EBay has turned a lot of people into resellers and virtual store owners. If you can fill out online forms and use a web-based or downloaded listing program, you can sell stuff on eBay.
Now, actually turning a profit isn't quite that easy. And making a living at it is more difficult still.
This article on MoneyCentral wasn't what I expected:
At first I was thinking it was going to be a “mystery shopper” article — meaning that you shop for an independent company that has been hired by the store (or someone else) to get a true picture of customer service at a particular store. That wasn't what this article was about at all.
Christine Coulombe hits retail stores to get new merchandise for pennies on the dollar, sells them for profit on eBay, and makes more money doing that than her part-time “day-job” as an RN.
The fact that there were good enough deals at retail stores that someone could pull in five figures a year reselling them surprised me. (I did chuckle a little after reading that representatives at Coach Leather Goods — one of Coulombe's sources for cheap product — was mildly disgusted that people were buying their products for reasons other than personal use. Perhaps they didn't want everyone to know how ridiculous their markups were?) It surprised me for a couple of reasons:
- Even discounted items are profitable for the stores. Some stores have what seem to be perpetual sales. There's gotta be a lot of markup baked in to the original prices for the stores to offer discounts all the time and still stay open.
- If it were this easy to make money, why isn't everyone doing it? Just go to the clearance section and buy everything, throw it into one of your eBay Stores, and ride off into the sunset.
It's these two points that made me a little skeptical when Ben over at Money Smart Life was thinking of using Tuesday Morning, a closeout chain, to supplement his eBay store selections. (Mainly, if Tuesday Morning is making a profit, what's left for him, especially after he ships it and pays all of the eBay fees?) I certainly don't want to jinx anyone, so I'll reserve judgment and see how it plays out. Best wishes, Ben! 😉
This article actually wasn't the first time I had heard of someone buying merchandise in a retail store and reselling it on eBay for profit. A woman whose yard sale we visited on the way to my wife's parents' house resold things from The Dollar Store for profit!
The second bullet point just isn't true — it isn't that easy. Coulombe knows what sells and she knows where to get those items at a price that she can make a profit. For her, these deals pop up right in the store. This is true for any reselling venture, because if you buy too high, you're not going to make money. “You make money when you buy, not when you sell.” (This phrase is often used in reference to investing, but it's also true here.) I suspect leather goods sell very well on eBay — especially if they're unused.
She drives the price per item down even more with:
- Rebates
- Buy one, get one free
- Clearance discounts
- Sales and coupons, especially special discounts through preferred customer programs
- Careful use of a store credit card
- Insider information (befriending the manager and getting the inside scoop on markdowns)
Anyone else able to take advantage of retail deals for resale?
You might be right about Tuesday Morning, I hit a big sale there over the weekend and was somewhat disappointed in the number of things I found. I did get 6 really good deals that will make me $20-$40 each but I was hoping for more.
I think I can make money there but I'll have to settle for lower margins than I'm used to. However, if I can increase my volume then I should still see a boost in cash flow.
I think many people underestimate how difficult reselling on eBay can be, especially if you are making your living at it. I have known people that are full time eBay sellers and it's a tough business. One thing they did was to go to storage unit auctions in which someone stops paying on their storage unit, and all the contents gets auctioned off. I have only sold on eBay personal effects I no longer used.
Ben, the article I linked to surprised me enough that I was going to give you the benefit of the doubt. And you found stuff that you can re-sell. I stand corrected. (Actually, I sit corrected.) 😉
Plus6, those can be gold mines. I haven't had the guts to bid on one yet.
It is not hard to do this, but you have to keep on top of the prices and know what to look for. I made about $30 profit on several Gigabit routers that I bought on clearance at Staples, and about $65 profit on some All-Clad cooking pots that I bought from a local department store on clearance at 75% off.
One really nice thing about doing this is that most stores have a 30-day return policy. This is plenty of time to put it on eBay and try to turn a profit on it. If not, just return it and your monetary loss is $0! Of course, you wasted some time, but still….
One thing to consider is when you are buying from a non-national chain dollar store. We have a very nice local (ie state) chain that sells items I never see anywhere else. I could see where someone might do well selling some of their stuff.
Also, if you are willing to ship internationally or specifically to a military PO box, you may have an audience of folks who CANT get to the same store you ran around the corner to and bought it from in the first place.
But personally that all is still too much effort for me. I've got other projects to spend my time on, like reading everyone elses blogs and writing on my own 😉
I know some people who have made money using Ebay, but none that have made it a full time job. I'd be interested in finding out if you could earn a living from it.
I do like the idea of buying idems at a discount and if they dont sell then returning them.
I HAD TO CHUCKLE WHEN I VIEWED THE ARTICLE WRITTEN ABOUT ME APPEARED HERE.
I ONLY SHOP FOR FUN. ITEMS DO POP OUT AT ME A LOT. IT'S ALL IN KNOWING WHAT'S HOT AND WHAT'S NOT.
TRY TO ANTICIPATE TRENDS AND ACT ON THEM.
THOSE FREE TOYS FROM MCDONALDS…….I WAS SELLING MY DAUGHTERS DUPLICATE MADAME ALEXANDER DOLLS (ESP. #1 AND 2) FOR 8-10. A PIECE. MORE FOR THE COMPLETE SETS.
BUY OFF SEASON AND HOLD ONTO YOUR ITEMS FOR 6 MONTHS BEFORE RESELLING.
IT JUST TAKES SOME GOOD STRATEGY, PLANNING AND A LITTLE LUCK.
PS I DO EBAY BECAUSE IT IS MUCH EASIER THAN DEALING WITH DOCS AND PATIENTS IN MY OTHER CAREER…….NURSING.
CHRIS
I would think finding enough clearance and marked down items to make a living on Ebay would be very tough to do. It looks like alot of sellers are sourcing items made in China. If you are lucky enough to actually find products with decent profit margins you will have an endless supply. Listing the same items over and over is also alot easier then writing new listings for every item you sell.