I have sold consistently on eBay since 2005.
Over that time I’ve seen fee structures change, categories rise and fall, and buyer behaviour shift. What hasn’t changed is this:
If there isn’t enough left after fees, VAT and shipping, it stops being worth doing.
I currently sell on eBay, Vinted and Etsy in the UK. I use them to produce steady monthly income, not one-off wins.
This page explains how that works, and where to go next.
The System
At the centre of everything is a simple structure:
Source → Price → List → Diagnose → Dispatch → Returns → Repeat
Each step represents a decision that affects whether something sells, and whether the margin survives.
- Source: what to buy
- Price: what it’s worth after costs
- List: how it’s presented to the marketplace
- Diagnose: why it isn’t selling
- Dispatch: how it’s fulfilled
- Returns: when to stop or adjust
- Repeat: how the system runs consistently
Every page on this site sits within one of these stages.
How to Use This
If you are new, follow the system from start to finish.
If you are solving a specific problem, go directly to the stage that matches it:
- Choosing what to buy → Source
- Unsure about pricing → Price
- Items not selling → Diagnose
- Shipping and setup → Dispatch
- Deciding whether to continue → Returns
If you want the full map, see The UK Marketplace Reseller Manual.
What This Actually Produces
I measure this business against a few simple benchmarks:
- Around £500/month to prove the model works
- Around £1,000/month to show stability
- £2,000–£3,000/month to show it can carry weight
This is not about big flips or single wins.
It’s about listings that sell repeatedly, with profit left after:
- final value fees
- promoted listing costs
- VAT
- shipping
- returns
- slow or dead stock
Turnover is easy to inflate. Margin is what determines whether the work continues.
Where to Start
If you want to see how this works in practice:
- Start with How to tell if you have a demand problem or a listing problem
- Then review eBay Fees UK and the Margin Calculator
- Then look at Sourcing Case Studies
These show what was bought, what it cost, and what happened after listing.
Platforms
I use eBay, Vinted and Etsy because they support:
- long-tail inventory
- repeatable listings
- controlled pricing
Each platform behaves differently, but none of them forgive weak margins.
Before scaling, understand exactly how fees and costs affect what is left.
The Rule
Everything comes back to one question:
How much money is left after costs?
If that number is too low, the model feels tight regardless of volume. If it holds, the business becomes stable.
If It’s Not Working
Most problems are not caused by visibility.
They are caused by:
- weak demand
- poor pricing
- the wrong category
- too much money tied up in slow stock
Start here:
How to tell if you have a demand problem or a listing problem
What This Site Is
This site documents what has actually produced profit for me selling on UK marketplaces.
It is not built on screenshots or best months.
It is built on what holds up after fees, costs and time.
Your results will depend on your stock, your pricing, and how tightly you manage margin.
Selling online can pay.
But only if the numbers make sense.