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Introduction
Whatever it is, you can get it here.
At least I sincerely hoped so, back in 2002, when I searched the Internet looking for any sites where I could buy old issues of the magazine, Soap Opera Digest. Collecting them was a passion of mine, and I already had 20 years worth. But at that time, I was seeking any issues I could find, from the years 1980-1983.
Then something told me to search eBay.
Actually, what made my whole foray into Ebay so odd, was that I had been a registered user since 1999. I had just signed up, then never came back, for whatever reason.
I found plenty of Soap Opera Digests. I was also blessed to deal with sellers that were nothing less than professional. If my first eBay experience had been any less than that, I doubt I would have ever ventured into selling.
The eBay Scrounger's Guide
As I stated in the beginning, this is a guide for the eBay seller, that has no contacts or access to wholesalers. This guide does not go into things that most sellers are already familiar with, like the rudimentaries of selling on eBay. Meaning, they already know about taking pictures, listing, payment plans, shipping and feedback. The eBay Scrounger, is the seller that would like to make some extra money selling on eBay, but does not have a regular, dependable inventory. The scrounger goes to garage sales, re-sale shops, second hand bookshops, libraries(some have For Sale Carts), surfs eBay itself and searhes for bargains at the Goodwill. And the scrounger may come away from those places, finding nothing of any worth, on any given day or week.
I am one of those people. I sell maybe 4-5 items a week, and rarely, is any of the merchandise even in the same category. I might sell a small lot of books, one collectible, a sweater, a toy and a package of coffee. And whatever all of that comes to in dollars and cents, is more than I already had.
There are certain categories that will always net you some profit. How much, depends on the quality, age, condition and demand for the product.
Within this category, books themselves don't usually sell too well, unless they are autographed by the author. Other than that, if you happen to own, or run across, a first edition of a Hemingway book, it might surprise you how much a book collector might be willing to pay for such a treasure.
But most people probably do not have that rare, first printing of some classic book. They may, however, have a small collection of Sweet Valley High's, Terry Brooks books and Danielle Steel novels. A lot of 20 of any of these examples, might get you at least $10.00. Not a large amount of money, mind you, but it's $10.00 more than you had.
Another popular type of book, that I have done fairly well with, deal with weight loss, or diet/cookbooks. Just one of those, depending upon the year, and timeliness of the diet, could actually net you the same amount of profit, that a small book lot of romance novels could.
Another type of book that does sell, is that rare comic that you might find at a garage sale. The funny thing about comics is, that if you are not a collector, you'll never know why ONE issue is so terribly more popular than another. Someone that I know, that is indeed a collector of comic books, told me once that it had to do with the storylines. I then began to see a pattern in the comics, that did seem to sell for a good amount of money, whether they were deemed Modern Age(1980-Now), Bronze Age(1970-79) or Silver Age(1956-69). For example: if Spider-man first meets the X-Men, or it is Spider-man's, or the X-Men's, first appearance with another character, then that comic is probably a bit more valuable than most. Or a first edition of The Silver Surfer or The Fantastic Four, is most likely to be quite a find as well.
Magazines
In this section, which can be found as a tier of the Book category, I have found several types of magazines to be good sellers, but only under certain circumstances. For example, A National Geographic, or an informational magazine, that might have forewarned about Hurricane Katrina, could be worth money. Then there are those old magazines, with some cherished celebrity, or public figure on the cover, that died before his or her time. Those could be worth a good amount of money as well. Then there are celebrity magazines. Interesting note about those: I have found that magazines, specifically old ones, that highlight some particularly humiliating time in a star's life, sell for quite a bit. Case in point: a former member of a Motown girl group, was once on welfare. The magazine that revealed this fact, sold on eBay for a little under $100.00.
In this category, I have been the most successful with old record albums. Yes, they do have to be in somewhat fair shape, but then again, you never know who might just be interested in the record album cover alone. I have also found that it is the 'One Hit Wonders', that seem to be the most sought after by collectors. And if you find a rare record album, by a well known artist, that could turn out to be quite profitable for you as well.
This category remains a constant mystery to me. Because I am never sure why a piece of clothing sells or does not sell. I have always chalked it up to the fact that clothing, like many other things in life, is a selective item. I have had used clothing not sell, while things that were 'New With Tags' were snapped up. I have also had the very opposite happen. Old clothing was purchased right away, while I was forced to re-list a new item that did not sell. One Hint:if you are interested in selling something that has been worn, and after repeated washings, the item still smells of cologne or perfume, try including some ammonia.
Accessories
Another tier of Clothing is Accessories. Kenneth Cole jewelry never fails to sell for me. I have a friend that works in the jewelry area of a department store. She told me once, that Kenneth Cole is the one brand that customers never question the price on. They just buy whether it's on sale or not.
Purses
I have sold some Coach purses before, but have always been more impressed with how quickly Franco Sarto handbags, fly off of the online shelves.
This is another area that I have always done well in, especially at Christmas time. It is also the lone area, where I personally have had trouble with Non-Paying Bidders. I always end up wondering, if I'm actually dealing with the owner of eBay account, or is this person a child or what? I usually take a 'wait and see' approach when it comes to getting paid in this category.
As most people know, VHS tapes don't do that well on eBay. Everyone seems to want DVD's. But, there are certain type of VHS tapes that can still make you some money. I never fail to sell exercise tapes, or videos that have not been released onto DVD yet.
When I have been lucky enough to get my hands on anything that falls under this category, I have sold the item for a nice price. These type of items are more valuable, because they are not commonplace, and can't be purchased just anywhere. For example: I sold a Ray Charles Diet Pepsi Ad/Picture. In order to get this photograph, I had to buy a twelve pack of Diet Pepsi, and I don't even drink it! A second example is of a cookbook I sold, that included the favorite recipes of some popular, daytime TV stars. I only had this book, because I paid to be in the fan club, of the show these actors played on. My point is: sell your freebies on ebay(if they are not beloved, of course). Because they are not your everyday, typical wares, they will come across as unique.
I don't sell too much under this category. I have had some success with wall mounted items, such as soap dispensers and Homedics items, specifically photo, fountain frames. But the one thing that I have had constant success with, surprisingly, is coffee. In particular, any brand that is associated with a Tassimo Coffeemaker, or any other very expensive coffee device.
In Conclusion
I don't know how many current video games, or packages of coffee, you might find at the Goodwill, or at a garage sale. That's the beauty of scrounging. You may find those items, or you may find that rare VHS tape of a Chicago Bears Superbowl game, that someone out there is salivating over and willing to buy. You may run across that designer dress, that was given away by a woman of means, just so that you could turn around and sell it to that buyer, that needs it for her upcoming cruise a/o class reunion. It is these type of transactions that make eBay's motto, "Whatever it is, you can get it here', a tried and true reality.
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