Finding Ebay Items

**sanderson76** · 10-31-2005, 12:56 PM

I have a question. Most of what I sell on Ebay are things that I have purchased in the past or we have received 2 of for gifts and things of that nature.

What is the best way to find items to resale on ebay? How do you know if you are going to be able to make a profit or is it just a chance to take?

**bamamomto4** · 10-31-2005, 01:14 PM

For me,it's a chance. Some sell,some dont...but sometimes will if I relist. Most of what I sell is stuff I no longer need want,and sometimes I buy stuff from yard sales,flea markets,thrift stores,even online (for cheap) that I think might sell well on ebay.

**sanderson76** · 10-31-2005, 02:54 PM

Thank you,
I wasn't sure if I was missing something or not

**dolphin** · 11-01-2005, 12:36 AM

From what I understand, it's not a good idea to sell with one of those big companies that do 'drop shipping' because you have no control over the product at all and you end up getting a bad rep.

Nearly all of my stuff is from my house which includes my MIL's estate (which we paid for)

and I do research on ebay's selling items all the time and look to see what is selling for a good price that I might just happen to run across and just keep that in mind or keep a list in my purse for when I go shopping.

I find that "any" decorative tole painting books, new and old, and any "older learning to paint books, booklets (like from he 60's to 80's) are good sellers. I've also got my eyes open for any Alice Starmore knitting books as they are selling regularly for atleast $140.00 and I might find one at a thrift store. Patterns don't do well unless you have some "American Girl" dress patterns or some really vintage barbie dress patterns but do check out the patterns selling venue as you just never know when you might run across that pattern that sells really well and they are a relatively cheap investment.

Never pay over $1.00 for a book at a thrift store or yard sale if you're planning to resale it. The mark up just isn't that much unless several people want it then you could get lucky but average book sales run $1.99 to $3.99 (atleast for me). Also, the Oprah books and the Best Sellers are hard to sell. The market is just flooded with them. Look for unique books. I have better luck with vintage (60's to 70's) than any others. My library has a store that is from donations from the public. They don't sell used library books, just donated books. Maybe your library does this too. They sell donated books to raise money to buy new books, computers, etc. for the library.

Also check out the clearance sales at WM and Target for any Craft books like quilting. Those generally sell well but again, watch what you have to pay for it.

Clothes are a concern of mine for selling but many people here sell them without problems. I did sell a really nice sweater once and got great feedback on it. It was given to me and I outgrew it so I wasn't out any money on that one.

Good luck finding things to sell.

**sanderson76** · 11-01-2005, 08:29 AM

Thanks for the tips. Our library does have a bookstore like that. I have never been in it, however my mother in law always takes our youngest daughter. Maybe I should go and check it out.

I worry sometimes with clothes. I just sold a few pairs of my daughters lands end jeans, they are in almost perfect condition, but I do worry about those. What I see may differ from what others see.

**kmsinsa** · 11-02-2005, 09:19 AM

I mostly sell things around the house including my daughter's clothes she's outgrown (she's 3) and computer items (dh's)...which both seem to sell fairly well most of the time.

I also am on the lookout at the thiftstores as well (since I got some of my daughter's clothes there anway) for books or anything else that I think I might be able to sell on ebay.

**Telephus44** · 11-02-2005, 06:01 PM

Most of what we sell comes from two sources either decluttering what we own or things that I've won in online sweepstakes (a secret hobby of mine). This last week I've won a Cranium board game and a Thomas Kinkade nightlight that will go on the block next round.

I have dabbled in books, but mostly on Half.com. I have found that the easiest way to make some money (not a lot) is to go to library sales and look for things that are "textbook"ish (think books for English lit) and sell them to book buyback sites. I can often pick the books up at .10 or .25 and get between 1.00 and 5.00 for them. The problem is that you'll never know ahead of time if you can sell them or not.