Raise £350 for Christmas - the new eBay challenge

[DinosaursHateUnderpants]

Post your listings and questions here. The purpose is to raise money for Christmas and I'll start by showing my (so far) meagre listings here

Oops - congrats, got your payment, glad you got the combined invoice - will be posted tomorrow morning.

Millie I bought 10 plastic postage bags on ebay for £1.80 inc postage. I don't know if that is the sort of thing you are looking for. They seemed fine to me for posting soft items.

I have wrapped parcels before in tissue and then a plastic bag and then wrapped them in brown paper and they have been fine.

I have received items in carefully packaged bin bags which would also be an option.

I am learning that I need to add a small amount to postage costs to cover the cost of the packaging - otherwise it eats into profits.

I am now saving bubble wrap from everything I can ready for when I start posting non clothing items.

Do you think it is acceptable to recycle amazon postage boxes (smaller ones) for some items?

I don't see why not - I re-use any clean jiffy bags - seems such a waste otherwise. I don't mind receiving items in re-used packing as long as it is clean. Then I only need to charge postage cost too.

I received an item in a re-used chocolate multi-pack wrapper once - you know the ones which have a selection of bars in at Christmas - well it was a top in one of those with a tiny label on it with address and loads of sellotape at the end.

Should have ordered postage bags last week but too late to do so now. I've 3 which I can re-use. The rest I'll wrap nicely then put into some sort of bag and tape securely. As long as they get there safely! Am spending the morning printing address labels etc and getting them ready to package. Just noticed one of the jackets has a mark on the front so will have to wash it first.

Carrots. Off-topic but you once posted on a thread I started about meals, lack of variety and children not eating ... your sausage pasta bake is now a regular in our house so thank you!!

Can I join in? I made 300 quid last year in the run up to Christmas but I seem to have been a bit slow off the mark this year. I managed to put a few bits on last night that I have high hopes for.

My Stuff

Has anybody got experience of bulk buying the mailing bags, and splitting into smaller quantities (10/25 etc) for reselling? Looks like there is money to be made, but not sure if I (a) can be bothered, and (b) it's worth it,..

Oh I always use amazon boxes - the flat ones are perfect for turning inside out to post books.

Millie its really lovely to know that now and again, when I post, it is useful to someone. I couldn't think what to have for tea and now you have returned the favour and inspired me.

I have been listing things this morning. I have mostly listed jigsaws and card games that the dcs have outgrown. I haven't sold anything like that before so I am interested to see what happens.

I have been forced to take a break though as the battery has gone flat on my camera and I have to wait for it to charge again.

I will have a hunt through the pics I have already taken and make sure everything in them is listed and then I will be forced into doing some housework. Gah!

It is fascinating to see what kinds of things you gals list, I definitely don't have any desirable adult-size clothes, anyway. Would be fun to have a summary thread on about 20 December & see how much each person raised?

I listed 16 things last night (hoping to raise about... er, 35 quid, not 350) yet one item sold already. Yoohoo!

(I can't believe that Bear Hat with ears that sold for 7 quid)

lljkk it also amazes me what sells, and what sells for the highest prices. I had no idea the little gold mines I was sitting on yet the stuff I think is beautiful and in immaculate condition goes for a pittance.

It seems that mini boden, Gap, nike and Hello Kitty sell brilliantly but that the Next children's market is fairly saturated. My joules girls top didn't sell as well as I had hoped, despite being a Sunday evening listing and in immaculate condition. It seems very hard to predict.

I am getting a little more hopeful as more of my red numbers are turning to green as small bids begin to trickle in.

This is very addictive.

Just discovered this thread - makes great reading. I sold a Boden top last night for over £30 so really pleased with that, it had over 30 watchers! Have 4 other items now listed, all clothing, and planning to hopefully make £100 this month following a big clear out of kiddies clothes that no longer fit!

Also - as a matter of interest, now that X Factor and Downton Abbey are back on prime time TV on a Sunday night, what do you now find is the best time to end items for sale at??

lljkk
I know! It only cost me about £3 as well

Everyones doing so well - v exciting!

