Ebay Tips

How to start a petition

2012-04-07T06:29:00.001-07:00

Debi Cooks.........: Comfort Food For A Rainy Day

2012-04-06T12:42:00.001-07:00

Debi Cooks.........: Comfort Food For A Rainy Day: Its really raining here in Florida. I shouldn't complain because we do need the rain. But when it does storm its usually for an hour than it...

PaySimple for Ebay

2012-04-05T17:51:00.001-07:00

Please check out PaySimple to accept credit cards on Ebay if you are tired of using Paypal and having payments held because you are a new seller. It works great, and the money is deposited into your bank account in about 3 days. If there is a dispute, they don't steal the money from you. Ha. Please check it out so you can accept credit cards on ebay faster and more reliably.

How to Buy and Sell on eBay Scam-Free

2012-03-06T21:11:00.001-08:00

Ask eBay users about auction fraud and payment scams, and you'll hear different stories with the same theme: While eBay can be a great marketplace, both buyers and sellers need to beware.
PC World contributing editor James Martin was nearly defrauded when he tried to sell a laptop and managed to avert disaster thanks only to a cooperative post office clerk who searched for and returned the package Martin had shipped a few hours earlier. Martin is not alone. The FBI tracks online auction fraud via its Internet Crime Complaint Center, and auction scams have averaged more than half of all online fraud complaints.
Auction fraud has been the dominant form of Internet fraud reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center for as long as statistics have been gathered. Overall numbers of reports have tailed off somewhat in the last couple of years. The IC3 is a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center. Infographic: Chip TaylorHowever, the actual numbers of fraud reports have gone down in the last couple of years, returning to 2003 levels. This may be due to better policing by eBay or to more awareness of fraud among the auction site's users.
And eBay has taken a number of steps to combat fraud. One of them is an antifraud toolbar for users , designed to identify attempts by phishers to obtain your eBay log-in information. Recently, eBay also partnered with Google to stamp out a major site-redirection vulnerability exploited by phishers.
Other tools in eBay's fraud-fighting arsenal include the eBay/PayPal Security Key , launched in February of last year, as well as several measures designed to safeguard member IDs and improve buyer protections introduced in April 2007. Also, to protect member ID information, which can be used to send phishing e-mail and fake "second-chance" offers, eBay now hides the IDs of bidders in big ticket auctions. And an expanded new seller feedback system gives buyers the detailed information they need to decide on the seller's bona fides.
Finally, a sweeping overhaul announced this week should lead to a new balance of power between buyers and sellers. Among other changes, sellers may no longer leave negative feedback on buyers, eliminating the fear of retaliation that many buyers had when deciding whether to leave negative feedback of their own. This fear resulted in under-reporting of bad transactions through the feedback system. And sellers in high-risk categories like computers, or those who have less than stellar feedback, will now be required to take payments either through PayPal or a credit card. In some cases, PayPal will even withhold payments to sellers entirely until the buyer has left positive feedback or 21 days have passed without a claim.
Even with all these safeguards, there are still risks to using eBay. Users put up with them because it's the biggest game in town, with 95 percent of all online auction listings, according to Jupiter Research. Total auction sales were about $30 billion last year, a big slice of overall U.S. Internet sales of $116 billion. Local Craigslist classifieds and Amazon's Marketplace are gaining in popularity, especially for hard-to-ship items and books, but for many broad product categories, such as antiques and collectibles, eBay is still the best or only viable outlet.

Great Ebay Selling Tips

2012-03-06T21:05:00.001-08:00

So you’ve taken the plunge into selling stuff on ebay for profit. Congratulations on joining over 18 million people around the world who are supplementing their income with sales on ebay. With the right steps taken, you can join ebay in its march toward taking over massive shares of worldwide commerce. The future of commerce is the Internet and the future is now! More and more people every year are shopping online for everything from everyday products to special or rare gifts. It’s changing the way people do business, allowing more and more people to leave the corporate work force and be their own boss while still participating in the global marketplace.

Some General Ebay Selling Tips

The great thing about a market as large and diverse as that of Ebay is that you can literally sell anything online! A favorite axiom in the world of how to sell stuff on ebay is that "One man’s trash is indeed another man’s treasure" and ebay knows this as much as craigslist. Look around your home and see what someone else might consider a rare or collectible gift. There are people who lovingly collect stamps, cards, movies, books, music, beads, shells, coins, vintage coke bottles, retro lava lamps, and far stranger paraphernalia. Literally anything can turn into money in your pocket. This is the chief of the ebay selling tips. Sell Anything and Everything!
On a similar note, it’s important to do your research. Know what people are searching for and wanting. Ebay lists some of their more popular searches and this a great way to see what people come there to buy. It’s also a good idea to browse “collectors” sites to find out what strange niche objects people are placing high value on. You may never have known that a large number of people are looking for 1950s salt and pepper shakers unless you’d stumbled on their collectors websites. And perhaps there is a blowout sale on old shakers at a local diner going out of business. These are the kinds of awareness you should have to maximize the profit you can make on ebay. Know the market, the trends. Every niche has valued objects or items you can acquire and sell for a profit.
Do the proper price research before setting your prices as well. It’s the best of the ebay selling tips to help you stay afloat amongst the competition.
Think ahead. Sale of Halloween costumes are highest in October, obviously. However it’s in January that you might find the best deals or some other off-season. Think ahead to trends that are on their way. If you know a certain toy will likely be popular for Christmas this year, start stocking up on great bargains over the spring and summer in anticipation of selling during this peak time. Of all the ebay selling tips, this is often the most overlooked since people are usually looking for quick profits and turnovers. Take your time and plan ahead to ensure you’ll make the most from the key items you work with.

