Great advice! I am 73 and started online selling 3 years ago. I do it to keep engaged and challenged and especially for the thrill of the hunt. I also garden, keep chickens and ducks, grow fruits and vegetables, play with our grandson and share all this with my husband. I brought 35 years of experience co -running our construction company to this new explore, so business was my strength. Everything else was and is a steep learning curve. Perfect for strengthening that neuroplasticty . I love your videos because you are a great teacher. I learn so much so quickly and you make it easy. I enjoy all of this or I wouldn’t do it. I see so many RU-vid videos where the presenter sounds miserable and stressed about their success. I want to yell through the screen “find the joy in it or do something else!”
Bought a motorized hospital bed at an auction. And because nobody wanted it, and the auctioneer won't move on till someone buys an item because he doesn't want to store anything or move it, I got it for $1. Sold it for $260 the next day.
Nice! I bought a shelving unit at an auction for less then 10 bucks to use in my garage. I think the reason I got it so cheap is because it was absolutely full of "junk". I ended up selling a few things off the shelf for over 1000...but nearly as fast as you did. I sat on some of it for months before it sold.
I watched a lot of videos before I went full-time on how to “scale up “my business. One of the ways mentioned was to buy bulk or wholesale… That was the worst thing ever for me. It took out the joy and I quit listing because I didn’t care about the pieces that I had. And while it probably does limit my business in a small way, I will only sell things that I personally find that I am excited to list.
Scot, you have a wealth of knowledge - I'm even tempted to say you ARE a wealth of knowledge, lol - and we are all so grateful that you willingly share it with us.
One thing I didn't think I'd love is all the praise of positive feedback. Working in retail for 20 years all you ever received was complaints about things that are out of your control. Now there is a direct coloration between my efforts and how I'm praised for them. I have a greater sense of worth cuz of it.
This is such a great video and advice. I am new part-time reseller as of January 2024 and I do it for the fun of it and enjoy the extra cash that comes along with it is great too. I haven't once thought that success would be easy but then again I guess I have lived long enough to know that in life success isn't easy. I can see that your advice is very much needed in the eBay reseller community. Thank You for your knowledge and your channel!
What an encouraging video for me. I am 20 and have just started the eBay reselling business as my side hustle last week after watching a bunch of your videos over the last couple of weeks. I have loved it so far and am watching this while making my first posts! Looking forward to my first sale, and I know I will be more prepared (especially with shipping) thanks to your videos! Thank you!
@@TheChaChingKing Exactly..... I started a little over a year ago and have made a few sales. I'm trying to clear out all the unwanted stuff from my house and recently helped clean out a one bedroom apartment of a very dear friend that passed at the age of 98.... Boy did she have a ton of stuff. Thankfully I wasn't the only one helping so I got several things and have been listing them. I make a sale a week or there about and hoping my sales will increase. I have about 116 items and keep listing when I can. Thankfully I don't have to depend on this as my income but that is my goal. I keep getting low ball offers which I've only accepted a couple of them but I keep on keeping on and hoping one day it will be a steady flow of sales. Thanks for all your encouragement, wisdom and valuable information.
I find these videos valuable ( and entertaining) even though I'm not a reseller. We're upholsterers with a side hustle in dog beds made from remnants. Many of the principles still seem to apply, thanks for the helpful content.
Also, take a day off so you don't get burn out. I prep a few drafts for the weekend and activate a couple each evening for Fri, Sat and Sun so I have time off. Can be any day/days in the week that work for you. In the beginning you will list like crazy and then possible get a little burn out, so try to pace yourself and .....🙂 take care of yourself.
Great advice ! Being your own boss requires self discipline. Personally , doing this full time with nothing to fall back on would terrify me . I ll stay a part timer 😂
Enjoy the adventure of sourcing. I hit an estate sale and immediately list the items within 2 days. I primarily sale sports and postcards and have plenty of them to list at anytime. I’m 8 years away from retirement and set a goal of 8,000 listings. I already have 1000 listings and still have over 7 years until I retire. I’m going for 10,000 listings in 8 years now as my new goal
Hey Scot: Another great video...congratulations. With over 20 years on eBay, I have had many winners...crazy wins, lucky wins. My biggest why is finding something someone else has been looking for sometimes for months. Shipping has become easier over the years, I have shipped some big items...my biggest item with the biggest profit was a electric lawn mower, new old stock in the original box, opened but never removed, had been in the garage of a Estate Sale for 9 years...sold $300 plus shipping...it was the second day of the Estate Sale and everything was a $1...yes I only paid one dollar. Shipped from CA to NY weight 80 pounds, big box, buyer paid $109 for shipping...and love it once he received it, he had the same mower for years that quit on him and was looking for a replacement...crazy sale. I got it because no one else wanted it due to the size. My advice to newbie's: don't be afraid of the big, heavy items, they can be picked up cheaply and sold for a big profit. Vintage vacuums, typewriters, sewing machines and some tools, find the right ones and they sale very well. Until next time...Che Ching love to hear that sound.
