By Natalie Bochenski

Take a look around your house, perhaps in storage cupboards, or under the bed. Gym ball you don’t use anymore? An Adam Sandler DVD box set you got for Christmas but never unwrapped? Cabbage Patch doll from the 80s? You may think it’s junk, but rest assured there’s somebody out there willing to pay decent money for those goods. It might even be the same person for all three!

eBay is the king of the auction sites, and here we focus on the tips and tricks newcomers to the world of online selling can use to maximise their profits on that site. But keep in mind there are numerous other auction sites (oztion.com.au, tradingpost.com.au) and the hints should work just as well there. We’re not advocating scamming though. You won’t go far listing a half-empty bottle of “Hogo Boos” imitation cologne as the real thing, or getting friends to dummy bid on your behalf (Boo! Hiss!). But there are ways you can make your items jump out from the crowd, and ways of upping the excitement to ensure a frenzied and lucrative bidding process.

“No one would want my stuff”

Oh yes, they would. As part of the world’s biggest online trading community, eBay.com.au has seen its fair share of strange items, including a Homer Simpson lookalike potato, a Brisbane accessories store, and a sandal featuring an apparition of Jesus (yes, people WILL buy anything). But the most popular items are exactly the kind of things you might have lying about the house: “A piece of women’s clothing is sold every 10 seconds, a toy is sold every 16 seconds, a DVD is sold every 21 seconds, and a baby item is sold every 27 seconds,” says spokesperson Inessa Jackson.

Jackson says more than 52 000 Australians currently derive their primary or secondary source of income from eBay. If they can, you can.

“So how do I get people to notice my stuff?”

Keyword: keywords. Jackson says the listing title is crucial. “Make sure it’s descriptive and includes words you would use to search for it if you were a buyer.” So keep it simple and relevant: red Chanel handbag or Nintendo Wii controller.

Page 1| 2| 3