I asked my son, Ryan, to write about his experiences earning some additional money by selling things on ebay. Here is what he wrote, unedited by his mother!

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Ebay can be a great tool to making money, anyone can do it, too. Kids, adults, it doesn’t matter! I’m Ryan, 15 years old, and I have used ebay since I was 12 to make money, mainly because I was too young to get a job.

Ebay is extremely easy to use and can be used to make yourself a small fortune. For example, I have bought and sold items that I’ve gotten from my friends and garage sales and sold them for much more than what I paid for. I recently bought an Ipod Touch for $100 from one of my friends, and sold it on ebay for $150. That’s a 50% gain! I have also sold items I’ve purchased from garage sales for almost 4 times what I paid for them. In all, I have probably MADE about $300 from ebay, and plan to make much more in the future.

It’s really quite simple to make an ebay account and get started on the road to success. Just click “register” on the ebay homepage and punch in all the info. That’s required. Then, you’re ready to sell! To sell your first item, on the homepage, go to “sell”, “sell an item”, and then find, and describe your item in a way to try to sell it, list features, accessories, etc. I strongly recommend setting a reserve price, the amount of money you’re least willing to sell the item for. To do this, you must be in the advanced settings of the description process. It’s considered an upgrade so you will have to pay a little to do this, but it’s not much.

Also, I highly recommend having a “buy it now” price, a price that you’re willing to sell it instantly, without the auction process. It is always good to have both.

After you’re done, you’re ready to list your item and make some money!

When you earn money from ebay, it is always great to save your money, you do not have to just spend it. I have already invested in mutual funds and the stock market, plus I have a savings account. Save away!

BTW, if you purchase something from someone on ebay, it is always good to leave feedback, good or bad. People rely on having positive feedback, so make sure you leave them feedback about what you thought about buying from them.