know what you sell and sell what you know”. You’d be amazed at the number of people who don’t know their merchandise well enough to provide a fair and accurate description and then they are angry when they get complaints, returns and negative feedback. Also, before you attempt to sell an item have some idea of what will be involved (materials, cost and proper packing) with shipping your item and set your price accordingly. I know there are many who disagree but I don’t advise ever listing an item for less than the absolute lowest price you are willing to accept should you only receive a single bid. Ebay has drastically changed the collectible marketplace – many items that once were in great demand and commanding good prices are now frequently (due to ebay and Amazon) readily available and in great supply and their resale value has dropped. As others have stated, it is wise to do some research before starting to sell, keep notes, track similar items and sellers offering them, and don’t be afraid to use the ebay seller forum if you have questions or just want information.

Bill Dennis

World commemorative coins from other countries will get you 10 fold your ROI. US is the melting pot and folks will bid 3 x the value to get a piece of the old country.

Dana

Years ago I decided to list my old Charmkins toys on eBay. I searched beforehand and found that hardly anyone was selling them. It touched off a bidding war and I wound up with over a hundred bucks which I then went on to use to buy textbooks, as I was going back to school.

My other really good listing was a Dukes of Hazzard board game dating from the 1980s. At the time I spotted it at Goodwill, all I was thinking was “wow, this is vintage now, hope it has all the pieces.” I was vaguely aware of the DoH movie coming out but didn’t think much about it. Paid less than $5 for the game, got over $17 back. Doesn’t sound like much but you don’t get that good of a return on the stock market most days.

squirrelly

My husband always said “it’s better to be the Joneses then try to keep up with them”……which meant “don’t try to live over your means”…great piece of advice..and great for peace of mind…..

Sewpyro

eBay has been a great way for me to make money with very little effort!
I’ve been a seller since 1998 myself and “power seller” status for a time.
I’ve tried other sites over the years but even with the fee’s and the changes and volume of massive crap on sale … I’ve sold everything from pond plants to vintage cars it’s been a great run! I took a break and now I’m back selling designer bags , collectables and whatever I feel is worthy of posting !
I love the frizzy of the auction action watching my item raise in price is so exciting! Hit or miss you never know!
Fabulous Photo’s is a must and as many as you can! And knowledge is king!
know what you have and sell what you love, description is also crustal tell the truth! I have one had one negative feedback only because the buyer was a jerk even after I sent his $8 bucks back and told him to keep the item he ranted on my profile! You just cant please some people!
Sell what you have first ! Clean out your stuff perhaps help your mom clean her garage … treasure lurks every where!
Make it your passion and post fabulous ads!
Just keep posting…. something is going to sell!
I find if I post like things in groups this helps sales… or “lots” of like things if they have small value. People love a deal so start fair with pricing ….
Forget reserve option that stupid! Start you ad with the lowest price you willing to take and the rest is frosting baby! First bid its sold! then hope for some other bidder to jump in that’s when It gets fun! $$$$$
I know it works ! I Love eBay! It’s so easy now back in the beginning it was much harder to post ads now is simple user friendly! I’m setting up a local consignment shop with an eBay store and sell for others for a small percentage.
Now PayPal frustrates the you know what out of me…. holding my money for weeks esp. when I sell designer bags …rrrrr
But in the end I always get paid! but seriously PayPal gees oh!
eBay works if you work it!
Happy Selling & Bidding

jtsgirl

For those asking where to sell besides eBay. I was an eBay seller for years. Often drop shipping from Amazon. Then I decided to sell on Amazon. Opened a store and amazing. So much better than eBay and fees are more reasonable. Seller central is better laid out. I drop ship from a lot of companies. Amazon also sets the shipping fees. If it cost you less then you made a little extra. I love Amazon. Last 2 years I had sales of $42,000 and $56,000. I’m just a mom at her computer. I do lots of research and spend about 3 to 4 hours a day at this.It has paid off and it’s fun.

http://batman-news.com PMM

What irritates the e-life out of me is that if there is some disagreement about a sale, there is no way to defend yourself with eBay. I bought a “Pandora” bracelet ON eBAY and decided it wasn’t the right color. I relisted it as used and the Pandora people claimed it was a knock off. Well heck, I bought it on eBay so who knew? In spite of that, I got a ding from eBay. They wouldn’t accept any explanation from me. I had 1500 positive, glowing feedbacks…never anything negative…never a problem with a transaction.
If there is a problem with a transaction, they give the seller no opportunity to defend him/herself. I am done with eBay.