Guard Your Seller Score

Your personal seller rating is your most important asset in this whole make money ebay game. It’s excessively important that you monitor your feedback ratings and don’t slack on getting people what they order efficiently and on time. You’ll kill your business before it even gets going if you don’t take care of your rating. In the complicated, over-saturated cybersphere of online commerce, the biggest concern buyers have is the trustworthiness of the sellers. If they can’t look up reviews and feedback that confirms you’re safe to do business with, they’ll likely bid on something form someone else. This is the most important of the ebay selling tips! Guard that feedback score!
If you take the time to be good at what you do, you’ll be able to find great success with selling stuff on ebay. Stay organized. The more stuff you are managing or selling online, the more organized you have to be. Learn to keep track of your sales with excel sheets or small business software. The more quality you can offer to potential or existing customers, the more sales you can continue to have. You'll move on to learn your own ebay selling tips with just experience and practice.

12 Tips for “Psychological Selling”

2012-03-06T21:01:00.002-08:00

Many copywriting and marketing gurus teach simplistic ideas about psychology. They insist that people can be fully understood and manipulated with a checklist of motivators or pyramid of needs.
What nonsense! I can’t even figure out why the guy at the pet store puts 75 cat food cans in one bag and a tiny box of treats in another so that I lurch to my car leaning to one side. How can I possibly summarize human psychology in a few bullet points?
People are highly complex and often mysterious, so we all struggle to understand our fellow humans. However, now that you’ve gotten over being afraid to sell, here are a few basic psychological tidbits that can help you write compelling copy.

People make decisions emotionally. They decide based on a feeling, need, or emotion, not though a logical thought process. That’s why intangible benefits are the keys to persuasion. When you’re writing, you should ask yourself, “What is the emotional hot button here?”
People justify decisions with facts. Example: a man sees an advertisement with a photo of a sports car and instantly falls in love. However, he can’t bring himself to buy the car based on a feeling, so he reads the copy for technical details about the powerful engine, safety features, and low maintenance. He wants the car because it makes him feel good. But he buys it only when he can justify the purchase rationally.
People are egocentric. The word “egocentric” means centered around the ego or self. We all see the world in terms of how it relates to us personally. So when your copy asks someone to do something, it must also answer the unspoken question, “What’s in it for me?” On a deeper level, the question might be “How does this give me feelings of personal worth?”
People look for value. Value is not a fixed number. Value is relative to what you’re selling, what others charge, what the prospect is used to paying, how badly the prospect wants it, and how the prospect perceives the difference between your offer and others. You must demonstrate a value that seems to be equal to or greater than the asking price. The greater the value relative to the price, the more likely people are to buy.
People think in terms of people. The human brain is not a computer, calculator, or information processor. Scientists have shown that its primary function is to deal with social interactions. Remember how some mathematical questions in high school were stated as real-life situations? They were always easier to understand and solve than abstract problems. Your copy, therefore, should feature people through names, personal pronouns, quotes, testimonials, stories, photos of satisfied customers, etc.
You can’t force people to do anything. When people buy, it’s not because you wield some magical power over them. You can urge. You can push. You can entice. But ultimately, people do what they want to do. This means your job is to show how what you’re offering meets your prospect’s needs.
People love to buy. Some say people don’t like to be “sold.” Not true. People love to be sold. They love to discover wonderful new products and experiences. What people don’t love is to be cheated or tricked. Therefore, it can be helpful to change your analogy of the marketing process. Instead of “selling” to people, try to “help” them. Sell good products, make appealing offers, and treat people fairly. That’s a surefire formula for success.
People are naturally suspicious. It’s true that there’s a sucker born every minute, but most people are moderately skeptical of any offer. They seek to avoid risk. You can never predict the level of suspicion any particular person has, so it’s usually best to back up all claims with evidence, such as testimonials, survey results, authoritative endorsements, test results, and scientific data.
People are always looking for something. Love. Wealth. Glory. Comfort. Safety. People are naturally dissatisfied and spend their lives searching for intangibles. At its simplest, writing good copy is a matter of showing people how a particular product, service, or cause fulfills one or more of their needs.
People buy “direct” because of convenience and exclusivity. If people could easily find the things you offer at a nearby store, that’s probably where many would buy them. So if they are not buying from you directly for sheer convenience, they’re doing it because they can’t find the item elsewhere (or just don’t know where to look). That’s why it’s wise to emphasize the convenience and exclusivity of what you wish to sell.
People like to see it, hear it, touch it, taste it, or smell it before they buy it. Some people never buy online because they can’t examine the merchandise. Some items, such as books and CDs, are tangible and familiar enough to sell easily online because there is little doubt about the physical quality. Other items, such as clothing or food, may be a harder sell — at least until people have a satisfactory buying experience — because quality may be variable. Think about how people buy things in stores and ask yourself if there is some element of that sensory experience that is missing from your sales message.
Most people follow the crowd. Most of us are imitators. We look to others for guidance, especially when we are uncertain about something. We ask, “What do others think about this? What do others feel? What do others do?” Then we act accordingly. This is why testimonials and case histories are so influential.

