How I make an extra $500 a month selling on Ebay!

This was the main reason many of my family and friends told me to start a blog to show how to earn extra money.  I have turned a fun little hobby into an opportunity to earn more money by selling/flipping items on eBay.  The greatest thing about eBay is your buyers come from all over the world. Your market is larger than anything you could open yourself in your home town, with no overhead, and there are millions of buyers every day on eBay just looking for a deal.  It is estimated that an average of $200 million worth of items are sold EVERY DAY on eBay.  Why not make a small profit by flipping items and becoming a middle man for those people looking for that deal?

I got started by selling small toys on eBay.  It all started with the handheld electronic game “Deal or No Deal” when the show was a huge hit.  I simply went to Wal-Mart and purchased every handheld game of “Deal or No Deal” from the store for $8.99 each.  At the time these games were selling for $20-$25 on eBay due to the popularity of the game.  A few years later the hot item was the Zhu Zhu pets, which also sold for about $8 at Wal-Mart and purchased for $20-$25 on eBay, to those who were willing to pay.  Toys are usually a good profit, however I also found out that electronics and shoes began to bring in profits as well.  A good example was an HP printer I found one time on clearance at Shopko for $40.  It was selling on eBay for $80 while this particular model had a retail price of $160.  So the buyer feels like he/she is getting a good deal even after shipping costs are added.  So if you want more profit, buy more printers; I bought two.  Total cost was $80 for the printers, they both sold for $85 each and I charged $10 for shipping to make the purchase more appealing.  I received $190 in my Paypal; shipping cost me $32 to ship both printers, and my total cost (final fee for eBay) was about $18.  So my profit ended up being $190-$80-$32-$18=$60.  $30 each printer; profit in my pocket in a matter of two days.  Ok, so that is not huge, but when I kept searching for more clearance items similar to this one, I didn't go out and spend my profit right away, I used it to buy more items.  With $140 in my account I had more options at being able to buy more items and flip them.

 Another example I will give is when I found a clearance item at TJ Maxx selling for $98.  It was a power skate board with a Bluetooth remote control.  Using the power of mobile technology, I was able to pull up the very model of that skateboard on my mobile eBay app and found this skateboard selling for $400-$500.  Sure enough I was able to purchase this skateboard and flip it for a $250 profit.  I listed the board using the handy dandy mobile app (took me only about 5 minutes to complete the listing) and within 1 day I had a buyer of a Buy It Now price of $400.

This can be accomplished at any store where prices are dropped or items are on clearance.  Target, Walmart, Kmart, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Shopko, Ross, Home Goods, Fred Meyers all have items that go through markdowns dropping the price by 50-75%.  Then you are able to turn that item for a profit.  

EBAY TIPS: Today, I average about 120 items every 60 days.  Not all of them yield a $30 profit, but my average is about $10 per item.  I have sold well over 3,000 items and I continue to grow my inventory every day.  It takes patience if an item doesn't sell right away.  I usually re-look at my price if it hasn't sold after 45 days and maybe lower it a little to attract more buyers.
-Start with small stuff, ship the item fast and get your feedback up.
-Offer free shipping by padding the price a little (if you can.)
-Most buyers on eBay want to see a high feedback rating to do your very best to make the customer happy.
-Take plenty of pictures from every angle so the buyer can see the actual item they are buying.  Try to stay away from stock photos
-Take that dang price tag off as best as possible (no one wants to see that you got it for way less than what they are buying it for.)
-Be quick and polite in your communication.  Make sure you are getting email notifications whenever you receive a message or an item is purchased so you can reply to your buyer faster.
-Take advantage of promotions.  Ebay offers free listings every once in a while so you don't go over your max.            

SELLING TIPS: Make sure it is an item that is currently SELLING on eBay by checking completed listings.
-Just because you like the item doesn't mean it is selling for more money than what you can buy it for.
-Don't blow your money on clearance items.  Keep turning your profit into capital to buy more items.
-The US Post office gives you free shipping supplies, so just order them online and have them directly shipped to your house.
-Then the US Post office will also pick up from your front door for free!!!
-Always ship priority mail.  Parcel post is only like $.25 cheaper and it takes 5-10 more days to arrive. Make your customers happy by getting it to them within 2-3 days.
-Stick with name brand items.  You will have more success this way, however if you see an item you've never heard of before but it looks appealing, look it up.  Who knew that Hoka One One shoes were a great selling running shoe??

Starting a new blog!!

Ok, so this is all new to me.  I have never done a blog before; I never even thought about it.  I figured there was nothing that I could say that hasn't already been said somewhere on the internet.  I also thought, what do I have to write about?  I am no expert in anything really.

Then I was told multiple times by friends and family that I should write a blog about some of my unique methods of making and saving money. I do take pride in some of the things I do, I usually end up talking about my most recent discounted find, money saving deal or money making strategy I recently accomplished. The truth is I get really excited and enjoy the experiences and the rush I get from my accomplishments.  Like when I recently was able to acquire a new $110 Nike Shield Superbowl XVIII hoodie/coat for $14.99.  Everyone knows I am a huge Seattle Seahawks fan and the finding of the coat was no secret, I just happened to be at the right place at the right time and was able to pick it up before anyone else did.  Lucky for me I found an incredible deal and landed myself a quality, highly coveted (at least here in WA state) item to wear for myself.  This is just a good find though.  Anyone could do it, if they know where to look.  So I have been encouraged to share these successes, secret or not, through this blog.  So even though it might not be read by 1000 people, or even 100 people, some might find it helpful for their situation or hopefully there will be someone out there who might end up learning something through my experience.

So what am I planning on writing about?  Well I hope to write about some of the opportunities and things I have come across that have helped me to save more money and make extra money.  After all, I am married with 4 growing boys at home and lets face it, they are not cheap.  My wife does not work outside of the home, so I am responsible for making sure I have enough money at the end of the month.  I know there are many out there who would love to cut back on their bills, tighten up the budget, maybe make an extra $200-$500 a month to help pay off debt, or pay for the families upcoming vacation.  I might even throw in some information I learned from my 8 years working in the financial services industry.