Lalaloopsy dolls are doing well on eBay right now and you MAY be able to find these at retail stores such as WalMart, Target, and Toys R Us. These toys are in short supply, which indicates the prices are going to increase. As supply decreases, price and demand will increase. Remember Econ 101? Even the media is talking about these dolls:
Mittens Fluff N Stuff sells at Toys R Us for $24.99. As you can see, the item is out of stock online and for in store pickup:
This doll recently sold on eBay for $56. Prices are all over the board right now and have gone over $100 in the last week.
Sugar Cookie is another one out of stock on Toys R Us:
And one sold on Sunday (11/28) for $38.02 - BUT - look at the shipping charge - $22.35? They made a nice profit on the shipping mark-up!
Pay attention to these by searching the completed listings on eBay frequently.
Today's post is contributed by Miriam Otto who writes the blog "The eBay Life!"
I love Swarovski crystal figurines and ornaments.They are gorgeous! They are so gorgeous that I collect them. (I'm a minimalist, so that's a big deal!)In fact, I was a "member" of the official Swarovski club.
Swarovski figurines are definitely hot on eBay. But how can you tell if a figurine is real? That's easy. Look for the frosted swan insignia. It is usually found on the bottom of any piece that is authentic.
In order to get the most money for Swarovskis when selling them on eBay, it is best to have the original box and certificate of authenticity. Each piece comes with a sturdy box, foam inserts, and a special certificate. I keep all of my boxes together in a safe place.
And where do you find Swarovski figurines? Most people love their collections and don't give them away, so estate sales are going to be your best bet. People who host estate sales often don't know what they have. I once found a Swarovski at the bottom of a box at an estate sale. It was a duck, and I ended up adding it to my collection. This specific piece had been retired, so it was no longer available for purchase from the manufacturer.
Swarovski commemorative Christmas ornaments are also hot sellers. A few years back I found a Swarovski Christmas ornament at a garage sale for a quarter! Swarovski releases a new one every year. The one I found was from 2005 and came with the original packaging. It is currently selling for between 50 and 60 dollars on eBay.
So the next time you’re at an estate sale, keep your eyes open for Swarovski figurines and ornaments. They are beautiful pieces that hold their value!
Miriam Otto is an eBay PowerSeller and adult school teacher from Northern California. She sells an average of 150 items per month. Her eBay store, Bluefrogshoes.com, features shoes in hard-to-find sizes. She also writes a blog called The eBay Life! which features a “score of the week.”
Would you like to contribute a guest post? The eBay Coach blog receives over 30,000 page views a month and has a subscriber list of several thousand. (Click here for stats.) A link to your eBay store and / or blog will be posted along with your article. For consideration, submit your post to eBaycoach @ yahoo.com.
If you Google "Tips for Selling on eBay," you will find almost 500,000 results. Who wants to look through all of that? And how can you tell which ones are legitimate sites with REAL and useful information? Below is a comprehensive list of the most reputable eBay resources on the internet for helping you sell successfully on eBay. Bookmark this page and visit often as these tips for selling on eBay will be updated regularly.
Blogs
Auction Bytes - one of the oldest and most reputable blogs about eBay selling.
Channel Advisor - Scott Wingo's blog. Info for online sellers regarding selling on multiple channels.
Outsource Shipping with Amazon FBA - Learn how to grow your business, increase sales, outsource shipping and customer service, and automate your business. Private eBay Coaching - The most established eBay coaching program available. Learn from real coaches who walk the walk and sell on eBay every day. Skip McGrath's Newsletter - The oldest and most established newsletter for professional eBay sellers.
Stamps.com - Print your own shipping labels at home.
Discussion Groups, Membership Sites, and Forums
Collect.com - Very helpful community - knowledgeable members. Useful for determining value of collectibles when no comps can be found. Free membership.
eBay Coach Facebook Group - over 3,000 members providing support and sharing info on what and how to sell on eBay and Amazon. Strictly business for serious sellers, no drama permitted. Free membership.
My Silent Team - Jim Cockrum's membership site about building multiple income streams, eBay being one of them. Over 4,000 members sharing information about online income streams. Membership cost $19.95 a month, 5 day trial for only $5.
Queen of Auctions - Lynne Dralle - Experienced seller specializing in collectibles, specifically dishes. Membership cost $39.99 a month.
Thrift Shopper Forum - Black belt thrift shoppers. Learn what thrift store finds sell well on eBay. Free membership.