Of course, this barely scratches the surface. Psychology is a deep and eternally revealing line of study. And while I don’t believe in making things more complicated than they have to be, I think there is great benefit in knowing not only what people do, but also why they do it.

Top 10 Tips for Selling “it” on eBay

2012-03-06T21:00:00.000-08:00

For nearly a decade, companies have hired Future Now to help them understand how people buy online. In this same amount of time, I’ve spent a good chunk of each paycheck ~~bidding,~~ ~~saving money,~~ doing “market research” on eBay. And, throughout the years, it continues to amaze me how few eBay sellers get it right.
One little-known but poorly-kept secret out there in vendorland is that many big companies — the same ones who come to us for retail advice — use eBay to dispose of returned, open-box, or otherwise retail-disabled inventory. Did you know that?
So it dawned on me: Here I am, an experienced buyer — who better to ask than me about what makes me bid, bid, bid? Want to SellItNow™ your way to increased eBay sales? Here are some guidelines so you’ll be able to sell like the pros (and by pros, I mean folks like these, not just eBay PowerSellers).
10 tips for persuasive eBay listings:
#1) A Sticky Headline — If you can’t write a strong headline, you might as well not bother. It’s your only hope for getting anyone to ever see what you’re selling. (Don’t forget to test your headlines.)
#2) Better Product Images — Having better-looking product images than other sellers will do wonders. In fact, 83 percent of eBay shoppers skip listings without images, while sites with galleries get 15% more activity and those with so-called super-size photos show a 24 percent spike in sales.The better photo wins every time. Consider this photo, for example. And remember that lighting control is essential, as well as these two other points about product photos on eBay:

Place a product image by the headline. It’s the best way to grab attention to your headline. Remember, you’re trying to slow the bidder’s eye as she cans hundreds of similar listings. It costs virtually nothing to add a photo by the headline, you’ll get way more click-throughs, and it simply looks more professional. If you don’t have $0.35 for this critical feature, you’ll never get my attention. Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish!
Show multiple views with close-ups. This article makes the point, so we won’t repeat ourselves. It’s especially important to show multiple views and close-ups while exaggerating product flaws (see tip #5).

#3) Outstanding, Original Copy — If you’re tempted to just cut-and-paste your way into persuasive sales copy, forget it. Your words matter. First of all, it’s obvious when sellers just use the same boilerplate copy from the manufacturer’s website, which may not even be good to begin with, that everyone else is using. Besides, using the manufacturer’s copy implies to me that the product is brand new and untouched.
Show some personality. Showing personality helps potential buyers to see you as real; it builds trust. Why did you buy this product in the first place? Why are you selling it? Have you sold any of these items before? Different people buy in different ways, so the words you choose, and how you choose to dispense them, are everything. Start with spontaneous, emotional copy at the beginning, then get more methodical toward the end when listing product details. The second half of this article offers good advice on how to write for different personality types.
#4) So, What’s the Catch? — Why do you have such a good deal? Oftentimes, the most persuasive thing you can do is to be completely transparent about your business model. Are you making tons of money by selling digital cameras in bulk? Did you buy too much for your brick and mortar store, and you’re selling the overstock? Is your wife making you sell the XBox before you get a Nintendo Wii, so you’ve set a low reserve just to move it (this happens). I want to know. Sorry, but saying “Lowest price on eBay, guaranteed!” means nothing.
#5) Exaggerate Flaws — This one may seem counterintuitive for the novice seller but it makes perfect sense and the best eBay sellers do it masterfully. If there’s a minor scratch on that DVD player you’re selling, zoom in on it enough in a separate photo to the point where it seems ridiculous that you’re apologizing for it in the first place. Overestimating flaws builds trust. Trust is what makes people bid.
#6) Accept PayPal – It’s been the eBay gold standard since 1998. If you don’t accept it, you’re not making things easy. I’m skeptical. In fact, offer as many payment options as possible. Get the cash (GTC)!
#7) Know How to Price — Hear about all those folks trying to sell iPhones on eBay for $1,000? How’s that working out? It’s not. In the world of eBay, your competitors are two clicks away, at most. Overestimate the market for your product, and you’ll never get that crucial first bid. Here’s how it’s done:

Be aware of what it’s selling for elsewhere. Find out how much similar products are selling for and you’ll have a good idea of what you should expect to get for it. Then…
Take the expected winning bid price and cut it in half. Shave off another 10% off, and you’ve got your reserve price. Think that’s crazy? Too low? Guess again. Studies have shown that bidding is what drives up the price. The more competition among bidders, the higher the winning bid. The only way to kick-start the bidding frenzy is by putting the floor well below the ceiling.
If you’re willing to accept a price that’s around or below where it’s selling elsewhere on eBay, list that price as the “Buy It Now” and throw in “free” shipping. Now you’ve killed two birds with one stone. You’ve created a compelling offer and you’ve avoided the stigma of “shipping rape” (see #10). Free shipping is often the #1 driver when it comes to online promotions.

