HeadLikeAFnOrange
Newbie
- Oct 17, 2014
- 22
- 12
I loooove BHW and want to give back a bit. I'm not very experienced with IM, so there aren't many ways I can give back to the community. But I do know eBay fairly well, and know I had a pretty good method to get over their funds hold on new accounts. Note: This isn't a hack or shortcut, you'll still need to meet eBay's criteria, but this guide should help you get there as quickly as possible. Heeeere we gooooo!
We've all been there: You're just starting out on eBay, you sell your first item, then come to find eBayPal wants to hold your money for up to 21 days before paying you. Yes, it?s BS, no, it?s not really fair to sellers, but it?s to prevent fraud, so ultimately it?s a good thing for the eBay community. EBay states,
As is common wisdom here at BHW, the easiest way to beat this is to get your hands on an aged account right from the start. Doesn't have to be years old for this purpose, just more than 90 days, provided they've got past the other two criteria, as well. But for this thread, we're assuming you're going to start from scratch and build everything up, yourself. While I cover all 3 criteria, the 25 sales was the biggest hurdle for me, so I focus most on it. This guide assumes you're based in the US. While the basic method should work anywhere with newspaper ads/coupons, your mileage may vary.
What You?ll Need: For 90 day limit: Time. For 25 sales: A book of stamps, envelopes, Sunday?s paper. For $250 in sales: Something expensive to sell...
90 Day Wait Limit: The only way around that 90 days is to wait, unfortunately. You could optimize your time by signing up for ebay now, getting these requirements out of the way, then investing the rest of your time learning eBay inside and out, figuring out what works, what doesn't, what sells well, what sells poorly, that kind of thing. Either way, you're waiting or buying an aged account, that's all there is. If anyone else has a way around this, I'd love to hear it.
25 sales: You're going to sell 25 coupons. Since I don't use this anymore and it?s not really that profitable for the time requirement, I have no problem sharing my "secret," as I've already done in a couple other posts. Harbor Freight coupons are the way to go. Here it is, easily listed in steps. It?s already a saturated market, but it didn?t matter for me, I still made the sales I needed within a couple weeks.
1. Go buy a Sunday newspaper or two. Sunday generally has all the good ads.
Find the Harbor Freight tools coupon page if your local paper has them. Sometimes there are 2 or 3 hidden in with the ads. If you don't see any (they're not in every paper in every state), see the Q&A section below. (I'm sure you could make other ads work, too, but I know for a fact that Harbor Freight coupons sell). Disregard coupons that don't have a savings of at least $100. People won't bother buying coupons with low savings, in my experience.
2. List coupons for $1-$3. List coupons in the correct category (hint: it?s ?Coupons?) as Buy it Now (you can do auctions, but BiN is quicker). Clearly state in the title and listing that it?s a coupon, and most importantly, use a picture of the coupon. Do not make the mistake you?ll see others making of listing the coupon under ?tools? using a picture of the real tool instead of your coupon. This is against eBay ToS and almost certainly will get you bad feedback you can?t afford this early on, and maybe banned. That tricks people into thinking they?re buying the tool. And yes, people are dumb enough to not read the 30 mentions of ?coupon? or think they?re getting some $400 tool for $3. Don?t get the idea to try that, then take the money and run. Ebay will find you, and they will kill you (probably not, but I like Taken).
VERY IMPORTANT! Block out the barcode and numbers at the bottom/side using a piece of paper or MS Paint/Photoshop. This is crucial, the coupons can be used online, so leaving that code visible is essentially giving away your coupon.
3. Upon sale, stamp an envelope, address it and send it off! I typically like to include a "freebie" to encourage good feedback. Usually one of the coupons I don't sell and would otherwise trash, but something somewhat related. IE, don't give a feminine face scrub coupon to some guy buying a coupon for a drill.
All in all, you'll be out the money for the newspaper, envelopes and stamps, but once eBay does finally lift the hold, you should at least break even. And profit isn't the goal right now, remember, just breaking that Vulcan Death Grip on your money is the goal.
