I’m a big fan of weekend hobbies. Without classes (or quite as much work!), I find that the weekend is a great time to try out new things and do things you don’t have time to do during the Monday-Friday grind. I think that many of you will find that weekend hobbies are all the more important once you enter the working world post graduation.Â
One of my favorite hobbies is ebaying. I love ebaying because it incorporates four of my favorite things: shopping, designer labels, the internet, and cold, hard cash.Â
Here’s how I turn my shopping addicition and love for all things designer into some extra spending money.Â
- Step 1: I frequent my favorite thrift and consignment stores. Some of my favorites include Rescue, Second Time Around, Buffalo Exchange, and Goodwill.Â
- Step 2: I look for undervalued items. This is the key to making money on ebay. You have to find items selling for less than you think that they are really worth. It’s a bit like trading stocks; you buy when they’re undervalued and sell when they’re at fair market value or overvalued (at least that’s what my limited understanding of the stock market leads me to believe). In order to know what something is worth, you shouldn’t look at retail value but rather you should do a quick scan on ebay to see what items similar to the one you’re buying will go for.Â
- Step 3: Make sure that what you’re buying (if it’s designer) is 100% authentic. You’ll get in big trouble and your ebay account will be deleted if you’re caught selling fakes.Â
- Step 4: Price your items fairly and take good pictures. Good pictures are one of the keys to selling online.Â
- Step 5: Don’t be disappointed if you don’t make money on everything, just try to make sure that you’re not losing money in the process. Remember that ebay takes a 9% cut of your sale so you need to be able to sell your items for 10% more than you paid for them in store. Don’t forget to include sales tax in the final cost of your items from the store.Â
- Step 6: Have fun!
Here are some of the items that I’m selling right now…
Questions? Ask me in the comments!