Financial Reflections

OK, the holidays are officially over and you’re possibly feeling the pinch on your budget.  Maybe you have stuff that you can’t return to the store, or stuff to get rid of to make room for the newer, even cooler stuff you just bought.  A great thing to do is just sell the stuff online.  Here’s four sites I use when I want to sell things online.

1. Half.com – I discovered Half.com when a one of my co-workers (a former professor) sold his mountain of old textbooks online.  He made a lot of money at Half.com, so I checked it out.  I pulled out a bunch of old books from my basement and I have made a few hunderd bucks selling them over the years.  Half.com makes it easier to list than just using eBay or a similar site as you don’t have to put a picture up.  You just enter the books ISBN number and you’re off.  They even calculate shipping.
   What’s better is you can sell music, movies, games and game systems as well, though I haven’t tried that part.
   Pro Tips:   
   1. Give an honest rating of your item’s condition.
   2. Price the lowest in its condition to sell fast
   3. Computer books and texts sell for a lot, but you can find all kinds of in-demand items.
   4. You won’t make money on shipping.  The shipping reimbursement is pretty accurate.
   5. You can buy books there cheap.  We returned some Christmas gift books and may buy the used versions at Half.com
2. eBay: Everybody’s at least heard of eBay.  I’ve sold items from around the house here and it’s still the best place to go as far as I’m concerned.  You do have to post your photos and such, but that’s the nature of the game with how many items can be sold on the site (nearly anything).
   For those in an entrepreneurial mood, eBay also lets user set up online stores.  I’ve heard people make a living doing this.  In fact, I have a nice new Nike golf club I got cheap at an eBay store.  It’s worth a look if you’re shopping for something new or used.
3. Craig’s List: Some people swear by it (with billions of page views a month, apparently many do), but I’ve heard horror stories as well.  My own bad experience stems from selling an SUV there.  I got some lookers, but not a single serious customer.  One person wanted to pay me monthly as if I was a bank.  Um, no thanks.  I used Auto Trader, paid the fee and had a legitimate sale soon after.
4. Etsy.com: OK, this one is a little different.  If you’re a crafter or an artist, this is the place to sell your stuff.  My wife makes some great items there and does pretty well for an Etsy beginner.  The rules are simple, the stuff you sell must be made by you (no mass production).  There have been a few stories of crafters who’ve done so well, they’ve had to leave Etsy to mass produce to meet demand.

Well, that’s my four main sites.  What sites do you use to buy and sell stuff online?  Let me know in the comments below.