Thank you Scot. Any aspiring eBay seller needs to watch your channel and learn from your experience. All of your videos are factual and you clearly desire to help others succeed as well. Russ
Great advice and encouragement. I am just a part time reseller, and I am doing it for the fun of going to sales and finding little treasures. And It is time that I get to spend with my wife. We are treating it like a small business but as a hobby as well. We have had a couple of bigger wins, but mostly just “bread and butter” types of sales. We are fine with that, as it is paying for itself plus a little extra. And seeing it grow is fun to us. Happy sales! Peace
I love that Happy Picker posts "NOLOs" what NOT to be on the look out for and posts how little she made on that item. It's true, only the "best" things are getting seen and people truly don't understand the work it takes to resell and that it takes time to get a return! Thanks again for your honesty and reality on reselling.
Thank you for a very encouraging and informative video! This video has helped me solidify my game plan for the better. What I liked most was the bit where you talk about the “why” and I strongly agree it is probably one of the most important things. And I just wanted to add that Apple’s model is pretty much based on the “Golden circle” theory, and they focus mainly and firstly on the “why” and it had contributed a lot to their success! And when it comes to making your weakness your strength, it’s such a great practice to have, I have been doing it without realizing what I is! My weakness is time management (I have ADHD) so since the get-go, I put a lot of preparation and pressure on myself to prioritize on this problem and I figured out a fix: I set my processing time to 3 days (not the best but I have to do what’s realistic for me and give myself some leeway) I also pre-made all the packing essentials (for me, it’s a thank-you note and a freebie) and have them ready inside all the envelopes. Then I made it a habit that the minute I have an order, I print out shipping label right away (at the minimum), and with the label ready on an envelope, I only have one thing to do, which is get the item inside and seal. It honestly saved me so much time, and kept me organized and on point. I ended up always sending the items out on the first business day. A few months in, I checked on my positive feedbacks, and there was a massive amount of good feedbacks mentioning “items delivered way faster than expected”. So I knew that was the right system to have, and I have overcome my MOST stressful part of selling on eBay.
Thank you for your video today. I'm 70 years old and started my Ebay journey about a year and a half ago. I've had several big wins but mostly $15 - 20 sales. I love every sale I make but of course I love the bigger money makers more! When I started a lot of my items were things people gave to me. I have limited space for my business, two spare bedrooms, but I'm having a hard time letting go of items that I'm sure will take forever to sell. I would like to have one of my bedrooms back for guests. Have you made a video on thinning out bad inventory? I need some inspiration. Thank you for your time.
I keep it simple. I literally just give away my excess inventory. No joke. I just get it into the hands of people who are excited to get it. I win. They win. Melody and I probably give away half of what we buy.
I'm starting to think thrifting is an actual addiction. I can't stop going to thrift stores when I'm out cause I think I'm missing out on deals. That just makes my pile bigger.
Hello, i just subscribed. I like your honesty about the climb to be where a person wants to be. I've been a part time reseller for 6 yrs. Very part time due to my job which with working hrs and travel time I'm in for roughly 70 hrs per wk, so my time has been limited. Although, I'm hoping to be able to transition to full time reselling asap....Also, after going through other comments, it was refreshing to see that you engage with your viewers by commenting back to them, as so many youtubers do not. Excellent quality to have. Looking forward to more of your videos.
I really do appreciate the kind words. My goal really is to help and encourage people. So, I'm still trying to respond to every comment. And, not just with AI-generated responses. I try to respond in a way that they know that I actually read their comment. Because, I want people to know that their support of the channel means something to Melody and me. My plan is to keep doing it as long as I can. It is, admittedly, getting harder and I get more and more comments. :-)
Love, love, love seeing you and all your encouragement! I got into eBay to see pretty things...they come in, which means they also have to leave or I am going to be buried! I like cleaning, like taking photos and like packing.. I also like that this is a side hustle. My biggest issue has been actually selling...that is what I am getting better at.
