How to make some extra money on Ebay?

TheCARDKid

The job market is a little tougher than I imagined it would be at this point, so I'm thinking about making some extra money on ebay, buying and selling. At least $500 a week for a little while.

My question is, what to focus on? There are so many areas to specialize in. Are there any areas more profitable than others? Buying lots and sets, and breaking them up? What sort of margin could I expect?

I figure with a high quality scan, better customer service, and a good reputation (240+ positives so far, no negs), I can gain some advantage.

Any ideas guys?

FB

Start with a set or a group of sets that you would consider yourself an "expert" in. Its even better if you've already completed this or those sets - so you'd only be tempted in upgrading rather than keeping cards to help you complete. (I run home to the 72 Topps Set whenever I need cash) Don't worry about a $ figure that yuou want to make - see what you CAN make and tweak what you're doing from there.

Two ways off the bat that I can think of...

- Buy nice raw cards - send to PSA and sell the graded.
- Buy complete sets or really nice, good size lots (without paying ridiculous prices - and sell off the stars, the high series cards, the tough commons and then the leftovers individually) - time consuming - but relatively profitable.
- or do a combination of both.

Last but definitely not least - there are no guarantees - some weeks you might win big - some weeks may actually cost you. Good luck!

Wabittwax

Making a living on Ebay has got to be really tough. Sometimes I'll make a decent chunk of change on Ebay but it's not frequent enough to replace my job.

chrisrenaud

Hi, the TheCardKid (sorry I do not know your name).

I have a slightly different idea, and one that I would be willing to fund relative to the income you are looking for per week.

As I am someone who, like others, spends a calculable portion of their disposable income on this hobby, those involved in selling fradulent cards destroy the value of the hobby and my investments and the hobby in general. When I have the time, I am able to pursue obviously fradulent sellers with the help of a few NYPD detectives who work for my company, but I do run out of time and I am not able to catch everything.

As such, I would like to put forth a proposal in which I would pay you (or someone else I know from the boards) to work with me to track down fradulent sellers on EBAY and other auction sites and get their auctions taken off of the sites or close on the auctions and then pursue them through the law - I have been able to get a few auctions off of EBAY (not enough however) and may soon have enough proof to launch a legal case against one, but it takes a lot of effort and it would be good to have help.

If you check with others in the hobby, they will let you know that I am serious in this endeavour.

Sorry for going off base here a bit, but I think that with all of the help of board members and some who really focus on this that self-regulation of the hobby can improve the fun for everyone.

My email is chris.renaud2@verizon.net

ps - also mickyc, please send me a message in this regards as well (sorry if I am a bit off on the name)

goodriddance189

i will be glad to help

TheCARDKid

Thanks for the replies guys.

I realize its not any easy business to get into. Something to fall back on though. I have a few ideas I'll be implementing this week, low risk, high reward (not specifically Ebay). But I'd rather grind it out on Ebay or just regular mail order than be stuck in some lame job. The horror stories out there of guys with Masters Degrees, ending up working for $8 an hour somewhere.

Chrisrenaud, I'll email you about your proposal.

One thing I've experienced when playing the "buy cards raw, send them to PSA" game is how the cards always seem to fall into a normal distribution pattern (i.e. bell shaped curve). It never seems to fail, out of 30 raw "mint cards" from dealer XYZ, at least 1-2-3 are 9's, with the bulk 8's, or 7's....then a few miscuts or 6's thrown in. Then if you figure out your downside per raw card, and the upside for 9's or a very rare 10, it can be profitable in the long run. Not an easy game to play, but I've made a few hundred here, a thousand there sporadically in the past doing it. But when you think about a real business, you can tend to lose focus with so many cards from the 4 different sports to choose from.

Browntoni

The best way to make money on ebay selling cards is to buy large lots of graded cards, and then to sell them individually. I have done it many times, although typically I do it to acquire 1 or 2 cards in the lot that I need for my collection. The rest are auctioned off individually, either at a small profit, or at a minimum, to pay for th ecards I added to my colection.

I have also had luck buying dutch auction lots and then selling the 50's cards individually.

Good luck.