Make Money on eBay Selling Items from Kroger

I discovered that Kroger can be a gold mine for finding inventory to resell on eBay. Especially if your Kroger has a large cosmetics and health and beauty section. Mega stores like Kroger are constantly offering newly released consumer items and resetting their shelves. Something has to be removed to make room for all the new stuff. That is where the markdowns come in.

If you browse your Kroger store, you will see big white tags on the shelf below the items that are marked down. The markdowns are usually 50% of the regular price. Kroger does not have a clearance section, items are just marked down in the department they are sold. For example, here are some items that I saw yesterday at my Kroger marked down to half price:

Nexxus Therappe Moisturizing Spray, reg price $17, markdown price $9.99

Neutrogena Spray Sunscreen, SPF 30, reg price $9.99, markdwon price $4.99

Aveeno Spray Sunscreen, SPF 45, reg price $9.49, markdown price $4.99

Sally Hansen Nail Polish, reg price $4.50, markdown price, $2.25

Clairol Perfect 10 Hair Color, reg price $11.99, markdown price $6.25
(Here is one that sold on eBay for $9.99.)




Aveeno Positively Ageless Daily Eye Serum
reg price $17.99, markdown price $8.99
(Here is one that sold on eBay for $13)

Also check the medicine, dental, weight loss, and vitamin aisles.

These markdowns may vary by store. Always do your homework before buying inventory to sell on eBay. Make sure you are comfortable with your investment before buying anything. (Click here for tips on how to price items to sell on eBay.)

Pay attention to coupons, too. You may find coupons for the clearance items that you can stack or layer for deeper discounts. For example, there was recently a $5 off Clairol Perfect 10 hair color coupon, so that made my cost on a $12 box of hair color (marked down to $6.25) only $1.25. I went on eBay, bought about 40 $5 coupons for around $2, bought a bunch of the hair color for $1.25 a box, and then sold the hair color in lots. A few extra steps, yes, but a way to get inventory dirt cheap. Here is a listing (not mine) for 3 boxes of Clairol Perfect 10 that sold for $14.99. Profit in this scenario is around $10 per lot.

Granted, your profit margins will be small on these items. But, if you can sell enough of them, it is worth the effort because you only create the listing once and continue to relist as long as you can find the product. These types of items are also good to sell in lots. Get enough of these types of listings going, and your store is almost on auto-pilot.

Click here to find out about more items from grocery and drug stores that you can sell for profit on eBay. Keep your eyes open at Kroger and see what you can find!

Kohl's Scam Continued

After talking with many of you yesterday about the Kohl's scam, I decided to send this email to the seller. People like this are what gives eBay a bad name. Most of us do a legitimate business selling a legitimate product or service. I hate to see people manipulate eBay and make it something sleazy - it just harms eBay's reputation and in turn, our reputations by being affiliated with eBay.

Dear Seller,

I am very disappointed and disturbed by this transaction. First of all, you didn't send coupons, but download links that I had to print. eBay policy states that all coupons sold through eBay must be physically delivered to the buyer, and may not be delivered by electronic means for home printing. No where in your listing did it state that I had to waste my ink and paper to print something. Third, the coupons clearly say 1 per household. Your listing was not only deceptive, but you are clearly violating eBay policy selling these Kohl's so called coupons.

She replied with, "There was nothing "deceptive" about this auction. This is not a "scam or fraud." If this was a scam do you really think I would have had 100% positive feedback."

So I replied with,

1) Your listing is deceptive. You are selling something that ANYONE can get for free on the internet. You are opening numerous free email accounts, signing up for printable coupons numerous times that are only meant to be used by one person one time, and then selling them for profit to unsuspecting buyers who think they are receiving a promotional coupon obtained in an honest way. Furthermore, according to the listing, the buyer will receive COUPONS, not download links. Digital items, including links such as the Kohl's coupons, may only be sold through eBay Classified Ads, and the seller must be legally authorized to sell the item. You can read eBay's policy on selling digital items by clicking here.

