Thursday, November 09, 2006

Ebay

Before Kids, I used to sell more aggressively on Ebay. Then we started remodeling houses gung-ho, and there was no more room for packing materials among the paint cans. Until now, we never lived in a house with a garage or storage space.
Then we bought this house, which needed almost no remodeling. (Though I couldn't mention it at the time, it was priced significantly below what it would have brought on the MLS open market--so we didn't go completely soft.) I promised myself I would find other ways to earn some pocket money. I have a built-in inventory of things which won't work in this house. However, I'm learning that it's often quicker, easier, and cheaper (free!) to put things on Craig's List first. I don't have to pack, ship, or pay fees--and if it doesn't sell on Craig's List, I already have the text and photos ready to load on Ebay. Of course, I do have the potential to price items too low and lose that auction effect that makes Ebay so exciting.

When I clear out my excess stuff, my goal is to buy one thing every time I garage sale or thrift that will pay for the things I plan to keep. For instance, we needed some fall sweaters. We went to Goodwill on 99 cent day. I bought four sweaters for us and one Christmas sweater by Storybook Knits/Home Shopping Network. The sweater is already up to $12, so I've earned double what I paid for our own sweaters. When I think about selling this way, it makes the whole Ebay attempt seem less formidable.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Meredith,
You are such an inspiration!!!
I have several topics I'd love for you to address when you have time.

1.I recently bought a "new" sofa from Habitat for Humanity Restore--really great clean line look. Anyway, did you spend the money to have your "new" one cleaned and deorderized?
2. I am thinking of putting my one-a-day small painting on ebay. Do you have a recommendation for an inexpenxive but good digital camera? Your pictures have great clarity, so I think your camera would also work for me.

I though I was, in Amy D.'s words, a blackbelt tightwad, but I have learned SO MUCH from you.

Have a great day. Connie

Roberta said...

Someday I'd like to try to sell on e-bay.
Curiously, I came to see what was happening in the comments on the nativity post...where did it go?

Anonymous said...

You obviously know what you're doing with your home purchases. How'd you get a house that was priced way below the open market? We're trying to learn how to buy a home cheaply, and it seems like a closed book sometimes.