$250 in sales: Now, even if you're not a mathematician, you may have figured out you won't make $250 selling 25 coupons for $1.50 a pop. This is where having a bit of capital comes in handy. You need to buy/find something you can sell for $250, or a few items whose total equals $250. Save this sale for last, so the money will be held for the least amount of time. If you don't have $250 to invest, sell stuff you own. If you're confident and motivated, consider it a ?loan? of sorts. You?ll buy yourself another PS4 when you?ve earned enough money selling. Video game consoles work well here. iDevices sell like iHotcakes. It's up to you whether you gamble your personal belongings, but it?s definitely an option and may be the only real option you have if money is tight.
That's pretty much it. Nothing revolutionary or groundbreaking, but it works. I welcome any advice from other eBay sellers who may know an even quicker method, as my goal here is simply to get these guys and gals selling and turning a profit!
Here are a few questions I anticipate might be asked:
Q: My local paper doesn't have Harbor Freight tools coupons, what do I do?
A: Use other coupons. Search ebay for coupons and you?ll see coupons for just about everything. Alternately, you can buy full sheets of Harbor Freight coupons on eBay from people too lazy/busy to sell them individually. Look to pay $1-$5 for a bundle of them. Provided you get at least 2-3 sheets with your purchase, you'll make your money back. Even if not, making a profit isn't the goal here, as I've said
Q: What about tracking?
A: Don't bother. It costs much more to get tracking on a package, and I've never had a customer complaint for not including tracking on a hand-shipped coupon in a plain envelope. At worst, your package gets lost and you're out a coupon and $2. Most buyers won't hit you with negative feedback because something got lost in the post, provided you make it right with them by either refunding or replacing. Without tracking, you may have to wait longer to actually get your funds, but if you're that desperate for a couple bucks, I'd suggest you go get a 9-5 job.
Q: Come on, who the hell would BUY a coupon and why?
A: This is why Harbor Freight is so good. Their coupons are typically an amazing value, something like $100-$500 off an expensive tool. The coupons can be used online, so people who don't have a local Harbor Freight and don't get their ad in the paper are more than willing to pay a few bucks to save hundreds.
Q: Booooo this isn't a shortcut, what gives!?
A: If you're looking for shortcuts and quick/easy money, eBay is the wrooong horse to back lol. The best way to get quick money is to rob a bank or sell your body. Neither of which I'd personally advise. Another method for quick money is to build yourself a time machine, go back to 1962, and start releasing Beatles songs as your own. This method totally works, as I still get my royalties for I Want to Hold Your Hand (PLEASE tell me you?re not taking this seriously anymore).
We've all been there: You're just starting out on eBay, you sell your first item, then come to find eBayPal wants to hold your money for up to 21 days before paying you. Yes, it?s BS, no, it?s not really fair to sellers, but it?s to prevent fraud, so ultimately it?s a good thing for the eBay community. EBay states,
New seller status ends once you've met all the following criteria:
It's been more than 90 days since your first successful sale.
You've completed more than 25 domestic sales transactions.
You have more than $250.00 in total sales.
As is common wisdom here at BHW, the easiest way to beat this is to get your hands on an aged account right from the start. Doesn't have to be years old for this purpose, just more than 90 days, provided they've got past the other two criteria, as well. But for this thread, we're assuming you're going to start from scratch and build everything up, yourself. While I cover all 3 criteria, the 25 sales was the biggest hurdle for me, so I focus most on it. This guide assumes you're based in the US. While the basic method should work anywhere with newspaper ads/coupons, your mileage may vary.
What You?ll Need: For 90 day limit: Time. For 25 sales: A book of stamps, envelopes, Sunday?s paper. For $250 in sales: Something expensive to sell...
90 Day Wait Limit: The only way around that 90 days is to wait, unfortunately. You could optimize your time by signing up for ebay now, getting these requirements out of the way, then investing the rest of your time learning eBay inside and out, figuring out what works, what doesn't, what sells well, what sells poorly, that kind of thing. Either way, you're waiting or buying an aged account, that's all there is. If anyone else has a way around this, I'd love to hear it.
25 sales: You're going to sell 25 coupons. Since I don't use this anymore and it?s not really that profitable for the time requirement, I have no problem sharing my "secret," as I've already done in a couple other posts. Harbor Freight coupons are the way to go. Here it is, easily listed in steps. It?s already a saturated market, but it didn?t matter for me, I still made the sales I needed within a couple weeks.