2) Your listings for Kohl's coupons violates eBay's coupon policy which states, "All coupons sold through eBay must be physically delivered to the buyer, and may not be delivered by electronic means for home printing." You can read this for yourself by clicking here. Perhaps in your 36 days of being an eBay seller, you haven't taken the time to read what is permitted and what is not. The first rule of eBay selling: Just because another seller is doing it does not mean it is permitted.

3) I buy grocery coupons on eBay all the time. This is the first time I have encountered something so underhanded and deceptive. This is not about a buyer reading a listing; this is about a seller offering full disclosure to her buyers. You are deceiving buyers by offering something that you obtained under false pretenses.

4) If what you are doing is "right," eBay legal, and you are comfortable doing it because other sellers are, I'm sure you won't mind that I have forwarded this information to both Kohl's and eBay.

Guess what? She doesn't have 100% feedback anymore.

Kohl's Coupon Scam on eBay

The other day, I was shopping for coupons on eBay and ran across a listing for Kohl's Department Store coupons. The listing was for 15 coupons each for $5. I noticed that many sellers do this, offering the coupons in batches of 10-20 at a time. Completed listings show over 3,300 listings for Kohl's $5 coupons.

I bought the coupons for $2.75 thinking they were actual store coupons that were going to be mailed to me. The coupons don't expire until 1/31/09 and 1 coupon can be used for each $5 or more purchase. My daughter's birthday is in January, so I am always looking for after Christmas deals to buy her birthday gifts.

The coupons were send as download links. I received a list of links that took me to a page to print each coupon. Then I began to wonder, how is this seller getting these coupon codes and passing them on?

After asking around, I learned how it works. If you go to this link at Kohl's.com, you can enter your email address and receive a $5 coupon from Kohl's. The coupon is emailed to you within a week. But you can only get one coupon per email address. I took a look at the coupons I received. Each one had a slightly different email address on it, like this:

maryA123@hotmail.com
maryB123@hotmail.com
maryC123@hotmail.com

and so on. So, these sellers are going out on the internet and opening a whole bunch of free email accounts, signing up for the coupon, batching the downloads, and selling them on eBay.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. eBay sellers have found a way to manipulate the system and stockpile these coupons. Coupon sellers do this all the time by purchasing multiple Sunday papers, clipping the coupons, and selling them, so is this the same? I think this technique is more of a scam than a legitimate way to sell coupons.

I can't say that this is a great way to make money. Using the seller in my example, the person had to go open 15 free email accounts, and sign up for a $5 coupon 15 times. That in itself took at least an hour. Her profit after eBay and Paypal fees is probably only $2. I can think of plenty of other things I can do for an hour that makes more than $2. Click here for a list of ideas.

I'm sure this "business model" (and I use that term loosely) is used all the time for other coupons. What do you think? Does this border on fraud, or a legitimate way to earn money on eBay? Please leave a comment below.

Shopping at Flea Markets for Items to Sell on eBay

Today's post is brought to us by John S, a fellow seller and flea market extrodinaire.

Whether you call them swap meets, flea markets, jockey lots or a host of other regional terms a flea market as defined by Webster’s is: “usually open-air market for secondhand articles and antiques”. In reality they are so much more, they are even a great source to find items to sell on eBay.

What was once the domain of antique dealers, used car part sellers and farmers peddling their crops has in the last few decades turned into place where a myriad of vendors selling all kinds of items, both outdoors as well as inside cavernous barn like buildings. If there is something you want chances are good that you will be able to find it at a flea market.

They are a wonderful resource for eBay sellers to find items to sell. In the spring and summer families choose to load up their unwanted household items and drive them down to the flea market to sell. It is truly like going to dozens of garage sales all within steps of each other. There are crafters selling all kinds of hand made items. The one business type that I always look for is the vendor selling health and beauty products. Some of the products on the “Hot List" can usually be found there at a great discount.

Tips, Tricks and Hints:

Of course wear comfortable shoes. You will be doing a lot of walking and standing.