#8) Link to the Owner’s Manual — (Where applicable) link to the owner’s/user’s manual/instructions for your product. Feel free to borrow product details from here, just don’t use the manufacturer’s boring words Just don’t use this tip as a substitute for tip #3 above.
#9) Have a Star Rating Above 99% — If you have a star rating below 99%, that means you’ve upset too many people for me to feel comfortable buying. Sorry, but if you have a 100% rating and you’ve sold to less than 100 people, I’m still not confident; it’s not a true 100%. If you’ve sold to thousands of people and have a 98% rating, your “success rate” means nothing.
#10) No Shipping Extortion — Last, but not least, some eBay sellers lose their minds when it comes to shipping. Do you think we’re stupid? Um, no, it doesn’t cost $15 to ship from a one-pound package from Kansas to Brooklyn within 10 days. If it costs $5 to ship it from China, why must I pay $25 to ship it in “4-6 weeks” from California? And, by the way, I’m receiving the package, so I often how much you’ve paid the very moment I get it. Try this, and the only one you’ll fool is yourself.
eBay sellers: I’ve still got one last free corner of space in my apartment. Please help me fill it with stuff! The quicker it fills, the quicker I’ll clear it out by selling on eBay and then have all sorts of free space to fill up with new eBay purchases!
Do you have any tips to sell more effectively on ebay?

To Bundle or Not To Bundle When Selling On eBay

2012-03-06T20:59:00.001-08:00

To bundle or not to bundle

One of the most common mistakes sellers make on eBay is selling too many things together as a "lot." Sure, it's easier to list fewer auctions, but bundles are usually worth much less than the same items sold separately and may even be less likely to sell.

One of my favorite eBay anecdotes involves a single auction for a large lot of model trains, for which I paid approximately $800. I then turned around and sold half the collection, all told, for about $800. I estimated the value of the remaining items to be around $1,000, all of which I effectively got for free. (This is similar, in concept, to arbitrage but relies more on skill than on simply taking advantage of inefficiencies in the marketplace.) Obviously, the original seller of the collection would've earned quite a bit more money had he listed each item separately. But how could he have known?

The most direct approach is to research completed auctions and to compare the expected value of a collection with the total expected values of the separate items. But this can take a lot of time, and you'll be hard-pressed to find another auction with exactly the same items.

So instead, just ask yourself this question: How likely is it that any single bidder will want all of the items I'm selling? Bidders who buy large collections or lots typically do so with the intention of reselling some or all of the items. Since they'd do this only if there were profit in it, it's unlikely that anyone would pay the full value of such a collection.

However, if there's a good chance that a single person will want to keep all of the items you're selling, then you very well may get what they're worth.

Never bundle unrelated or incompatible items. For instance, say you'd like to sell two camera lenses, each for a different brand of camera. It should be obvious that they should be sold separately, but even experienced sellers sometimes try to sell odd things such as these together. In this case, anyone who bids will likely be interested in only one of the lenses and, as a result, won't bid higher than what that single lens is worth.
Accessories can go either way. Sometimes, adding $50 worth of accessories to an item will increase the desirability of the item by at least that much, if not more. Other times, it won't make a lick of difference.

Take, for example, a $300 handheld computer, sold along with a $40 memory card, a $25 leather case, a $10 screen protector, and $150 worth of software. Here, knowledge of the market will save you time researching the value of each item. Accessories such as used leather cases (at least the cheaper ones), used screen protectors, and especially the software are all pretty much worthless when sold separately but will probably raise the value of the handheld. Why? Because it is likely that any single bidder will actually want all of those things and will pay more to avoid having to buy them separately. You might fetch a few more dollars for the memory card if it's sold separately, but it might also raise the value of the handheld by $25 to $30. If you have several memory cards, include one with the handheld and sell the rest separately.

