eBay To The Rescue
Let me tell you from personal experience, eBay can bail you out of a financial jam.
A few years ago I found myself out of work and not able to make house or car payments, so in desperation I pulled out my flatbed scanner and some old postcards, scanned the postcards, and put them up for auction on eBay. I was hoping to make at least $300. To my surprise, I raked in far more than that — enough money to keep my house out of foreclosure, and saved my car from the repo man.
The best things to sell on eBay are items that you already own, because — obviously — that will give you the highest profit margin. Everyone has stuff in boxes, somewhere, that they haven’t looked at in years. The question is, can you live without it? And will someone else want it?
If it’s small, lightweight, and collectible, the answer is probably YES.
Small and lightweight are logical factors. Most items sold via eBay will have to go through the mail. The buyer will have to add the shipping costs in with what they’re willing to pay you, and the higher the shipping, the less they will be willing to bid. Vintage items such as old postcards, vinyl records, and books are highly portable. Another factor is, how sturdy is the item? If it’s fragile, it will cost more to ship because you’ll have to package it better. The bottom line is, it’s easier to sell a book than a set of china on eBay. Save the old china for a garage sale, or Craigslist.com.
The other key is demand. Is your stack of items rather rare? Is there a hardcore group of people out there obsessively collecting them? If the answer is yes, then you may be sitting on a gold mine you didn’t even know you had.
Personally, I had three gold mines: antique postcards, old vinyl records in pristine condition, and old hardbound books by the science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. I’d been collecting Dick’s works for 20 years, and several of the books netted hundreds of dollars a piece. I was sad to see them go, but then again, they helped keep a roof over my head and a car in the garage for nearly 7 months.
Other items that seem to sell well are antique clocks, watches, memorabilia, jewelry, toys, and/or just about anything that’s portable and collectible. Also, oddly enough, clothes sell very well on eBay, especially things like Levi jeans. I know someone in California who brings in a good extra income just by picking up old clothes at garage sales and selling them on eBay.
So, ask yourself, what gold mine do you have hidden in the back of your closet?
This is a reprint of an older article of mine, brought to the top because … well, lets face it. It’s relevant. Looks like hard times may well be ahead for a lot of us.
