I’ve discussed eBay before, but I thought that it bears another mention. In a weak economy like this, nearly everyone is worse off than they were a year ago. This means that people are seeking other avenues of income, and they’re also trying to find ways to save money in their household budget. eBay is the answer to both. In fact, the current economy could be good for eBay sellers: people need to buy things cheaply, and sellers can provide that.

If you’re looking for some extra income, without disturbing your regular home & family schedule too much, you should consider selling some of your family’s outgrown clothing, unused gadgets, and toys, etc. Click hereto register a new seller’s account for yourself.

One thing to keep in mind is that when people are hurting financially, they are more likely to buy what they need, as opposed to what they want. So, most adults with children will first want to clothe their children (because adults can wear the same clothes year after year, while kids outgrow theirs each season). For this reason, i think kids’ clothes are selling better right now than adult clothes (of course, adult clothes are also selling, but I’m willing to bet that kids’ clothes are selling better).

One suggestion sent in to me by a member: get a prepaid debit card (you can get them at Walmart or from GreenDotOnline.com). Use this card when you register for eBay, so that your eBay fees won’t put a surprise strain on your family budget. (I remember a few times, thinking we were doing well financially, only to find that eBay had taken fees out of our bank account.) With your prepaid debit card, you can deposit a portion of your earnings on the card, to pay your seller’s fees.

For other tips about eBaying, read my page about starting your at-home eBay business.

If you don’t have a lot of “inventory” that you can sell from home, and don’t want to register with drop-shippers, check out this ebook about making profit on eBay without selling any products.

I’ve said time and again that if you’re hurting for cash, one of the first places to look is around your own home.  There are probably countless items that you don’t use that you could sell for some fast and easy money.   Just this week, I made over $500 by listing a few of our unwanted items on craigslist.

Beginning June 16, eBay is doing its part to help out those who are hurting because of the economy.   Members can now list five items for sale every thirty days with absolutely no insertion fees applied to those listings.  I just tried it myself, and was tickled to see the message saying, “Your balance after this listing is $0.00.”

To learn more about this exciting new offer from eBay, you can read about it here.

If you don’t have an eBay sellers account yet, click here to open your free account today.

If you’re an eBay seller with a great success story, momportunity.com wants to hear from you!  Are you a Power Seller?  Tell us about it!    Did you buy something at a garage sale and found out it was worth big bucks on eBay?  Let us know!  Send your eBay success stories to me here, and use the subject “eBay success story.”

If you have old text books at home, you can sell them online to make some extra cash. You could try selling them at online auctions or on craigslist, but there’s a site specifically for helping buyers and sellers of textbooks get what they need. By joining the site (for free), you’ll be able to list the books you have, so that buyers can purchase them from you. Click here to start selling your books for Cash.

I’ve received a few emails from readers –and I’ve found it to be true myself– that selling your items on craigslist can result in you receiving tons of spam emails.    Unfortunately, these spammers know that people who are selling their items because they need money, and spammers prey on these people.

The process works like this:  Because buyers on craigslist can’t see your email address (they see a craigslist email address that will be forwarded to you), they respond to hundreds of craigslist ads per day, hoping that some of those sellers will reply to them.  They NEED you to respond, in order to harvest your real email address. Once they have your real email address, they will begin sending you spam emails (many of which are adult in nature).

After listing a few items myself, I have realized a few ways to spot an email from someone who wants to spam you, and how you can avoid it.

Their message is vague or urgent.

Examples of these emails may say vague things like, “Is it still for sale?” or “Do you still have this?” They might also use phrases like, “Very interested, and can pick this up within hours,” (without mentioning what the item is, or asking any questions about the item or where you live.

They offer assistance.

Examples of these types of emails are messages like, “Do you need help?” “Do you need money?” or “Times are tough, but I can help if you need money.” My husband’s coworker responded to one of these emails, and received an immediate automated response from the same sender. This auto-response email was offering him a pay day loan with an outrageous interest rate.

How to Avoid Being Spammed

• Use a separate email account for your craigslist postings. This will help you avoid giving spammers your real email address.
• In your postings, include (in all capital letters), a phrase telling interested buyers that they must put the name of the item in the subject line and give you a telephone number at which you can reach them if they want a reply.  Spammers almost never take the time to reference the item in subject line, and will never leave you a cell phone numer.

As always, be savvy and safe when using Craigslist.