Auction Power Guide

Im 18 and I want to make 250 dollars for a blackberry. What can I sell on ebay to make that much? I know it might take a few months and thats fine. What sells the best?

It doesn’t matter what you sell. As it is often said, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Most everyone collects or wants something or other.

SMALLER ITEMS – sell on eBay
BIG and/or HEAVY items – sell on Craigslist

The thing you want to be aware of with the most popular items is that you will have the MOST COMPETITION from other sellers who sell the same items. To wit, you can’t be competitive and make a decent profit unless you get the best wholesale price to maintain an adequate profit margin. If your opening bid price is higher than other sellers selling the same items, you won’t have many sales.

Other suggestions for items to sell:

Look no further than ebay itself. You will not be looking for single item listings but rather your target will be listings that have similar, grouped items. There are ebay ‘vultures’ who just love to swoop down on similarly grouped items in one listing. When they win these auctions, they turn around and sell the items individually and, in most cases, get one and a half to 2 times and sometimes three times what they paid for them on an average item basis. I know this works. When I had more time (read unemployed), I was one of these ‘vultures.’ This is one of those situations where the parts are worth more than the whole. However, do be cautious if you venture into this arena. You have to know your merchandise. Stay in those areas you are familiar with. You can’t jump in blindly to any and every auction that has grouped items.

If you can buy a large lot of similar merchandise for $100 to $200 and turn it around for $300 to $600, it works out very nicely, indeed! Most buyers of these large lots will be vultures as well so you could be ‘butting bids.’ Keep in mind that the higher the closing price at ebay, the less your profit on the turnaround. It’s not an exact science and it does take a little experience to really know what you’re doing but you can’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is. When I see an auction of grouped items it tells me loud and clear that the seller is far more interested in getting rid of their stuff the quickest, easiest way possible and ‘be done with it’ rather than in making a decent profit or profit at all.

Short of items to sell and where to find items to sell? Garage and yard sales, church bazaars, flea markets are obvious. These can be the cheapest sources of merchandise. ‘Junktique’ shops are not that good because these folks know their merchandise. This being the case, it is usually OVERPRICED, not under priced.

If you want to let your fingers do the walking, you too can be crafty ‘vulture’ like a select group of other ebay sellers. Become a member of several smaller auction sites and search for bargains there. But as before, ‘stick with what you know.’

These smaller auction sites are great for buyers for the same reason they are bad for sellers:

Fewer potential bidders = Less competition = Lower closing prices.

Turn them around on ebay:

The ebay formula:

LARGEST auction site by far = MAXIMUM competition = HIGHER closing prices

There are also volume sellers who concentrate on only a handful of popular items by buying in volume / wholesale at a discount and selling at a discount. The average schmo at eBay can’t compete with volume sellers of a particular item.

GOODWILL sometimes also has good bargains, but not always. Mondays / Tuesdays are the best days to visit Goodwill as most people will drop off their donations on Saturdays and Sundays and it has to be cleaned, sorted and marked before it can be placed on display.

To maximize profits, sell WORLDWIDE, not just one country. A basic business tenet is, ‘The greater the potential market, the greater the potential to maximize profits.’ It’s TRUE! You will now have access to 200+ million members.

GOOD LUCK!

i would really love a coach built pram ive tried ebay and preloved does anyone else know anywhere else or have one to sell?
thanks rhian

Is there such a thing now ?? We had a Marmet coach built pram for our kids as babies in the 1960’s … Silver Cross was the other main make . Cause they were big, had big wheels and didn’t fold up they Were not useable if going out by car etc , So as more people got Cars , they bought collapsible buggies, pushchairs etc. that would fit in the boot of a car . , So the sale of big prams declined . I haven’t seen a mum out with a big pram for many years now , Not sure if the posh families who employ nannies to take the kids out to the park etc, still use big prams now I don’t know … Not been to St. James’s Park in London for years .

What is the cheapest way but yet the most profitable way to go on ebay? doing auctions or just running a store. I have bought some things off ebay and have my paypal account but have never checked out the costs to get setup or how much time it takes. I’d love to hear from sellers on ebay to tell me what they think.

The basic eBay store subscription costs $15.99 a month. One advantage of an eBay store is the insertion fees for store inventory range from $0.05 to $0.10 for a one month listing. You can list multiple quantities of the same item for a single insertion fee. When you compare that with $0.20 to $4.80 for a single standard auction listing, it is a bargain.

The insertion fees may be cheaper, but the final value fee (FVF) charged when an item is sold from an eBay store is significantly higher. The fee is almost double the final value fee of a standard auction. For example, the FVF for a $100 item selling in an eBay store is $7.75. For an auction, the FVF is $3.75. This difference in FVF needs to be factored in when deciding whether to list an item as a store listing or as an auction listing.

