How Cats Protection raised £50,000 on eBay in four months

Does your charity have an eBay shop? If not, you could be missing out on a healthy chunk of income, as Cats Protection has proven.

Back in September, a small team of staff set up an eBay store from an office above a Cats Protection shop in Somerset, to harness the power of a worldwide marketplace and make the most of ‘rare and unusual’ items donated by supporters.

Little did they know how successful it would be.

In just four months, their efforts have generated over £50,000, and there’s no sign of sales slowing down.

How have they done it?

David Chan-Baker, Cats Protection’s retail online hub manager revealed all in an interview with Somerset Apple.

“The [eBay] team takes in items that have been donated to Cats Protection shops across the country.

They look for pieces that would have value in the shops but where we can add extra value online.

It’s about using our knowledge of the items to make the most of our donors’ generous gifts.”

Finding value

The team looks into the history of each item it sells online, cataloging the details, heritage, and previous sales of similar items to guide the pricing. 

Chan-Baker said, “We try to find specifics about items that will add value. For example, if we have a games console, we will look at the version, which games come with it, and how others have sold so that we can pitch just below the higher end of the pricing scale to improve turnover.”

Pitch perfect

The team clearly has a knack for pitching, as some of the items have reached astonishing prices.

As Chan-Baker explains, “We had a Bernina sewing machine go for £600 and a saxophone went to a customer in Europe for £549. We are unlikely to have made that in any of our shops as we’d have needed a jazz musician to walk in and know its value.”

The charity also raised £8,000 from the sale of model trains, £400 from Chanel earrings, and £3,000 from Christmas cards.

Current items for sale include a 1960’s velvet coat, from the designer Jean Patou, which is being offered for just under £500, and a vintage mandolin from the 1900s that’s been priced at £160. 

Want to check out their wares? You can do so here.

How to get started with eBay

If Cats Protections’ success has inspired you to launch your own eBay charity shop, you can find out all you need to know to get started here.

It’s worth noting however, that charities aren’t exempt from fees.

While there are no listing fees, you’ll pay a final value fee of 1.1% of the total amount of each sale, plus 17p per order.

The ‘total amount’ is the entire amount the buyer pays, including handling charges, the shipping service the buyer selects, sales tax, plus any other applicable fees.

Need a fundraiser to run your eBay shop? We’ve got the talent. Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 to find the perfect fit.