I haven’t worked since Covid. Trying to get this off the ground. Listing takes forever. Can’t believe ppl can list so many per day even with a few ‘Sell Similars’.
Hi Scot! Love the video. I'd say my biggest weakness, is not having the knowledge of what's valuable. I'm learning everyday, but I can't look up every single item at a yard sale, so I try and focus on things that are unique or that I'm familiar with (and that list is growing).
My biggest problem is that I didn't get organized when I first started, and now that I have a house full of stuff I'm not any more organized and rely on my memory for item location. If you really want to sell on eBay you should invest in shelving, shipping supplies, scales, etc.
I had to suddenly quit my day job in March '22. Luckily I had quite a bit of savings so I took a year sabbatical. I started seriously selling on Ebay in May '23. I concentrated on my hobby/passion and that's what I sell. I love finding cool things for my customers because they can tell that I love the items just as much as they do. I'm not making enough money to live on yet, but cross your fingers for me that I will! I love the freedom of this job and my only regret is not starting this journey years and year ago.
I'm definitely better at it today than I was 5 years ago. My advice is to focus on increasing your average sale price instead of just your speed at listing. If you can find more valuable things without spending significantly more money, you'll make more with the same amount of work.
You nailed it 👏🏻👏🏻true is not easy but fun do what you like you will build your self step by step and know that always treasures out there you didn’t learn about updating with experience people like Scott you will always learn more and more. Thank you so much
I love these videos' so much! I agree, I enjoy going into people's houses, estates and sometimes even digging through the history of it all, its fascinating. This is hard work , but if you love it, like we do, it can be so rewarding 💕
My hardest part is what price to list items on! How do I overcome that? Comps are over the place. I love reselling except for that. Love all your videos. I’ve learned so much from you. Hello from Waco. ?? Why go to Temple when Waco is closer? In garage sale season there are more than I can go to in 2 days 😳
I price mine on the upper end of comps and come down over time. Why Temple? Great question. My inlaws live there, and we help take care of them. And, since my wife is from there, we know our way around so much better than we do Waco. If I want to hit sales in a bigger city, we had to the Dallas area.
Thanks so much for all your videos, your channel is what I call my tutorials for my newfound "business." And , everything in this video resonated with me. I love this eBay job for so many reasons, and I have been going at it full time, thrifting, photographing, listing, that it takes me about 10 hours a day and I can't wait to get up every day to do all this. My biggest problem is shipping, I am terrified and even declined a big offer because I was afraid I'd fail. I wasn't prepared for it, and I'm afraid I'll never get that kind of offer again. Also, not many people view my listings, and that's because I have no ratings, so it's a catch 22: you need ratings to sell, sell to get the ratings. What can I do?
Choose items that are easy to list and easy to ship that also have a really high demand. That should generate sales and feedback. Honestly, it just takes a little time.
Excellent advice and I agree. You have to like doing this business. If you view it as a chore, you will not enjoy it. How do you deal with people assuming or expecting you to cut your listing price by at least 50% or else they won’t buy it?
I don't worry about people that try to convince me that my item isn't worth what I'm asking. Generally, I've either checked my comps closely or I have experience selling the item. If the person is ugly when trying to talk me down, I often block them. I don't mind someone trying to get a good deal. But, there seems to be a high correlation between half price offers and people that leave negative feedback. So, I prefer not to deal with those people.
Scot, I just wanted to thank you for your breadth of knowledge. Shipping is the skill I need to brush up on...and I know you've posted on that subject in the past, so I'm going to find it! I'm going to open a store on eBay and then look into other avenues like Mercari, Etsy, etc. I'm interested in your take on Facebook Marketplace. Worth it? Positives? Negatives? Thanks again, Scot!
I think I would love Facebook marketplace if I wasn't so rural. If I sell something, it needs to be worth an hour of driving each way. It's usually not.
