What's in Your Closet That Could be Earning You Money on eBay?

Ralph Lauren Wool Vest

About three months ago I bought this wool Ralph Lauren vest at a thrift store for $2.00. For some reason I hesitated to list it on eBay and it just got hung up in my spare closet with all the other items. Last week I was going through the closet and found the vest again. I looked it up on eBay and saw that the same vest had sold for $34.95 in January! Wow, and it had been sitting in my closet. I could have had some money in my pocket instead of a vest hanging in my closet!

Ralph Lauren Men's Shirt

Next to that vest in my closet was a Ralph Lauren button down men's shirt. I really liked this shirt and hung it in the closet, figuring I would list it someday soon. I forgot about it and also last week saw it hanging in my closet. So I pulled it out of the closet too, and listed it on eBay.

Items Can't Sell if They Aren't Listed

Both of these items sold within one week of my listing them. I started the vest as an auction and a bit low because I felt like since it is not the time of year to wear a wool vest, I would start it at $19.95 and maybe a few bids would come in. Only one came in halfway through the week, but I sold the vest for $19.95. That money is better in my pocket than hanging on a hanger, don't you agree?

The Ralph Lauren Shirt sold for $13.50, and the starting bid of $12.95 came in for it within two days after I listed it. All told, that is $33.45 that I made in one week, on items that had been hanging in my closet.

What items do you have in your closet that you could be earning money on right now?

Every Sale Counts on eBay

I had a certain monetary goal I wanted to reach by this week from my eBay sales and from freelance writing. I really wanted to meet that goal yesterday but I didn't make it. But that's okay, I really have till Monday to reach it. I decided to list as much as I possibly could this week, said a prayer yesterday morning, and hoped for the best.

Within 2 hours, I had a sale. I have had this Hard Rock Cafe Jacket listed for two months. I got it for $2.00 and was optimistic it would sell right away. I tried it at all different price points as an auction starting at $19.99 all the way down to $9.99 at one point, considering similar jackets were going in that range. Finally I decided to list it as a "buy it now" or BIN as it called in eBay lingo, and hope it sold at some point. That was my sale yesterday, for $13.95. I certainly did not make a killing on it, but after I took out my initial cost, I still earned $12.00 toward my goal this week.

This morning I woke up and was checking my email and saw I had another sale. It was for this LL Bean jacket that I have also had listed as an auction for a few months. I just recently dropped it to a BIN status, and raised the price from $12.95 to $15.95 and it sold! Again taking the $2.00 off for the initial price I paid, and I still earned $14.00 for it.

In less than 24 hours, I earned $26.00 toward my goal. And actually I still have 148 items listed in eBay and since the best selling time is usually on the weekend, I have high hopes that I will hit my goal by Monday morning. Even small sales periodically all add up to making financial goals through eBay. If you have wanted to start selling on eBay, what are you waiting for? You too could have earned money in the last 24 hours!

Great Sellers on eBay: Ralph Lauren Men's Clothing

I have had great success selling used men's Ralph Lauren shirts and jackets on eBay. To pay for these items straight from the store now seems quite ridiculous to me when I have seen that they are plentiful at thrift stores. Most of the items I see in thrift stores are in fairly good condition too. I wish more people would take advantage of being able to get bargains at thrift stores on brand name items. They could save money AND dress nicely.

For instance, this Polo Sport jacket, a division of Ralph Lauren, was hanging on a Salvation Army thrift store rack. As soon as I saw the label, I got excited about it. I checked it over well and didn't see any rips, tears or stains. I was quite excited to only pay $2.49 for this jacket. Once I got it home, I did notice some dark marks on it, but one wash with Tide and Biz (great for getting stains out of clothing) and the jacket was like new.

I listed the jacket originally for $29.95 after comparing it to similar jackets online. It didn't sell for a couple weeks. Because I am impatient and don't want to wait for a long time for buyers to decide they want my items at a premium price, I marked it down to $24.95, as a "buy it now" listing. Within one week of the markdown, it sold at that price. I was thrilled to say the least! After I took out the amount I paid for the jacket, plus the approximately 15% I had to pay in eBay and Paypal fees, I still earned a profit of $18.72. Not bad in my mind for something I am having so much fun doing. Not only do I get a thrill from finding these bargains, but it's also a thrill to sell items and know I have helped someone else find something they want on eBay at a fraction of the price they would have to pay in a store for the same thing.

Although long sleeved Ralph Lauren dress shirts can easily bring in $12 to $15 each, I am currently doing well with Ralph Lauren short sleeved button down shirts which I sell for $9.95 each. Here's one of my favorites that was recently purchased.

Now I could ask for more, and I would probably get it too, especially on the long sleeved shirts. But I am a bargain hunter by nature and the fact that I wouldn't pay exorbitant prices for brand name items means I am not going to charge others really high prices just because I have paid a small amount for something and it has a brand name on it. I have only recently opened an eBay store and I am hoping that I will have repeat customers once they buy from me and realize my prices are not really high. I think people shop on eBay to find bargains anyway. What are your thoughts on pricing items on eBay?