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eBay Reselling?
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Berkeley, CA
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It seems to me that a lot of what gets you money on eBay is your presentation of the product. For example, I sold an iPod for $270, even though I only had a feedback rating of 2. I was thinking that buying items from people with bad presentation skills, and then reselling them, might be a good way to earn some extra cash. Has anyone ever tried this? I'm sure it's a pretty common practice. Of course, the eBay seller charges and shipping charges don't help.
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"Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." -Archimedes
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Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Sep 2004
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I've done it a few times. I once bought a camera on eBay for $25, and sold it for over $100. Other than that though, the fees tend to take any real profit I may have made.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: USA
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Yes, I do it all the time! The motto is "buy low and sell high."
Maury
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Outfield - #24
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It's easier to buy cheap from a garage sale, and then sell on eBay in my experience.
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Senior User
Join Date: Sep 2004
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How did you present your item?
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Berkeley, CA
Status:
Offline
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"Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." -Archimedes
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Senior User
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Well another thing to take into consideration is that people on eBay are stupid. These can be for less locally, but we are talking about eBay.
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Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Los Angeles
Status:
Offline
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Originally Posted by tavilach
It seems to me that a lot of what gets you money on eBay is your presentation of the product. For example, I sold an iPod for $270, even though I only had a feedback rating of 2. I was thinking that buying items from people with bad presentation skills, and then reselling them, might be a good way to earn some extra cash. Has anyone ever tried this? I'm sure it's a pretty common practice. Of course, the eBay seller charges and shipping charges don't help.
Just some advice. Don't take pics of the item you are selling on your carpet. Use a flat platform and throw a nice blanket (solid colored) over the platform and snap away.
The presentation looks ok but the carpet kinda kills it.
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15" 1.25/512/80/5400/SD/AE Aluminum Powerbook
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Los Angeles
Status:
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Originally Posted by Sandbaggins
Just some advice. Don't take pics of the item you are selling on your carpet. Use a flat platform and throw a nice blanket (solid colored) over the platform and snap away.
The presentation looks ok but the carpet kinda kills it.
I didn't have the same reaction. On the contrary, I thought the picture looked quite nice, and I was also impressed by the way Tavilach showed the box was sealed by showing the reflection of the name tag on the plastic.
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"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." TJ
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Seattle, WA
Status:
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Yeah, the ebay/paypal fees really eat into any low margin ebay businesses. I bought a mac mini for cheap the first week it was out when no one could get them. I got it 10% off or so, and I tried to flip it on ebay but ended up breaking even after fees. (I think I lost 12¢ plus my time)
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Impulse Response
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Capitol City
Status:
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I haven't had much luck on ebay. To really make any money you need to have a steady stream of items that are reasonably difficult to get (old books, handmade stuff, exclusive items not otherwise available), or be able to get a price significantly lower than your competitors (selling the same item)- Like say you know the manufacturer, and they swing you a great deal. If you can do either of these, you can make money on ebay. Otherwise, I'm not so sure.
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Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Feb 2003
Status:
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Just a tip.
eBay + PayPal fees = 10~12% of whatever your final sale price is.
I've spent enough time on eBay, and though made some profits, the fees always take away a big portion of the pie.
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"You don't lead by hitting people over the head... that's assault, not leadership."
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Edmonton, AB
Status:
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Just buy and sell stocks?
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Mac Elite
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Cambridge UK
Status:
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Originally Posted by Alezone
Just a tip.
eBay + PayPal fees = 10~12% of whatever your final sale price is.
I've spent enough time on eBay, and though made some profits, the fees always take away a big portion of the pie.
True, but sometimes you need a large audience for items.
I usually try and sell through the local newspaper first, then move on to eBay if there's no interest. Then if nothing after that, off to Freecycle it goes! 
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Baninated
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Illinois might be cold and flat, but at least it's ugly.
Status:
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It's why adertisers are sooo successful.
Presentation
Presentation
Presentation
But, the product quality is what keeps them coming back... (APPLE)
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