How To Make Money On Ebay

Selling on Ebay is just as great as selling on websites such as Kijiji or Craigslist. You can make some extra cash just by posting something on the internet. Fantastic!

There are two things you need to be aware of when it comes to posting on Ebay.

Fees

You must pay to list your items on Ebay. The insertion fee depends on how much your starting price is. You also have to pay a “final value fee”, which is based on the final sale price of the item. Finally, if you want to make any upgrades to your listing, such as adding a picture or subtitle, you have to pay fees for those as well.

Shipping

With Ebay, you have to package your item and then take it to the post office to be shipped. This can be an annoyance for some people, so keep it in mind if you decide to post on Ebay.

You will need to make sure you charge the correct amount for shipping. Most sellers have their own scale that they use to weigh their package and charge accordingly.

Some items have a better chance of selling on Ebay as opposed to Craigslist or Kijiji, such as collectible items.

If you decide to list something on Ebay, here are some tips:

Research Your Item

Before you list your item for sale, it’s a good idea to check Ebay and see if there is anyone else selling the same item and how much they are selling it for. This will give you a good idea of how much you should list your item for.

Make Your Listing End on a Sunday Evening

Many people are in a “buying frame of mind” on Sundays. I don’t know why, they just are. The best time for an auction to end is Sunday evening between 6pm-12am. Between 6pm and 9pm is best.

Take a Picture

A picture really is worth a thousand words, at least when you’re trying to sell something. It’s been proven that ads with photos have a much better chance of selling than an ad without photos. A description is not enough.

Make sure that your photo is of decent quality. A bad photo is just as bad as no photo at all.

Write a Good Headline

You want people to click on your ad. In order to encourage them do this, your headline has to draw them in.

Instead of saying “girls shirt for sale”, say something like “Tommy Hilfiger Girls T-Shirt, Size 5T, Like New”. Which ad would you click on? Exactly.

Write a Good Description

Your item description is just as important as your headline, so make sure you spend a bit of time on it as well. Sticking with the girls shirt example above, your description should look something like this:

Girls Tommy Hilfiger Tshirt
Size 5T
Dark Purple
Like New Condition
100% Cotton

Don’t forget if to mention if there is any flaws with the item, such as a small stain or missing button. It’s also a good idea to mention if your item has been in a smoke and/or pet free environment.

Keep Your Shipping Charges Reasonable

There are a few people who will post on Ebay and list an item for dirt cheap (think $1.99 for an iPad) and then rack up the shipping costs (think $199 for that same iPad). This is not a good idea. You will likely end up with a bad reputation – and reputation is everything on Ebay.

If you plan on posting on Ebay often, I suggest purchasing a a small kitchen scale to weigh your items before you list them. This makes it easy to calculate shipping costs and charge the correct amount.

Ebay can be a great way for you to earn some extra cash. There are many people who actually make a living buying and selling on Ebay.

Just remember to follow the steps above and you will be well on your way to your first sale.

Source: Cassie Howard at MrsJanuary

Do you have any tips for making money on Ebay?

How To Sell Your Stuff Online: Kijiji & Craigslist

Have you ever wanted to sell your stuff online but weren’t sure how to do it? Or maybe youhave tried it but weren’t able to sell much (if anything at all).

Making money from online classifieds, such as Kijiji and Craigslist, is not as simple as posting the ad and watching the money roll in. In order to make the sale, you have to be prepared to put in a little work.

Here are some tips to help you sell your stuff online:

Take a great photo.

Photos often sell the item for you, so make sure you have a very good photo of your item.

Even better, post multiple photos of your item from different angles.

If your item has any defects (scratches, stains, etc.), be sure to take a photo of those as well. It shows people you are honest.

Do some research.

Before you post your ad, do a bit of research on the item you plan to sell.

Take a few minutes to see how much money others may be selling the same (or a similar) item for.

Ebay is great for this, because you can also see how interested people are in that particular item by viewing how many bids have been placed.

Include a catchy headline.

