eBay for dummies!

[Sukistjames]

I'm having a pre-Christmas clear out and wondering if selling on eBay is a better ideas than going to a pre-loved children's market.
I have loads of toys from baby toys to Lego and need guns. Also children's clothing (boys and girls) from 0 - 2.
How easy is eBay?

Oops - NERF guns!

Anyone?

I'd give the market a bash first.

You don't have to pay postage and it's sold as seen so you won't have people complaining after they have paid and demanding their money back.

I'd imagine you will also get more per item.

The things that don't sell, you can list them on eBay. Bundles tend to sell best for kids clothes I think, unless they are high end items.

Lego & Nerf guns will get good prices on Ebay, this time of year (near Xmas).
Lots of other toys won't, the clothes won't unless they cost something stupid originally.

I've been selling some of my old clothes on eBay recently. Most items have cost £2.85 to post second class. I have been offering free postage as I think it makes people more likely to bid (I know I always begrudge paying p&p charges, even if they are totally reasonable!) so you need to either charge separately for postage or factor it in to your starting costs. It's easy to sell an item at a loss if you're not careful! I have learnt the hard way. :)

Sorry, meant to add that on balance it has definitely been worth it for me financially and I was really only doing it to make some space in my overcrowded wardrobe.

No point selling on eBay unless you have branded clothes of good quality. They have to photograph well. You must take good photographs. Colourful clothes sell better than white or light clothes. I find it a lot of hard work to sell clothes on eBay for very little gain. Lots of newborn clothes on eBay going spare.

I would not bother to sell toys because the postage would eat up your profits.

If you have loads of stuff, best to sell as much as you can in a market and get it over and done with. It is real faff to have to photograph and list your items for eBay, wait for payment and package and then post them, get a certificate of posting and hope no one asks for a refund or claims they did not receive. If your items are not perfect/pristine, you might not get good feedback. I don't risk bad feedback and only sell quality items on eBay.

I've given up with eBay as I've had so many people say things haven't arrived so whay has refunded them. It wasn't worth the hassle really any way and then to lose the money was a pain. So.now I just use local selling sites.

Gumtree may be worth a try - no fees, people pay cash when they collect the stuff, so no postage. Have a look to see what's for sale and for what price locally.

Thank you everyone for the advice. I hadn't thought about postage and people returning goods if using eBay. I think I'll try a market thing first. Just not looking forward to the prep and pricing!

Always used tracked postage. Check zips and photograph before posting. Take a video of the item working if it is a toy but remove batteries before posting. Don't post fragile items.