Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Sure Sellers
Trends come and go but here are some things that (generally) always sell on eBay...
Light Fittings
Light fittings can make you a bit of money – but I can’t explain why!
Here are some of the light fittings we have sold for more than we expected:
Pair of brass hanging fitting: $90
For more Vintage Lamps visit "Lamp of the Week"!
Here are some of the light fittings we have sold for more than we expected:
Pair of brass hanging fitting: $90
Retro standing lamp: $50
For more Vintage Lamps visit "Lamp of the Week"!
How to clean your items for listing
If you remember 1 thing – let it be to
start simple and test an inconspicuous area first!!
Start with a dry soft, lint free, cloth to remove dust. Try to get rid of grime and dust from all the hard to reach corners. Put a little elbow grease into it and see it you can get it shining.
If it is still dirty, add a little water and see if that helps.
After that, a mild soap solution (like sugar soap) might help. This can be especially effective on timber furniture and for grime in general.
If you still need something stronger, vinegar can be good for helping shine glossy or glass surfaces. Baking soda can also be good on hard surfaces that need a mild abrasive. Use a paste of baking soda to polish up aluminium (make sure you wash all the baking soda off afterwards then polish dry with a cloth).
Have some brasso and a polishing cloth on hand for metal surfaces. Even a corroding metal surface looks much better shiny!
Metho and Eucalyptus oil can be handy for removing texta marks or sticker residue on hard surfaces – but check on an inconspicuous area first as these are very harsh chemicals.
Many plastics and plain glass can come up brilliantly in the dishwasher – though not all types of plastic are designed to cope with this harsh cleaning environment. Things to be especially wary of when using the dishwasher are decals and graphics painted onto the plastic (like on old patterned Tupperware) or painted glass (like a gold decal or stripe on a drinking glass). These are likely to wash off in the dishwasher.
start simple and test an inconspicuous area first!!
Start with a dry soft, lint free, cloth to remove dust. Try to get rid of grime and dust from all the hard to reach corners. Put a little elbow grease into it and see it you can get it shining.
If it is still dirty, add a little water and see if that helps.
After that, a mild soap solution (like sugar soap) might help. This can be especially effective on timber furniture and for grime in general.
If you still need something stronger, vinegar can be good for helping shine glossy or glass surfaces. Baking soda can also be good on hard surfaces that need a mild abrasive. Use a paste of baking soda to polish up aluminium (make sure you wash all the baking soda off afterwards then polish dry with a cloth).
Have some brasso and a polishing cloth on hand for metal surfaces. Even a corroding metal surface looks much better shiny!
Metho and Eucalyptus oil can be handy for removing texta marks or sticker residue on hard surfaces – but check on an inconspicuous area first as these are very harsh chemicals.
Many plastics and plain glass can come up brilliantly in the dishwasher – though not all types of plastic are designed to cope with this harsh cleaning environment. Things to be especially wary of when using the dishwasher are decals and graphics painted onto the plastic (like on old patterned Tupperware) or painted glass (like a gold decal or stripe on a drinking glass). These are likely to wash off in the dishwasher.
eBay Begins at Home
The first place to look for things to sell on eBay is in your own home. Big, small, old, new – one persons trash is another’s treasure!
Have a good look around the house, in the garage, in the shed, the back of cupboards and see if you can find thing like:
- Furniture you don’t want anymore
- Unopened gifts
- Decorative vases, figurines, platters
- Unworn clothing
- Good quality clothing in good condition
- Baby goods
- Children’s toys
- Old toys
- Books in good condition
- Old promotional material (fast food store toys, merchandise)
1 thing to remember though is that others will never have the same sentimental attachment to your things as you have. So don’t get carried away and sell things you will regret loosing later.
Once you have a few ideas, follow the ‘will it sell’ post to see if your old trash could be someone else’s treasure!
Have a look at this post to see some of the things from our home that got us started….
Our Beginnings
Back in the beginning, we had a look through our old stuff, and some newer stuff, and thought we’d have a go at selling on eBay. Here are some of the things that we though people might be interested in…. and were!
Then we started looking at garage sales and found these gems early on.
It's not huge money but % wise - it was big and it was early days!
Then we started looking at garage sales and found these gems early on.
It's not huge money but % wise - it was big and it was early days!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
The Baths
It is even possible to make a profit out of buying things on eBay and selling them again on eBay!
We were renovating our bathroom and I was looking for a bargain bath. While browsing through the Home -> Bathroom category I came across a lot of 7 baths. They were new, but some had been scratched in transport. I took a punt and ended up winning the auction and buying myself 7 fibreglass baths for $200.
I kept the best for myself and started to sell the rest. One by one they sold. The ones in basically new condition went for up to $120. And the most scratched went for around $10 to someone who wanted a bath for a holiday house - and was absolutely stocked with the bargain!.
So we now have a lovely big new bath in the bathroom that wasn’t just a bargain – it made us $100!!
We were renovating our bathroom and I was looking for a bargain bath. While browsing through the Home -> Bathroom category I came across a lot of 7 baths. They were new, but some had been scratched in transport. I took a punt and ended up winning the auction and buying myself 7 fibreglass baths for $200.
I kept the best for myself and started to sell the rest. One by one they sold. The ones in basically new condition went for up to $120. And the most scratched went for around $10 to someone who wanted a bath for a holiday house - and was absolutely stocked with the bargain!.
So we now have a lovely big new bath in the bathroom that wasn’t just a bargain – it made us $100!!
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