The main disadvantage of using an eBay store is the store inventory only appears in the main search results when there are 30 or fewer auctions and fixed-price listings found. This means if you are trying to sell a very popular item in an eBay store, it will not will not be included in the standard search results. This makes it very difficult for buyers to find store items.

An eBay store works best if you have multiple quantities of the same item. The best strategy is to list one unit as an auction and list the rest in the store. When buyers see the auction listing, they may check the other items that are listed for sale by the seller. This list will include items from the seller’s eBay store. Buyers may chose to buy the unit out of your store instead of waiting for the auction to end.

Good Luck,
Bill
Visit http://www.newlifeauctions.com for more eBay tips.

I’m looking into start getting into buying stuff and then selling it on ebay and making a profit. Any good books out there i can read?

Books? I don’t need no stinkin’ books. What you need is common sense coupled with hard work.

It doesn’t matter what you sell. As it is often said, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Most everyone collects or wants something or other.

Actually, you have to look no further than ebay itself. You will not be looking for single item listings but rather your target will be listings that have similar, grouped items. There are ebay ‘vultures’ who just love to swoop down on similarly grouped items in one listing. When they win these auctions, they turn around and sell the items individually and, in most cases, get one and a half to 2 times and sometimes three times what they paid for them on an average item basis. I know this works. When I had more time (read unemployed), I was one of these ‘vultures.’ This is one of those situations where the parts are worth more than the whole. However, do be cautious if you venture into this arena. You have to know your merchandise. Stay in those areas you are familiar with. You can’t jump in blindly to any and every auction that has grouped items.

If you can buy a large lot of similar merchandise for $100 to $200 and turn it around for $300 to $600, it works out very nicely, indeed! Most buyers of these large lots will be vultures as well so you could be ‘butting bids.’ Keep in mind that the higher the closing price at ebay, the less your profit on the turnaround. It’s not an exact science and it does take a little experience to really know what you’re doing but you can’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is. When I see an auction of grouped items it tells me loud and clear that the seller is far more interested in getting rid of their stuff the quickest, easiest way possible and ‘be done with it’ rather than in making a decent profit or profit at all.

Short of items to sell and where to find items to sell? Garage and yard sales, church bazaars, flea markets are obvious. These can be the cheapest sources of merchandise. ‘Junktique’ shops are not that good because these folks know their merchandise. This being the case, it is usually OVERPRICED, not under priced.

If you want to let your fingers do the walking, you too can be crafty ‘vulture’ like a select group of other ebay sellers. Become a member of several smaller auction sites and search for bargains there. But as before, ‘stick with what you know.’

These smaller auction sites are great for buyers for the same reason they are bad for sellers:

Fewer potential bidders = Less competition = Lower closing prices.

Turn them around on ebay:

The ebay formula:

LARGEST auction site by far = MAXIMUM competition = HIGHER closing prices

There are also volume sellers who concentrate on only a handful of popular items by buying in volume / wholesale at a discount and selling at a discount. The average schmo at eBay can’t compete with volume sellers of a particular item.

GOODWILL sometimes also has good bargains, but not always. Mondays / Tuesdays are the best days to visit Goodwill as most people will drop off their donations on Saturdays and Sundays and it has to be cleaned, sorted and marked before it can be placed on display.

GOOD LUCK!

P.S. Experience is the best teacher.

I’ve bought so many things on ebay, that I wish I didn’t. I’d love to sell them back.

How about you?

Yes. Selling woukd be hard though

I have some clothes I don’t want anymore and I was thinking of selling them to Plato’s Closet or Buffalo Exchange. However I’ve heard that they can "rip you off" and make incredibly low offers on clothes…which is understandable I guess because they’re only giving you 35% of the sales price. I’ve heard of awful stories of people getting $15 off of around 8 articles of clothing, which I don’t want to happen. I could sell these clothes on eBay or craigslist potentially. So if their offer is too low, can I decline it? Or do I have to take whatever they give me? Thanks

NO, You always have the option to decline their offer. BX pays cash on the spot (either 30% or 35%) of what they will sell it for, or they will give you 50% in store trade. At first customers are often disappointed with what BX pays and also with what BX passes on. But if you take a pile of clothes that you never will ware and trade it for 2 or 3 items that you love, maybe it’s not such a bad exchange.

Beautiful 3 year relationship … She is in different city (3 hr drive) … All of her family/friends in her town. She is young (22). She is a hot head / often has mood swings.

