An entrepreneur who made six figures as a teen by selling on eBay has revealed his top piece of advice for making serious money on the online auction platform – and it’s simpler than you might think.
Joseph Holman, entrepreneur and owner of Green Doors, managed to buy his first Porsche using the money he’d made from eBay selling.
He ended up making more than £250k in his teen years, so it’s no surprise that he earned himself the nickname of ‘the eBay king’.
Now, he has lifted the lid on the secrets to earning big whilst using eBay as a side hustle, offering sellers some valuable pieces of advice for listings, what to remember, and much more.
And he says there’s one thing you can do that will get you the ‘highest possible price’ for your items.
Joseph’s eBay journey began when he was just 12 years old, using his dad’s account to sell magnetic ‘stick and ball’ games he had used his pocket money to buy in bulk.
He said: “I ended up netting a profit of around £2,000 in just six weeks and, from then on, I was hooked on buying and selling anything I could.
“I had around £30k saved up from my eBay profits before I was 16. At 16 I was making around £20-£30k a year, just from the side hustles. I had a moped and used it to make deliveries and even collect items.”
He then bought a car at the age of 17, allowing him to make longer journeys and pushing his income up to £50,000.
Joseph added: “So, by the time I was 20, I had made over two hundred grand, all from selling things on eBay.
“My mates started calling me ‘The eBay King’ and I was selling everything and anything from soaps to statues, baths to bikes, you name it.”
Joseph’s top tip for selling on eBay and getting the most money involves how you actually list the items in the first place.
He noted: “Always list items as ‘Buy it Now/Best Offer’ on eBay so you can get the highest possible price and see how much interest you get.
“This allows customers to quickly purchase your product, rather than waiting for an auction to end, which they might forget to bid on.”
And making sure the items are clean and looking their best is also key. Take plenty of good-quality pictures for the listing and a video too, in case the buyer is keen to see it from every angle.
Joseph added: “The eBay title is crucial, especially the first four words, as they affect the algorithm. Make sure to use relevant keywords first and use the entire space available for the title.”
He also urged sellers to look up the RRP of the item they’re selling and take a screenshot of it, adding it to the listing as well so that people can see how much they are saving.
Joseph has hailed eBay selling as being the ‘quickest and easiest money you will make’, saying: “Everyone should try to sell their unwanted items as it takes little time and you can earn extra cash.
“From selling unwanted goods you can make per hour considerably more than the average hourly wage.”
But with the recent move to scrap private seller fees, Joseph believes this was a missed opportunity to promote more sustainable practices.
He said: “It’s a quick and drastic step and will have a big impact. I think it will be easier for people to make a profit and to sell newer items. This might be good news for some sellers but isn’t great in terms of sustainability.
“It would be far more sustainable if there were zero fees on second hand items, but a fee for new items.”
