by Jeremy Matthews

Created on: May 17, 2010   Last Updated: May 19, 2010

We all like to make a little extra money.  During the spring and early summer, people start cleaning out the garage and their closets, and many of these people decide to have yard sales.  Yard sales are great for both the person doing the selling and the buyer.  Why?  That's easy, the buyer gets to rid themselves of things that took up space, and they can get a little cash return on that item.  The buyer can get great bargains on previously used items. 

The same thing can happen on eBay.  One of the differences with eBay is what I call 'potential market'.  If I were to setup a yard sale this coming Saturday morning, chances are the only people who will know about it are those who drive by it, or those who see an ad in the newspaper (and friends or family).  By listing an item on eBay, it is out there for millions of people to potentially see it.

Another difference is weather.  Yep, that's right.  Who wants to go yard selling on a cold rainy day? I know I wouldn't.  But with eBay, you can literally make sales during any weather condition, day or night.  There is more flexibility with eBay in this aspect.  When you list an item on eBay, you are charged listing fees which will factor in with your final selling value fees.  This doesn't happen if you host a yard sale or garage sale.  The only thing you are out of is your time.  However, with eBay you are swapping the convenience of dedicating time to the sale for paying a listing fee.  For some, this is an easy decision.  For others, the cheaper way to sell your old stuff is still with a garage sale.

When it comes down to it, it all depends on what is best for you (the seller).  Everyone is unique in their own situation.  Myself, I prefer the garage sale route.  Then whatever doesn't sell, goes on eBay for another try.  If it doesn't sell then, I either donate it to charity or try again at a later time.  One of the biggest differences you'll find between garage sales and eBay is the whole mindset is often a little different.

In my past garage sale experiences, the sellers typically aren't asking a whole lot for much of their old stuff.  They are just happy to move it out of their house,  whether it be old clothes, kid's toys, or other items.  So typically, the buyers go into a yard sale expecting to get things pretty cheap.  Usually, this works out.  If it doesn't, they simply pack it up and move to another yard sale.

This mentality is somewhat different on eBay.  Most people expect to log on to eBay expecting to get great items at a steal of a price.  However, where this is different is when a seller wants to get the maximum profit from their item.  So it is very often you'll see an item listed for much more than it is worth or even for more than it originally retailed for.  This doesn't mean deals can't be found.  You just have to look a little harder to get them.

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