I’m an eBay expert – how to make £1,106 by selling unwanted items from around the house
SELLING unwanted items from around the house could easily make you more than £1,000, one eBay expert has revealed.
Clare Seal is behind Instagram account My Frugal Year, where she has documented got her 88,000 followers how she paid off a massive £27,000 in debt.
Now she shares her top tips for reducing your outgoings, including selling all your unwanted belongings on second hand sites such as eBbay.
She said: “Putting in the effort to sell what you no longer use is a great way to make a bit of extra cash.
“Sometimes it can be the most surprising things too – I listed empty fancy soap bottles from Aesop and they sold for £10!”
Millions of households are looking for easy ways to make some extra cash in the cost of living crisis.
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It’s a good way to cope with spiralling energy bills, soaring petrol prices, and rising costs at the supermarket.
And research by eBay found that the average person has more than £1,100 worth of unwanted stuff lying around the house.
Old tech is some of the most lucrative to sell on – an unused laptop could get you £290, and a smartphone £153.
If you’re clearing out the kids’ bedrooms, keep an eye out. An old pushchair or pram could earn you £40 and you could expect to pocket around £11 from old baby books.
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If you’ve ever tried a new hobby only to quickly give it up – at least try and make some money back. Musical instruments could earn you £137 and DJ equipment could fetch £68.
Elsewhere around the house, eBay estimates that the average seller can make £36 from clothes and shoes they no longer use, £22 from cookware, and even £40 from photo frames.
Be sure to check the fees before you list on any site – eBay lets you list up to 1,000 items a month for free but will take a cut of the sale price.
Here are Clare’s top tips for making the most of your eBay listing:
Use the best key words
Ebay can be a real treasure trove of the most unexpected items – but you need to use the best key words to give you goodies the best chance of being discovered.
When you search for an item on eBay, the results are filtered based on the title that the seller has given to their listing.
That means stuffing your listing title with lots of searchable terms which describe your item is crucial if you want buyers to find you.
Clare said: “Even for things that you don’t think will be available second hand, items that are niche or specific – it’s always worth checking eBay.”
Buyers can set up a saved search to help them keep an eye out for any specific items they’re waiting to come up for sale.
Often people find it’s worth the wait because it’s cheaper than buying through a traditional retailer.
Pick the right category
When you’re creating a listing for sale on eBay you’ll need to choose a category to put it in.
Selecting the most appropriate category means a higher chance of the right buyers discovering your listing.
So, parents selling children’s clothes – select “children’s fashion” not just “fashion“.
Clare said knowing that old items are going to buyer who will appreciate them can make it easier to sell things on that have nostalgic value.
Clare said; “There are something things I have been sad to sell – definitely some of my children’s clothes.
“We had a couple of lovely organic items that were in really good conditions and I was sad to them them go but happy that another baby would get to wear them.”
Pictures are important
Ebay shoppers want to see what they’re buying, so if you want to maximise your sale price, you need to include some decent pictures.
Listings without photos attached can make people nervous – no matter how good the description is.
Clare said: “I recommended hanging clothing if you’re going to sell it, rather than folding it or laying it on the floor.”
Clare suggests using good lighting and a plain background. Be honest about any scratches or wear and tear on an item too, she added.
“Take photos from lots of different angles and include close-ups if there is any special detail.”
Be detailed with your description
Once a buyer is interested, you need to win them over with a fabulous description.
Be clear about the condition of the product or you’ll risk negative feedback.
If you’re selling clothes, describe the fit of the item or the feel of the material.
Clare said: “One of my best sales was a gold dress from & Other Stories, which I actually bought on eBay in the first place.
“It had a surge in popularity and was out of stock everywhere so when I resold it, it go to about £70.”
Timing can be important too, Clare said: “I’ve found that listing an auction to finish on a Sunday evening often results in lots of last-minute bidding activity.”
Be realistic on the price
Don’t just pluck a number out of thin air when you’re deciding on an asking price – do some research.
Search for similar items to see how much they’ve achieved – searching by “completed listings” will give you the sold price.
Clare said you should ask yourself: what would I pay for this item? But even then, you might end up being pleasantly surprised on some listings.
Clare said: “I’ve been surprised by how much some of my items have sold for.
“The biggest surprise was the box from my Dyson Air Wrap. I prefer to just put mine in a drawer, so I popped the leather case on eBay and got £30.”
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Elsewhere on eBay, one coin collector sold a Kew Gardens 50p for £210.
And one seller revealed how he made £1,500 by reselling items from Poundland.