Have you ever had a mass "spring clean" so to speak of items and put on ebay?
Do you have a habit or hoarding stuff? Lots of DVDs/Books/Electronics you never used? If so have you ever cleared the lot out and whacked it all on ebay?
If so, what are your experiences? Any advice on making the most money?
First would be, that depending on the stuff you are selling, you are likely to get a better response from Craigslist or Kijiji.
For many things, the shipping cost will outweigh the value, so any kind of local transaction would be preferred. The standard "will combine shipping" can be an ebay-offered incentive for people who want more than one of your things.
Smaller high-value items would of course be the exception to the previous rule. There the broad reach of eBay might well bring you a better price. Standard consumer electronics, however, would likely not fit into this category, as they change so quickly.
Depending on the amount of stuff you have, two other ideas come to mind. There are likely local flea markets that charge just a few bucks for tables to sell whatever you like. And don't forget the garage sale; a favourite weekend pastime for many in Canada :-)
I have sold a few items on ebay. The biggest issue I have with ebay is all of the fees. I am not sure how much has changed recently, but when I was selling stuff it felt like ebay and paypal took a large chunk of the money. I could be wrong, but it seemed like they were getting around 35% or more of my 'profits'. Of course, you then have the shipping fees on top of that, which will run a few bucks on common items. For items that sell for around $20 on ebay, I felt like I was ending up with about $5 in my pocket.
I have used Amazon to sell used books, though I haven't done that for about a year or so. They had no fees for listing items, and the item remains listed for about 90 days. If it sells, they process the payment and can deposit it into your bank account or provide an Amazon gift certificate. I forget Amazon's fees, but I remember that it didn't seem to be as frustrating as the ebay/paypal price structure.
I lost my job and sold just about everything I own on ebay and craigslist. The folks that bought my stuff made out like bandits..............I took a serious bath! I was lucky to get half the value on electronics, maybe 25% on collectibles and 10% of the value on furniture. The hungrier you are the lower you'll go! Sad but true. I also had some problems with ebay's customer service or customer run-around. Try craigslist first and don't take the first offer, hold out as long as you can to get your price.
Media is worthless. I used to sell old books and movies on Amazon.com, but the hassle is significant and the returns low.
I have had better luck donating old media to charity, and deducting the value that you typically get on Amazon ($0.01 + 2.99 shipping - media mail cost)
