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Wyatt, a 27-year-old from Liverpool, has been an avid fan of the online selling platform for a long time but began using it properly around five years ago
One man has shared how he made over £14,000 through selling odd bits on eBay which he then used to pay for his master’s degree.
Wyatt, a 27-year-old from Liverpool, has been an avid fan of the online selling platform for a long time but began using it properly around five years ago. Wyatt is a self-proclaimed “gaming enthusiast” and most of his sales were related to gaming and consoles.
He made £ 180 from the sale of his Nintendo 3DS and another £100 from a range of Nintendo GameCube and Nintendo Switch games, including Mario Golf (£30), The Legend of Zelda (£46), and NFL Street (£24). The accounts administrator told the Mirror: “I had a few things lying around the house to sell, so I thought I’d just try it out and see what happened. They sold really quickly, so I then began actively looking for items from around my house to resell.”
In his first year, Wyatt made a whopping £10,000. Overall, his total earnings sit at around £14,000. He said: “I didn’t have much going on so I could commit more time to re-selling. Nowadays, I tend to make around £1,000 every year by keeping my eyes open for potential items from around my home that I could list.”
One of the most unexpected profits came from the sale of five Pokémon toys, which bagged him £142. When he put the figurines up for auction, he didn’t think anyone would really be that interested. He said: “I couldn’t have been more wrong. Just minutes before the auction ended, there was a huge bidding war, and they ended up selling for significantly higher than the market price. It was super exciting to watch.”
His biggest sale to date was his Gameboy Advance Lot for £520, which featured the console and a range of old games. He explained: “I used the description box to highlight that three Pokémon games and a Gameboy were up for grabs. I also made sure to highlight that they were all made between the late 90s and early 2000s, making them collectables. The cover photo was of the entire lot, and I also added individual close-ups to show that everything was in good condition and authentic.”
Outside of games and consoles, Wyatt has also sold fashion items, from pre-loved Nike to vintage watches, including Seiko and Geneva, which made him another “surprise” profit of £28. Wyatt was surprised by the amount he could make from the things he no longer used in his home and continued on the platform as he found the whole process relatively “easy.”
He added: “In general, although I sell a little less than I used to, I now sell a larger variety of items. I’ve branched out from gaming to everything from fashion pieces and homewares to cassettes and speakers. It’s even easier, and even more worth it, to sell anything now that it’s free to sell on eBay across categories.”
Alongside being an avid eBay seller, Wyatt is also a fan of buying through the platform too and has bought a range of items over the years. One of his favourite things about the platform is its Money Back Guarantee which covers you if the item arrives in a different condition to what was described by the seller.
For others wanting to make some extra cash through the site, Wyatt says his “top tip” is to be a “knowledgeable expert” in a certain niche. He explained: “Find a market that you can specialise in and that you feel passionate about. Become as knowledgeable as you can about the resale values as this helps you quickly identify when something is a good deal and then you can make more money on it. Alongside this, you should always take quality photos that accurately showcase the condition of your item.”
Wyatt has to pay tax on his earnings and always declares his sales through self-assessment tax returns. He added: “I’ve always done it myself. There are lots of YouTube videos explaining how to do this clearly if you’re unsure. It also helps if you keep a balance sheet with all your items. This is essential if you plan on selling a lot, which is good because you also get some basic accounting experience.”
Under current UK rules, you can earn £1,000 in additional income each tax year alongside your regular job – this is known as your Trading Allowance. If you make more than this, then you will need to register yourself as self-employed.
Wyatt used his eBay earnings to cover the cost of his Masters degree in Business Management with his income helping ease some of the financial pressure of university. His next goal from his eBay income is to buy a house, adding: “I’ll be very proud of myself when that happens!”
