by Tristen OBrien on May 17, 2012
With summer quickly approaching, I thought I would write a blog post that is a little different. First of all, eBay has been generous enough to give away a $100 gift card to one lucky reader (more on that later), but I wanted to take a different approach to the motives for selling on eBay. I sometimes get caught up in writing about growing your eBay business, and how to take it to the next level, but I often overlook the power of saving up for family fun.
A little while ago, I wrote a post about how I was saving for a family vacation to Disney World and I was only going to use the money I made from eBay. I made a nice Mickey chart to keep track of my progress, and we finally filled it! eBay is a great way to save money for fun activities, and now is the time to start thinking about what you are going to do this summer. It doesn’t matter if you are planning a family get away or you just want to landscape your yard, eBay is the perfect place to start your journey. For me, I like to do the following:
- Figure out my plans for this summer
- do the research on the cost
- and then make an eBay plan
I end up finding myself weighing the pro’s and con’s of items that I have in my house. I recently was looking at my Xbox 360, and was thinking that the experience of having a full day of fun at a water park plus a nice dinner out weighs the benifits of me playing games on it once a month. Guess what, its going on eBay. I’m at the point where I would rather have fun family experiences than material items that I don’t use a lot. Amy does a good job at keeping me in check and doesn’t let me get rid of everything in our house, but finding items that you don’t use often and selling them on ebay is a great way to fund your summer fun!
To jump start your summer fun, eBay wants to give one lucky reader of this blog a $100 eBay gift card! To enter to win is really simple!
- Leave a comment below and tell me about a recent eBay sale.
- YOU MUST INCLUDE YOUR eBay ID
Thats it! This contest will stay active until May 27th, but please remember to include your eBay ID! Good Luck!
by Tristen OBrien on May 16, 2012
I love to find items that people are selling on eBay as “Hard to Find”. I actually make it a mission of mine just so I can say that I found it. As you may know, items that are labeled hard to find make more money on eBay. It’s the whole supply and demand concept, and the “4 Way Nasal Decongestant Spray Fast Acting” is no exception. This is an item that has been recently discontinued, and you can still find it in some stores.
The 4 Way Nasal Decongestant Spray Fast Acting is usually sold for under $6 for a 1 fl. oz. bottle, but you can see them selling on eBay for over $35! The good news is that you may be able to get your hands on some and make some money! Lets take a look at a couple that have sold recently:
After doing a quick search online to find these, I saw that WalMart and Walgreens carried this product. They are no longer available at WalMart, but I happened to find a store that still had them in stock at Walgreens. I used the store locator found HERE, and put in my zip code. As you can see, there is one store that still has them available.
I went and picked these up a couple of days ago, and I was able to score three! There are also other sellers on the internet like – Shoprite.com who are selling them, but I never have used them before, and I’m not sure if they are legit or not. They are selling the .05 oz bottle for $10. Seems a little high to me, but I guess I am selling them for $35 
. It’s worth checking out!
On a side note, eBay is having their FREE LIST day today for anyone who does an auction style listing! They are also generous enough to give us free Buy it Now! You can take a look HERE for all of the details!
For more eBay tips and tricks, check out The Keys to a Successful eBay Business HERE
by Tristen OBrien on May 15, 2012
Recently I read a great article from LifeHacker.com. The concept was around creating a habit, but it really applies to us eBay entrepreneurs. It started out by saying, “Do you brush your teeth everyday? Do you work on your dream project everyday?…. no? Sometimes? Your teeth will begin to decay if you don’t brush, and so will your ideas.” I think this is a perfect quote, and really can put your eBay business into perspective.
If you substitute “dream project” with eBay, then you can see the impact of this quote. Your eBay business needs focus, and you can’t just say, “I’ll do it tomorrow”. Everyday that you put your eBay business on hold, you put your dreams on hold. All it takes is 30 minutes a day to push your eBay business to the next level. This doesn’t mean that you are sending out packages for 30 minutes a day, although that does happen regularly, but I’m talking about taking an action step that is going to push you past your current level. I’m talking about doing something productive that can help you make more money everyday!
This could be any of the following:
- Brainstorming
- Researching
- Reaching out to another successful eBayer
- Buying
- Or more
The key is to doing something productive when you can give 100% of your attention. For me, I do this when I am laying in bed right before I fall asleep. The rest of my day is to hectic to give 30 minutes, so the only quiet time is when everyone is asleep. One of my favorite ways to utilize this time is to reach out to other successful eBayers. I look at eBay stores and find one that I am interested in. Then I use eBay to reach out to them. I have never had someone not respond back, and the information that they give me is priceless. They even tell me where they buy their products.
For me, I can’t afford to put my dreams on hold. I have to keep pushing forward everyday to hit my goals, and all it takes is 30 minutes a day! How do you think you will utilize this time? Leave a comment, and help others out .
For more eBay tips and tricks, check out The Keys to a Successful eBay Business HERE