1. Go buy a Sunday newspaper or two. Sunday generally has all the good ads.
Find the Harbor Freight tools coupon page if your local paper has them. Sometimes there are 2 or 3 hidden in with the ads. If you don't see any (they're not in every paper in every state), see the Q&A section below. (I'm sure you could make other ads work, too, but I know for a fact that Harbor Freight coupons sell). Disregard coupons that don't have a savings of at least $100. People won't bother buying coupons with low savings, in my experience.
2. List coupons for $1-$3. List coupons in the correct category (hint: it?s ?Coupons?) as Buy it Now (you can do auctions, but BiN is quicker). Clearly state in the title and listing that it?s a coupon, and most importantly, use a picture of the coupon. Do not make the mistake you?ll see others making of listing the coupon under ?tools? using a picture of the real tool instead of your coupon. This is against eBay ToS and almost certainly will get you bad feedback you can?t afford this early on, and maybe banned. That tricks people into thinking they?re buying the tool. And yes, people are dumb enough to not read the 30 mentions of ?coupon? or think they?re getting some $400 tool for $3. Don?t get the idea to try that, then take the money and run. Ebay will find you, and they will kill you (probably not, but I like Taken).
VERY IMPORTANT! Block out the barcode and numbers at the bottom/side using a piece of paper or MS Paint/Photoshop. This is crucial, the coupons can be used online, so leaving that code visible is essentially giving away your coupon.
3. Upon sale, stamp an envelope, address it and send it off! I typically like to include a "freebie" to encourage good feedback. Usually one of the coupons I don't sell and would otherwise trash, but something somewhat related. IE, don't give a feminine face scrub coupon to some guy buying a coupon for a drill.
All in all, you'll be out the money for the newspaper, envelopes and stamps, but once eBay does finally lift the hold, you should at least break even. And profit isn't the goal right now, remember, just breaking that Vulcan Death Grip on your money is the goal.
$250 in sales: Now, even if you're not a mathematician, you may have figured out you won't make $250 selling 25 coupons for $1.50 a pop. This is where having a bit of capital comes in handy. You need to buy/find something you can sell for $250, or a few items whose total equals $250. Save this sale for last, so the money will be held for the least amount of time. If you don't have $250 to invest, sell stuff you own. If you're confident and motivated, consider it a ?loan? of sorts. You?ll buy yourself another PS4 when you?ve earned enough money selling. Video game consoles work well here. iDevices sell like iHotcakes. It's up to you whether you gamble your personal belongings, but it?s definitely an option and may be the only real option you have if money is tight.
That's pretty much it. Nothing revolutionary or groundbreaking, but it works. I welcome any advice from other eBay sellers who may know an even quicker method, as my goal here is simply to get these guys and gals selling and turning a profit!
Here are a few questions I anticipate might be asked:
Q: My local paper doesn't have Harbor Freight tools coupons, what do I do?
A: Use other coupons. Search ebay for coupons and you?ll see coupons for just about everything. Alternately, you can buy full sheets of Harbor Freight coupons on eBay from people too lazy/busy to sell them individually. Look to pay $1-$5 for a bundle of them. Provided you get at least 2-3 sheets with your purchase, you'll make your money back. Even if not, making a profit isn't the goal here, as I've said
Q: What about tracking?
A: Don't bother. It costs much more to get tracking on a package, and I've never had a customer complaint for not including tracking on a hand-shipped coupon in a plain envelope. At worst, your package gets lost and you're out a coupon and $2. Most buyers won't hit you with negative feedback because something got lost in the post, provided you make it right with them by either refunding or replacing. Without tracking, you may have to wait longer to actually get your funds, but if you're that desperate for a couple bucks, I'd suggest you go get a 9-5 job.
Q: Come on, who the hell would BUY a coupon and why?
A: This is why Harbor Freight is so good. Their coupons are typically an amazing value, something like $100-$500 off an expensive tool. The coupons can be used online, so people who don't have a local Harbor Freight and don't get their ad in the paper are more than willing to pay a few bucks to save hundreds.
Q: Booooo this isn't a shortcut, what gives!?
A: If you're looking for shortcuts and quick/easy money, eBay is the wrooong horse to back lol. The best way to get quick money is to rob a bank or sell your body. Neither of which I'd personally advise. Another method for quick money is to build yourself a time machine, go back to 1962, and start releasing Beatles songs as your own. This method totally works, as I still get my royalties for I Want to Hold Your Hand (PLEASE tell me you?re not taking this seriously anymore).