Engaged on NYE. We had been discussing marriage … she wanted to do it, whereas I was like "let’s just live together for a few months and see how it goes" …

But no we push forward with engagement plans. A month ago she calls me hysterically saying how scared she is (of moving).

For three years it has been bliss … she has been first and last person I have spoken with every day. Constant love and effection. It has been wonderful.

Two weeks ago she wants to break the news of our engagement to my parents (I had wanted to wait a bit and surprise them once she moved here). So we tell them two weeks ago and everyone is excited and happy.

She sends me a text soon after saying she is excited and she has "found the dress for our wedding!!!". So all looks good, right?

Soon after she conferences me in with her family and talks about planning a trip for just me to spend time with them.

TWO DAYS LATER, out of seemingly nowhere she calls me. Says she can’t do this … can’t go forward with marriage, is not going to move here … and also says she can’t be in the relationship anymore either. She feels she is too young (old issue) and basically not ready … the move seems the key issue.

A bit shocked, I ask her why not look at other options. For example, just cancel engagement and slow things down. Come to me for a weekend and let me show you around, etc. See how it goes. Build toward more.

But no, her mind is firmly made up apparently. A few days later she comes to my house and gives back ring and some other stuff, including her phone (we were on a family plan i was paying for).

In person she is extremely distant and cold. She reads from a script about what she is doing and basically just says she "can’t do this" … doesn’t really say why. Gives me the old "it’s not you, it’s me" line. We didn’t spend much time together. No touching, no nothing. Was like talking with a stranger. So she goes. Soon after she calls me at work to see if I am okay (I had explained I had a work problem and was nervous about it). Then she calls me again later that day to say thank you for everything I have done for her and "have a nice life". WTF? She says stuff like ‘maybe in a year we’ll get back together’ … and firmly asks me not to contact her or anyone in her family. Emotionally drained I just said fine.

My take is that the issue is simply she is anxious about moving and quickly getting married (there is a visa issue here, getting married fast like that was planned to accelerate her acclimation and give her more opportunities to do things like work and drive etc). I think the ALL AT ONCE, move and get married was too much pressure and she just cracked.

It’s a shame, because we had such a wonderful relationship for 3 years up until that moment. Her family is in shock as well and there has been tremendous in-fighting with her over this (they have taken my side and are fustrated with her doing this the way she did it).

So it’s been a week since she was here. In that time, I managed to get her a brief note that said I accepted her decision and would respect her need for space and time. I reiterated that I cared about her and that I wanted to talk but that she probably needed to focus on herself for the time being. The only feedback I got was thru a friend of hers (my courier who handed her the note), who said she was "disappointed" at the attempt to communicate given I said I wouldn’t.

Yesterday, while putting her phone up for sale on Ebay and looking thru it for files to delete … I found pictures …. of her wearing the wedding dress she had texted me only 2 weeks prior.

I had a bit of an emotional breakdown at seeing that.

So, I broke my promise and I emailed her yesterday (I don’t have any other way to communciate as she gave me back the phone). I basically asked her to think about options. To think before walking away from 3 years.

So far, no response at all.

I am giving her until Sunday before I tell my parents who will be shocked and probably have very negative feelings about her over this. I am hoping she calls them (she said she would) before that.

Sorry for the long post … basically I am just wondering if it’s really over … if someone can change on a dime like that after 3 years together … when I did everything right here … is she going to come back to me? If so, after how much time?

I don’t know what to do, other than try to move on … but it’s extremely hard. Please help with your thoughts/advice. Thanks.
PS: I met her in her town when I lived there. I have lived in my new town for 1 year.

It sounds to me like you have your head wrapped around this already, that she’s just scared and young (how old are you, btw?) but you just want some affirmation. I think you’re dead on with your analysis. It would be a lot in a short time at 32, but 22 you’re still getting used to being an adult. I say send her one more communique (text, email, note, something) and very briefly tell her you still love her very much and, if it’s all going too fast, you’re willing to slow it down but ending it seems excessive. You can’t change her mind but you can find a place in her you can reason with and connect to that part of her. Right now, be very patient and very compassionate and try to be very objective, with her and yourself. Best of luck.

Where and how do I get my car auction license in Nevada? I don’t have a car lot. I’d like to buy and sell cars part time. I don’t know where and how to get my car auction license. I would love to go to the auctions to buy maybe two or three cars and sell for a profit. I would appreciate someone out there with some experience at this or someone looking to do the same thing to point me in the right direction. Please include tips and concerns as well in this profession. Thank you.

You need to go to work for a dealer and find out what the ca Business is all about. You don’t have a clue. Do you think that you can sell? How would know how to buy or what to buy if you were at an auction.