Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Super Hot Discontinued Item to Sell on eBay - At Your Local Drug Store


SCORCHING HOT ITEM! RUN, DON'T WALK TO CVS OR WALGREENS!!

Aveeno Active Naturals Eczema Care Cream. This item has been discontinued. It works great on eczema, and those who use it are looking on eBay for it. It costs about $10 per tube (retail), and you can find it at your local drug store. It will be in the First Aid aisle, right by the Sarna lotion, or other cortizone or itch-relieving type lotions. I found it at CVS, Walgreens, and Wal-Mart. (Rite-Aid, Target, Kroger, or other grocery stores did NOT carry it. Best to check CVS and Walgreens.)

I must confess, I discovered this hot seller about a month ago and spent a few weeks scouring Atlanta for every tube I could find. It isn't easy to find. My best sale was $81 for two tubes! WOW - $61 profit on one sale! It is still selling for about $20 a tube, which is a nice profit if you can find any.

Good luck finding some!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Is Thrift Store Clothing Still Profitable on eBay?


Many of you who follow my eBay store have noticed that I am no longer selling clothing found in thrift stores and that my inventory has shifted to consumer products. This blog post is a response to those of you out there who have contacted me with the question, "If you aren't selling thrift store clothing anymore, does that mean it is no longer profitable?'

The answer - Thrift Store clothing is still a good seller on eBay!

My eBay business and my life are completely different than when I started selling on eBay back in 2003. My children were 7 and 9, and as a single parent, I wanted a way to make money from home. I would make 1 or 2 thrift store runs a week and spend the bulk of my time processing, photographing, listing, and shipping the items - all from the comfort of home on a schedule that worked for my family.

My children are now 12 and 14 and are much more independent. They can be at home by themselves if I have to run an errand, meet with a client, or hold a seminar or class. My coaching business occupies much of my time now as I do telephone consulting, one-on-one consulting, and seminars and classes for other moms who want to learn how to make money on eBay. I also am a compensated writer for other blogs, women's causes, and work-from-home sites. And of course, there are my eBooks which I will continue to crank out as fast as I can - right now I have two in process - all about shoes, and how to market your store on the internet for free. I've also got some new ventures in the works that you will be reading about in the next few months.

So, do not dispair that my eBay store does not contain the items that I describe in my books. Trust me, after selling over 10,000 pieces of clothing on eBay, I've learned a few things. Those of you who sell clothing will agree that it is time consuming and labor intensive, however, a good fit for moms at home with small children as you can work on clothing at your own pace and clothing is something that everyone around the world will always need.

As for my inventory now, I have made some new connections where I am able to experiment with new products at a minimal investment. Keep in mind that your eBay store will continue to evolve as time goes by. I started out selling lingerie, then books, then dishes and kitchen items, and finally clothing. I found that clothing was easy to find, easy to store and ship, and everyone needs it (and needs to replace it eventually) so clothing is a good, reliable seller.

I am not in the thrift stores much anymore, but come winter, I guarantee I will be visting them to look for some 100% cashmere sweaters - for myself this time!

Happy selling!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

How to File a Mutual Withdrawal on eBay


If you haven't heard this one yet, you will. Customer emails you, "I've decided I don't want to buy this after all. Please cancel the transaction." You will still be charged the final value fees unless you take action to recover them.

You can do one of three things.

1) Do nothing and don't bother to recover your lost fees.

2) File an upaid item dispute after 7 days and your fees will be credited back to your account if the customer does not pay for the item.

3) File a mutual withdrawal. The customer must agree to this, but it is a more friendly resolution if the buyer made an honest mistake. Follow these steps:

a) Log on to your eBay seller page.
b) Click "Dispute Console."
c) Enter the item number.
d) Under "Why are you reporting this item?" Click, "We have both agreed not to complete this transaction." Answer next question about details regarding the withdrawal.
e) Buyer will receive an email from eBay asking if he/she wants to complete the withdrawal.
f) If the buyer completes the request and agrees to the withdrawal, fees are refunded immediately. You will receive an email with this information.

As long as the buyer agrees to this resolution, it is a much more amicable way to resolve the situation when a buyer has made a reasonable error in purchasing the item. Read more about how to file a mutual withdrawal.