Eric

This is 100% my gripe with Ebay. I sold an old WORKING Sega CD with about 40 games for roughly $500. Provided the tracking, shipped quickly, and left positive feedback. About a month later, I get a dispute email from Ebay, saying that the buyer reported that it was not working, and that it had been sitting on their back porch for two weeks while they were away on vacation. How was that MY problem? I told them to send everything back, and I will refund the money. They wanted to keep the games, send me the system back, and get a full refund. After two months, I finally got my money. Ebay sides with the buyer far too often, so I only sell a few things when free listings are promoted….

DCR1

Great deal, a lot of items are found in this manner, in fact the worlds largest emerald was found at a yard sale! I received an Alice through the looking glass first addition at a yard sale as well as where the wild things are, and two beautifully crocheted baby’s outfits in a pattern I have not seen done in years., all of this in one box marked $5.00. At a previous yard sale I purchased a Prada hand bag for $3.00, another fetched me an antique musical liquor decanter, I know personally of its antiquity because I know of musical components, used to work in the field lucky for me, it cost me a dollar. At this same yard sale the lady allowed me to purchase a tangerine sunflower shaped carnival glass bowl for $.25, she said she sold me the items at those ridiculous prices because she knew I would take care of them, and I have, all of them as they are properly displayed in my home!

HarryTheCat

One of the latest “hot” items on eBay is the vintage safety razor, but you have to know what you’re doing. If you can find a late 50s/early 60s Gillette “Fat Boy” with the adjustment dial on the top of the handle it might go for around $150. The rarer version, with the dial on the bottom of the handle, may bring ten times that amount or more. Others of similar vintage may not be collectible, and are just viewed as junk. People not only collect these things, but there is also a movement back to double-edge shaving that has people buying and using them. Who’da thunk it?

sirernestbarker

How come they can’t they just put the list on one page?

Catherine Gabriel

Interesting… I should check this out

Cece

Do you have a good resource for valuing first editions? Would you consider sharing?

Cathy Roylance

I also have a First Edition and would love to have it looked at for the Value, Should you get an answer to this post I would appreciate It if you would share as well.

Duke

Ebay in my opinion is a rip off and worse… that is right WORSE!

JON KONIK

guitar guitars and more guitars guitar will always be a hot seller

CharityLove

I’ve sold on eBay since 1996 and I’m a Power Seller and Top Rated Seller with 100% positive feedback rating. Yes, there are fees, politics, and all kinds of issues that can get you down if you let them, but I’ve made so much money on eBay that it’s been worth everything. There is no way I could get the kind of money for items at a garage sale that I get for them on eBay. It’s saved me from having to get a part-time job when my business slowed due to the recession. At least it pays the bills. But the bottom line is to do your homework. Take good pics, provide a complete and honest description, set a reasonable price, and ship quickly.

Shawna Mathews

Totally agree that its a seasonal thing that you have to hit just right or you miss out. For example: The newest Spiderman movie just came out a few weeks ago, at that same time Gamestop was releasing The Amazing Spiderman limited edition comics with a Gamestop exclusive cover, you could only “purchase” one from Gamestop using 6000 powerup reward points. At that time they were a week from being released and were spotted selling on eBay for upwards of $850. I had enough points to get 2 copies but by the time Gamestop actually released the comics and sent them out the demand had passed and suddenly that $850 was down to $100 or less…. I just sold one of the 2 copies I had for $67…

Justwantedtosay2

No one is buying stuffed animals! You can’t even give them away to thrift stores anymore, everyone already has tons that they don’t want! Bad info. Honesty does not happen often online!

EmpressL

Bought a Barbie Doll for $30 and it’s now worth $300.