The very first thing people see is your headline (the title or item name), so you better make it good if you want people to click on your ad.

You want to pull people in without being obnoxious. For example:

Good Headline: Brand New Baby Boy 6-12M Clothes, NWT (new with tags)
Bad Headline: **Lots of boys clothes for sale!!!**

Another good example:

Good Headline: Solid Maple Wood Dining Room Set – Table, 6 Chairs, Buffet & Hutch
Bad Headline: Kitchen Set

Add as much information about the item into the headline as possible so people know what to expect when they are viewing your ad.

Include lots of detail in your description.

Finally, you must add a description for your item. It’s best to be very descriptive.

Be sure to include dimensions, colours, scents, and make note of any damages (if applicable).

You may also want to include your nearest intersection (or nearest intersection of the place you plan to meet), so that people know if you are close enough to them to make the deal worth it.

If you offer delivery, let people know. If you don’t, mention that as well.

Act fast to inquiries.

When you receive a phone call or email about your item(s), be sure to respond in a timely manner.

The longer it takes you to get back to an interested party, the less likely it will be that you end up making the sale.

Be prepared to negotiate.

Many people treat online classifieds as online yard sales. Just as most people would haggle on prices at a yard sale, you can expect the same thing from your online sales.

Not everyone will try to get a discount, but there are quite a few people that will (myself included!). Be prepared for this and price your items accordingly.

Keep information of everyone interested.

If you get interest from more than one person, be sure to keep the contact information for everyone until you have actually sold the item.

It’s not unusual to have someone tell you they are interested in your item, and then not show up to buy it when they say they will.

Because of this fact, it’s important to keep a list of “back-ups” that you can contact to purchase the item instead.

Re-list your items weekly.

Since Craigslist and Kijiji are free websites, there are thousands of people posting on them on a regular basis.

Your sale items will never stay on the main page all day. It doesn’t take long for more people to post – bumping your items further and further away from the main page.

Make a habit of re-listing your items once a week for 4 weeks. After that, consider donating them instead.

Selling online is a fantastic way to make some extra cash, but it can take some time to actually sell the item(s) that you are listing.

Make a deadline for when things need to be sold (4 weeks is the norm for me) and if they don’t sell by that date, they probably aren’t worth selling. Perhaps a donation to your local thrift shop would be a better idea.

Source: Cassie Howard at MrsJanuary

Do you have any tips for selling on Kijiji or Craigslist?

6 Ways To Make Money Online In Canada

6 Ways To Make Money Online In Canada

I am often asked how to make money online, and although there are many ways to do so, this is not something that is easy.

There is no possible way to “get rich quick”, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. If you want to make money online, it’s going to take awhile to make more than a few dollars, and it’s going to involve quite a bit of work. Lots and lots of actual work. If you don’t treat your online endeavour as a job, you’re not going to make much money. It’s that simple.

However, if you’re not afraid of working hard, you can earn a decent income online. Here are a few ways to make money online in Canada:

1. Sell Stuff

There are many places that you can sell things online, including Kijiji, Craigslist, Ebay, and Amazon.

You can sell pretty much anything you want on these sites. It’s very easy to make money by getting rid of things around the house that you no longer need. My personal favourite website is Kijiji because it is free to list things for sale and the site is very easy to use.

2. Sell Homemade Goods on Etsy

Are you crafty? If so, you should really consider selling your stuff on Etsy – one of the best sites for selling homemade goods. There are a ton of members and visitors that visit this website every day to see what’s new, so you will have a large audience that you can sell your products to.

Check out this great post to learn how to increase your chances of selling your goods: 12 Tips for Selling on Etsy.

3. Become a Freelance Writer

There are many websites out there that will actually pay you to speak your mind. If you are knowledgeable about certain things (finance, child care, housekeeping, etc.), there is likely a company that is looking for someone like you to write articles for their website, magazine or newspaper.

About.com and Wise Bread are 2 companies that I would recommend looking into.

