The Truth about Ebay Powersellers

Hi! and, Welcome to my Blog! My name is Sherry aka Tdalton912 on Ebay. My husband and I have been selling on Ebay since 2002, and what an Adventure is has been! It was easy in the beginning as we started selling items out of our home. Our first sale was a Dale Earnhardt Jr. bowling ball, that I had earned for joining a bowling league. We would check frequently (20 times a day) on our bid activity. After this, we were hooked! After scraping every profitable item out of our home, we knew we had to find more items to sell! From there, we began going to Garage Sales, Thrift Stores, Auctions, Estate Sales, Storage Auctions, ect. (I will discuss these in further detail a little bit later on) As beginners, we really did not know what we were looking for. We just knew that we wanted to find the "perfect" items to turn a buck. If an item was marked on the bottom, and looked a little unique, it was added to our cart! I laugh about this now, but I clearly remember at one time, our whole Living Room was filled with anything and everything imaginable, and was not worth nothing! It seems like we'd purchase 15 or 20 items, daily, from the sources listed above, and was fortunate enough to find a "goody" here and there. We always seemed to make the most money on our .50 cent items. (I will discuss these items shortly) Needless to say, we had to stop wasting our money! But, this did not happen over night. You will make mistakes. We still make mistakes, but not quite as extensive as a couple of years ago. As time went on, I found a passion for Fenton Art Glass. I guess this was my "niche" that I had been looking for. For those of you who are not familiar with Fenton Art Glass, please visit; http://www.fentonartglass.com/ for more info. I found my first few pieces at auctions, which led me to purchasing Art Glass Books, searching Ebay for Fenton, and trying to absorb everything I could about this beautiful Art Glass. Today, I will even hop on Ebay, first thing in the morning, and search newly listed items, with a "Buy it Now" on them, and purchase it, if I think I can turn around and resell it for a profit. I have done this numerous times over the past 2 years and have been quite successful with it. I know it sounds crazy to purchase off of Ebay, just to turn around and resell it back on Ebay, but if you are knowledgeable in a particular field, as I am with Fenton, it can easily be done. I am going to go for now, but plan on talking about Ebay Resources, (as mentioned above) in my next posting.

Where to Find Items to Sell on Ebay
There are numerous ways to find products to sell on Ebay. Everyone is different and will find their own niche. Here, I will mention a few of my favorites;

• Auctions; Auctions can be an excellent resource for finding items to sell on Ebay. Prior to bidding on an item, set your price, and stick with it! It is so easy to get caught up in the bidding process, just to come home and find that you could have bought the exact same item on Ebay for half the price. A great website for finding local auctions in your area is http://www.auctionzip.com/. You simply type in your zip, choose your desired range, (ex. 30 miles) and you will get a list of Auctions in your area, for every day of the month! This has been an extremely reliable resource for us.
• Garage Sales & Flea Markets; Get up early and GO! You have heard, "The early bird gets the worm" and when your searching for "treasures" this usually stands true. Prior to going to garage sales, check your local paper, classified ads, ect. and plan your route! Not everyone can be at every garage sale, first.
• Storage Auctions; This is one of my favorites and seems to be growing in popularity, quickly! To spare space, people have placed there life long belongings, furniture, vehicles, clothing, boats, restaurant equipment, ect. into these storage facilities, just to find later, that they have either encountered a financial situation, or a hardship, that has prevented them from paying their monthly storage fees. It is a long process for the Storage Unit owners, with all of the legal stuff, but eventually these units go up for Public Auction. I have seen units go for as little as $1.00 and as much as $2,000.00. Again, set your bid in your mind, and stick to it! How this works; In most cases, the owner of the facility, or an auctioneer, will simply open the door, let you view the contents, and begin the bidding process. You are usually NOT allowed to step inside the unit or go thru any contents inside the unit. It really is a guessing game, especially if the unit is full of boxes. You just never know what you will find! You can make this fun or devestating.
• Thrift Stores; You would be amazed at what you can find at thrift stores. Knowledge comes in handy here.
• Estate Sales; These are normally sales, in which, the owner holds a big sale inside their home.
• Your local department stores; Many department stores will have exclusive areas, in which they hold their 50%,-80% off, sales. Prior to buying these items, try and do some research to make sure, that the items are indeed, worth buying and reselling on Ebay. Remember, we want to make money, not lose it!

I have to go for now. My husband just found a car on Craigslist, that we are planning to pick up tonight:) (and, turn a profit on later) This is another excellent resource! http://www.craigslist.com/.