Naturally, the market for your particular item will be different, but this should give you an idea of the methodology used to determine the practicality of bundling related items.
Leverage Dutch auctions. If you have a large quantity of an inexpensive item, you may be inclined to sell the entire lot in a single auction. But who is going to want 4,000 pairs of shoelaces, even if you offer them all at the low, low price of only $200? Naturally, it also doesn't make sense to list them separately at 5 cents apiece, but there are other options.

eBay Selling Tips

2012-03-06T20:57:00.005-08:00

Payment options are very important. Offer as many as possible to attract a wide range of bidders. Use paypal or billpoint to accept credit cards and you'll be opening your product up to many more customers. Why not take personal checks but agree to send only to the address on the check?
Shipping Terms should be clearly stated to avoid problems later. Also, don't try to make a tremendous amount of money on this or you may end up with negative feedback once the buyer finds out. Be fair!
Return Policies should be clearly stated as well to avoid future complications. Wouldn't you rather be working on your next sale, over spending time dealing with one from the past??

eBay Selling Tip #2

Accurate Descriptions are a must. You want every buyer to get exactly what they expect when they made that bid. Your feedback is your lively hood, your customer's comments can make or break you. Offer the chance to get a wonderful deal on slightly damaged goods, if that is what you have to sell. You may get less money, but you'll also get the positive feedback from a buyer that got what they bid on.
A Picture's Worth a thousand bids. If your item is high ticket you have to have top quality photos. Also, make sure that you specify if you are using photos that are not pictures of the actual item for sale.
Sell 'em Words. Think about what sold the original owner on the item when writing your description. Or, try reading the manufacturer's pitch to get ideas on how to sell your item with words.

eBay Selling Tip #3

Like James Bond... be a double agent well sort of, start selling with a few different ID's, maybe 2-3. This is excellent practice to avoid being crushed by a few negative feedbacks. If you are selling an item that is prone to negative feedback(if you must) stay away from your "spotless" ID. Save that for big ticket items whose bidders demand trust! Be creative.
Don't Throw Stones if you live in a glass house. Unfortunately, leaving bad feedback, even when warranted is a surefire way of getting some from that person. If a deal goes sour, wait to see what type of feedback they leave for you. Think before you act, what's more important?

eBay Selling Tip #4

Don't be in a Daze when it comes to days... The days you begin your auctions on that is. A great time to post a 10 day ad is Thursday. Not only will your auction end on a Sunday (big bidding day) you will also have two weekends worth of bidding (the most bidders online). For 7 day ads, I recommend you try posting on Sundays as well in the evening time around 7-8pm west coast(Pac.) time or 10-11pm east coast time. If you choose to do 3 day auctions Thursday is your day because it includes those bid filled power sundays! This group of auction tips is not to be overlooked!
One a day keeps competition away. Don't post your auction so that it ends near another similar item. This makes your item less rare and offers bidders an option...No good!

eBay Selling Tip #5

Smaller is Better! sometimes... Listen, if you start your item at a high price you lose all those valuable bids from the cheapskates. Wait, WHAT?! Yes, you heard me right, they're valuable bids because they make the # of bids go higher which causes other potential bidders to think you've got the hot item. They also believe that if XX amount of other people thought it was a great deal, then it must be! Also, how better to save money on the sale then lower your insertion fee? As long as you're attentive and keep track of when your auctions end you can cancel the item if you don't hit a satisfactory price. Just add a short disclaimer to your auction stating that you reserve the right to retract the item at any time...
ate for money!).

