Making Money at Home - Consignment Selling on eBay

To define consignment selling, it involves selling items owned by others, from the sales of which you can get a percentage. The thing is: why would they let you sell it for them? To answer that, there are MANY people who have things to sell on eBay, they just don't know how. Or maybe they just don't have the time to organize such a business.

This is where you come in. With your know-how on getting around eBay, begin to collect items which you can sell on consignment. Pretty soon you'll be able to adjust to managing your eBay account, and you can also get used to dealing with the prices and percentages.

After you get the agreed-upon percentage of every sale you make, give the rest to the original owner. If something doesn't sell, all you have to do is take it down from the list and return it to the owner.

How do you get started?

First, ask within your family if they have things they are willing to sell. If they have, make sure they understand that you get a share from the sale. You can try selling what you already have and get the feel of managing the whole process. For things they don't use anymore, your family will be happy to get money from them.

Once you have been able to adjust, you can then proceed to advertising on local papers. It would be easier to have customers who are in the same area as you are, not to mention wiser. That way, you won't have to travel too far to meet them, saving you on effort and money. Thus, you get almost pure profit.

When your business grows, more people will be aware of it. Good for you if the word is spread among your relatives and friends. You'll be able to get more items and customers.

What is the reasonable percentage you can get?

Choose somewhere between 15-30% of the price. If you take lower than that, you might end up realizing that the money you make is not worth continuing the consignment business. If you demand higher than 30%, people will most likely not let you sell their stuff for them.

Now that you have an idea about consignment selling, why don't you try asking your family for stuff to sell? You'll have to select the items you think people will consider worth buying, and then you're all set. Lastly, don't ever, ever think of selling things without the owner's knowledge. This will cause you a lot of trouble and will delay your money-making opportunity.