Side hustles that suck: ebay

Over the years I’ve made a pretty tidy sum of money selling stuff on ebay. From old clothes and books to electronics and jewelry gifted by ex-boyfriends (not like I was going to keep wearing it after we broke up!) I’ve sold a bunch of stuff.

For a while when I was in college, I was making so much cash my mom was convinced thatwas some sort of illegal activity and she was going to have to bail me out of jail. Oh mama bear, you’re funny!

For several years when ebay was still relatively, “new” and, “unknown”, I was making a few hundred bucks a month buying inexpensive stuff at yard sales and thrift shops and re-selling it. It wasn’t that much work and it worked perfectly with my erratic (staying up late and sleeping in) college schedule.

Although I’m still a frequent buyer on ebay, I don’t do a lot of selling these days. That said, a couple weeks ago I did some, “fall cleaning” and found a few items I no longer needed/wanted. I took some quick photos with my phone and wrote up a few auction descriptions. About an hour later all the auctions were live and I was eagerly waiting for the bidding to begin. Sadly, the bids were exactly, “rolling in” and my overall earnings were pretty slim. That’s when I decided that ebay is a bad side hustle (when you do it, “wrong”).

Here’s how to lose money and mail people items for free (otherwise known as how to be a sucky ebay seller):

1. Sell items that no one wants to buy. There’s a buyer for every type of item, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to find that buyer. I recently sold a blood glucose meter that I got for free with coupons. It was an expensive meter ($40+) at the drug store, but it only received one bid for $10.00. Because I offered “free shipping” I actually I lost money selling it.
2. Sell items buyers can purchase for cheap locally. Some people want to buy things online for convenience (maybe they are home-bound or live in the middle of nowhere), but generally, if you can buy it cheaper and easier at the local drugstore, you probably won’t net much selling it on ebay.
3. Sell items that are heavy and expensive to ship. Depending on the item’s size and weight, shipping can be super expensive. Furniture, big electronics and heavy toiletries aren’t always worth selling (unless you offer local pick up). By the time you pay the shipping, you’ve eaten into all of your profit.
4. Sell items out of season. You might be able to sell that knee length down coat in July, but you’d get a lot more bids if you sell it in December.

Tips for selling on ebay and NOT losing money:

1. Brand names do best. Buyers want designer name brands. If your item is made by a designer use the designer’s name in the title. “Black Donna Karen size 6 party dress” will get more hits (and more bids) then “Black party dress”.
2. Specify the item’s condition in the title. Buyers want to know if the item is “New with tags (NWT)”, “Worn twice”, “Like new” etc.
3. Take good photos and lots of them. Photos speak louder than words. What you might consider, “fair” condition another seller might consider, “good” condition. Let the buyer be the, “judge” by including lots of photos.
4. Set the buyer qualifications to exclude people with no/poor feedback. I ask buyers with no feedback to e-mail me before they bid. If they don’t, I cancel their bids. I’ve had bad experiences with new buyers and buyers with poor feedback. Honestly, it’s not worth your time to deal with buyers who jerk you around. Stick to buyers with great feedback.
5. Have a, “no returns” policy. When I first started selling on ebay, I desperately wanted everyone to be happy, and give me good feedback, so I offered a, “no questions asked” return policy. Unfortunately that was a big mistake and I ended up spending a bunch of money on return shipping, listing fees and paypal fees. Tell your buyers upfront there are no returns so you don’t get stuck with overeager buyers who later experience, “buyer’s remorse”.

Unexpected (weird) “good sellers”

Used bras-yup you read that right. I’ve sold gently used designer bras multiple times with good luck.

Bulk cat treats-bought too many with coupons and they would have expired before the vultures our furries ate them all. I was shocked when they sold for over $20 plus shipping. (I was smart enough to charge for shipping that time!).

Belly button rings-when I was in college I had a pierced belly button and about 15 belly rings (good use of expendable income right? ugg). I sanitized all of them and sold them as a lot for over $50.

Used shoes-I once bought a pair of Dansko clogs on ebay, wore them for several years and then sold them for more money they I paid for them, score!

Have you ever sold items on ebay? Did you make money? What were “good sellers” for you? Did you ever lose any money?