Over the Summer I was determined to make a start decluttering and sorting out our house. It’s something that has needed to be done for a while now but I just haven’t had the time. The first job was to sort through both my wardrobe and bags of clothes I have been keeping in the attic. Some of the clothes I knew would not fit me any more so I decided to take a look at ebay to see if a few of the items would sell on there.
I’ve previously used ebay to sell items we have no longer wanted but in the last few years I have mainly bought items from there myself. So I decided to take another look at selling on ebay and give it a go again. After going through my wardrobe I found a lovely long sleeved Joules jersey dress and a vintage style dress that I no longer wear plus a pair of Erin’s old school shoes which had only been worn a couple of times before being outgrown.
Next I had to take some photographs of the items to use in the ebay listings. Using my mobile phone I snapped away until I was happy that the photographs were perfect.
Previously I would have then transferred the photos to my laptop in order to list them on ebay but this time I decided to download the ebay app as I use my phone a lot. Plus as the photos were already on my phone it made sense and would make the process easier.
Ebay app downloaded, I logged into my account, then clicked on My Ebay along the bottom of the app which then brought up a menu which included selling. Then clicking on List an item the app takes you through the steps needed to list an item. Starting with a title for your listing, try to be as descriptive as possible here, you want your listing to stand out. I used “Joules Long-sleeved dress size 10”, “East Vintage Retro style blue pokadot dress size 12” and “Clarks Girls shoes size 7.5F”. Then you can add photos to your listing to enhance it, followed by the condition of the item. So new, new without tags, used, other, followed by item description. Again with the description you need to try to be as descriptive as possible as this will give your potential buyer as much information as possible about your item. Then finally you decide on the type of listing you want, an auction or buy it now. With the two dresses I opted to use both as I hoped it would attract more buyers but the shoes I decided on only an auction. You then need to decide on the postage offered and the app provides you with lots of options including if you want to post internationally which I decided against purely because I don’t know too much about this option at present but will read up about it. You also can decide how long you would like your listing to be live for, I chose ten days initially but planned to relist if they didn’t sell the first time around. You can then preview your listing which is great as enables you to see what potential buyers can plus it will tell you if there are any fees involved with your listings, mine had 50p each as I had the option of a buy it now price. Then when you are happy you simply hit list item and your items will be live.
It really is easy and I was really impressed at how simple the ebay app was too use, plus the app itself is free to download. With my listings live all I had to do was wait now, the app enables you too keep an eye on how your listings as doing too which I liked.
When the listings ended ten days later, one of them had sold and I was notified of this via the app and the other two did not so I relisted them for a further four days to see if they would sell again. Then I set about packaging up the item that had sold ready to post. Once the buyer had paid the winning price via paypal I was able to see their address so I could post the item. I tried to make the packaging look attractive yet practical and decided to include a few sweets as I have previously received items with little extras in and thought it was a nice touch.
With it all packed up securely all I had to do was take it to the post office and post it via the service I had stated in my listing, I had used 2nd class signed for and included the charge of £3.49 as part of the cost in the listing. I made sure I obtained a proof of posting too just in case there were any problems. Then I went back to the ebay app and marked the item as posted so the buyer would know it was on the way.
So you see it really is simple using ebay to sell your unwanted items plus I found the app even easier to use. Plus my unwanted item now has a new home! At the moment the other two items are yet to sell but fingers crossed they do and will also have new homes.
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