I'll just sell it on Ebay

So, for some reason I decided to dive into the world of eBay selling recently. When I moved back in with my parents I cleaned out my room and came up with a bunch of collectible items that I didn't want to just throw out, so I decided to try to sell them. Then my mom came up with a box and my brother followed up with a box of stuff as well.

Why not? Make some extra cash and get rid of some clutter!

Ha. It's kind of a lot of work to sell something on eBay! Take a picture, write a detailed description, clean up item, research/decide on a price, determine shipping costs, open a paypal account, and post the item. *whew*

And of course I had no idea of all of the little charges that come along with posting something. Do you want to be listed in more than 1 category? That will be an extra 10 cents please. Want to list more than 7 days? That's an extra 20 cents. You want a gallery picture? Well, if you're not lucky and get a free promotional offer, that will be 20 cents. Oh and let's not even talk about the percent kick back you have to give back to eBay after you sell something.

I originally refused to give in to all of these nickle and dime charges to make my product look better. I'm supposed to be MAKING money on these items, not losing it! Not to mention that none of these collectibles are incredibly enticing or expensive. But now I'm rethinking that decision.... I had maybe 20 views total on my 16 items the first time.... and a few of those were my own mom!

My first round of listings had 16 items in it.... and 1 sold. ONE. It was a picture frame with Toto from Wizard of Oz on it. Talk about a ton of work for 12 bucks. I have since then relisted the other 15 items to try again.

I'm wondering... do you sell on eBay? What are your tricks? Do you shell out that 10 cents to have it pop up under more than 1 category? What do you do to make your "description" sound like something a person can't pass up?

And how in the heck do you figure out a shipping cost? That is taking me the most time, and quite frankly it is a pain! I have at least 15 other items that aren't listed because I can't figure out a cost effective way to ship them!

And finally, let me know if you happen to know anyone who is interested in Wizard of Oz collectibles, Peanuts collectibles, Pokemon cards, or Beanie Babies. I'm trying to find good homes and I promise the prices are not outrageous. :)

Help!