Ebay and other online auction powerselling tips and information

Another year is coming to an end. Now is a good time to sort through your inventory and decide what you can donate. Every year I evaluate my inventory at the end of December and weed out items that aren't going to sell. My rule of thumb: If I have had the item for over a year, I donate it. (I sell mostly clothing purchased from thrift stores, garage sales, and clearance sales. Most of my items cost around $4 each.)

Donating items serves several purposes. Donating keeps your inventory at a manageable level. For the at-home eBay seller, excess inventory can fill up valuable space and cause a cluttered, overwhelmed feeling. Too much inventory can invade your workspace and your life. If you've had an item for sale on eBay for a year or more, odds are that no one is going to buy it.

Second, when you donate items to a charity such as Goodwill or the Salvation Army, you can get a receipt for tax purposes.

Third, culling your inventory keeps your store fresh. You're probably tired of looking at the same items for months on end, so your customers might be getting bored, too. Go ahead and remove items that haven't sold in a year and move on.