How To Make Money on eBay Without Selling Anything in 2024

Last updated: 13/02/2024 Written by: Ruby Layram

eBay is one of the largest online marketplaces that is used by millions to make extra cash from their preloved clothes and accessories. Selling products on eBay is a quick and easy way to make money online and can easily turn into a steady stream of income for dedicated clothing re-sellers. However, not everyone has the resources, or time, to make money on eBay by selling alone. Luckily, there are other ways to make money from the platform that don’t require you to sell any products.

In this post, we will take a look at 5 tried and tested ways of how to make money on eBay without selling anything in 2024. Before we dive in, it is important to understand that the suggestions we make in this article do not guarantee results. We spent time testing ideas ourselves as well as reading the reviews and experiences of others. While every side hustle that we discuss has a history of success, the amount of money that you can make will depend largely on your own effort and persistence.

Also read: How to sell eBooks on Amazon without writing

5 Legit Ways To Make Money on eBay Without Selling Anything

After spending several hours searching through the depths of the internet, we found 5 legit ways of making money on eBay that don’t involve selling products. For a more detailed look at how to start each side hustle idea, scroll further down.

  1. Write paid product reviews: Earn money by writing positive reviews for other people’s products. This can help sellers to increase their authority on the platform and drive more traffic to their listings. It is possible to charge £5 per review, which might only take 15 minutes to write. In some cases, you may even receive free products to test. For these reviews, you could charge a higher rate.

  2. Become an eBay selling assistant: Get paid to manage large eBay shops on behalf of their owners. This could include providing customer service, optimizing and updating listings, stock management and order fulfillment. eBay selling assistant is a fairly niche job so we couldn’t find any public salary records. However, similar roles often offer up to £25 per hour in the UK and it is possible to do this job on a freelance basis.

  3. Get paid to write product listings: You can charge a good hourly rate to write well-optimized product listings that will help shop owners increase their eBay traffic. The best platforms to use for this side hustle are Fiverr and Upwork.

  4. Offer eBay consulting services: Consulting is a high-paying eBay side hustle that involves analyzing stores, identifying areas for improvement, and implementing solutions to improve performance.

  5. eBay affiliate marketing: The eBay partner network rewards creators for promoting products. Affiliate marketing involves promoting products to an audience and making a small commission each time that someone purchases through your affiliate link. The commission ranges from 1%-4% for each product that you promote.

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How To Make Money on eBay Without Selling Anything in 5 Ways

In the following section, we will take a look at the step-by-step process of making money with the side hustles mentioned above. We will delve into how each side hustle works, how to go about starting, and top tips for success.

1. Write paid product reviews

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What is it?

This eBay side hustle involves earning money by writing positive reviews for shop owners. Usually, reviewers are asked to write realistic reviews for several products to boost ratings and increase shop visibility. The reviews don’t have to be in-depth and typically take between 15 and 45 minutes to write.

Is it worth it?

Writing paid reviews for eBay sellers is a good option for people who have the time to submit cover letters and create a stand-out freelancer profile. This certainly isn’t a passive income stream and you might have to put in a bit of initial effort before seeing any results. However, the hourly rate for this side hustle can be very good. You can easily charge £10 per review and write 2-3 reviews per hour.

How to start

The best way to start getting paid to write eBay reviews is to set up a gig on Fiverr. This requires you to create a Fiverr account which takes around 30 minutes. When you set up a gig, describe your services clearly, use keywords, and set a competitive price.

It may take some time for you to attract customers on Fiverr, If this is the case, you could reach out to eBay store owners directly with a professional email address. This is a good way to get experience and add some testimonials to your Fiverr profile.

Also read: How to make money on maternity leave

2. Become an eBay selling assistant

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What is it?

eBay selling assistants assist store owners in daily operations such as customer service, updating product listings, and taking care of new listings. The role is similar to that of a virtual assistant and is suitable for anyone with good organization skills and e-commerce knowledge.

Is it worth it?

eBay selling assistants can work full-time from the comfort of their own homes, making it a great option for anyone who is looking for a flexible income stream. It is also possible to work on a freelance or part-time basis. Most selling assistants take a percentage of the store profit as a fee. We found that selling assistants can charge anything between 30% and 50% of the selling fee.