How to Sell on eBay Tips from a Power Buyer

2012-03-06T20:55:00.002-08:00

Did you ever have the feeling that while you were shopping in Pennsylvania someone in Missouri was putting a 50¢ price tag on exactly what you were looking for? Every time my wife and I hurriedly searched tables at Brimfield we feared our treasure was somewhere else on the lot... and only a few feet away from our biggest rival. How we wished we could be everywhere at once.
Little did we know our wish would come true. In spades! It's called eBay, an electronic junk store that lets you be at most of the nation's garage sales and flea markets at once. Better yet, if you type a few words, then push a button, you can print out a list of where you are most likely to find what you want. After decades driving 500-mile weekends to auctions, shows, fleas, and sales, and coming home happy if I found one or two items worth buying, I now sit home in my underwear snacking on rice crackers and Jack Daniels while sorting through endless piles of electronic trash on eBay.
In my four years on eBay I've read countless thousands of title lines, looked at around 25,000 full item descriptions, bid on about 3,000 of them, and bought more than 1,000, spending anywhere from $5 to $5,000 at a time. I've bought the oldest item in my collection, two of the three most expensive, and more than half of my 100 favorite items in a 15,000 piece collection that took 50 years to build. In other words, I know how to buy on eBay and I love to buy on eBay, so in order to buy even more, I'm going to teach you how to sell on eBay...
As I race through mounds of electronic trinkets looking for treasures I am amazed at the number of sellers who shoot themselves in the foot, losing bidders, bids and money because they don't understand what serious bidders need. For almost anything you sell, there are only a handful of people willing to bid strongly. If you lose them, you lose money.
Sellers would be smart to think of each eBay offering as a mini-website and follow basic guidelines of building successful websites. The following guidelines along with a few eBay-specific additions will help you increase your online auction bottom line.
Use your title line intelligently. You are competing with a million other items trying to get attention and dollars. What you say in your title is critical because that's what eBay's search engine reads. You throw away money when you neglect important key words that buyers search on.
A good title should identify what you have (and sometimes optional names for what it is). Always mention a brand name or maker (or artist) if known. Identify the material it's made from whenever relevant. If selling an illustration of any type, the subject matter must be in the title. The more relevant information that you can jam into your title, the more bidders you attract. Bidders don't search eBay for words like "wow" or "look" so be smart with your space.
Read a few similar eBay listings before you post yours. A little research can pay off. Each hobby has a vocabulary, a standard way of saying things. Learning the basics of that vocabulary can be worth money to you. Wrong words can cost you money. For example, one seller sold his "scrapbook of liners" on eBay for $137. Had he identified it as "Cigar Label Sample Catalog" he would have attracted bidders who routinely pay $3,000 to $10,000 for them.
Listing items that other sellers have currently listed and that are not selling is not good business. Don't waste your time trying to sell things that nobody else seems able to sell.
List items in the correct categories. In March last year, an item posted on eBay in one category sold for $34. Three months later, an identical item was put up in a very different category with a more informative description and it brought $1,700. List in multiple categories when in doubt.
When writing a description, give complete information in a logical order. At a minimum, you should describe [1] what your item is, [2] give the title if it has one, [3] give the maker or marketer or artist or author if known, [4] list all marks or other identifiers, [5] specify what it is made of, [6] give its dimensions, [7] give its condition, and [8] list any special features or history. Make sure to include all dates, patent numbers, and other information printed on your item. "See picture" is NOT a substitute for information.
If you really want to sell, don't duck your responsibility to describe what you have by providing one sentence asking for bidders to email their questions. By the time you answer my questions two or three days after I email them, I've looked at hundreds of other items and you are no longer timely. Chances of my bidding have dropped by half.
Spell words correctly. The misspellings on eBay are enough to give a 5th grade teacher a heart attack. eBay is one more place in life where illiteracy doesn't pay. Misspellings are bad enough in your text, but to misspell key words in your title caption is bad business. Every Power Buyer has a story about making a bargain buy on an item with a misspelled title word.
If you post more than one photo, put your most informative photo first. That usually means a nice sharp overall view with important features clearly visible. Don't make bidders load six irrelevant views to get to the one with the most important image.
Assume bidders are in a hurry. Make it easy for bidders to read about your offering and see your picture. Keep it simple, direct, clean, and get to the point. Get our attention WITH YOUR ITEM and its description. Only then is your Power Seller logo relevant, as are your terms, what credit cards you take, ads for your shop, and pictures of your children. They belong AFTER your description and item photos.
Sellers who open their listings with page after page of giant type spelling out their terms doubly inconvenience bidders who physically print out the descriptions and photos of everything they bid on (print-outs make perfect inventory and tax documents). Give us title, description, photos, then all that other junk. Incidental information does not make us want to buy; how you display and describe your item makes us want to buy.
Avoid animation. Just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you SHOULD do something. I'm sorry if it offends your love of cute, but winking flowers, flashing lights, and dancing Santas are annoying. You don't need to attract my attention. I'm at your site to see your merchandise, not to be entertained. I'm there to offer you money if you have something to sell. Animation takes time to load and it doesn't help you sell. Serious bidders hate it!
Avoid large, slow loading graphics. Learn how to use your camera or scanner so you can make modestly sized pictures. Low resolution jpeg images that load quickly are perfect for eBay under most circumstances. If you're using scanned images, make sure to resize them so they load fast, fit on smaller screens, and can be viewed in their entirety without scrolling. Thumbnails are great, but if you use them, make certain the most informative picture is first.
Avoid color backgrounds. Base your listing on the needs of your customer, not those of your interior decorator. The recent eBay trend toward dark or cluttered patterned backgrounds constitutes customer abuse, especially for the colorblind or those still using monochrome screens and printers.
Avoid music. When music starts, I immediately back out without stopping to look at what's for sale. That horrible tinnyness is bad enough on a bright sunny happy day, but to force it on me at one a.m. when my senses are in low gear and the world is at peace is unforgivable. If you add music to your site it is my wish that an elementary school marching band holds practice in your bedroom every midnight.
Avoid describing something as "awesome" or "rare." If an item is in my field and rare, I'll know it. If it's not in my field, the fact that some stranger claims his item is "rare" isn't going to make me bid. In thousands of auction items I've looked at, I have yet to see an item described as "awesome" or "rare" that was either. Use of words like "awesome" or "rare" usually indicate amateur sellers with limited abilities to accurately describe what they're selling.
I've collected in every state, province and a half dozen foreign countries for 50 years. Every day of my life I see things I've never seen before. That doesn't make them rare. I hate to spoil the party, but rarity does not depend on whether or not you've seen it before.
Consider other avenues for selling before you put it up for sale on eBay. Although this article focuses on how sellers can better reach Power Buyers with their eBay listings, it is in no way intended to suggest that eBay is necessarily the best way to sell anything. Many eBay auctions close for well under what winning bidders were willing to pay. More than a third of the auctions I've won have been at prices less than a third of what I was willing to pay.
This may be the electronic age, but a great deal is still to be said for a seller personally contacting a reputable expert collector or dealer and negotiating a price with their advice. In the last year, three private parties read about me in a popular guide to buyers, wrote or phoned to request my offers, got them, rejected them, and listed their items on eBay. My original offers were $40, $400 and $500. Those same three items sold to me for $5, $268 and $460.

