I finally caught the ebay bug. I know... like seven years after everyone else did. My little brother eli built his entire wardrobe on ebay finds. He was a visionary. I must confess it took me a little while to warm up to this electronic giant. However, my nascent attraction to ebay isn't because of a penchant for frugal finds (I do love those)... what excites me about ebay is that it allows me to turn my trash into another man's treasure!I can sell my junk to people who want to buy it! This is seriously exciting to me. Ashley approaches this new trend with some trepidations. On one hand, its great that I have become an online mercantile giant... but eventually... I'll run out of things to sell.
What if I get so hooked to the thrill of selling things collecting dust on my shelf, that when my supply runs out I start selling things we actually use. Spoons, kitchen appliances, keepsakes, her wedding dress... I could be come a ravenous maelstrom of online-bazaaring. Nothing could satiate my desire to turn a profit off of everyday items.
Ok, that probably won't happen... but I do have some fanatical tendencies, which Ashley has done an incredibly adroit job of encouraging at times, and also helping me redirect at others.
So far I've sold the leftovers of my old iBook G4, an iMic (when Ashley and I used to webcam chat when we were doing long distance.... highly recommended), and some pedals from a bike I bought.
I think my winnings are up around $150 right now. When will these good times end? Not to mention, I've also sold two textbooks on ebay's sister site, Half.com. When you factor the revenue from my book sales in, I'm pushing $250 in net profit. Some people are calling me the Warren Buffet of ebay.
The cold truth is... I think I've run out of things to sell, and I'm asking you for ideas. What are the exciting items you've bought or sold on ebay? Horror stories, amazing finds? All stories welcome.
13 comments:
My favorite ebay scores were - the complete set of Black Sabbath on vinyl, 10 in all for 40 bucks ppd. Also, an Iron Maiden record that looks like its been through a medival war, but plays without a scratch.
If you like records, I highly recommend buying vinyl on the internet, there are no guarantees to how it will sound, but the gamble usuallly makes it quite a bargain.
All of the original artwork in our dining room comes from eBay. Ebay and Etsy are great venues for artists to promote their stuff. Several of my girlfriends buy their kids clothing on eBay. I bought some jewelry that was totally junk once but it was relatively cheap so I wasn't too bummed, but I have never sold anything.
buyers... your tales are inspiring.
i must forewarn you of the addictive nature of selling on ebay. once you catch a taste for it, you'll never be the same.
like vampires...
For buying things, I prefer craig's list to ebay by far. You can see stuff before you pay for it, and don't have to pay for shipping because everything is local. I have bought a lot of furniture on Craig's list. Books I usually sell on ebay. Matt is a pack rat, so I have no shortage of things to sell!!!
I've only sold books (on half.com), but it's a pretty profitable sideline for me. I know I should sell clothes that I get tired of, but I'm too lazy to do it. The beauty of half.com is that you can list a book and it stays there forever, or until it sells. I have stuff on there from 2000.
Weirdest thing I have bought? The purple guitar Scarlett "had" to have.
David,
I love this thread - I started doing ebay about 2 years ago and i was also hooked. I have both sold and purchased numerous things. My biggest purchase was my bike and I have been pleased with it from day one. I periodically hear ebay horror stories but I have only ever had good experiences. Here is a list of things I have sold (not all inclusive)
- water filter
-cal ripken bobblehead (paid $10 bucks to go to the O's game and sold the bobblehead for $80)
-printer cartridge from work (I set up an ebay "ring" at work where the IT guys give me all of their surplus stuff and I sell it off (totally legit, btw). it has helped pay for some nice lunches.)
-nintendo wii (Serena found it at wal-mart during the latter stages of the wii craze and we made $100 bucks off it)
I continually search the house for stuff to sell.... actually last time we visited you I "found" a few things I brought home to sell off... thanks.
love this post! ebay is a haven for moms with expensive taste and no $ to back it up. my theory is rich people don't have a lot of kids - 1 or 2 - so their nice stuff doesn't get used up too much. i buy almost all of the kids' shoes on ebay because they grow through them so fast and i believe in quality shoes but can't always pay for them. i also get some kids clothes like jeans.
i do love to sell, but packaging and shipping is a pain in my butt so i only do it once in awhile. my best most recent sale?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140228658198&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D140228658198%2509%26category0%3D%26fvi%3D1
old 60's placemats from my parents' buffet - i was so curious what the guy was buying them for, like did he have ones from his childhood to match them? so i emailed and asked him. he said he was redecorating his place all modern in beige and chocolate with orange accents and thought these would make some great wall art. talk about turning trash into treasure! i'm so happy they will have an honored place because as disco as they are, i honestly didn't know what to do with them.
mia - what artists are hanging in your dining room? i love referrals.
sorry, the whole link didn't come through - search for item #140228658198.
I think my favorite was when dave found an old pith helmet and vintage true aviator glasses and bought them just because he could.
oops, sorry for the deleted post.
haha good post, but the part of running out of things to sell strikes a sad chord.
i knew a family in a remote village in russia where the dad was drunk almost all day long, and was at the point where he was selling used shampoo bottles and food in order to buy alcohol. (he had already sold silverware and plates...)
HA HA!!!!
GOT YA!!!!!
U CAN go wrong with Ebay, but u CANNOT GO WRONG WITH EBAY BABY!!!!
I'm yet to sell something on e-bay, but as you said whenever I have spending money I log on.
diego LOVES ebay. and i love it too. save so much money!
Post a Comment