Another approach is to use ebay....

Hi Gordon,

Another option to avoid having people come around to your place is to use ebay.... I'm selling on ebay regularly nowadays, and I'm having a good time doing it. :)

If you decide to do it regularly, you can then join a service like www.auctionworks.com to automate much of the process (and free up some of your time).

Anyhow, this is another alternative way to "chattel" without having to have strangers come to your house.... Plus, your market is not limited to your locality, but your market is really the world! I'm here in Australia, but I've sold stuff to customers in the USA and to the UK through ebay....

By the way, certain regions have certain unique items which are hard to get in other places. These are often great items for ebay, since people who REALLY want those items yet can't get them where they are living, will bid higher in order to obtain them. If there are quite unique items in your area, which are hard to get in many other places, then selling on ebay is a good way to go....

For example, I've seen one guy in Las Vegas who seems to only sell memorabilia he gets from Las Vegas hotels and casinos. You can probably think of unique items from your area that are hard to get elsewhere, which others might want (even if it is a niche market)....

Another interesting area is clothing. A lot of people are successfully selling clothing on ebay (both new and second-hand).... If you know something about clothing, this could be a good area to go into. (Unfortunately, I don't know a thing about clothing, but I've noticed all the successful and seemingly profitable clothing auctions on ebay, since I'm regularly hunting around for new opportunities....)

- Dien Rice

Here's another "localized" opportunity I remember seeing on ebay....

I saw an auction a few months ago where a guy was selling a local newspaper! I think the guy was in Brisbane, Australia, and he was selling a copy of Brisbane's daily newspaper, The Courier Mail.

But what made this newspaper "sellable" was that it had a big picture of the Irish pop music band "the Corrs" on the front page, because of a concert they were giving in Brisbane. He sold it on ebay with a listing targeted at "Corrs" fans, and some "Corrs" fan somewhere around the world bought it! If I remember right, they paid several times what a new newspaper would have cost....

While this guy probably won't get rich from selling these low-priced items, it shows that there's value where you might not expect it. If your local paper or magazine has a picture of a celebrity on the front cover, it could be a "collectable" to fans of that celebrity, especially if it's hard for them to get that newspaper or magazine otherwise, because it's a local publication.

There are opportunities everywhere.... I think some great opportunities for selling on ebay come from finding something local and unique, and selling it elsewhere....

- Dien Rice

Hi Dien,

Those are both good ideas. I live in S Florida so am brainstorming on this because there is no way I'd have a stranger come to my house in this area!

There is a huge swap shop and I know of someone who makes his living buying things there and reselling on ebay though I am not sure what he is reselling. I guess I need to go there , copy down prices and then check ebay.

I assume a scanner is important so that will be my next investment.

I also noticed that Yahoo now has a Warehouse section. Does anyone know how that ranks in popularity? It seems to be for used items I believe though I see people selling new items there.

Debbie


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Hi Debbie,

> There is a huge swap shop and I know of
> someone who makes his living buying things
> there and reselling on ebay though I am not
> sure what he is reselling. I guess I need to
> go there , copy down prices and then check
> ebay.

Yes, actually this is what I do. I carry 3"x5" index cards and a pen with me wherever I go. If I see something that might have potential, I write down what it is and what price it's selling for. Then, when I'm back home, I check ebay. I do a search, then after searching you can click on "Completed Items" (listed under the search box, after you've done a search). Clicking on that will bring up the CLOSED auctions. Looking at the closed auctions is often better than looking at the open ones, since you can see what the item sold for in the end, and how many bids it got (was there a lot of demand for it?).

If you've found a successful auction, you can also look at how the person designed their auction (title, category, etc.), and model your auction on their already successful one.

> I assume a scanner is important so that will
> be my next investment.

Yes, I use both a digital camera and a scanner. However, if you have a scanner you can of course take normal photos and then scan the normal photos in with your scanner.

If you don't have either, you may be able to use a scanner for a fee (at places like Kinko's or some other similar type of service).... I haven't looked into this, but I suspect you probably can do it this way too (but I'm not sure how cheap or expensive it is).

You can also list your auctions without a photo, but for most items a photo seems to help the sale a lot.

> I also noticed that Yahoo now has a
> Warehouse section. Does anyone know how that
> ranks in popularity? It seems to be for used
> items I believe though I see people selling
> new items there.

I didn't know about that, thanks Debbie, I'll check it out. :)

And you don't have to stick with second-hand items. Many people sell new items on ebay (including me). Liquidated stock are good possibilities if you can buy them cheaply enough, or if you can find a local manufacturer of UNIQUE items, you may be able to buy those wholesale and resell them on ebay regularly for a profit.... If you can do this, you'll have a regular income coming in, without having to keep looking for new stuff to resell, because you'll have a regular supply. It partly depends on what you like to do.... :)

- Dien Rice

Thanks Dien,

My problem is I'm not a consumer (ie I avoid malls whenever I can) so I'm really not good with
pricing things or knowing what people like. But
I like the idea of the index cards and I should try a few Sundays going through there and then comparing to completed items. A few years ago I did make some customized stress reduction tapes for people but it took a lot of work because they'd email me about their situation (I'm a therapist) and I'd tape something specifically for them.

I like the idea of following the papers too because there is a lot of news in S Florida of residents that are well known. Thanks.

Debbie


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> If you decide to do it regularly, you can
> then join a service like
> www.auctionworks.com to automate much of
> the process (and free up some of your time).

Dien,

Are you using AuctionWorks? If so, how do you like it?

JDB


Just Released! "Online Auction Basics 2002"

> Are you using AuctionWorks? If so, how do
> you like it?

Hi JDB,

Yes, I'm using AuctionWorks ( www.auctionworks.com ), and I love it!

It's most powerful if you're sell the same thing over and over.... For example, if you have a lot of the same thing, or if you're selling your own product.

Why I like it is that it can automate listings, so if you have many of the same thing, you could list it every day of the week (if you want), or only every Monday and Thursday, for example. Or list item A every Tuesday and Wednesday, item B every Wednesday and Sunday, and item C every Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday....

Also, notification email is automated, so the auction winners get notified automatically with your payment instructions. AuctionWorks automatically detects the final amount, and adds your shipping charge etc.

Anyhow, I've found it's streamlined my ebay activities quite significantly. :)

I recommend giving the trial period a shot, to see if it would help you or not.... I've found it increases significantly the number of auctions I can "handle" at one time, which of course means more profits. :)

- Dien