Experiment: Turning a Profit on Ebay

<I recently purchased these shoes at Goodwill. They look brand new, or close to it, are a designer brand (Kenneth Cole Reaction) (designer by my standards, anyway), and were only $6 for the pair (they probably cost $60 or more retail). I normally recognize that a good deal isn't really a good deal when you aren't going to use it (the shoes were too small for me), but this seemed like a good way to experiment with buying something at less than its value and attempting to make a profit reselling it.

Of course, only about half or less of the shoes listed on Ebay actually sell, as far as I can tell, and these shoes are not New In Box, or even New - No Box. They are Other. I'm listing them for $0.99 or $15.00 Buy it Now with a shipping fee of $7.00 so that at a bare minimum I will pretty much break even if I manage to sell them.

I am fully aware that reselling shoes on Ebay is not the way to riches, and that the time I'm putting into this is probably better spent on something else, but I feel compelled to run this experiment anyway. I also realize that these shoes may not even be in style which would reduce the value I see in them (I am pretty disconnected from the fashion world).

I have a love-hate relationship with Ebay in that I historically have only sold about half or less of what I've listed. Also, I only win a few of the items I bid on because someone, somewhere always seems willing to pay way too much for the stuff I'm interested in. Why is that?

Update: I ran my shoe sale from the Sunday before Thanksgiving until the Sunday after Thanksgiving--not necessarily the best time to list items. On one hand, people have holiday shopping on the brain. On the other hand, many people are traveling and away from their computers.

I was very happy with the result, though. My shoes sold for $18.50! That's quite the profit. I'm feeling inspired to try another experiment. I wonder what I'll find on my next Goodwill trip?

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