Thirsty Thursday---Ebaying

Do you Ebay? This is my favorite way to buy and sell used curriculum.
I know there are many people who don't know how to sell on Ebay. Let me tell you....Super Easy!! And this is a GREAT time of year to try it out.

Let me give you some tips.

1. Take a good picture of the item you are selling. It only takes a few clicks to upload your picture. People like to actually see what they are buying. Ebay does have some pictures of books as stock photos. You can use them, but I know when I am buying I like to see the seller's actual item.

2. Know how much your curriculum sells for new. This doesn't take much work. I check CBD first. If they don't carry the item than I google the curriculum and go on their home page. I put in my description how much it sells for new. It gives people an idea of how much money they could save by buying your item.

3. Be HONEST about the condition of the item. It goes a long way. If there is writing--say so. If there is a torn page--tell them about it. As an example, I just sold a science book I used at co-op 2 years ago. It had underlining in it, highlighting and a few places I had notes in it I wrote in pen. Brand New on CBD the book, solution manual and companion CD retail for $73. I just sold it on Ebay for $51!!! I think that is a good return.

4. Think about the absolute minimum amount of money you are willing to accept for an item. I use this as my starting bid.

5. Check out Ebay, Amazon and HSLDA to see what your item is going for. This is important if you are going to use the "Buy It Now" option.

6. Set up a Paypal account and have it confirmed. Paypal is an account that allows money to be directly deposited into an account. Your email address is your user name. You can link a credit card, debit card and/or bank account to it. To confirm, Paypal deposits $1 into your bank account to "confirm" you. You can have the money deposited from your Paypal account to your bank account for free. It takes about a 3 day turn around for this.

7. Set up how long you will take to mail your items. Some people mail within 2 days of a cleared payment. I mail out on the Friday after I have a cleared payment.

8. It is usual for the seller to pay for shipping. You can also add a handling fee that the seller does NOT see. It is hidden in the shipping fee. I cover my packing cost, which is about $1 for a bubble envelope and $1.50 for a box. Talking about shipping, I put 3 options for shipping: Media mail, Priority Mail and UPS. 90% of the time I have people pick media mail. It takes about a week for delivery.

I hope this helps. If you have any specific questions about selling on Ebay feel free to ask.

Want some more homeschooling blog posts? Head on over to Five J's to quench your thirst.