How to start

To become an eBay selling assistant, you need to have sold at least 4 items successfully on the platform yourself. You also need to have 90% positive feedback on your store. Once you have met this criteria, you can sign up to the eBay trading assistants directory. Sellers can find our profile through the directory and hire you for work.

3. Get paid to write product listings

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What is it?

This eBay side hustle involves writing copy for eBay listings and getting paid (usually per word) for the content that you create. This is an ideal side hustle for people who are looking for an easy way to make money on eBay. Most copywriters write for several different platforms to increase the amount of clients that they can take. For example, you might write copy for Amazon listings, email marketing campaigns or even social media content.

Is it worth it?

Copywriting is renowned for being a side hustle with good demand but low rates. However, skilled copywriters can charge £20+ per hour. To charge higher rates, you will need to build up some experience and receive positive testimonials from clients. During our research, we found that some of the best product listing copywriters on Fiverr charge £50+ per gig.

How to start

The best way to start making money writing eBay product listings if to create a gig on Fiverr or sign up to a platform such as Upwork. To attract customers, include examples of your work along with customer reviews or testimonials. It is also a good idea to charge a low rate at first. You can increase the amount that you charge after you have built up some experience.

4. Offer eBay consulting services

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What is it?
eBay consultants analyze eBay stores to find areas for improvement and then provide suggestions for solutions
. Consultants are usually experienced sellers who can use their expertise to help others. Most people who hire consultants are looking to scale their eBay business. Therefore, consultants play an important role in the success of eBay stores. This can be a very rewarding job for individuals who like a challenge.

Is it worth it?

Consultancy is one of the highest-paying eBay side hustles and for a good reason. Becoming a consultant requires a lot of experience and knowledge. You need to be able to offer valuable solutions that actually work. If you have the time to learn the art of eBay selling, consultancy could be a great option to consider.

How to start

The first step to becoming a consultant is to build up your experience. Open your own eBay store and make some successful sales. Then, create a profile on a freelance marketplace to attract customers. You should try to include evidence of your skills as well as testimonials to make your profile stand out from others.

5. eBay affiliate marketing

how to make money on eBay without selling anything

What is it?

It is possible to make money by promoting eBay products through the eBay Partner network. This is an affiliate program that rewards members with commissions every time that they sell a product. You can sell products by promoting your affiliate links on social media or in blog posts.

Is it worth it?

Affiliate marketing can be a very lucrative side hustle because there is technically no earning limit. You can promote links as much as you like and your earnings will depend on the amount of people who purchase the products that you promote. To increase your earning potential, try promoting high-ticket products (worth £100+) that will earn you a higher commission.

How to start

Anyone can sign up to the eBay partner network and start promoting products with affiliate links. All you need to do is create an account and connect a payment method to the platform. Once you have access to the platform, create links for the products that you would like to promote. You can then share these on platforms of your choice and start earning commissions from sales.

Conclusion

it is possible to make money on eBay without selling any products in 2024. eBay is a reputable platform with a huge customer base which means that there is always a steady stream of work for eBay experts. In this article, we have taken a look at how to make money from 5 eBay side hustles.

Every side hustle that we have discussed has successfully made money. However, there is no guarantee that these side jobs will work for you. To make money on eBay without selling anything, you need to consider the drawbacks as well as the advantages of each side hustle. Successful workers put in time and effort to build up their side jobs and attract customers organically.

If you’re looking for other great ways to make money on the side, check out our list of 40+ passive side hustle ideas.

FAQs

  • The easiest way to make money on eBay in 2023 is to join the eBay partner network. This is an affiliate program that is open to anyone over the age of 18. You can earn money by promoting products and earing commissions.

  • Yes, the eBay partner network is a legit affiliate marketing program that offers commissions of between 1% and 4%. Anyone can sign up but there is no guarantee that you will make money.

  • eBay side hustles are a fairly untapped niche with great demand in 2023. There are over 18 million sellers on the platform which means there are a lot of opportunities for experts who can help store owners to increase their sales.

About The Author

Ruby is the founder of The Rich Girl Guide and has been writing content around personal finance, side hustles and wellbeing for over 3 years. You can find some of Ruby’s published articles on The Motley Fool UK, Tradingplatforms.com and Buyshares.co.uk.