by Robin Tidwell

Created on: September 10, 2008   Last Updated: September 18, 2008

"Garage Sale" - if ever an event needed a descriptive four-letter word applied to it, this would take the prize. I abhor garage sales and no, that is not too strong a word for my feelings whenever one is proposed!

Apart from deciding which junk to keep and which to sell, or merely toss out with the trash, the inevitable battles which ensue between husband and wife, parent and child, and even the neighbor who drops by during this melee - one must usually hustle around until the wee hours the night before, then arise before the crack of dawn to arrange tables, items, and scamper for a decent amount of change to, well, make change.

After all the hullabaloo, after the dust settles, one will be extremely fortunate to have "earned" $100. If one considers the many hours spent in finding stuff, pricing stuff, and hopefully selling some of that stuff, one may have earned a couple bucks per hour worked.

Not worth it!

EBay, on the other hand, once you have determined which items to sell, keep, or trash, can be done from the comfort of your desk, in a climate-controlled environment. There are no special arrangements of tables and items, you can simply stack things in a corner or an unused room.

First, of course, you must join eBay and create a username and account. If you wish to become a seller you must also give them your credit card information, as naturally there are fees involved. Having a PayPal account is helpful as well for the purposes of collecting your money immediately, or within a day or so; you can also use it to pay your eBay fees, and opening the account is free.

You must take photos if you expect to sell items; a digital camera is your best bet as you can immediately upload the pictures and edit them and place them on eBay. Please carefully write the description of your item, watching for spelling errors, and you can save some money if you stick to the basics and avoid fancy backgrounds and bold type and gallery listings.

Yes, listing items takes some time but can be done at your leisure, certainly not before the crack of dawn or into the wee hours unless that's your thing. After a dozen or so, you will be considered a "pro" and the process takes much less time. I find it helpful to list ten to twenty items per day; I also encourage sellers to choose a three-day auction: your item sells quicker (or not) and most bidders like to see results pretty quickly as well.

My average price on a garage sale item over the years has been $5.00; my average sale price on eBay is $25.00. Even accounting for fees, which on a $25.00 item is about $3.00, there is still a much better profit margin on eBay versus a garage sale. It may take a week or more, but it involves much less physical labor and better pay.

Even when one considers the hassle of shipping those items and, trust me, some items you will not want to ship but can list as "pickup only", the choice of a garage sale or eBay is simply no contest.

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