Beginner’s Guide to Selling Kid’s Clothes on Ebay
Spring is in the air, and we all know what that means. Bird watching, walks in the park, picking flowers, nope, it’s time to make some money! If you have kids, they seem to grow overnight. One day those pants fit just fine, the next thing you know, they have become capris. While, it’s easier to take everything to the thrift store, there is money to be made if you know how. We’ve made hundreds of dollars selling kid’s clothing on Ebay, and you can too.
Become an Ebay Seller
If you’ve never used Ebay, it’s very easy. While some sellers have stores on Ebay, this post is for the beginner or small time seller.
You need to set up some basic information and have a Paypal account. Ebay walks you right through how to list and price items, or you can watch a video on Youtube. If you have a smart phone, there are Ebay apps that make it even more simple.
Sell in Lots
I’ve found that when selling any clothing items on Ebay, they tend to do better when listed in lots, meaning that you list several items as one purchase. While it might not be worthwhile to sell a shirt for $1, 5 shirts and 5 pairs of pants in a 10 piece lot is going to attract much more attention. Gather all the things you have to sell, and group them together by size or season. For example, you might put spring dresses or shorts and t-shirts together. The exception might be if you have a really nice item like a coat, pair of brand name shoes, or something that that is new with tags attached.
Have a Good Description
If you’ve ever browsed Ebay, you know that pages of listing are pulled up when you search for a specific item. The key is to make your listing stand out with a good description. Use as much detail as you can. For example, if I had 4 girl’s dresses to sale, which is the better listing?
Lot of 4 Girl’s Dresses
Lot of 4 Little Girl’s Dresses, Old Navy, Gymboree, Size 5, Like New
Ebay shoppers are like anyone online. They click on the term that most represents what they are looking for, so don’t skimp on the details for both the title and description within the listing.
Use Several Photos
Ebay now allows you to list up to 12 pictures for free with basic listings. Take advantage. If you have 8 items, take pictures of the group, plus each individual piece.If you are selling shoes, make sure you take photos of the soles. Buyers love photos.
Point Out any Flaws
If the item you’re selling has any sort of flaw or defect, make sure to point it out. Take a photo of it if possible. Buyers often don’t mind small flaws, but if you list an item as brand new and it gets delivered with holes and stains, you are going to get the item back plus a bad feedback comment. Always be honest about less than perfect items.
Be Careful with Shipping
Nothing turns off a buyer more than if they are browsing a $5 item, and the shipping is $12. Try to price shipping as cheaply as possible. You can ship most clothing items by wrapping in brown paper, a large envelope, or plastic bags (think about how retail stores ship clothing). I usually offer the cheapest option, which is first class mail or parcel post, plus a premium option like priority mail and let the buyer choose. Make sure you ship the item quickly after you receive payment.
Fees?
Yes, Ebay does charge a fee if you sell your items. It is 9 % of the sale if you list less than 50 items per month. Then Paypal takes their cut. You might argue that Craig’s list is cheaper, but no one really uses that in the area where we live. Plus, I don’t want to have to arrange meetings with strangers for buying clothes. I’ve found that selling on Ebay garners much more than yard sale prices, and a little more than consignment prices. I tend to try Ebay first, and if my items don’t sell, I use consignment as my next step. Remember also that some clothes are just too worn out to have any return on investment, and those need to be donated or thrown away.
Ebay can be a great resource for earning a little extra cash for quality items you don’t need anymore. Kids’ clothing is one item I will have to turn over for a while, so why not earn some extra money?
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Great post, thanks for this. Good point about how you’re paying Ebay fees for such ease of use compared to Craigslist, etc.
I would much rather pay 10% or even 15% not to deal with meeting strangers.
Great tips! This is very helpful!
I hope you can make some money if you start selling.
We don’t have any kids and I’m not that familiar with Ebay as I’ve only used it once or twice. We use something called Kijiji in Canada where we can list for free and the people pick up at our house and pay us. It seems to work out fine and we buy and sell and give things away free as well. Baby clothes are sold in lots from what I can see but I also see mums and dads selling piece by piece. I don’t know much about it but if you can make some money back, why not. Cheers
I’m always a bit nervous about people coming to my house because we are out in the country a bit. Someone could murder me and bury me in the back yard and no one would notice for a while.
I need to utilize ebay a bit more. I usually use craigslist but I’ve had a couple items that haven’t moved on CL so ebay would be a good back up plan.
It at least gives you a bigger audience. Although, it always makes me wonder when someone in Florida buys a winter coat!
Growing up, this wasn’t something my family really worried about. I typically got my older cousins’ hand-me-downs and after I out-grew them, they went into storage for a few years for my brother, and then for my younger cousins. By the time a t-shirt or pair of jeans got through 6 owners, it was only ever good for rags anyway.
Lots of my daughters stuff wouldn’t make it through two owners. The stuff we sell is usually the frilly impractical stuff that Granny sends.
Great post, Kim. I’ve often thought about selling on Ebay but wasn’t ever sure about how to go about it. This is a great starting points post for me, so thanks!
I imagine you get to pass clothes down between your daughters, but there are lots of other things to sell. I love Ebay.