How do you sell on ebay?

[Tybee]

I know some of you sell on ebay. How do you start? I have china that might or might not sell, and I'd like to try.
What do you have to do to sell on ebay?

[Teacher Terry]

First look and see if your pattern is actually selling and for how much. When my son researched ours it was worthless and I gave it to Goodwill.

[catherine]

Honestly, it's easier to go on Ebay and follow their instructions than for us to tell you. It's as easy as setting up a Seller account and then posting what you want to sell. They take you through every step. They even tell you what similar items have sold for.

I'd start there and come back to us for questions.

As for china, Replacements.com is a great site, but you'll probably get only about 30% of the market value--and they tell you what they need and what they don't. I just got two proposals form them for my MILs china. One is more desirable than the other. There's a glut of my own wedding china apparently, because they only want certain pieces and I want to sell the whole set.

Etsy is another avenue, but I've never sold on etsy. But I did look up the market value of another set of china my MIL had--60-piece set of Staffordshire Myott which is selling on etsy for $495.

[herbgeek]

It really wasn't that hard- they pretty much walk you through it. I assume you already have an ebay account, if you don't that is step one. I have resold some personal bags/accessories that have a cult following/good resale. I don't do this as a business. You need to take good pictures, and disclose any issues with the item. Ebay takes its cut when the item is sold. They have a deal with USPS where they'll sell you cheaper postage, but you don't have to use that. Ebay does offer suggestions on pricing, which you are free to ignore. With china, its hard to make money unless your item is super popular, because the packaging and shipping preparation and costs will be really high. I know as a buyer I've been turned off by the $20 + shipping cost of an item. See what other similar sellers are listing their items for before you do all the work of a listing. You might be better off at a consignment/antique shop.

[sweetana3]

When you are researching first check whether the item actually sells and for how much. Then look to see if there are current listings from others for the same thing at less than you want to list it for.

[iris lilies]

Ugh, shipping china. That is near an inner circle of hell.

We used to have a local china collector who sold his wares all over the country.It was wondeful to just drop off china to him two miles away. Granted, he took only about half of what I had. But he closed his St Louis shop.

Yesterday, in my decluttering project,
I pitched a coffee cup that is in my china pattern but that does not match shape of existing cups. Yes,
I just pitched it,
I couldnt bear fussing around to send it to someone who wanted it.

I never care about the price I get for china, just want to be rid of it and preferably to someone who wants it.

[JaneV2.0]

Find a niche. I would choose something light weight and easily packaged in a shipping envelope, like ephemera.

I sold some stuff when money was tight, and it worked well, but there are many more rules now.

Some people do very, very well on eBay, but there's a learning curve.

[rosarugosa]

Tybee: I am determined to figure this out in early 2018 myself, now that I have more time. I do often do an advanced search and then check off "sold" to see if there is a demand for something. It is one thing to list something on Ebay, but I want to know if anyone is buying and for how much. I will share if I learn anything interesting.
For those who are more knowledgeable, does Ebay suggest a shipping price?
For something like a set of china, you might want to try a local Facebook sale group, because then you don't have to deal with packing & shipping. My sister has had some luck selling furniture on FB. We are planning to try to do more of this in 2018 as a little side gig, buying and painting/restoring small pieces of furniture and selling them.

[Tybee]

Thanks, Rosa, it sounds like we are in same boat. And thanks to all who suggested starting with reading the ebay instructions--I have actually started that, but just wanted to ask whether people have done this successfully, what the shipping piece of the puzzle is like, what your experiences have been if you have actually sold things on ebay.

Jane, the learning curve looks kind of steep and I was hoping for hints on how to start. Catherine, I have sold to replacements in the past, but wonder if you have sold any china to individuals on ebay? Since you pay the shipping on Replacements, it is not a good deal unless you can drive the china to NC.

I am not trying to establish a business here (not yet anyway) but trying to gather up the nerve to try selling some things on ebay before I just donate them,which is what I have done in the past. We need to downsize some things because of possibility of upcoming move, and it would be awesome to make some money towards a U Pac pod.

[Teacher Terry]

I use both Craiglist and Offer uP to sell things. My son used to sell a lot on Ebay. I think they changed some rules which made it less profitable and he quit.