eBay: One Step at a Time

Can you believe it's already June?! Halfway mark of 2013...time sure does seem to fly by, doesn't it? For me, I continue to take small baby steps forward on different projects, and it's all good. One of the projects I wanted to share about is my experience with eBay over the last 6 months. 

In many ways, it seems I backed in to eBay—it certainly wasn't something I consciously set out to do, but it has turned in to something I am purposeful with now. (And if I can eBay, anyone can eBay.) Let me take just a moment to share how I 'stumbled' into eBay...

Towards the end of last year, we had some unexpected changes and things that needed to be funded. I knew I had some dyslexia-related programs we were no longer using that I could resell on eBay & recoup close to what we paid for them, since I originally purchased them on eBay. (I've had an eBay account for awhile, but only sporadically purchased or sold on the site—I wasn't a big eBay-er.)

Well, after reselling those programs, I wondered what other things I might have around the house to sell. At first, I really didn't consider eBay. A neighboring town was getting ready to host one if its semi-annual city wide yard sales, and I thought I would rent a space for a few dollars, haul my stuff there and see what sells. (We live in the country—there's no hosting a yard sale at our place...we're too remote ;0 ). So I started gathering some things and piling them in our main living space (not the best place) for the upcoming yard sale. When I finally got around to dropping by to rent a space, I was surprised to find out it would be $20 instead of the $5 I thought it would be—I wasn't even sure I had $20 worth of stuff to sell!

So much for the yard sale idea...but now I had a PILE of stuff I HAD to deal with—it was in the middle of our living room!

Hmmm, maybe I can eBay this type of stuff, too.

That about sums up how I stumbled into selling on eBay. What is that saying...

 

Well, this wasn't a new invention, but it was a necessity:

• I needed to get the stuff out of my living room—it was either sell it or shove it back into the attic, and

• We needed some extra $$

And eBay worked! Over the last 6 months, I managed to list and sell the stuff in that original pile, plus other things we no longer need--remember, I'm a recovering clutter bug so I have quite a bit to source from in my own home ;0 Recently, I've started sourcing for eBay outside of my house and it continues to be a good thing. If it's been a good tool for us, perhaps it might be a good one for others, too, like:

• Stay at home mom or dad that would like to add some extra $$ to the family budget

• Seasoned citizen that would like to add extra funds to a fixed income that doesn't seem to stretch as far nowadays

• High school graduate that needs to jump start a way to earn money

• College student that would like to fund the things that go along with college life

• Recent college graduate needing to pay back student loans

• Newlyweds that need to supplement monthly income 
• Families that might like to quickly start a microbusiness & give children an opportunity to learn business skills early on
• Anyone that Must. Declutter. Now.
• Anyone that's considered hosting a yard sale but overwhelmed by the amount of effort it takes to set up/pack up stuff or live in a location that's not ideal for yard/garage/tag sale traffic
• Anyone impacted by current economy

• Anyone that wants to raise funds for

• *favorite charity/cause
• *mission trip
• *adoption fund

Or … any number of reasons not included in this short list

Whatever I've learned over the last 6 months has been from one foot in front of another, very much one small step at a time--what I've nicknamed Try=Learn...that's how I learn, I've gotta try first ;0 I'm by no means an expert—I'm an eBay newbie—but I have learned a few things that could be helpful to others interested in giving eBay a try yet don't know quite where to start.

Thus, this blog series. Over the next several days, I'm going to share about the steps I've taken and what I've learned about selling on eBay the last 6 months or so here on the blog. Perhaps there will be something that is helpful to you or someone you know, perhaps not.

If you're interested or curious about eBay, come on back—my posts will be short, easy, and helpful, I hope :)

Have a question or a comment? I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to post your comment or question here on the blog, or if you prefer, you can email me at lclarktos@gmail.com

--Laura