9 No Fuss eBay Selling Tips

2012-03-06T20:54:00.002-08:00

Going the auction route for stuff you no longer need at home is something anyone can do. We’ve been using eBay lately to sell some new items we don’t need and we found it to be a convenient way to let go of the smaller items we had lying around and gathering dust that could be better appreciated elsewhere, such as board games, toys, bric-a-bracs and collectibles. To me, anything that isn’t used after 2-3 years is considered clutter just taking valuable space in our limited surroundings, so with minimal fanfare, off they go to eBay or our trusty consignment shop. These are just some of many ways to cash in on clutter.
Unless you’re a big eBay junkie, you might have the same opinion as I do, which is that the interface isn’t that intuitive or user-friendly. But a few tries on the auction block, I was able to compile a few pointers on putting up my items for bidding on eBay. I concentrated on making the experience as easy and convenient for myself as possible with hopefully generating the best prices possible for my items.

List your item at a reserve of $1.
This way I attract the best possible market price to my item without fussing about how much it should really be valued. After all, your perception of value for your item may be very different from what the market thinks so it would be just a waste of time to guess what that price is. The market should take care of the pricing for you: note that buyers compete to bid on items that are under valued, pushing the price up to the market value.

Apply a shipping fee that is twice the real shipping cost.
The shipping fee is to cover the actual money and effort you put in when packaging your item. Setting your shipping and handling fee to twice the real cost, seems like a reasonable amount. A university study showed that buyers were irrationally insensitive to shipping and handling charges (ie, if S&H went up by a dollar they would not reduce their bids by a full dollar). So take advantage of this without going overboard.

Have the auction expire in the early morning hours.
As in buying, timing can be important in sales as well. The assumption is that you are targeting most of your buyers from the same time zone as you are, and if so, set the auction to end during the hours when nobody’s around. People who are highly interested in your item will put in their best bids much earlier before they go to bed and this will encourage your item to most likely be priced at its true value. If you set your auction to end during the day instead, most buyers will hang around to wait till the last minute to offer their bids and this causes auction sniping. Through sniping, your item will end up being priced lower than it actually should.

Shorten the length of your auction.
I think 3 days is a good length. Sure, you may possibly increase your buying audience by allowing viewability of your item for longer. But I’ve observed that the serious bids won’t be placed until very close to the end. Theoretically, you may be able to snag a casual buyer during a longer auction but I did not see much difference in price when I set the auction for a shorter time.

Don’t feel obligated to do special shipments.
For the easiest turnaround, I set my terms clearly during the auctions and never swayed from those terms. I got contacted for various offers that involved special considerations such as discounts and insurance but I quickly declined all such requests. I did not think it was worth the trouble to bother with offers that departed from my usual terms.

If your item does not sell, re-list it again. But only one more time.
I figured that if an item does not sell beyond 2 attempts at auction, it’s time to find some other way to deal with it. Perhaps it is destined for the donation heap, the consignment shop (if they will accept it) or just the plain old recycling/trash bin.

If you are selling items with bar codes, don’t worry about listing your item, eBay makes it easy for you.
Selling on eBay is really easy with their feature that handles listing an item with a bar code. You simply log into eBay and follow the steps that lead you to enter bar code information. Once done, eBay prefills everything about the item based on the code and also displays the appropriate photo for it. All you have to do now is set the price and terms.

For non-commodity items, use a good photo.
If you’re planning to sell an item that does not have a bar code, then you would need to provide your own information. Make sure your photo of the item plus anything else you list with it is as attractive as you can make it.
Check out other auctions for ideas.
Why bother with reinventing the wheel? I’ve checked out other auctions to see how they lay things out to get ideas for creating my own auction. But be very careful that you do not use others’ materials when creating your auction, or you may get banned or penalized by eBay.