YES. I am on the final tip of the mountain of setting up things and systems that can easily be scaled to take the next step and grow to be big. I have done the hard work upfront instead of just jumping in and fixing things later. I only work 40 hours 3 days and that gives me another 4 days to work on this making drafts etc to "list" on those work days. I am starting small part time knowing I can do this with realistic goals by the year. Seriously I have been planning for almost 15 years now. This included building a down payment to get into a larger house with a 5 stall garage for tearing apart vehicles(to resell parts) having everything set up and organized and oh man the learning curve. I am not just jumping into it like you see some people do with "I started out of my garage" That may be great for some but is not my goal. I will learn a ton by doing and refining things to suit my methods. But having things setup from the start with the intent of being scaled should pay dividends in the end.
My best purchase I didn’t know what it was and nobody else at the auction did. It was a box of about 40 airbag simulators from OTC. Auctioneer asked what the were and someone said relay testers. I bought for $5. I knew they weren’t relay testers but knew it was something because OTC is a special tool brand. I sold over 30 of them for 25 to $75 dollars each
I'm so glad I found this tonight just what I needed. I believe starting out I was hard on myself and scared of what I did't know. I just started in March with working my ebay and really tired somedays I don't get anything done. I'm working on time management. I joined a group on FB to ask questions and some are so unhappy that I'm gong to watch you and real people that always have a great attitude. hope you and your wife are doing well and I look forward to seeing your next video thank you for always helping me and others. Southernstroll
How do you determine how to price things that you can't find comps for? I bought a vintage kitchen lot from an auction. In it was a glass that is from German baby food company basically advertising their baby food now, then beer when they get older. I can't find anything like it on the Internet. I don't want to leave any money on the table, but I don't want to price it so high that no one buys it either. Just didn't know how you price things you are unfamiliar with and can't find comparisons for. Thank you so much for your videos! You encouraged me to list my first thing
I pay for a program called Worthpoint so that I can see a lot more eBay history. You can also use Terapeak for free on eBay to see more history. Other than that, I would look up similar items and see if there is a trend that I could use to arrive at a price range. Sometimes I price the item a little higher than I think is possible and turn on Best Offer to see if I get any bites.
You may mention this later (I’m watching as I comment) but not only is there the physical labor with acquiring your items, but the research you must do to list correctly is very time consuming. Not just the “how to list” but also the boring details of the product.
Hi chaching, and Mrs. Chaching! Thanks for your advice and help. For newer sellers, some advice to let them know: Don't fall for adding a reserve to auction! You cover that in your video discussing whether and why to do Buy it now, or auction. Good video by the way. I've been selling for two months now on eBay, approaching the 2k$! Anyway, question: I have some listings that are getting over 500 views 5+ watchers, but no purchase! These are some of the more expensive items I have listed. On other sellers listings I see where they offer monthly payments for the item. Do you do this? What to watch out for doing this? And HOW to offer this to my buyers? Thanks for producing such well made and informative videos, one thing you mentioned in one of your first videos that rings in my head daily. "We were listing our items to cheap! We increased the price". So true, that's a funny rule that seems to apply to eBay, make or break ya!
I have never offered payments. I don't think that has anything to do with the seller. I think that's something that eBay is offering. I totally agree with setting a reserve on the auctions. If you know the minimum you'll take, just set your starting price there. As far as the number of listings that haven't sold despite the views, it happens. You can choose to wait for the right buyer or try sending out some offers. If you know it's worth more, sometimes you just have to wait it out. Thank you SO much for the kind words. We truly, truly appreciate the kind and encouraging comments. :-)
Hi, Just ran across your channel and enjoyed the content. The video I watched first was, 5 ebay scams. Maybe you have covered this in another video but in case you haven't let me tell you what I have ran into a few times. Most of my sales have been electronics such as Ham radio and HIFI equipment. These are two areas where many of the buyers know some basic electronics and enough to SWAP internal Parts and demand a refund. I sold and expensive electronics antenna tuner and after the seller received it, he opened a claim against me and said the internal parts were burned. I knew he was lying but ebay didn't and forced me to give him a refund. Parts swapping is a huge problem with electronics items now days. I solved the problem by buying anti tamper tags on Amazon and they were cheap. I place one on a seam of the device or over a screw hole which has to be removed to open the item. In my add, I take pics with the anti tamper tags so the buyer knows what to expect. If that tags are violated, I am done and ebay has sided with me every time since. I hope this advice will help someone from getting scammed. Good luck..
