Summer is the best time to sell your stuff on eBay — here’s our tips for how to make up to £2,200
From jewellery to vintage sweet tins, here's what people are buying on eBay in the summer
IF you are keen to declutter, “old” means gold on eBay.
Older stuff sells best on the auction site, rather than newer, trendier items, according to experts — and you could make up to £2,200 selling your unwanted items.
Old-fashioned dolls, cheap and cheerful fashion jewellery and even vintage sweet tins are all more likely to be snapped up than luxury items.
It also helps to not be too upmarket, with brands such as Lego, Topshop and Clarks shoes among the most popular items on the site.
Millions of Brits use eBay to cash in on items hanging around their homes or stashed away in the attic, after the children have grown up, when they downsize or following an inheritance.
But many also use the site to resell bargains they have picked up such as bankrupt stock or from house clearance sites.
Choosing the right items to sell is the key, according to eBay expert Wholesale Clearance UK, which has compiled a top 10 list of the most popular buys.
It recommends would-be eBay entrepreneurs look for trends on the sites of internet giants such as Amazon and note the categories on the auction site with the most number of items.
A spokesman said: “Often, it’s not just about selling what people want, but about selling people what they need.
“If you do have items that are classed as non-necessities, sell people what they desire at a price that is attractive to them.”
Ten best-selling items on eBay
- Memorabilia and vintage
- Toys and stuffed animals
- Disney/children’s brands
- Electronics
- Clothing
- Sports goods
- Handbags/accessories
- Jewellery
- Branded and designer
- Pet goods
The most popular items of all are in the memorabilia or vintage categories — from once-fashionable clothes making comebacks to restored fireplaces and even sweet tins of yesteryear.
And even if they are not genuinely old, retro items will also do well.
The guide added: “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. Trends often swing back round and items that were once uncool become vintage and sellable.”
Toys, including old-fashioned jigsaw puzzles and dolls as well as stuffed animals are always popular and are number two on the list. Wholesale Clearance UK said: “Trends can be hard to spot so old staples like soft toys, dolls, puzzles and instruments always sell well.”
And along the childhood theme, in third place is anything related to Disney or other popular franchises and brands from superheroes such as Spider-Man to WWE wrestling.
Electronics, clothing and sports goods also make the top ten. A recent report by Good Housekeeping said brands such as Apple, Samsung and Sony for tech, Asos for clothes and Nike for sports were favourites.
Other advice for eBay novices is not to try to make money out of items that are already discounted on the High Street. Use tools such as Google Trends to look at rises and falls in popularity to find out what to sell and when.
most read in money
Go to , then type in a topic and it will show you how much interest there has been in it.
For example, this week there has been a spike in searches for Ivanka Trump clothing after Donald Trump’s daughter announced she was closing her fashion brand.
Other search tips to see what’s trending include putting in an item on Google and looking at the predicted text as you do so, as well as the paid ads that arise and the suggested searches. Try this in the different categories too such as “news”, “images” and “shopping”.