Who has done online auctions and ever truly made anything much from them??

I agree, with all the fees and the trip to the PO, you really need to be selling something that you either don't want anymore or an item that you buy cheaply that will sell for good money. When I list item to sell, I list them all on the same day and I also state that I only ship on Saturdays. This way I only have to go to the PO once or twice to ship out everything. I haven't list anything since the fees were increased, but I have found some bargains on Ebay, so I may be listing some new items real soon.

I have been buying and selling on eBay since March 2000 . I sell mostly Comic Books , Sports Cards and related items, I have sold dishes , dolls , Teddy Bears , old newspapers , toys and other stuff. The first three or four year were good on eBay , our dollar (Canadian) was low and Comics and Cards were good sellers . But since our dollar is on par with The US , it's not so good . I don't do much selling at all . If you wish to check out the items I am selling at this time , go to eBay and check out my user name (buckskin007) .

I did ebay religiously for a little bit. Truth be told, there is money if you treat it like a business. I would post 12 items a day, every day. I would list as 7 day auction/buy it now. When that ended, I would put it up again. Usually, I had several of whatever it was. When I worked it in this fashion, there was income to be had. But one really has to do it religiously. And pay attention to what sells and what doesn't. And have a handle on fees and postage. You don't want to overcharge, but you do want to both make an income and recoup postage costs. But then, I live 2 blocks from post office it was very easy for me just to take a quick walk and send stuff off. In the end, I guess it's like anything else. If you put the time, energy and reall effort into it, it should pay off. But you really have to dedicate yourself. I haven't been on ebay lately. but I hear that they no longer permit sale of digital products. That's a bummer. I think there could be real money there for someone dedicated to that type of sales.

It is getting a lot harder to earn much from eBay these days, what with the fees and associated costs. I only sell bits and pieces I no longer need so I rarely make any profits. The best item I sold was a T shirt, given to me by a friend of mine. It was way too small for me but I didn't want to just give it away as it was unusual. It was only when I looked closer at it that I realised that it was a French designer piece and it sold for a very good price.

I have sold on ebay, and have some of the same problems as you. After all of the fees it seems hardly worth it. I also always seem to underestimate the postage and end up spending more on that. The buyers often email you seconds after the auction has ended demanding to know when they will get the item - I send priority, but it still takes a day or two! Too much stress for too little earnings.

I started selling on ebay just under a year ago, I thought it would be ideal for me to do with being at home all day, something just to bring a few extra pounds in a week. I researched and trailed the internet for hours looking for places I could buy from, then once I had enough places I started. I have to say that at first it was ok, then the fees were raised and it just seemed to get harder and harder to make any money. Since the beginning of this year, sales have dropped dramatically, people are not spending, people are avoiding ebay and fees have been raised. I now have to face the truth that I make more on here than I do on ebay. I work like mad on there and go and hold queues up in the post office every week to post, all for nothing, I have to post some tomorrow too. I have now come to the sad conclusion that I have to give it up, and I am really sad because I love it. I am in the process of trying to find somewhere else but I will not be able to buy any stock for a while as it has all gone into fees and such.

I've made a few dollars on ebay. I'm trying to build up a following there in the hopes of earning enough to contribute to my budget. You need to pay attention when creating your auction to keep the listing fees low. For example, I never use a 'reserve' there's an additional fee for it. I set my start bid close to what I think it should sell for. Of course for some items, a different strategy may work better but for what I offer that works. I check to see if others are offering what I have. If there are many people offering what I have, if I can't offer a better product or a lower price I don't bother listing it. You can earn a profit with ebay, but like any business you need to know how & have at least a loose idea of your business plan.