Latest news with #selling
The Sun
a day ago
- Business
- The Sun
I've made thousands selling on eBay as a side hustle – it takes no time but you must follow my 10 rules
SUPER eBay seller Danielle Raine has made thousands selling items on eBay. Over the last 21 years, the 37-year-old, from Preston, has sold everything from Lipsy dresses to food processors and even cardboard boxes. 4 4 She works full-time as a buyer but her eBay selling nets her about £2,000 a year on the side. The 37-year-old says she has a 'one in, one out' policy for her clothes so she'll often try to declutter by selling on eBay before buying new items. Whether you're looking to make a profit or you're just wanting to declutter like Danielle, these are her tips on making more as an eBay seller … Don't upload everything all at once If you're doing a big clear-out you might be tempted to blitz everything all in one go. But Danielle says it actually pays to spread out when you're uploading items on your profile. That's because the eBay algorithm rewards frequent uploads. So if you have 10 items to sell, it might be best to upload two items a day over five days rather than all 10 in one day. If you're a frequent uploader then eBay will push what you're selling to more buyers, Danielle says. Know when the best times to upload are It's not just about how often you upload items - it's also about when you do it. Danielle says she always uploads items in the evening because her listings get more attention. CHANGES AT EBAY 'You get more people looking because they've come home from work and they might be chilling in the evening,' she says. If you're selling your items using eBay's auction feature then you should also set the auction to end in the evening so people will be available to place bids. Danielle reckons that about 7pm is the sweet spot for posting. She also tries to upload more items at the end of the month near pay day as people are likely to have more money to spend. On a typical week she sells about two items but near pay day it increases to about 10. Use the Buy It Now feature If you've used eBay you'll know that some items are listed as auction-only while others can be bought instantly through Buy It Now. The auction-style feature means items can increase in price dramatically as bidders fight against each other for them. But Danielle says she always lists items as Buy It Now because shoppers have got used to fast delivery services like Amazon Prime and 'want things now'. Research how much similar items have sold for If you're not sure what price to set your items at, it's worth looking at what other items have sold for. Danielle says she always does this before selling an item. When you go to search for an item, you can filter it by sold and completed listings only. 'Usually if it's selling for about £10 then I'll put mine up for £7 or £8 because then I think it might sell a little bit quicker,' Danielle says. Make your listing more attractive One of the best ways to catch buyers' attention is to take good photos of what you're selling. Danielle says she takes pictures on a white background, such as against a doorframe, and makes sure there isn't any clutter visible. 'As a buyer myself, I wouldn't like it if there's clutter in the background, if it's on dirty carpet, or if there's feet in there,' she says. She tries to take as many pictures as possible to show off the item - and she'll make sure the description has plenty of detail too. For example if she's selling clothes she'll often put the exact measurements in rather than just the size. She also makes use of eBay's AI description writer. 'I don't use that as the only description, I use it to add to mine, but I think that helps with keywords,' she says. Don't skimp out on the packaging Danielle says you should take extra care with packaging anything you've sold. 'I send quite a few things out in a box because you don't know how things are going to happen in transit and then at least you're covered if anything goes wrong,' she says. She also buys mail bags which she says look nicer than sending an order in a carrier bag, and can mean you might get better feedback from buyers. The 37-year-old says she buys packs of 100 mail bags for £5. You can also get cardboard boxes for free if you pop to a local shop, or you can keep hold of any boxes your own online purchases are sent in. Post promplty Shoppers expect their buys to arrive quickly, so Danielle says you should post as soon as you can to get good feedback. She always aims to post by the next day. You should look out for Royal Mail lockers near you as these are open 24/7 so you won't need to wait for your local Post Office to open or have to join a queue. Protect yourself against dodgy buyers Danielle takes several steps to make sure she's covered if a buyer makes a false claim. She says some buyers will 'try their luck' and try to claim an item hasn't arrived so she always chooses to track the postage. Recently a buyer said their parcel hadn't arrived but when Danielle phoned up eBay's customer service they told her not to worry as she had got tracking on the item. Some sellers also film or take photos of themselves packaging up any expensive items they're selling as proof they've been packaged securely, in case someone claims their purchase was damaged in the post. Danielle also avoids negative feedback from buyers by being upfront about any imperfections on the item and including pictures in the listing. 'So if anybody disputed anything, I can say, well, it was already in the listing,' she says. Challenge any unfair feedback Danielle says it helps to have good feedback from buyers as it will make you look more reliable and trustworthy. But sometimes buyers can leave unfair feedback that damages your overall rating. You don't have to put up with this though - you can have negative feedback removed if eBay decides to side with you that it's unfair. Danielle says she recently had neutral feedback removed after a buyer complained that their item wasn't the exact dimensions they wanted. But when Danielle contacted eBay's customer service team, they agreed to remove the feedback as she had been clear in the item's description that she had given 'approximate' dimensions. 'eBay's customer services are very fair. So they will look at it. It's not a bot looking at it - it's a real person who will evaluate it,' she says. You can either contact customer services by phone or by web chat. Invest in a label printer If you're going to be selling frequently, Danielle recommends getting a label printer to print out your postage labels. She says this has made the process much easier and saved her money in ink and paper. Although there was an upfront cost of £75, she says she's made her money back because of how much she was spending on ink and paper for her printer previously.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Europe's Mega-Rich Pocket $1 Billion in Stock Sales Spree
European billionaires are cashing in recent gains as the region leads the world's best-performing stock markets this year, reaping about $1 billion in a rare selling spree of their listed holdings. Spotify Technology SA co-founder Martin Lorentzon filed in late May to sell 1 million shares worth about $660 million in the audio giant, the most stock he's offloaded at one time since the Stockholm-based company listed in 2018, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from regulatory filings.
