Another holiday season has passed and now that the wrapping paper wreckage has been cleared, it’s time to think about how to pay the bills.

Before panic starts to set in, start looking around your home for gently used items with a lot of life left in them or turn to those still packaged gifts that you know you will never use and consider selling them through eBay.

eBay is a great way to make extra money by selling items in good-condition that you and your family are no longer using. Outgrown winter coats, barely worn boots, toys that were once hard to part with but now have been cast aside for shiny new ones, and gifts destined for re-gifting are potential eBay items that can put money back in your pocket to help pay off holiday bills.

If selling through eBay seems intimidating, it doesn’t have to be! Here are 5 quick tips to get you started:

• Begin as a buyer. Think about something you need and purchase it on eBay. Think about your experience. What drew you to the item? Was it the price, offer of free shipping, photos, description, Buy it Now option, or feedback about the person you were buying from? Completing a transaction is helpful in knowing what your buyers will be looking for in your listings.  If you’ve never bought on eBay before, ebay provides Buying Basics to guide you through the process.
  

• Start slowly. Review the eBay seller policy pages and choose one item from your stash that you won’t be upset about if it doesn’t fetch the optimum price when listed.

• Create your listing. Provide a picture since buyers like to see what they are purchasing and write your listing to include just the facts. eBay recommends ensuring that the item’s brand or manufacturer is spelled correctly in the title so it can be found easily. Include nouns and modifiers (rather than adjectives) in your 80 character description.
  

• Hone your skills and emphasize quality over quantity as you become more experienced. Optimize a few listings for maximum results and focus on providing good customer service and simple terms of service.

• Don’t be afraid to ask for help. eBay has lots of resources and an entire community of sellers who are happy to share tips and brainstorm solutions. eBay’s Getting Started guide is a wonderful resource until you are ready to open your eBay store while more experienced sellers with lots of items to list.

Now that I’ve planted the seed of clearing the clutter to make some cash, what are some of the items you might try to sell through eBay to start the New Year debt free?