"selling" coupons on E-bay?

[couponmommyof3]

So SUPER long story short we moved from our hometown to another place to start a new branch of the business that my DH runs (not owns). The owner gave us a housing allowance which will be ending VERY soon! The business is slow...very slow...meaning I don't think we can live without the housing allowance. I stay home with the three kiddos so I have been trying to think of ways to same more money (switched car insurance-saved $417 every 6 months!), cancelled our basic cable-another $40 in our pocket, trying to find a cheaper internet provider(currently paying $50!), then I thought I have a TON of coupons! I trade mainly for PP and stamps here on HCW. Then I though of Ebay? What are your thoughts? I know people are really overpricing and I probably would keep the price just as I were to trade here. But really what are your thoughts? Any tips? Any suggestions? I am not thinking I'll make a ton of money but even just $50 a month would seriously help! Thanks!

OH and this is probably in the wrong place (sorry mods)

[couponmommyof3]

No one?

[res030ei]

i say go for it! ive started doing this myself and in 3 weeks with minimal effort i made over $200. i plan on continuing to do this. i am a sahm and any way i can help financially makes me feel better.

[lovemygirls]

If you can sell coupons on Ebay and make some money to help out your family then go for it. I do buy coupons on Ebay sometimes. They can be pretty pricy but for something you really want that will save you money I say do it. The only problem I am a little scared to buy some coupons on Ebay only because I just purchased a few coupons a couple weeks back that were fake . I never would have thought someone would do this but they did. It sounds like you are doing the best you can by cutting some of the monthly bills down. Great job.

[$Saving!]

Know that P&G, Smart Source and Red Plum are cracking down:

Manufacturers working to end "selling" of coupons

Submitted by Coupon Maven on Fri, 06/17/2011 - 21:01
In April, I wrote an article about how manufacturers and coupon redemption houses are cracking down on "gang-cut coupons" -- coupons that contain identical cuts and identifying marks. I received a lot of feedback on that article from coupon shoppers around the country, and much of it was negative. "It's not fair that they're voiding coupons because they're cut the same, it's my right to cut however I want." "Why do they care if coupons are sold, they print so many of them!" And, with TLC's "Extreme Couponing" glorifying purchasing coupons from clipping services or Ebay, an entire wave of new coupon shoppers have been led to believe that this is an acceptable way to get coupons.
Indeed, though, manufacturers do wish to stop the sale of coupons. One might think that the "Void if Sold" stipulation in the terms of the coupon would be enough to prevent anyone from selling them, yet clipping services and coupon auctions on Ebay abound. At the Association for Coupon Professionals conference that I attended in Atlanta this spring, the Coupon Information Corporation gave a presentation and discussed the resale of coupons. Bud Miller stated that the CIC was trying to put a halt to coupon resale in 2011. In February, the CIC began sending certified letters to numerous Ebay coupon sellers requesting that they both stop selling coupons and also sign and return a Memorandum Of Understanding. This MOU acknowledges that the sale of coupons violates the terms of the coupon's redemption policy of nearly all coupon-issuing manufacturers and also asks the seller to immediately cease all Ebay coupon sales.
After the first round of CIC mailings, about 20% of the targeted Ebay coupon sellers stopped. The CIC stated that they intend to continue working on stopping Ebay reselling this year. But coupon clipping services are still prevalent on the web too, and after hearing about how much the industry wants the resale of coupons stopped completely, I've wondered how long the clipping services would be allowed to continue too.
It appears that the industry is cracking down. Earlier this week, CouponDede and several other large clipping sites posted notices that they were "temporarily unable to offer any new whole inserts." Jennifer Jacobson Carew at GreenBayConsumer.com posted a notice that one clipping service sent out to its customers. In part, the notice reads:

Apparently Red Plum, Smart Source and P&G are filing suit against eBay for allowing the buying and selling of coupons. They are also in talks regarding the same with TLC. According to them it`s all considered coupon fraud... They are going to do everything possible to make it almost impossible to get coupons without buying the actual newspapers. They are also going to shut down all online sites that sell whole coupon inserts.

The full article can be found here. Very interesting reading.

[3timesoccermom]

Other things to consider regarding selling on Ebay:

there are thieves that will lie and say they "never got" their coupons and expect you to refund the price they paid PLUS the shipping fee or they won't bother to read the description of the item and will blame you and give you negative feedback because of their mistake. I know that sounds negative but it's the truth. I don't sell on Ebay but have 2 friends who do.

[JulieDB]

Other things to consider regarding selling on Ebay:

there are thieves that will lie and say they "never got" their coupons and expect you to refund the price they paid PLUS the shipping fee or they won't bother to read the description of the item and will blame you and give you negative feedback because of their mistake. I know that sounds negative but it's the truth. I don't sell on Ebay but have 2 friends who do.

I have bought some coupons from Ebay and I did not receive one package. The seller resent and it arrived all shredded. It was a very thin envelope and the top was totally open. I didn't count all of the coupons to make sure they were there, but it appeared that they were. I did tell the seller that perhaps she should use a sturdier envelope or at least put packing tape on the edges. The others I got were all well sealed.

That being said... Until I read about the crackdown on Ebay I had thought about selling the ones I don't need there. I don't think I will try now.

[thorrocks1]

i have been selling on ebay for over 10 years .. about 1 year w/ the coupons .. I make between $500 - $1000 per month depending if I have the "hot" coupons or not.

I started doing this when my husband's salary was cut in half. I have NO regrets about doing this .. I have looked for a part time job and have not had any luck .. but selling on ebay, I am home w/ the boys .. I sell many other things than coupons too.

I definitely have run into people claiming they have not rec'd my end .. if that happens i just refund their money .. the coupons that have end is BIG $$ I always get tracking on them .. well worth the extra money. I would say 96% of the time my transactions are smooth ..

I say go for it .. just remember that you do need to claim the money at the end of the year (especiallly if you are making thousands of dollars) .. I put 20% away (advice from my accountant).

good luck!

[434Teresa]

I sell them on there. People do sometimes say things like you sent the wrong coupons or that they did not get them...if they say I sent the wrong coupons I have them mail them back and then i will refund what they paid or they can file a claim.which in most cases if you offer them the same off threw the claim being filed ebay will refund them them the money back(meaning they pay not from your account)..If they say they did not get the coupons it just depends on what else they say as to what I do.

Then there is ALL the NON payers...yes there is many many of them on there. They bid on coupons then dont pay or wait until you file a claim(4day wait) then wait until the very last day to pay if they even do...if the coupons expire in say 2 two weeks this makes the coupon no good to you for the date on them makes it to where you can relist them and soemtimes if they pay on the very last day that they have to pay on the coupons are really close to expiring when they get them and then they blame it on you.....

I still sale on there but sometimes it is a pain in the butt for what you make on them and what it takes to list them and send them. But like you I need the money to buy coupons for things we use.

[thorrocks1]

I have had many non-paying bidders as well .. I have had some luck lately but stating that payment is expected within 1 day of auction end and if by the 3rd day payment has not been rec'd then I report them to Ebay .. that way I still have the chance to relist the coupons