E bay

[Leekwriter]

You here all these stories about people making thousands of � but what do they actually sell in order to achieve this, and where do they obtain their goods from?

[Oneeyedvic]

As with any business that makes money, it is very simply about biuying something cheap and selling it for more.

That could be by buying ex-catalogue goods, going to car boot sales, buying from auctions, or having a contact in an industry like the films (there was a programme recently about a person selling old film props on ebay).

Some people have good ideas which they sell, some people sell things they create (clothes etc) and some people resell other people's ideas.

[Mistopheles]

I'm a seller, and I get most of my stuff from car boot sales. It's just a matter of learning what sells. Everyone makes mistakes to start off with, but you soon get the hang of it. I sell practically anything - jewellery, clothes, computer spares, books, you name it. I don't make masses of money, but that's more because I only bother to list stuff about once a month than anything else. I do quite well usually.

You can also buy from wholesalers, sell stuff that friends are throwing out (you'd be AMAZED what sells!), and even buy from eBay to re-sell - check out the 'bulk' lots category. If you are planning to start selling, watch your postage costs - I lost a fair bit of money on the first listings I did, because I didn't calculate them properly. You need to remember items will be heavier once they are packed, and add on a bit for packing materials too.

[spudqueen]

I'm not making thousands of pounds, but I've made a few hundred just by selling the contents of my loft. I've sold books, board games, postcards and recently an 'Osmonds' bag which sold for over �20!

[Buenchico]

Many of the people who make lots of money from e-Bay do so illegally. I once bought a second-hand printer from a guy who lived at a hard-to-find address in the country, so he agreed to meet me in his car so that I could follow him. He turned up in a smart BMW convertible. When we got to his house we went up to his bedroom so that he could demonstrate the printer. I made a comment about his nice car and he said "Oh yes, I'm rather pleased with that. I paid for it with 9 months profit from dabbling on e-Bay". Now I can't prove that he was doing anything illegal but his bedroom had banks of CD-writers everywhere and a big pile of CD-sized jiffy-bags waiting to be posted. Unfortunately, the reality behind many of these peope who make lots of money on e-Bay is that they're selling fake goods.

This isn't to say that it's not possible to make a living legally from e-Bay. It's just that it'll take quite a bit of hard work.

One article I read, in one of the Sunday supplements, featured a woman who bought and sold designer clothes. She bought from many sources (inlcluding e-Bay itself) but primarily from charity shops and sold only at fixed ('Buy It Now') prices through her e-Bay shop. She was making about �40kpa.

(Incidentally, that's one idea I'm thinking of trying to emulate. Hands off, I got there first!).

Chris