My Mid-Year eBay Update: Why Selling the Stuff You Already Own Is Still One of the Easiest Side Hustles

If you’ve ever looked around your home and thought, “I really need to get rid of some of this stuff,” you may be sitting on an opportunity to make extra money.

One of the biggest misconceptions about eBay is that you need expensive collectibles, rare sneakers, or a garage full of inventory to be successful. In my experience, that’s not true.

As we’re now halfway through 2026, I wanted to share an update on my eBay journey—not just to talk about what I’ve sold, but to show how anyone can turn clutter into cash with a little consistency.

Progress Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect

Earlier this year, I shared that I had sold my first nine items of 2026. Since then, I’ve continued listing items whenever I could. I haven’t been as consistent as I’d like to be—I usually manage about 10-12 new listings each month, although my goal is to list at least one item every day.

Even without a perfect listing schedule, sales have continued to come in.

Here’s how the year has looked so far:

• January: 4 sales
• February: 6 sales
• March: 2 sales
• April: 11 sales
• May: 10 sales
• June: 10 sales
• July: 1 sale so far (as of July 6)
• 
  

One thing stood out immediately: March was my slowest month.

Looking back, I realized I wasn’t listing very much during that time.

Once I became more active again, my sales picked back up.

It’s a simple reminder that consistency often matters more than perfection.

You Don’t Need Valuable Items to Get Started

When people think about selling on eBay, they often imagine flipping expensive collectibles or hunting through thrift stores every weekend.

That’s not how I use eBay anymore.

Most of what I sell comes from things I already own, items my brother has given me over the years, or items that come into my possession through my job(I work in a hotel). Sometimes guests leave items behind that are never claimed, and after the proper process is completed, some of those items become available to employees.

Looking back at my sales this year, I’ve sold all kinds of everyday items:

• Clothing
• Shorts
• Shoes
• Books
• Apple accessories
• Old electronics
• Action figure parts
• Microphones
• LEGO minifigures
• Empty product boxes

Many of these items sold for only $10 to $20.

Individually, they aren’t life-changing.

Collectively, they add up.

One of my biggest lessons over the years is that small sales create momentum. Every package shipped is another item out of your home and a little more money in your pocket.

Sometimes Opportunity Shows Up Unexpectedly

One of the biggest surprises this year came from a hotel guest.

A guest who appeared to be moving donated a large box filled with LEGO and several other random items.

The first thing I sold from that box was a pair of LEGO minifigures for around $20.

These Lego Minifigures sold for $20

 

That sale was especially satisfying because I had spent about $60 on an Uber ride to bring everything home. Just one small LEGO sale covered roughly one-third of that transportation cost.

Every additional sale from that box now feels like pure bonus income.

It reminded me that valuable inventory doesn’t always have to be purchased. Sometimes opportunities appear when you’re paying attention.

My Biggest Sale of the Year

While most of my sales are inexpensive items, I did have one standout sale.

Earlier this year, I sold my Akai MPC One Plus, a music production sampler that I had upgraded from. Living in a small apartment means I don’t have room to keep equipment I’m no longer using, so selling it made sense.

The sale totaled more than $460, making it my biggest sale of the year.

 

Akai MPC One+ sold!

 Of course, eBay takes a selling fee, so I didn’t keep the full amount.

But that’s part of doing business.

I’d much rather have money available than old gear collecting dust.

eBay Fees Are Higher—But It’s Still Worth It

If you’ve sold on eBay recently, you’ve probably noticed that their fees have increased over the years.

Every sale comes with costs.

When I sell a $20 item, eBay takes a percentage.

When I sell something for several hundred dollars, the fees become even more noticeable.

Would I like lower fees?

Absolutely.

But even after those costs, I still believe eBay offers tremendous value.

The platform has millions of buyers, handles payment processing, provides shipping tools, and gives individual sellers access to a worldwide marketplace.

For me, those benefits still outweigh the costs.

Looking Back at Last Year

One statistic I haven’t shared before is how my eBay business looked in 2025.

According to my eBay Seller Hub:

• Total sales: $5,375.18
• Take-home earnings after selling costs and fees: approximately $3,551.87

No, that’s not enough to replace my full-time job.

But it is a meaningful amount of side income generated primarily from items I already owned.

That’s why I continue selling.

Why My Approach Has Changed

Years ago, I seriously tried making eBay a full-time business.

That meant constantly sourcing inventory, visiting thrift stores, researching products, and trying to scale everything.

It was a lot of work.

These days, my goals are much simpler.

I use eBay to:

• Declutter my apartment
• Give unused items a second life.
• Create extra spending money.
• Fund new hobbies and purchases.
• Reduce waste instead of throwing usable items away.

That approach fits my lifestyle much better.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve been thinking about starting an eBay store, don’t wait until you have the “perfect” inventory.

Start with what’s already around you.

Old electronics.

Clothes you no longer wear.

Books you’ve already read.

Shoes sitting in your closet.

Even empty product boxes can sometimes have value.

You don’t need to become a full-time reseller to benefit from eBay.

Sometimes the biggest win isn’t making thousands of dollars.

Sometimes it’s creating more space in your home, putting extra money in your pocket, and realizing that things you no longer need may still be valuable to someone else.

For me, that’s why eBay remains one of my favorite side hustles—even after more than 25 years of selling online.

If you’d like to see some of the items I’ve sold, follow my Instagram page, Paul Resells Things, where I regularly post photos of recent sales. I’ll also be sharing another eBay update before the end of the year to see how the rest of 2026 turns out.