Are you looking for a side hustle that can earn you a good amount of money without needing any particular qualifications? Look no further than buying and selling items on eBay! This is a popular side hustle that involves finding items to buy from garage sales, estate sales, thrift stores, and other online platforms, and then reselling them on eBay for a profit.
The best part about this side hustle is that you don't need any specific qualifications. You just need a phone with the eBay app so you can look up what things have sold for and decide if the item you’re looking at will make you a profit. If you have knowledge of a specific niche, such as GI Joe, Barbie, sewing supplies, electronics, etc., and know how much things go for in that niche, even better.
The start-up cost for this side hustle is zero. All you need to do is make an eBay account, find some items, and upload a listing. However, there are some hidden costs to consider, such as packing materials. You can buy packing materials from local box stores, but it’s often cheaper to buy them online. You’ll need boxes, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, tape, and a printer for labels.
When it comes to potential earnings, the sky is the limit. People make a full-time living by selling on eBay, and it's a scalable business. You can oversee sourcing products and have someone else do the listing and the shipping. You can keep growing and keep getting more people on.
Selling on eBay is quite time-consuming, as you need to find items, research them, find the price to sell at, and then list them individually. If you can find a bulk quantity of an item, that is ideal. You only have to make one listing but list it as multiple quantities. Once sold, you have to spend time packing and shipping.
Your customer is anyone looking for the things you’re selling, so this side hustle has a broad customer base. You don't need any website since eBay is the platform you will be using, and advertising or marketing is not required. However, you can pay a little to promote your products on the app.
The equipment needed to start includes a printer to make labels, a phone or computer with a camera to take pictures, and a scale to weigh items. Those are the basics, but you can scale up and have staff on if you want to take this side hustle to the next level.
To succeed in this side hustle, it's essential to understand the eBay app. When you look up an item to see its price, don’t take what you see at face value. Someone could be asking $100,000 for something, but that does not mean that $100,000 is its true value. You must go into the “Recently Sold” section and see how much it has sold for in the past 60 days, and that will give you an indication of what price you can list it at. You will also have to get familiar with the eBay shipping section. By using the eBay shipping section, you will save a lot of money on shipping costs because they have worked out a better pricing structure with UPS, USPS, and FedEx.
In conclusion, although buying and selling items on eBay is a popular side hustle, don’t feel discouraged or that you can’t do it. Even though it's out there in the world, most people are not following through. If you start listing things, they will sell, and you’ll start gaining experience, knowledge, and confidence. If you don’t have any money at all to get started, just start selling some of your own stuff to
Additional Resources:
Sell on eBay - https://amzn.to/3ASZa0U
eBay Shipping Made Easy - https://amzn.to/3AQZTPV
For more great Side Hustle ideas, check out "101 Real World Side Hustles."
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