Buying items cheaply and reselling them on eBay for a profit is a relatively easy way to make a bit of extra money fairly quickly. There are people who make a living from doing just this but I don't know any of them! It is a good way to supplement your existing income though.

There are a lot of e-books available to buy which claim to hold the secret of making you an eBay millionaire but most of the tips in them are common sense and the e-books are a waste of money in my opinion.

Getting Started

EBay rules state that all sellers must offer Paypal as an option to receive payment. Click here to sign up now if you don't already have an account. It's free and allows you to receive instant payments from buyers.

If you have never sold anything on eBay before I would recommend starting with buying a few cheap items and selling any unwanted things that you have around the house. This will give you a feel for the site and help you to build up a feedback profile. Most things can sell - I once sold a dress that I had brought without trying on and had bust the zip trying to put it on at home as it was far too small. I didn't get back what I paid for it but at least I got something for it  rather than leaving it hanging round in my wardrobe!

What to sell

Choosing what you want to sell carefully is important. I would recommend choosing something that you are interested in yourself. For example if you love pottery try that, or if you are interested in fashion try vintage dresses. This will help you write interesting accurate descriptions that will help you fetch the highest prices and make it easier for you to spot a bargain. The danger is that if you buy something you love you may fall in love with it and keep it instead of selling it. Remember you are meant to be buying things to sell to pay off your payday loans, not spending more money.

Do your research. I can't stress this enough. If you don't research before buying stock to sell on eBay you can end up paying for a lot of items that you can't sell for a profit which leaves you worse off than you were before.
Do a search in eBay for what you want to sell. Note how many items there are. If there are a lot then it will be more difficult for you to sell at a high price (although if most similar items sell then you know there is a market for the product). Look at completed listings (there is a check box in the menu in the bar on the left-hand side which allows you to view these.) This brings up all items that have already sold. If there are a lot of unsold items similar to yours consider selling something else.

You may be very surprised at what sells. For example there is a good market for very well-worn ladies' shoes. They sometimes go for in excess of £20! It seems that the more battered the shoes the more they go for. They are sent for an "adult" audience but if you can distance yourself from what these people are doing with the shoes then it is a good way to make money from something that you would otherwise throw away. And as fetishes go used shoes seems fairly harmless!
Some people sell carrier bags from designer shops (although if you are struggling with payday loans you really shouldn't be shopping there)!
Faulty electrical items often sell well as they can be easy to fix if you have the knowhow. It is very important that you clearly state that the item is faulty.
If you are able to sew and make clothes or bags then consider doing this. Material can be brought relatively cheaply and hand-made unique items often sell for good prices.

Where to buy stock to sell on eBay

Charity shops are a good place to start. Some people feel that it is immoral to buy from a charity to sell for a profit but in my opinion it is OK. They are getting what they wanted for it after all, and if it turns out that you buy something for a few pence that sells for a lot then you can always make a donation. Shops in affluent areas tend to have better items than those in poorer areas.

Car boot and jumble sales can also be very good places to find stock. They are generally advertised in local newspapers and notice boards. School fetes tend to have bric a brac stalls where you can sometimes pick up a bargain that can be sold for a profit.

If you are thinking of trading clothes then sample sales are a good place to buy. They are sales where designers clothes that have been used for photoshoots and for the catwalk are sold at huge discounts. For a list of some of the sample sales in London for 2008 click here.

Buying cheaply on eBay

It is possible to buy items cheaply on eBay and resell them for a profit.

Items with spelling mistakes can be missed by searches and so attract fewer bids. Fat fingers is a brilliant website that lets you search for typos. Items that aren't listed in the proper categories are also often missed and attract fewer bids. It is slightly risky but items without photographs tend to sell for less. The trouble with this is that things aren't always what you expect when they arrive! The time that a listing end can have an impact on the price it sells for. Items that end in the middle of the day in the week tend to sell for the least and items that end on a Sunday evening sell for the most.

Listing tips

• Check your spelling
• List the item in the appropriate category - there is an option to list the item in a second catagory. This is more expensive but will give your item more visibilty.
• The item should end on a Sunday evening if possible
• The photograph should be clear and taken in good light which shows the item off to its full potential
• Be honest and point out any flaws and faults in the item description. Some people actively search for faulty things and not being honest can lead to buyers leaving negative feedback.
• Look at descriptions written by successful sellers and think about what it is that draws buyers to their listings. Try and incorporate it into your own listings.  
• Answer any questions that you get quickly. If the question is likely to be asked again post it on the item description page (there is an option to do this when you reply).
• List items with a high starting price on a 10p / 5p lisiting day if you can. EBay tends to have these reasonably regularly and they can save you a lot when listing expensive items. 
• If you have more than one photograph you can avoid paying the 12p per picture charge for extra photos. First you need to set up a free account with a photo-hosting site like photobucket When you are uploading photos click on the "self hosting" tab and add the urls of the photographs you wish to add.
• Make sure your postage and packaging charges are appropriate. Too high and it puts bidders off, too low and you will be out of pocket. Weigh packaged items before listing and use a postage cost estimator. You can find one here.
• Make sure you add packaging costs to the price of posting the item.
• Accept more that one method of payment. Most people do prefer to pay via paypal but some people don't have an account. I accept paypal and postal orders or concealed cash through the post. Cheques are often faked and used in scams and can bounce after they appear to have cleared so I stear clear of them.
• Don't agree to sell an item outside of eBay and in no circumstances should you send any money anywhere via a Western Union money transfer. This is a system used by scammers.