Does anyone sell on ebay and make a profit?

Equus Leather

Equus Leather

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www.virtualdressage.co.uk
I've bought and sold lots of things on ebay, and probably break even on stuff just lying around the house.

I've recently bought a rug and was just reading through the persons feedback and they've sold over 800 horsey items in the last month.

This got me thinking. If you are buying stuff in bulk from a wholesaler (which I assume these people are) then do you actually make a profit when you sell them given the fees ebay charge and postage etc etc?
 
In the UK I used to make enough of a profit to keep my horses, Canadian eBay is dreadful, so I haven't done anything here.
 
Remember that you charge the buyer for postage so that's not an issue. Ebay fees are a pain, as are Paypal fees... But I guess they MUST have enough or they wouldnt do it like lexie said! Its the Rhinegold & Heritage stuff which makes me laugh because I know how easy it is to get hold of at wholesale prices...and I see what they ask for them!
 
when i had time on my hands i used to do a bit of buying a selling through ebay.

i just went in the equestrian section and typed in wholesale and kept my eye on bargains, worked out the combined selling cost less listing fee's and my time then came up with a figure i'd bid up to and off i went.

i wasnt doing it on a big scale but did some cheapo bridles and show shirts and a few other random bits and bobs and would make a tidy sum as long as it all sold on - which it sometimes didn't. e.g. show shirts in funny colours/sizes that wernt popular.

if i had the time id prob still be doing it now - i used to do it whilst working at my full time job but unfortunately now i actually have to WORK at my job how inconsiderate.

as long as you know how to play the ebay game you can do quite well i.e. good titles so your goods come up in lots of searches but without listing being removed for spam, getting friends to bid up your items etc etc
 
well when my business was trading on there every day i paid over £1000.00 in fees in a year!
Now i am trying to make my web page do more for me as the fees were killing me!
So please check out my web page.
www.madmacher.co.uk

I can do anything that robinsons can do, havent got everything on the web page yet!
Got so much to put on there is taking me ages!
If there is something you want just email or PM me.

Thanks
Amanda
 
I brought a NZ on there at the weekend, and its a really good thick one and it said they retail at £99.00, I got mine for £39!
So how did they make a profit on that
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I brought a NZ on there at the weekend, and its a really good thick one and it said they retail at £99.00, I got mine for £39!
So how did they make a profit on that
confused.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

If it was a big seller they probably bought 300 of em for £20 a pop........
 
We used to sell pessoa's on ebay, and we made quite a lot of money, often doubling what they cost us.
However loads of people had the same idea and started under cutting us by £1 here and there and in the end we were selling them for the same amount that we paid so we jacked it in.
 
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Getting friends to bid up items - eek!

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hmmmmmm not sure I approve!!
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didnt ask for your approval but thanks anyway
smirk.gif


it goes on alot actually (not that i'm defending myself, i only bid up to what my reserve would be, which the seller is not disclosed to so its no different to having a reserve just a lot cheaper for the seller) when i bid on something i check the bidding history and its obvious when the seller is using another id to bid me up.

i think the key to selling on ebay is try to keep your feedback as good as possible. then people trust that the item will arrived as described, safely and on time etc which will make them bid more for your item than a cheapy item from a low feedback seller.
 
My friend does this as a part time business - she makes about £200 a week if she puts the work in. she buys up baby clothes from car boot sales for about 50p for a massive bag, puts them through the wash and sells them in smaller bundles for a considerable mark up. she does quite nicely out of it but it is hard work with all the uploading, pics, packaging stuff etc etc

she sold horse stuff for a while but found that it wasn't as lucrative as it is harder to pick up the bargains in the first place.
 
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