Do any of my readers have experience buying stuff and “flipping” it on eBay or whatever, selling it for more than you paid for it? Can you make money from this? Is it worth the hassle? I have never used eBay before, buying or selling, but I came across a most delectable item that’s a heck of a deal, if I can resell it. (And no, I’m not telling what it is, or the rest will be wanting it too.)
UPDATE: Well, poop. Someone went and bought it already. Since it’s gone I might as well tell you what it is: a 1970s vintage (real) wolf fur coat, in very good condition, no rips or tears or wearing away of the fur, men’s size small. It seemed kind of badass to me — “I don’t need no stinkin’ nutria, I am wearing a WOLF HIDE thank you very much.” The coat was $85. All the similar coats I could find for sale online cost twice that, or more, which is why I thought of flipping it if not wearing it myself. Oh, well.
The Charley Project Blog 
I don’t have experience flipping stuff on eBay, but I sell my used books on Amazon. I don’t overprice my books, but I get a good price. When you figure in the packaging costs, postage and gas money, though, it’s not very lucrative. Truthfully, people have so little disposable income today because of gas prices and no one is buying impulse stuff. If you buy something like an iPad3 at a great buy, you could probably sell it for full price on eBay. I’d hate to see you stuck with something that will only decrease in value as it gets older.
Fortunately the item in question will (A) not decrease much in value with age, any more that it has already and (B) something I could use myself, with pleasure, if I can’t sell it.
I’ve sold books on Amazon too, but mostly these days I sell them to brick and mortar used bookstores.
Sounds like a good deal, then. I hear Craigslist is a good place to sell stuff, but I’m very careful not to let people know my address. I’m not a yard sale kind of person, either, although I’d go set up my used junk at another location if necessary. Good luck to you, Meaghan!
I sell books on Amazon, jewelry that I’ve bought and am now flipping on Ebay and am about to put my frames up on Etsy. It’s helping me eek out an existence right now while I am still recovering. I am also getting some unemployment and tutoring a bit. My friends have an ebay/amazon business and they are making a lot of money, but it is a great deal of work. You can message me privately and I’ll give you the full scoop if you’re interested.
Alas, someone already bought the thing I wanted!
I am looking into this myself! I have been asking a friend how she does the ebay thing. She does pretty well at it, ‘flipping” stuff she gets really cheaply at places like the Goodwill store.I want to try it because I have plenty of stuff around the house that doesn’t quite fit what I normally do: Bringing clothes in season to the consignment shop; household stuff to the Goodwill; putting out tag sale stuff the neighbors might want. Etc. I am pretty interested in decluttering my life further especially if I can make some money. I just need to learn more before I try it.
The problem with selling on ebay is that if something goes wrong, they generally side with the buyer – not the seller. Ebay will also hold your money randomly – depends on the category your item is in, how much it sells for, and your reputation. It’s easy to deal with if you have a high volume of sales or if it’s just getting rid of stuff on the side and you don’t *need* the money right away.
I know your item is gone, but I just wanted to clarify that Ebay isn’t at all what it used to be. There are other sites that are better for re-selling depending on what the item is.