Quick Cash for the Holidays

Thanksgiving is upon us, which means the holiday season is in full swing.
Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanzaa are right around the corner and with them the
expense of food, gifts and travel.

If you are the organized sort of person, you're already prepared. You picked
up gifts throughout the year, thereby spreading out the expense of holiday
gift giving. You bought your plane tickets several months ago taking
advantage of lower airfares. If you are that sort of person, this article is
not for you. This article is for the person like me who is faced with
spending hundreds of dollars in the next few weeks because I waited until
now to start preparing for the holidays. Fortunately, there are some fast
and easy ways to make some extra money during the holiday season without
getting a second job.

My favorite way to make quick cash is through Amazon.com's MarketPlace and
eBay. These resources offer fast and easy ways to not only make money, but
also rid your home of clutter.

My first stop is always at Amazon.com because of its ease of use
particularly if you have books, CD's or software in good condition. I have
made $110 in a single week selling my gently used books through Amazon.com.
To open an account, visit Amazon.com and scroll down the page until you see
the "Make Money" box on the left. Click on "Sell Your Stuff" and follow the
instructions for opening an account.

Once the account is open, log into your Amazon Seller's account and click
the option to sell items. You can search for the product by name or use the
ISBN, UPC or ASIN number located near the bar code on the back of the
product. Input the number where indicated, list the condition of the item,
add a few comments about the item, input your price, and submit. Amazon.com
does the rest including adding a picture, processing the payment, and direct
depositing the money into your account 14 days later.

Amazon charges you nothing until/unless your item sells.
The fee is .99 cents plus a percentage of the sold price.
Amazon also gives you a shipping credit to cover the cost of mailing your
item to the buyer.

For example, if you sell a book for $12.00:
- Amazon's commission is $2.79 (0.99 + 15%)
- Postage credit for a book is $3.34
- Media mail for one pound or less is = $1.59
- Your net income is $10.96 ($12.00 - 2.79 + 3.34 -1.59)

eBay is another great way to generate income fairly quickly. I use eBay only
if the item I have cannot be sold through Amazon.com because it takes more
time to list items at eBay. I especially like eBay for my novelty items such
as infomercial products or things I'm not sure how to price. To open an
account, visit eBay and click on "Register". Once you are registered, log
into your eBay account and click on "Sell".

Some items such as book, eBay may have a stock photo you can use. For other
items, you'll need to take a picture to add to your listing. Follow the
directions for listing your item including adding a picture and description.

eBay charges you for listing your products whether they sell or not, but its
very reasonable and only once have I not had an item sell. The insertion fee
ranges from .20 cents to $4.80 depending on price of the item. eBay offers
optional listing feature such as "Buy It Now" or "Gallery Listing" for
additional fees. The only other required fee is the final value charge which
is a 5.25%+ of the sold cost. Shipping costs can be covered by you or passed
on to the buyer.

For example, if you sold a $12.00 item on eBay:

- Insertion fee = .60 cents
- Final value fee = .63 cents
- Shipping you can have the buyer pay (priority mail up to
1 pound) = $4.05
- Your net income = $10.77 ($12 - .60 - .63 + 4.05- 4.05)

Ten dollars may not seem like much, but if you sell 10 items, you'll make
over $100. Or you can offer more expensive items. With a little effort, you
can have an extra $100 or more in a week. Who couldn't use that? Plus,
you'll be getting rid of clutter you don't need.

Here are some tips to quickly and easily earn some fast cash through
Amazon.com and eBay:

1) Go through your home and gather all the items that are in decent
condition and that you are willing to sell. The best items I have found are
non-fiction books, electronics and electronic accessories, software and name
brand gizmos for Amazon's. eBay is great for infomercial products, old eBay
items you don't use, name-brand clothes (especially kids clothes), toys
(Legos are a big hit!), collectables and memorabilia, and novelty items.

2) When listing, be honest about the condition. You don't want to hurt your
selling reputation by not mentioning marks or other faults with the item.

3) Price items to sell. Your goal is quick cash so consider pricing items
lower than the competition. Of course, at eBay, the market will drive the
ultimate sale price, but start low and don't put a reserve price (price that
must be met for the item to sell). There is some indication that items with
a lower starting bid often get higher sales than similar items with a higher
starting bid.

4) Finally, once you receive payment for the item, ship it ASAP. Package it
so it's safe and secure. Print out the name and address of the buyer and
tape it to the package to make sure you don't misspell the address. eBay
offers a great feature in which you can print postage right from your
computer printer. Stamps.com also offers online postage services to save you
a trip to the post office.

Now is a terrific time to make quick money using Amazon.com and eBay because
many people are holiday shopping for quality items at reasonable prices
online. It's win-win for people who want to save and people who want to earn
some extra holiday cash.

Leslie Truex is a work-at-home who has been helping others work at home in a
job or home business since 1998 through her website Work-At-Home Success.
Get free jobs, work-at-home info and more by subscribing to her free
newsletter at http://www.workathomesuccess.com..