Ever wonder how some people claim they make money easily on E-Bay?  Well, the fact is, it's rather simple to do, and it all falls back on the old principle you learned in Economics - supply and demand.

About four years ago, my sister and I happened across e-bay while looking for something unique to give to our grandparents for Christmas.  As we searched through the items up for auction, we soon realized that the people who buy from E-Bay will buy just about anything.  Because somewhere, out there in the world, there is someone who would validate the old cliche "one man's trash is another man's treasure."  This doesn't mean that the sellers on E-Bay sell trash - but what it does mean is that something you have may be way more valuable to someone else than it is for you.  There are a lot of reasons for this.  Perhaps it is an older item that holds some sentimental value to someone or brings back a nostalgic memory.  Perhaps it is something that is difficult to find in their area.  Perhaps it is less expensive to buy it from you than it would be in a store or online catalog.  Whatever the reason, you can make money selling things on E-Bay that you might not be able to sell under the location and time constraints of a garage or yard sale.  Thousands more people will see your items here, and they will search for them specifically.  

As far as supply and demand goes, smart shoppers can make good money being smart sellers on E-Bay.  When my sister and I first started selling items, we started by selling things we already owned and just didn't need or want anymore.  We looked them up on E-Bay to see what others were selling them for, and set our prices a bit lower so as to create a low starting bid, relying on the fact that people are competitive and that the bid would go higher eventually.  But then, we came up with another plan.  We are Clearance Rack Queens of the Midwest anyway, two single moms supporting our kids on our own and learning quickly how to shop for bargains to dress our kids well.  So, we began buying things from higher priced stores off of their clearance racks, and re-selling them on E-Bay.  It was a win-win situation for everyone, because we made a small profit for selling the clothes at a slightly higher starting bid than what we paid for them; and our auction winners were still getting the items for less than they'd pay at their local mall. 

We carried this idea further with books and DVDs and CD's, joining book clubs and video/audio clubs where we could buy items for a low cost through our membership, and sell them at a slightly higher cost on E-Bay.  I don't need four copies of the latest Mary Higgins Clark book, but I can certainly sell them on E-Bay and make a few dollars while saving my bidders a few dollars, too.  One man's trash!

Some people view E-Bay as a big yard sale that isn't worth the time or investment of the tiny fees.  But for us, it is a place to buy the things we want at prices we can afford, and help others do the same while turning a profit for ourselves.