Yessss…i won that 1989 Shane Ritchie annual
Tuesday 6th May, 2008 - £9,485.54 in debt…..
Ebay is a funny old thing. How on earth does anyone make any money on it? Really? It takes me a day to take photos of all the stuff I want to sell, a further day and a half to list them all, and a day at the end to wrap it up and post it. And that’s assuming all my buyers pay up in the way they’re supposed to and I don’t have to enter into a week-long email conversation about why I don’t accept credit card payments.
So how much does the average person earn on Ebay, when you take all this into account? About 7p an hour, I reckon, but it’s better than nothing so here I go. I could report myself for exploitation.
Last time I sold anything on Ebay, I got into so many wrangles with buyers that eventually I gave up. It just didn’t seem worth the stress or hassle… maybe I have anger issues that should be dealt with. But now, I have a mission and a huge debt to pay off, so I’m giving it another go.
I’ve created a pile of things I can live without (CDs, books – including a couple of signed ones - unwanted presents, etc). By the end of yesterday, I’d calmly photographed and listed them all (complete with a slightly gruff “NO CREDIT CARDS” disclaimer), and I’m looking forward to getting rid of them and making some cash.
If I sell everything for the amounts I’m hoping for, I’ll be able to pay off my NatWest card within a week.
If you remember, my NatWest card is the one with only £123.99 on it. By paying it off first, it’s one in the eye for Martin Lewis and anyone else with half a financial brain, as the interest rate is by no means my highest. So why am I doing it?
Well, it seems like an achievable goal; it means I can add £10 to my monthly Barclaycard payment; and it will mean fewer cards to manage. I’m also doing it to prove that I can be sensible, bite the bullet and pay off a debt without spending all my so-called “disposable” cash on shoes. Hopefully. As soon as the NatWest card is paid off, I’ll start chipping away at them in the right order.
My listings end on Friday – I’ll keep you updated.
In other news…
After my last posting, I received a few comments about my credit card suppliers, telling me I should try calling them and asking if they can drop my interest rates. I had no idea that could be done, so I’ll be calling all my card issuers this week – watch this space.
By the way, you might have noticed that my debt has decreased since my last posting – YESSSS!!! This is because I’ve just received my Barclaycard bill. Last month I made my usual payment of £75, but my interest payment was so extortionate that my debt has only gone down by £13.91. Yes, it has cost me £75 to decrease my balance by less than £14. This has got to stop.
Would you like a P45 with that?
Trying to sell CDs on Ebay can be something of a thankless task, most of the items you list will be available on Amazon Marketplace for pennies.
Rare vinyl records and first edition books change hands for good money though.
I know CDs can often be found cheaper, but I’m preying on idiots. A lot of the CDs are pretty old, so might not be available elsewhere - who knows? It’s worth a shot.
Most of the stuff I’m selling is likely to go for a bit more - signed books (one is a first edition), box-sets and a bit of vinyl (records, that is - not catsuits or anything). My fingers are crossed.
Ebay is a complete pain, I tried selling some unwanted X-mas presents - what an absolute pain and hassle, but someone I work with does really well buying clothes from the high street and selling at a profit. It seems that ebay does inflate
Are there any blogs/forums which unlock the key to Ebay?
Apparently Norwich is the Ebay capital of Britain, so perhaps farming and agricultural paraphernalia would work well.
My brother sold a Cure LP on Ebay for £1200 last year. Perhaps being an ageing goth is the key to breaking the Ebay code?