4. Start a Blog

Before I say anything about blogging, please note that you should NOT start a blog to make money. You should start a blog because you love to write and share with others. If you do this, eventually the money will come. It just takes awhile.

There are many ways that you can make money with your blog: Google Adsense, private advertising, affiliate marketing (such as Amazon Associates), eBooks and more.

Here are a few more tips on blogging for money.

5. Use Swagbucks

Using Swagbucks is a great way to earn “money” online. All you have to do is use their search engine and you will earn “bucks”. Once you have enough of those bucks you can trade them in for cash (through Paypal) and/or gift cards to local and online stores.

Be sure to check out my article on how to earn Swagbucks faster.

6. Complete Surveys

There are many reputable survey sites such as  Canada Talk Now,  Opinion Outpost, and Points2Shop that you can work for.

Don’t expect to make a whole bunch of money taking online surveys. You will often only be able to earn pocket change.

That money can go toward a monthly treat (a specialty coffee, a new book, etc.), though, so it may be worth the small amount of time it takes to complete these surveys.

Making money online is very hard. I didn’t start making much money myself until I’d been blogging for over 2 years!

Although it does take time (like any other job), there is something so rewarding about being able to work online from your own home (or anywhere you can get an internet connection). Maybe it’s the fact that you get to live in your pajamas (not that you should!), take breaks whenever you want and be your own boss – those are some of the things I love about my job!

The main thing to remember is that if you want to make anything more than pocket change online, you absolutely must treat your job as a job – not as a hobby.

Source: Cassie Howard at MrsJanuary

Do you have any online money making tips?

How to Have a Baby Without Going Broke

Have a Baby on a Budget.

Whenever someone asks me the question “is it expensive to have children?”, I always groan. For some reason, people seem to think that it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to raise a child from birth until age 18, and this is simply not the case at all.

It is possible to have a baby without going broke, I promise. The key is to be resourceful, and to learn as much as possible about the things you should spend money on, and the things you shouldn’t.

Here are a few of my tips for having a baby on a budget:

Determine what you actually need

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t actually need a wipes warmer for your baby. They will survive just fine without one. On the other hand, there are things that, of course, arenecessary for a baby, such as a car seat, stroller, crib, a highchair or booster seat, some clothes and diapers. Everything else is extra. As a reference, here is a great article (and checklist) on newborn essentials.

Sign up for baby freebies

There are so many companies out there that offer free baby samples to expecting parents. Some of my favourites include Nestle, Toys R Us, Sobeys and Sears. You will often receive free diapers, wipes, coupons, baby bottles, baby spoons and even prenatal vitamins.

Join rewards programs

Consider signing up to rewards programs, such as Air Miles, Shoppers Optimum and Club Sobeys, so that you can earn points to use towards purchases of diapers, formula, baby wipes, baby toiletries, medicines and other baby items you may need.

Buy used whenever possible

Most of the things you are going to need for your baby can be purchased second hand. Things like clothing, toys, dressers/change tables, diaper bags, bedding, and baby monitors are all items that you can purchase used. Invest in things like the car seat and crib, since these are very important things you should not buy used.

Watch for deals on daily deal sites

You can sometimes find deals for baby items (clothing, toys, furniture, bedding and baby gadgets) on various different daily deal sites. I once saw Melissa & Doug toys on a daily deal site for 50% off and I snatched those up right away because that is a very good quality toy brand.

I have also purchased brand name diapers on daily deal sites for a fraction of the retail price. Check these sites daily, because you never know when a great deal will come along.

Use cloth diapers

There’s no denying that using reusable diapers is going to save you a ton of cash. There are many different companies out there that sell cloth diapers and the prices range anywhere from $200-$800 for a starter set. This works out to much less than the average $0.25 per diaper that you would pay for brand name disposable diapers.

If you really want to have a baby without going broke, save your money and opt for cloth diapering over disposables.

Make your own baby food

Preparing your own baby food at home is not only very easy, but it’s also a huge money-saver. Commercial baby food is extremely expensive and has a ton of preservatives in it that you probably don’t want to be feeding to your child anyway.