Watch what you wear. Dress comfortable but not glitzy. Leave the bling and expensive handbags at home. If you want to get good deals, its better if you dress the part. The vendors are very sharp and can read their customers very well.

Do not be afraid to haggle. Remember the vendors only rent their 10 x 10 spot for the day they really don’t want to load everything up at the end of the day and take it back home. They are use to people asking for a discount. Be smart, don’t ask, “will you take less”, name the price you want to pay.

Timing is everything. If you are looking for hard to find collectibles or other garage sale items you need to get there real early. Antique buyers are combing through tables as the sellers are setting up. If you want to get great deals then you need to be there as sellers are putting their items away.

Keep your money separated. You would be surprised how many times you can get a vendor to accept even less when all you pull out of your pocket is $8.00 for a $10.00item.

Bring cash. Few vendors take checks and even fewer take plastic. Besides, with all the identity theft these days, giving those numbers along with your driver’s license is not a good idea.

Don’t bring anything larger than a 20-dollar bill. Counterfeiters are notorious for using flea markets to launder their wares. If you bring large denominations you might go home with some funny money.

Flea markets are fun! And profitable. Some of the markets are huge and daunting at first. Take it slow if it’s your first time. Always keep an eye out for those items you are looking for and keep your mind open for ideas. Most important, have fun!

Snoopy Fire King Mugs Still Hot on eBay

This is not a new tip, it has been around for a while. There are specific Snoopy Fire King mugs that are collector's items and bring over $250 each on eBay. The most popular one is the Snoopy Red Baron mug shown above. (The problem is finding them to sell.)

This one went for $285 on November 23. Click here to see the auction.

If you are really into Snoopy and Peanuts collectibles, or want to learn more, Amazon has a book called More Snoopy (R) Collectibles: An Unauthorized Guide with Values that outlines and explains specific Snoopy items and their values.



Add Snoopy items to your list of "things to look for" at thrift stores, garage sales, flea markets, and estate sales.

Other articles about what to sell on eBay:

Walmart Items to Sell on eBay for Profit

Make Money on eBay Selling Items from Big Lots

Dollar Store Items to Sell on eBay for Profit

Happy selling!

What to Sell on eBay – Down Vests

Down vests are good sellers. Men's, women's, and children's - they all are good sellers. You can find them at thrift stores for $1 - $2. The higher the down content, the more you can sell them for on eBay. Look for brands like LL Bean, Land’s End, Eddie Bauer, The North Face, Columbia, Patagonia, and Obermeyer. Even off brands do well as long as the down content is high. 100% down is optimal.

As always, when shopping for used clothing to sell on eBay, look over the item well before purchasing it. Look for rips or tears, make sure zippers work, make sure all snaps are present, and check for stains.

Another great thing about selling down vests is that they are lightweight and easy to ship. You can offer free shipping on these – just build the shipping price into the price of the item. Remember, free shipping helps get you to the top of Best Match.

Be sure to offer international shipping. Europeans like 100% down vests and coats. Down is high quality, holds its value, and is warm!

Click here for completed listings for 100% down vests.

Related articles on selling used clothing on eBay:

How to Make Money Selling Sweaters on eBay

How to Make Money Selling Cashmere on eBay

How to Make Money Selling Tennis Apparel on eBay

Happy selling,

Hot eBay Tip - Discontinued Mascara to Sell for Big Profit

Welcome to Hot Tip Friday! Check this out. Maybelline Ultra Big Ultra Lash Mascara. Sells for around $8. Completeds on eBay are going for between $80 and $65.





It is out of stock on Buy Me Beauty.com, Drugstore.com doesn't have it, neither does Amazon.

Check dollar stores, Big Lots, Walmart, Target, drug and grocery stores. I can't tell you exactly where to find it because I have not personally found any.Apparently they are out there. Click here to see current listings on eBay. Get in on this one before the price drops! If you find any, be sure to check completed listings to compare price points.

Click here to see my FREE list of discontinued items to sell on eBay.