Forbes
27-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
When You Should Be Selling Your Investment
Making a choice to buy or sell an investment One of the most common questions I get is, 'Is now a good time for me to sell?' While the question is simple, the answer depends on several factors, including your liquidity needs, your risk tolerance, and your current portfolio's allocation. The answer does not, however, depend on the current market price of the investment. This is when you should be selling your investment. When I am asked the question of when to sell, I often ask them what they think. Many times, they'll come back with one of the following answers. Often, investors tell me the best time to sell their investment is when the price is high. Unfortunately, a market high is something that can only be observed in hindsight. Several years ago, I was talking to an investor who had 95% of his net worth concentrated in a single position. He had originally invested around $10,000 and the security was worth a couple million dollars at that point. One might argue that it was a high point and the investor should sell. He didn't think so. Now, that investment is worth about a third of what it was then, and he finally opted to diversify. Usually, fear and greed are much more powerful emotions than we give them credit for. While many investors intuitively know what someone should do, they often fall victim to cognitive errors when judging how they themselves should be investing. This is a similar answer to the prior answer, except it assumes you have hidden knowledge that is not already priced into the market. I observed this a lot in the last few years. Investors tell me things like, 'All of this COVID-19 supply chain stuff is really going to tank the market,' The high inflation is going to drive things down,' or 'These policy changes are going to lead to a trade war and the economy will go under.' Contrary to what some might think, the market is largely efficient and prices in all current information, particularly in widely observed indexes like the S&P 500. Even with this great wealth of information, the direction of the market in any day, week, month, or year can be incredibly difficult to predict, with most analysts at major banks and funds predicting incorrectly by orders of magnitude. When investors should sell their positions is much simpler than trying to run models to see if your investment is at a high or if the market will be going down. Yes, it's that simple. If you need the money for cash flow, for a major purchase, or for any other reason, you have a liquidity need. A major purchase need can include anything from a home, to a remodel, to a wedding, to a car, to a business. Your tolerance for risk is a combination of your time until you need the money, your ability to take on risk, and your feelings toward taking on risk. Let's return to the investor who made the $10,000 investment that went up significantly. At the time he made the investment, he had no spouse, no child, no mortgage, and considered himself to be a speculative investor, meaning that he would be okay if the investment went down to $0. Years later, the investor gained a spouse, two children, a mortgage, and some financial goals that dictated he could not afford for his investments to go to $0. This calls for a reassessment of his risk tolerance. After reassessing, he found his portfolio should be allocated toward a growth objective and in a diversified portfolio of 80% stocks and 20% fixed income. Your risk tolerance can also change to become more aggressive. I've come across investors who were fearful of investing in stocks early in their savings journey, but as they got more comfortable with investing, their tolerance for risk increased. In this case, they would sell cash or fixed income securities to gain more equity investments. Setting a portfolio allocation is not just a one-and-done thing. The other day, I ran into a 69-year-old woman who set her allocation based on her risk tolerance 20 years prior. She hadn't bothered touching her allocations in all that time. In the last 20 years, stocks have beaten fixed income investments by a wide margin. Because of that, over time, the portfolio became skewed. While she originally had 60% in stocks and 40% in fixed income, her portfolio was now 90% in stocks and 10% in fixed income, accidentally putting her into a new risk category. Rebalancing a portfolio involves looking at the portfolio allocation how it is now versus how it should be invested for your risk tolerance. If stocks have gone up, you will sell some to purchase more fixed income and keep your portfolio consistent with your risk tolerance. If stocks have gone down, we will do the opposite and purchase more. In a retirement account, because there is no taxation associated with rebalancing, I usually recommend my clients rebalance quarterly. In a non-retirement account, because there are taxes associated with transactions, I usually recommend my clients wait a year before rebalancing to make sure they are minimizing taxation while still maintaining an appropriate allocation. Investors should sell their investments based on personal financial needs rather than market conditions. Key reasons include needing liquidity for major purchases, changes in risk tolerance due to life circumstances, and portfolio rebalancing to maintain desired asset allocation. Emotional factors like fear and greed can cloud judgment, emphasizing the importance of sticking to a strategic plan.
