Well Ebay sales definitely picked up a little this week and I was quite surprised that toys were being bought (possibly due to parents having to keep the children entertained during the summer holidays). We did a little bit of retail arbitrage last week and a couple of the items sold really quick (see below for more details).
So here are my 7 random Ebay sales that I’ve shipped out this week.
Item: Emma Morgan Knitted Cardigan/Jacket
Paid: £3.00 (charity shop)
I picked this up back in February and thought it would sit around till the colder weather but surprise surprise it sold during one of the hottest weeks of the year! You just never know what will happen on Ebay next. I hadn’t heard of the name but I just really loved it and obviously someone else did too.
Sold for: £14.99 (free postage)
Profit after Ebay & Paypal Fees: £6.52
Item: Wise Crackin’ Interactive Donkey from Shrek
Paid: £4.99 (charity shop)
I picked up an interactive Shrek at the same time which sold within its first couple of weeks. Donkey took a bit longer to sell but he eventually went off to Spain. I loved this toy – it had the real Eddie Murphy voice and it spoke back to you when you asked set questions.
Sold for: £16.99 + £3 p&p
Profit after Ebay & Paypal Fees: £10.01
Item: Fisher Price Little People Farm
Paid: £5 (car boot sale)
This is the second Little People Farm I’ve sold recently. I really like selling play sets and this was a lovely little bundle. It had farm yard sounds and a musical tractor plus lots of little figures which really help to sell it. I actually bought this from one of those traders that just puts out a load of boxes you rummage through which I usually just ignore! I’ll be picking up more of these.
Sold for: £25 + £8 p&p
Profit after Ebay & Paypal Fees: £16.46
Item: The French Experience Course
Paid: £1.50 (car boot sale)
I mentioned in last week’s 7 Ebay Sales post that I wouldn’t be picking up any more language courses in cassette format, well this one was in CD format and I’d pick these up every day of the week. The European language courses always sell well – I’ve had this one listed for about 4 weeks.
Sold for: £20 + £4.50 p&p
Profit after Ebay & Paypal Fees: £16.66
Item: VTech Fly & Learn Globe
Paid: £2 (charity shop)
This is another toy I’ve sold a few of. I always pick them up if they’re cheap enough – again they’re not fast sellers but always sell eventually.
Sold for: £14.99 + £4 p&p
Profit after Ebay & Paypal Fees: £9.93
Item: Silentnight Simply Cool mattress Protector
Paid: £7 (Tesco)
I picked up two of these in the Tesco clearance sale, they’d been reduced from £25. As the weather was really hot and they had ‘Simply Cool’ in their title I thought they’d be a winner and I was right. They both sold within 2 days. They’d only had two left in the shop but I wish I’d had a look around some other Tesco stores in the area to see if they had more. Ho hum, lesson learned.
Sold for: £20 + £2.95 p&p
Profit after Ebay & Paypal Fees: £9.26 (on each one)
Item: Jacques Vert Red Jacket
Paid: £10 (Charity Shop)
This was part of a skirt suit that I bought about 12 months ago. It just wouldn’t sell as a suit, I tried lowering the price, changing the keywords, changing the photos, it just wouldn’t budge. So I decided to split them up and sell the jacket and skirt separately. The jacket when within a couple of weeks of doing this but I’ve still got the skirt – it’s quite long with a slit up the front & back which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea I guess. Oh well at least I made a little profit and happy days if the skirt does sell.
Sold for: £18 + £3.75 p&p
Profit after Ebay & Paypal Fees: £5.24
My favourite of these Ebay sales is the Little People Farm – it was quite big and took up a lot of space in my stock room so it was nice to get it moved on. I also liked the quick flip of the mattress protectors, I’m hoping to do a lot more retail arbitrage in future.
If you’re thinking of selling on Ebay or you already do but would like some hints and tips here are two very helpful blog posts you need to read:
Thrifty Londoner : Top Tips for Selling on Ebay
Girl On a Pension : 7 Top tips for a New Ebay Seller