Ebay vs. Craigslist vs. Yardsale

I started to give a full backstory on this, but let's just say I've run a lot of yardsales, sold over craigslist, and sold a lot of ebay during and after the pandemic.  I did another post specifically for Yardsale Tips.

Generally I've found everyday items do best at yardsales.  The more specialized and niche the collectible, the less likely you are to find someone who wants it, much less appreciates it's value.  (And I understand not everyone has a good location for a yardsale.  I try to open up for friends who don't have their own sales to sell in ours.)

eBay is better for collectibles, particularly light weight ones that are easier to ship.  Dollar Tree was a great source for boxes, because more of what I was selling was salt and pepper shaker sets and Dollar Tree always had small boxes they were going to recycle anyway.  (Retail stores in general are often a great source for boxes.)

I generally use Craigslist to sell large, heavy items that are more difficult to ship like furniture, and to promote yardsales.

I tend to sell clothes at yardsale and then give away what doesn't sell.  But I have bought items through Poshmark and Mercari.  What's been your experience with second hand markets?  Do you have your own advice to share?

As to turning ebay into a true side business... people certainly can do it, but my main focus has been getting items to people who can use and appreciate them, and in some cases recouping some of my own costs.  But most items I've bought and later sold, I've lost money on due to fees and shipping.  The one exception was pretty dramatic.  I had bought some Sonic the Hedgehog action figures at Dollar Tree many years ago... and for some reason these particular figures were in very high demand, so I did make nearly $700 selling those.  But I don't think you should buy toys, hoping they'll suddenly be valuable.  The majority of toys/collectibles from my youth are worth less than they were or are worth about the same amount adjusted for inflation.  So buy collectible because you enjoy them.  Don't bank on them gaining value.  At the same time, if you have hit a point in life where you're ready to let of some things, it may be worth spending the time see what they're selling for.  It can be a long wait.  Lot of items I put on ebay sit for months or even years before they sell.

And you have to pay attention, because it can cause problems if you miss your window to ship an item.  E-mail alerts can help with this, but I have gotten busy and missed one or two which at minimum is a lost sale.