Joseph Holman has made a fortune on the auction site and shared his top tips for making the most of eBay, which has seen a surge in popularity since the start of the pandemic
A man made £250,000 as a teenager and bought his first Porsche all thanks to selling on eBay. Joseph Holman began selling on the site at just 12 – and became ‘The eBay King’ before he was 20.
His amazing journey saw him start out with a bang – making around £2,000 in just six weeks. After that, he was hooked.
From there, it only got better and he was making around £30,000 a year by the time he was 16.
Now he has revealed his story. The Luton man started with his dad’s eBay account, using a bit of birthday money to buy a bulk order of magnetic stick and ball games.
He sold them individually for a profit and quickly built up an empire based on this savvy strategy. Joseph said: “I ended up netting a profit of around £2,000 in just six weeks and, from then on, I was hooked on buying and selling anything I could.
“I had around £30k saved up from my eBay profits before I was 16. At 16 I was making around £20-£30k a year, just from the side hustles. I was selling everything and anything from soaps to statues, baths to bikes, you name it.”
To keep his booming business cost-effective, Joseph initially got a moped to handle deliveries and pickups, later upgrading to a car when he turned 17, by which time he was earning about £50,000 annually. By the age of 20, Joseph’s eBay ventures had earned him £250,000.
Joseph later launched his own upcycling venture, Green Door. Despite this, he’s never lost sight of his first love – eBay.
With fierce competition from platforms like Vinted and Depop, the auction site has been compelled to lower its seller fees recently. Joseph has some advice for those aiming to maximise their use of the site and perhaps make a quick profit.
He said: “Always do some research into the product you’re selling. Try to find the highest original Recommended Retail Price (RRP) online, take a screenshot of this, and add it to the eBay photos. This way, the customer can see how much they are saving.”
He also suggests: “Search completed listings on eBay to see what similar items have sold for. Auction prices tend to sell for around 30% less. Always list items as ‘Buy it Now/Best Offer’ on eBay so you can get the highest possible price and see how much interest you get. This allows customers to quickly purchase your product, rather than waiting for an auction to end, which they might forget to bid on.”
Joseph has some top tips for those looking to sell on eBay and it all starts with the basics – give your items a good scrub. He recommends making sure what you’re selling looks spick-and-span in snaps, ideally captured with great lighting and angles, and maybe even include a video.
He told potential sellers: “Take the maximum number of photos you can upload, highlight and describe any defects to demonstrate that you’re an honest seller, and provide a clear and engaging description.” Diving into eBay’s algorithm secrets, Joseph pointed out that the first four words of your listing’s title are crucial as they have the most power to influence the platform’s algorithm.
So, make those the most relevant. Additionally, providing several postage options is a good strategy, though he cautioned that patience is key, especially with unique items. He asserts: “If it sells instantly, you’ve most likely listed it at too low a price.”
Joseph raves over the benefits selling online can bring. He said: “Everyone should try to sell their unwanted items as it takes little time and you can earn extra cash. From selling unwanted goods you can make per hour considerably more than the average hourly wage. So it’s the quickest and easiest money you will make.”
Joseph, who has saved 3,000 items from landfills with his company, also had a warning over eBay’s reduction in fees: “It’s a quick and drastic step and will have a big impact. I think it will be easier for people to make a profit and to sell newer items.
“This might be good news for some sellers but isn’t great in terms of sustainability. It should have just made all used items categories on eBay free to list and charged fees for new items.”
eBay insists the move will be good for sellers but also buyers. It is planned for introduction early in 2025.
