You are supposed to add the shipping cost to the auction - the buyer pays for it.

vintage clothing
 

I got into selling ebay stuff for a while. Mostly, it was vintage clothing, primarily dresses. I spent a few weeks watching all of the vintage auctions and discovering what would sell and what would not. I perused the thrift shops and garage sales and amassed a large quantity of vintage items that I thought would sell. I started out with a variety and was selling dresses for about a total of 5.00 profit each. Many of them would not sell at all. This got time consuming and felt tedious, so I tried something new. I bought large lots from Ebay to break down and sell on Ebay. It worked out, because I realized I could buy anything from the 1950's that wasn't in shambles and as long as I purchased a lot of this stuff for under 7.00 a piece, I could turn a decent profit (usually about 10.00 or more). I once even sold a dress for 120.00 that I had purchased for 6.00. It was fun, but it took a lot of work. I am thinking of doing it again, though, for another thing to focus on as well as my art.

Oh yeah, and with shipping, I would recommend priority. charge the buyer for the shipping cost (it is based on weight) and add a dollar or 2 for handling. The boxes for shipping stuff are free from the post office and you can have them drop off loads of them at your house. Plus, it only takes a couple of days to get there.

If you make it a regular thing, make sure to put some back for taxes. The IRS has recently begun looking more closely at ebayers who derive income from sales.

I'll use that advice if/when I do the ebay thing. As for Amazon, they automatically give you a $2.26 credit for each book, no matter what it weighs, and about $5 for priority. I don't have the option of charging more for shipping and handling. I actually paid more than that today with some of the books I sent, but then I made up for it by using much cheaper "media mail" on the ones that were being shipped to states near me. I guess I just have to take another 50 cent profit loss on each book I sell for the bubble mailer, unless they request priority mail.

Let me get this straight- if I'm sending priority, the post office will give me a free container to put the book in?

And, I have to pay taxes on stuff I sell? :mg: Am I supposed to keep track of what I sell and actually claim it/ do an itemized return??

No. What the IRS wants and what Congress gives them are two different things. At some point, internet sales will be taxable but, imho, its a long way off. And I'm sure that even when they do implement it, there will be a pretty high dollar volume threshold which will exempt the small sellers.

yes, if you want priority boxes you can get them free from the post office, or order them for free. They come in different dimensions and sizes, too. But they can only be used for priority mailing.

I've been selling on eBay and half.com for about six months now and I buy my bubble mailers from esupplystore.com (much cheaper)
I started doing it as a way to get rid of all of the junk I had laying around. I sell on half.com, mostly. I took inventory of all my books, CDs and movies (both VHS and DVD) and decided that a lot of it had to go. Once I had them all listed my inventory was over 600 items, and I've made a good amount of money, averaging around $250 every 2 weeks, which isn't shabby, considering all I was trying to do was make some space in my bedroom/living room. I've never sold on Amazon, but have been a loyal buyer at half.com for years and have found it to be the cheapest resource for the books/movies/music thing.

I must admit, though, that I am so tired of going to the post office every day (or every other day) that I could puke. I've become really resentful of the whole process and am glad that the sales are rolling in more slowly now that most of the good stuff's gone...

My family are Auctioneers by trade, and once per month we hold a massive auction with a couple of hundred registered bidders .

you can buy things from garagesales, wholesalers etc ie. washing machines, boats, lamps, books, plants .. absolutely anything and make sometimes 5 x the price you paid. when there is a large crowd all getting caught up in the excitement of an auctioneer yelling at you - its amazing what people will pay to win.

We also allow anyone to sell their things too, we simply take a commision from what their stock makes.

simple. effective. fun.

monicacat, thanks for the tip on the cheap packaging! Those are way cheaper than 50 cents each.
So far, I've been doing this for a little over a week and I've made $150. Not bad! And all this stuff I'm selling has been laying around, unused, for months or years!
It's addictive. I have cds I got from yardsales and for free that I'm making money from. I can't wait to go to this year's yardsales :)

Yep, you really can't beat something for nothing.

Good luck with your yard sales. I always look for interesting/unusual/unbelievebly gaudy home decor. I just bought this surfer girl lamp from a garage sale on my block a couple days ago and I'm lovin it! We also got a leather Barca lounger for $1 that we put in the office. I'm so pleased...
:)

IIRC and IANATA, if you're just selling your personal stuff that you had lying around, you don't have to pay taxes on it, unless it could be considered a capital gain. If you're going out and buying stuff in order to sell it, or if you're manufacturing stuff, you have to pay sales tax (if you sell to someone in the same state) and income tax.

Update: I started selling on april 4th and I've made over $200 :) I only planned on making about $100 a month, so this is great! I keep finding more and more stuff to sell. We put all our cds into the computer, so screw it- I'm sellin 'em all!
I'm trying to save $900 so I can buy Arsen a Versace watch for Christmas. I thought it would take me 8 or 9 months, but at this rate, I might be able to give it to him on our anniversary in September. Gotta love it.

You should try Ebay.

Yeah, you can get it .03 cents cheaper! ;)