Got another £75 quid worth sold over the weekend, so v happy with that. Most posted, but still awaiting payment for a few, though they are packed and ready to go.

Ive still about another 100 things either unsold or not yet listed and Im sure theres more things lurking around the house that I can sell. Im going to photograph and write up listings in Word, ready to list.

Dinosaursloveunderpants when you schedule listings, can you reschedule them again? Like, if I schedule for 3 weeks, can I then go back after 2 weeks and push the start date back an extra week?

I can't believe how much some of you are making!

I have listed heaps more this morning. I am having a go at some books as well. I hadn't realised they were so easy to list. I have literally hundreds just shoved in boxes in the loft.

I have loads and loads to sell - it is just a matter of the time needed to list it and pack it and post it. It is going to keep me busy for months I think.

Serendipity I find Mon & Tues nights best for ending listings - just don't clash with EastEnders or Coronation St and you will be fine.

Mine all finished during Downton Abbey last night - I was watching both!! My most disappointing sale was a pair of Seven for All Mankind Roxanne jeans which went for just £5.19!! Someone got a bargain - they weren't worn much.mmoh well.

I had a look at prams this morning - I have an Easywalker Duo to list. We used it over a 2 year period but didn't use it that much - the tyres are proof of that. It's hard to know what price to list it at - I don't want to let it go for silly money and from looking at completed listings, I get the feeling price depends on location for pick-ups.

Enjoy your dinner tonight Carrots!

Mosey - yes you can, just leave it a while and then the available dates for scheduling have moved further on - use the revise item option. Just don't do what I do and totally forget them and have them go live when you don't want them to!

Sorry, that should have said Mousey!

I've made £175 now so far in September and like lots of people have already said it's the things that I didn't expect to make much that have done well. I think I've cleared the house from top to bottom now and very happily have only 23 scheduled to go on tonight plus 6 new things and I'm done. I think our bigger money items will go over the next 2 weeks so I'm hoping we'll get to £250 at least.

Now I just have to persuade DH to let me list his old ski stuff - the loft is full of it and it's the perfect time of year for it.

Thanks Dino - was thinking I might do that so I can list a few things each day and have them list all at once. Woohoo!

Hmm, MN is being silly for me lately and not posting my messages.
I had about 9 things listed last night but none of them sold. It's about the 3rd time they'd been listed and I'd dropped the price from £10 to £4.99 (they've all got price tags on and should be around £20 new) People obviously don't want craft things.
I'm sorted out loads of other things today, and found a bag of clothes, lots of which have price tags on, so I'll have to start listing them too.

The big question is, as I'm 36 weeks pregnant when should I stop listing things. :)

Dino you have just reminded me that it is also the perfect time of year to list outgrown thermal layers and outgrown ski jackets. Thank you

Can anyone copy and paste the info about scheduling again for me please? I keep looking back through the thread and I can't find it, despite being sure it was by Dino and therefore should be highlighted in my thread.

Yes was me, here it is:

DinosaursHateUnderpantsMon 29-Aug-11 00:22:55

Scheduling trick - pre-list your items on a scheduled listing starting at midnight or some ridiculously late hour for the night you want them to start (or actually any date after the date/time you want it to start) - when you do this it will say that you will incur a charge of 0.06p, as you finish the listing. Don't panic!

Then, and here's the sneaky bit, on the evening that you want the listing to start (the date that you've scheduled it for) you go into your scheduled listings individually and edit/revise your item and you tick/check the box to 'start the item immediately' (and that un-checks the scheduled start time box) at the time you want it to start. If you've got loads of items scheduled you need to be quick going to edit from one on to the next but when you've sussed it it shouldn't take you more than 30 seconds per item.

This way you get no charge BUT you get the benefit of getting your listings set up and ready to go as far in advance as the date on ebay will allow - about 3 weeks if I remember correctly.

It means you can list stuff tonight to go on Thursday night, more stuff tomorrow night, and so on and so on as long as you remember to edit your scheduled listing then you incur no charge.