An easy way that I used to make baby food was to simply stick whatever we are having for dinner into our Magic Bullet and puree it for our baby. Now that she is older, she still gets whatever we eat, we just chop it up into small pieces for her.

These are only a few examples of ways that you can cut back on baby costs, which means that, yes, you can have a baby without going broke!

Source: Cassie Howard at MrsJanuary

What are your tips for saving on baby goods?

Where To Find Coupons

Knowing where to find coupons in Canada can save you hundreds of dollars a year. This article on where to find coupons, shows you how to get coupons in Canada that are located in many different places!

The average Canadian family spends approximately $800 a month on groceries – and that’s not including cleaning supplies, health and beauty aids or baby necessities, which can add hundreds more to your bill every month.

Coupons allow you to save a lot of money off your grocery bills without much effort. Sure, it will take some time to get the hang of using coupons “properly”, but once you learn to shop smart, it will become much easier.

With just a bit time and determination, you can start saving your family hundreds or even thousands of dollars every year with coupons.

Isn’t that worth a bit of your time?

If you’re wondering where to find coupons, I’ve listed a bunch of places below where you can get coupons in Canada.

Tear Pads

On your next shopping trip, walk down each aisle and scan the shelves closely. It’s likely that you will find at least 1 shelf with a tear pad full of coupons. Take what you need, but always leave some behind for other shoppers.

I suggest taking 1 or 2 of a coupon, even if you don’t use the product(s). You can use those for coupon trading and coupon trains (explained below). Don’t ever take an entire pad full of coupons – that’s just poor coupon etiquette.

Online Coupon Companies

There are many great Canadian online coupon companies available. Use these sites to select coupons that you want and you will get them mailed directly to your home, free of charge.

Printable Coupons

You can also search your favourite companies’ websites to see if they offer printable coupons (or you can visit our coupon database for Canadian printable coupons). Many of them do.

Be sure to sign up to their mailing lists, as some companies send out coupons in their newsletters. I suggest setting up a separate email account for these newsletters so that your personal email address doesn’t get overrun with offers from these companies.

Other printable coupon websites to check out: Smart Source, Living Well, Les Surgeles(French), Healthy Shopper

Contact Companies Directly

Sometimes calling or emailing a company and letting them know your family enjoys their products is enough for them to mail you a coupon. Ask them if they wouldn’t mind sending a coupon for their products, and include your address. Not all companies will send you coupons, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Visit: Canadian companies that will mail you coupons.

On Products

Look in and on the packaging of the products that you buy for special loyalty coupons. These can be in the form of a peelie (a coupon attached to the product, to be peeled off) or written directly on the package (such as a cereal box), to be cut out.

Please do not take peelie coupons off of products that you are not going to purchase.

Coupon Trading

Coupon trading is a great way to get coupons that you want, and get rid of the ones that you don’t. Check out the Mrs January coupon trading forum to trade with other couponers. You could also trade coupons with your friends, family and co-workers.

Coupon Trains

Coupon trains can be a bit complicated when you first get started, but after your first ride or two, you should be able to get the hang of how they work. Simply browse the trains available in our forum and the person who started the train will message you to get your address. (Or you could start your own train, of course!)

You should then receive an envelope stuffed with coupons in the mail. Take out the coupons you would like and replace them with coupons you already have and don’t need. Mail the envelope to the next rider on the list (the list will be in the envelope with the coupons). That’s it!

Coupon Inserts

Every few weeks, you can find Canadian coupon inserts in your local newspaper. There is Redplum every 4 weeks or so, SmartSource every 3 weeks or so and Brandsaver every 3-4 months. These coupon inserts are usually put in with your FREE newspapers (the ones that come with store flyers), but you can also find them in some paid subscription newspapers as well.

Keep in mind that using coupons is not the only way to save money on groceries.Check out my eBook, Money In Your Pocket, for many more ways to save on your grocery bill.