WAHM Forum - Started for work at home moms - anyone is welcome. Specific section for eBay sellers. Free membership.
Here is a cool trick for using eBay to obtain inventory to sell on Amazon, especially books. If you are looking to get into the book business selling used or new books on Amazon, you can do this at home, at your convenience, without a special book scanner.
If you aren't selling books already, you will need to poke around on Amazon and look for books that are selling for $20-$30. (Click here for the types of books and categories to look in.)
If you are already selling books on Amazon, pay attention to your sales reports. When you sell a book for a high price on Amazon, go look for it on eBay and see if you can buy it at a low enough price to resell it on Amazon for a decent profit. For example, I recently sold the book, "Disney's Aladdin - The Making of an Animated Film." Here is a screen shot of the Amazon sale:
My profit on this item was $23.44 after my cost and Amazon fees. I consider that a high profit book sale. Next, I checked on eBay for this book, and found the following listing:
This book on eBay would cost me a total of $6.34. So, I can buy this book on eBay, receive it in the mail, and list it on Amazon for $32.97 (the same as my other sale). When it sells, I will make a profit of $20.34:
Cost to buy on eBay = $6.34 Amazon fees after sale = $6.29 Total investment = $12.63
Amazon sale price = $32.97 - $12.63 = $20.34
The moral of this story: Pay attention to your sales and scope out eBay for the product. Many sellers don't know how to price books and don't know their value. You can snag some high profit books very easily and resell them without ever leaving your house!
For more easy and clever tricks like this, CLICK HERE to check out Skip McGrath's eBook about selling used books on the internet.
I love flipping listings. It is kind of like gambling. (No, I don't need a 12-step program...yet.) This is a great way to get inventory to sell, to try new things, and to leverage the power of eBay. Here is my latest flip and how you can do this, too! Thousands of new listings hit eBay every day, so the opportunity is ALWAYS there.
Here is my flip:
I found this item using a misspelling tool. I use Typohound.com - it is free. I searched for the words "cashmere sweater." The tool generates a list of possible misspellings, including typos, common misspellings, etc. I found this item:
Fatal errors on this listing:
1. Two words in the title are misspelled.
2. No return policy. (Read more on the importance of a return policy.)
3. The shipping is really too high for this item. It only weighs a few ounces.
4. No measurements on the listing. Always include measurements on clothing!
5. Keywords in title not optimized. Did not use the word NEW or NWOT in title.
The starting price was $3.99. I bid $5 using a sniper. You always want to snipe these items because bids on auctions encourage more bids. Stay under the radar and let a sniper win it for you in the last few seconds. I use Gixen.com - it is free.
I received the item in the mail, took my own photos, and relisted it. Here is my listing:
What I did differently (better!) than the original seller:
1. Use the word NEW as the first word in the title. This helps you place higher in searches.
2. Included free shipping. This also helps you place higher in searches.
3. Spelled all of the words correctly, added the color to the title, and used all of the space for the keywords in the title.
4. Included a 30 day return policy.
5. Included the measurements in the description.
6. Included international shipping.
So, did I make any money on this item:
Original cost: $16.99 Listing fee: .20 Final value fee: $3.95 Profit: $11.81
Not a huge profit but this is an example of what you can do on eBay without even leaving your house to find inventory. And you can do this many times a day, every single day. All you need is the internet, time, and your imagination. Some tips on flipping listings.
Focus on what you already know. Brainstorm within a niche you are familiar with. Do you know about books, guitars, cameras, tools, leather goods, or anything collectible? Browse websites that carry expensive products such as Nordstrom, Saks 5th Avenue, Bloomingdales, Macys. Zone in on international sounding words as these are frequently misspelled. Good categories are apparel, shoes, fragrances, cosmetics, electronics, musical instruments, and tools. Avoid handbags and watches as many of these on eBay are cheap imitations and if you resell a fake one, you may be suspended.
Avoid fragile items as they will have to be shipped to you, and then shipped out again to your customer and this opens up opportunities for damage. Choose items that are easy to re-ship.
Create your own list of words to search for arbitrage. The key to this process is knowing what to plug into the misspelling tool.
Do this process regularly. I spend about a hour a week looking for items like this, set up my snipes, and win (or lose) the items throughout the week. This process is not intended to be the base of your eBay business, but is a fun way to find things to resell.
