Get the Cash You Need From Your Investments on eBay

By Jacquelyn Lynn

For many new real estate investors, finding the cash to fund that first property purchase is a big challenge. But you may be able to turn those unused items taking up space in your closets, garage, basement, and attic into the cash you need to seed your wealth-building plan by selling them on eBay.

Why eBay rather than holding a garage sale? Because the item that will fetch 50 cents or a dollar at a garage sale could easily bring in $10, $20 or more on eBay—and the buyer pays for the shipping. Another point to consider is that when you hold a garage sale, your market is limited to the bargain hunters who happen to stop by. When you sell on eBay, you have a potential market of millions of people worldwide—many who depend on eBay for access to items they can’t get locally.

Getting started on eBay
The first step in successful eBay selling is to become familiar with the site. Set aside a few hours to log on and browse around. Study listings for items similar to what you intend to sell and think about how you could present your things better. Register as a buyer and make a few purchases so you know what the process is like from the customer’s perspective. Open a PayPal account for easier payment processing (both making and receiving). Take advantage of the tutorials that eBay offers for new users to learn how to effectively buy and sell.

Then start sorting through your “stuff” and decide what to sell. If you haven’t used something in a year or more, chances are you can get rid of it and never miss it. Don’t overlook the CDs you never listen to or the videos and DVDs you’ll probably never watch again—those are great items to sell on eBay. Keep seasonality in mind—summer sports equipment isn’t likely to sell well in January, but November is a great time of year to put holiday decorations up for auction. Consider what will be involved in packing and shipping the items you sell. Even though the buyer typically pays the shipping costs, think about your labor, time, and potential breakage.

Begin selling by posting one or two auctions at a time until you’re comfortable with how the process works. You’ll make mistakes, especially in the beginning, but if you learn from them they’ll be worth the cost.

Posting your items for sale
There’s a very logical sequence for posting items for sale on eBay.
Start by doing a search on identical and similar items, study the headlines and descriptions, look at the starting prices, and do a “completed item” search to see what those items actually sold for.

Determine your own starting price, which is the amount you set as your opening bid. While you certainly hope competitive bidding will drive the price up, you should be willing to sell the item for whatever you set as the starting price.

Write your listing, which includes a headline and description. Your headline should include general category keywords and important descriptive attributes so your item will come up on buyer searches. Don’t waste space with words like “bargain” or “l@@k!”—people don’t search on those words. Your description should be concise, well organized, and easy to read. Use bullet points rather than writing in paragraphs. Include the item model or style, brand name, manufacturer, condition, value, size, dimensions, and anything else that might encourage a buyer to place a bid.

Take a picture. A digital camera is the easiest way to do this (if you don’t have one, shop for one on eBay—you’ll need it for your real estate investment business anyway).Your photos should be sharp, clear, and without any distracting background clutter. View your pictures through the eyes of a potential buyer—can you see enough detail in the photo that you would be willing to pay top dollar for the item?

Now you’re ready to let eBay walk you through the process of posting your item.

When the sale is complete
When your auction closes and you’ve received payment, leave positive feedback for your buyer and ship the item promptly. Review how well you did and consider how you can improve on your next listing. Then keep on selling until you’ve made enough money to buy that piece of investment property you want.