Posted by I sold my first Xbox controller of 2026 after taking a long winter break from Ebay selling. It only took about 30 minutes to find a buyer after listing a robot white model 1914. This is the second controller that had a broken trace under the right stick. Other than that, the controller was in very good condition. Here is a summary of the transaction:
- Customer paid: $29.50
- Cost of controller: $14.05
- Shipping: $6.87
- Ebay fee: $4.41
My net profit was only $4.17. I didn’t mind too much on this one because the repair didn’t take too long. The lowest sale price for a new model 1914 controller on the Xbox website is $52.30. The retail price is $69.99. The question is: how much someone is willing to pay for a used/refurbished controller. I don’t think the price should be more than half of the retail price if the used controller is in like-new condition. If there is visible wear, or the controller repair was just the minimum to get it working again, the price should be adjusted lower.
I am still having a difficult time finding “parts only” controllers for $14 or less. Goodwill had several Xbox controller auctions that ended yesterday. I bid on 4 sets of controllers thinking that I would maybe win one of the auctions. None of my bids even came close. I calculated the average sale price for each controller, and the price was $21. That is $7 above my threshold. I would need to set my Ebay price at $38 to make a profit. In order to win an auction, I need to bid at least $60 or more for a set of 4 used model 1914 Xbox controllers. Plus, you have to figure about $14 for shipping and $6 for sales tax. That brings the total price to $80.
There are only 5 states that have no sales tax. If you are a business, you may be exempt from paying sales tax with a resale exemption. When buying goods to resell, you typically provide a certificate to suppliers to avoid paying sales tax upfront. If your business or organization does business in more than one state, you will likely have to deal with wildly different sales tax rules and regulations. In my case, all of the transactions are taking place online. And for an individual, it would be difficult to obtain a resale exemption. I have had sales on Ebay with no sales tax charged, and the address isn’t in a tax-exempt state. Minnesota has no sales tax on clothing, so it may be something like that or a business making the purchase.