Oh wow, I honestly had no idea! And you came through with a solution. When I get home, and as long as it's OK with you, I'll pin this response so others see it
@@TheChaChingKing Absolutely. As you know the vast majority of people on ebay are good people but the crooks are out there. Anti tamper tags come in many sizes and shapes but once applied, you can not take them off without destroying the tag. The tags with bar codes or serial numbers prevent others from getting what you bought unless they bought thousands or were very lucky. They're cheap and I even put them on the outside of the shipping boxes around the holidays when USPS hire temps. A friend ordered something last Christmas and the box arrived with a rock inside???? I'm sure that's a rare case but my buyer and I know who shipped and who opened the box. To me it's worth the few cents it cost per label. Good luck.
@ChaChingKing Thank you for this awesomely useful information. My late husband, Angel was a Master seller on eBay with over 25 years experience. He sold cars and fine art, but his passion was Hot Wheels and his vintage diecast collectibles. I wish I would have paid closer attention when he wanted to teach me how to sell on eBay. I haven't sold anything, and his eBay account has been deleted since I didn't recover it in time. I kept the user name but there is no more history. I have a ton of his items to sell, and some are worth thousands. You mentioned start slowly. How would you recommend starting to sell ebay without having any history or feedback?
I'd start with items in the $10-$15 price range. Buy your supplies on ebay to get some feedback. As you complete sales successfully, slowly go up on the value of the items listed. You expose yourself to much less risk as you build your feedback and gain experience. Im incredibly sorry to hear about your husband. And I'd bet you learned more about this than you realize right now. You can do this.
@@TheChaChingKing Thank you for your kind condolences and your thoughtful words of advice. And you are right. I learned so much by watching Angel and I feel totally confident in moving forward. I will definitely be watching more of your videos because your teaching style is great. Thank you for making things so easy to understand.
Thanks! I'm really struggling with these new glasses, though. They just can NOT get the prescription right. You don't realize how much having the right glasses matters until you don't have them.
There are a ton of options when it comes to finding inventory. Online arbitrage, retail arbitrage, thrift stores, private picks, bankruptcy auctions...etc. You'll have to build your sourcing around activities that you excel at. I'd never recommend building a business around things like garage sales if you don't like them. My dad hated them. It would have never worked for him.
The biggest draw to this hustle is independence and autonomy to control your own success. But that formula is (time + work)2 = opportunity to earn. Success comes from the discipline to do it regularly at whatever level of selling. I’ve been more focused on raising Average sales net return and letting the littles go. We also want to find some repeatable inventory we can just keep selling out and adding more quantity to an out of stock listing- sure who doesn’t. The creative part is finding that niche. Side note win: I Just sold a 1970s McIntosh system, amp, preamp and tuner for a ton. I found it in bulk pickup one morning with all three faceplate glass shattered. As-is hi end electronics is easy street. The amp went to Australia. The other two local on FB MP. I built a wood padded crate around it and then boxed that to send to the eBay hub 46lb , 8 of which was packing. Can’t wait to ship the Waterford crystal lamps I’m selling.
I do almost all private picks. I love resale shops, but don't get to go as much as I'd like. I've always liked Salvation Army stores when I can find them.
Hi, Scot! Speaking of social media, I have been thinking about creating an Instagram page just for promoting the items I have for sale. I only sell a very specific type of item for a specific type of buyer/collector, so do you think this may be worthwhile? Since I am also a collector of the type of stuff I resell, it would be for sharing my collection as well as promoting sales. Thanks for your videos, I always enjoy watching and learning from them!
So I inherited my father's property after he passed away to say the least he was a hoarder and he was in charge of his mom's assets who was also a hoarder of antiques and Fine Jewelry I definitely do not have to worry about finding items to sell but scared just to list my 1st listing this is going to be my livelihood along with refurbing items or restoring. I have a lot of different categories from jewelry hot wheels knifes pottery watches. Old gaming systems clothes paintings Harley Davidson items unsure how I should start listing maybe a few in each type of item?
So, you drove 150 miles round trip & you may not have found anything to list, then you may well have had a wasted journey, that's a big risk & expensive in time & fuel.....
What happens when people start looking at the value of their items they have for sale and they jack up the price so that they can make the money off of their own items do you feel bad when you buy something for $3 and sell it for $300
If you watch many of my videos, you'll see that I often go back and make this right if I was way off on the value of something. I've had a few people who would rather sell it themselves and make the extra profit. If they do, I try to help them get set up to do that.
