What to sell on eBay: Coffee Mugs / Tea Cups

eBay sellers are constantly looking to expand their eBay inventory and possibly pick up a new sales niche. One highly popular niche of items to sell on eBay and Amazon.com includes kitchenware. Specifically, coffee mugs.

Types and brands of coffee mugs to consider include:

Restaurant Collectibles – Hardees, Dave & Busters, Steak n Shake, etc.

FireKing – Produced by Anchor Hocking in the 1940s for everyday use. Today, Fire-King is highly sought after by collectors or persons looking to replace a piece of their collection.

Family: Mugs denoting family members are in demand throughout the year. These mugs make perfect gifts for Father's Day, Mother’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries all year round.

Occupational: Teacher, Nurse, Doctor, Librarian, Fireman, etc

Animal – many collect items of a certain animal: cows, pigs, cats, dogs, chickens, horses

Think Kitchen – many will add coffee mugs to match the décor of a kitchen. Kitchen-themed mugs include: apples, chickens, cows, coffee / java, chef, coca-cola

OTAGIRI Japan – Very decorative collectible mugs produced in Japan. Many of the designs are retired and can fetch a pretty penny on eBay.

Hollywood – Favorite gifts to give at Christmas include mugs from Hollywood including: The Office, Star Wars, Friends “Central Perk”, Cheers. I sold a True Detective “Big Hug Mug” for $37 shipped.

Starbucks – Starbucks city mugs are always a hot seller, but do not overlook those “plain”
Starbucks mugs.Starbucks holiday themed mugs as well as dated coffee mugs are often good sellers on eBay. For example, I sold a set of 4 Starbucks Candy Striped mugs for $56 shipped.

The most secure and cost effective way to ship a mug is called the FOMO method. This method involves securing the mug in a cardboard box, then placing the box into an USPS flat-rate bubble mailer envelope. I have yet to have any complaints of breakage. However, just to be sure, always select the option for free USPS insurance. To do so, view Shipping on eBay with Free Insurance using USPS Priority Mail.

How Online Sellers Find Total Shipping Costs via Paypal for Tax Filing

eBay sellers should not overlook the cost of shipping when filing taxes. Shipping charges paid via Paypal are deductible on Schedule C: Profit or Loss from Business. To determine the amount of shipping charges paid via Paypal, do the following:

1. Log into your PayPal account. Click Activity tab.
2. On the top right, click the drop down arrow next to "Statements". Select "Activity Export".
3. Select Custom Date Range and enter the date range needed for the year.
4. Then, choose download all activity or just completed payments. I recommend selecting comma separated value (csv) format and all activity (Comma Delimited - All Activity) to gather other totals often used on tax form Schedule C.
5. The report is not generated automatically. You will receive an email from Paypal once the report is available.
6. Once the email is received, log in to Paypal and download the .csv file.
7. Open the file in a spreadsheet program (Excel, OpenOffice, etc).
8. Sort the data by Name
9. Search for “eBay Inc Shipping”
10. Use the AutoSum tool to total the amounts paid to “eBay Inc Shipping”

Other deductions on Schedule C are available in Paypal’s Annual Financial Summary Report. However, this report is only available to US Business and Premier account holders.
Visit Taxes Made Easy with Paypal Annual Financial Summary Report for more information.

Shipping on eBay with Free Insurance using USPS Priority Mail

eBay Top Rated Sellers and Platinum and Titanium PowerSellers who us

e eBay Labels for Priority Mail services will now receive $100 worth of FREE insurance. This is in addition to the special USPS shipping discounts sellers already receive—up to 35%—because of stellar seller status! In addition, FREE Delivery Confirmation is uploaded to My eBay when shipping Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express through eBay Labels.

The United States Postal Service offers free priority mail shipping supplies. These supplies include: priority mail poly mailers, flat rate envelopes, flat rate padded envelopes, boxes of all shapes and sizes. One may pick up these free shipping supplies at your local post office or visit www.usps.com and “order” them online with free delivery to your address.

eBay sellers are not automatically given the $100 worth of free insurance. Users must select to add USPS Insurance to the priority package. To do so, do the following:

From the print shipping label screen in eBay:

1. Select United States Postal Service as the Carrier
2. Select a Priority Mail Service from the dropdown list
3. Enter the weight of the package if necessary (Flat rate service does not require weight)
4. Check the option to “Add Insurance” (the page will refresh with ShipCover insurance selected as the default)
5. In the box that says ShipCover Insurance, change it to “USPS Insurance”
6. Package value will default to the price of the item
7. The page will refresh and you will see that insurance has been added for Free
8. Purchase postage and print label.

Should an item arrive damaged, the insurance provided by the USPS will protect you as an eBay seller. Work with the buyer to receive enough information about the broken item (pictures, if possible). Immediately refund the buyer for the damaged item, then submit an insurance claim online by going to www.USPS.com

Free Christmas Cards w/ Dogs Photos & Cats Images

Send a FREE Christmas card from FurAllOver.com. The online greeting card site contains a huge selection of ecards all with a dog and cat theme. Select from specific card categories (Christmas, Birthday, New Years, Valentine's Day), or select a certain breed of dogs or cat breeds. While you are there, search the site's huge clip art and free graphics collection. See you there!

CVS Paid Me to Buy NIVEA Body Wash

That's right, CVS pharmacy paid me to buy a 16.9 ounce bottle of NIVEA Body Wash. You can get paid, too! Simply visit coupons.com, search, download and print the $2 off coupon for NIVEA Body Wash. CVS drug store is offering the body wash for $.99 this week (12/20/2009) with a CVS Extra Card Customer Card (CVS coupons not necessary). The bath soap usually retails for $5.99, but on checkout, you will receive $5 extra cash bucks to use on your next purchase, valid through January 2010. With the coupon and extra cash back, you receive the body wash absolutely FREE! This body wash makes a great Christmas Stocking Stuffer for the women in your life.