Associated Press
15-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Spire Selling Combats Economic Uncertainty with its Game-Changing Sales Training
- Online platform and companion book equip 3 million sales professionals to thrive through chaos, complexity and upheaval - LOS ANGELES, Calif., May 15, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — In times of economic turbulence, shifting markets and rising global tariffs, traditional sales methods are faltering. That's why Spire Selling ( ) has launched a career development program in addition to a new book – 'Cheating Death' (ISBN: 978-1069339287) by CEO and 35+ year sales veteran, Robert Herbst. As a global leader in B2B salesforce development, Spire Selling is excited to unveil a career development program which offers self-paced selling courses. Its ground-breaking online training is designed to future-proof the careers of B2B sales professionals. Through 60 self-paced modules across five courses, the curriculum equips learners to embrace chaos as opportunity, outpace AI disruption and transform complex client needs into lasting solutions. Practical frameworks and real-world exercises teach salespeople how to innovate, drive their careers and organizations forward and create extraordinary value – no matter what the market throws at them. 'Sales is the most honest place you can be,' Robert Herbst, sales veteran and CEO, Spire Selling, says. 'It's not about closing deals; it's about being curious enough to truly understand what's broken, straightforward enough to say it out loud and bold enough to help fix it. Salespeople who master this are not just surviving today's chaos, they're thriving.' Backed by more than 35 years of experience training thousands of professionals, Herbst's effective sales approach reframes selling from outdated pressure tactics to deep client problem-solving. He challenges salespeople to become sales practitioners: expert diagnosticians who create lasting value by finding and solving complex customer problems at the root. In his book, 'Cheating Death,' Herbst teaches the inner game of sales, while the Spire Selling online courses offer holistic and immersive training for sales professionals at every level. Now available in print, eBook, and audiobook formats, 'Cheating Death' is earning early praise as being 'deeply human,' 'game-changing' and 'essential reading for serious sellers.' About Spire Selling Rob Herbst, a globally-recognized B2B sales leader, founded Spire Selling in 1990. For more than three decades, he's been helping salespeople rethink how they connect, diagnose and serve. MORE INFORMATION: Spire Selling: 'Cheating Death': MULTIMEDIA: PHOTO link for media: Photo Caption: Spire Selling CEO Rob Herbst with 'Cheating Death.' NEWS SOURCE: Spire Selling Keywords: Books and Publishing, spire selling, b2b sales, sales training, cheating death, ceo robert herbst, ISBN 9781069339287, new book, business books, LOS ANGELES, Calif. This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Spire Selling) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P126213 APNF0325A To view the original version, visit: © 2025 Send2Press® Newswire, a press release distribution service, Calif., USA. RIGHTS GRANTED FOR REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY ANY LEGITIMATE MEDIA OUTLET - SUCH AS NEWSPAPER, BROADCAST OR TRADE PERIODICAL. MAY NOT BE USED ON ANY NON-MEDIA WEBSITE PROMOTING PR OR MARKETING SERVICES OR CONTENT DEVELOPMENT. Disclaimer: This press release content was not created by nor issued by the Associated Press (AP). Content below is unrelated to this news story.
Bloomberg
07-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Dollar Exodus to Unleash $2.5 Trillion FX ‘Avalanche,' Jen Says
The dollar may face a $2.5 trillion 'avalanche' of selling as Asian countries unwind their stockpile of the world's reserve currency, according to Stephen Jen. Asian exporters and investors may have amassed an 'extremely large' pile of dollars through the years, widening the region's trade surplus with the US, Eurizon SLJ Capital's Jen and Joana Freire wrote in a note on Wednesday. As a US-led trade war deepens, some Asian investors might repatriate chunks of funds or ramp up levels of protection against a weakening dollar — potentially triggering an exodus from the world's reserve currency.