Making Money on eBay: 10 Tips for Super Star Selling

2012-03-06T20:53:00.002-08:00

One of the many legitimate online money making ideas is to sell on eBay.com. eBay is an auction site used by millions of people worldwide to sell and buy items. The income potential through selling on eBay isn’t set in stone – there are people who make millions, and then there are people who actually lose money when they don’t sell their listed items.
If you have something you think people will want to buy, you can list it for an eBay and hope to sell it, or you can follow these 10 tips and become an eBay super star seller.
#1 Sell What You Have
Many eBay novices believe that they have to go out and buy items to sell for profit on eBay. The problem with this is you may pay more for the item than what you can get for it. If you spend hundreds of dollars on items to sell and those items don’t sell, you are out of those hundreds of dollars and the money you paid in eBay listing fees.
The best way to test the eBay waters is to sell something you have sitting around the house. If you have a DVD, vacuum cleaner, textbooks, or knick knacks that you think might make some money, list them, and then learn by trial and error what sells and how to sell it.
#2 Picture Perfect
When you choose and item to list, you need to list it with a few flattering pictures. This means that the item should be clear, in focus, and in flattering light. Posting pictures in shadow, with the item only partially in view, or with a distracting background is the fastest way to get people to click the back button on their browser and move on to the next seller on the list. Your pictures need to be simple- just show the item clearly and in full, bright light.
#3 Embellish…Truthfully
When you list an item for auction, you are required to write a description of the item. This is your opportunity to tell everyone about how great the item is without lying about it. Think of it as an “advertisement” that gets a buyer excited about your product. Considering that the buyer came searching for your item, he is already looking to buy it – your job is simply to convince him that the item you have is the one he wants and not the similar item that several other sellers may have to offer. You don’t have to be a master copywriter to do this (but if you are, more power to you!). Just make sure that you include as much information as you have on the item in a persuasive manner. Things to consider including are – the condition of the product, the manufacturer, size/dimensions/weight if applicable, any historical relevance etc. Use adjectives and any interesting stories related to the item whenever possible, without sounding too hype-y. Add the benefits of the product in addition to its feature to endear to the buyer.
Remember though, you should always be truthful because buyers can request a refund if the item is ‘not as advertised’. Also, your eBay seller account can be suspended.
#4 Offer Good Customer Experience
Offer a means (phone number or email address) for a potential buyer to contact you if she has any questions. Much like when you are writing the description, you need to be honest with any queries. If a potential buyer asks you a question about your item, answer truthfully.
When you list the item, include the terms and conditions as well as payment and refund policies in a clear manner to avoid potential conflicts. If a conflict does arise, try to resolve it amicably.
Finally, make it easy for the potential buyer to navigate through the sale. The online world is a world of short attention span – if you make a potential buyer jump through too many hurdles, he is very likely to jump out of your page without a sale.
#5 Detailed Category Listing
During the item listing process you’ll be asked to list the item according to category. You can be as detailed about the item’s category as possible. If you are selling nutrition bars, don’t just list the item in the health & beauty category. You can list nutrition bars under: health & beauty > weight management > foods, bars & snacks > snacks & treats.
Be as detailed as possible.
#6 Starting Price
Before you list an item do some research on what similar items are going for. Look at the items that are actually getting bids, and figure out your starting price from there. Listing the item for too low or too high can spell disaster for your bottom line.
#7 Offer “Buy it Now!”
When you list an item for auction be sure to list the item with the ‘but it now’ feature. This allows bidders to buy the item outright before anyone bids on it. You can often make more money on outright sales than you do with bids because ‘buy it now’ prices are usually higher than the starting price of the auction.
# 8 Leave and Request Feedback
When you sell an item provide seller feedback on the buyer. This is important because people will want to continue buying from you if you say nice things about them. And whenever possible, send a follow up e-mail with a Thank You note and request buyer feedback on you. You can show positive feedback comments as a testimonial to future customers – it is a great way to build up credibility and buyer confidence.
#9 Peak Time Earning
Timing the end of your auction with peak times is a great way to up the ante in the bidding wars. If your auction ends at 4:30 am, you are less likely to get any ‘snippers’ (buyers who wait until the last possible moment to place a bid in hopes that they can get the item for the lowest price), because people are usually asleep at 4:30 in the morning. If your auction ends at 8:00 pm, everyone is usually home and actively browsing eBay.
# 10 Package Well and Ship Quickly
Once you sell your item and the payment clears PayPal, print the shipping label, pack up the item with care, and ship the next day if at all possible. If the buyer wants the item shipped next day, 2-day, first class, or ground, be sure to ship the item as they requested unless a faster method of shipping is available for around the same price.
If you follow these tips, you can easily become an eBay superstar seller quickly and eBay may be one of the best money making ideas you have ever put to test. Superstar sellers make money online with little effort because they know how to create an auction people will view, and provide an item at a price people will pay. Good luck on your eBay journey, may your path be paved with dollar signs and your destination be success

eBay Selling Tips

2012-03-06T20:52:00.002-08:00

Many people look for eBay selling tips. They want a shortcut to successfully selling on eBay. This article contains nine tips for selling on eBay.
Some of these eBay selling tips will save you money, others will result in higher prices. Either way, these free tips will help you run more profitable eBay auctions.
Nine eBay Selling Tips:

Write a simple description and do not clutter your auction with unneeded items like animated Gifs, and colored backgrounds. Remember, you are selling not entertaining.

Charge a flat rate for shipping, and mention the shipping costs prominently within your auction description.

Write a title that accurately describes your item. Use manufacturers name and model number within the title if applicable.

Write a detailed description that allows prospective bidders to make a decision about purchasing the item. A related selling tip is the description can never be too long as long as it is describing the item.

Include large clear photographs. Invest in some lights and a quality camera. Your investment will pay for itself in higher eBay selling prices within only a few auctions.

Host your own eBay pictures. By hosting your own pictures, you will save money, and, more importantly, be able to use as many pictures as you need to adequately show eBay bidders your item. This is the simplest thing to do, and yet 70 percent of people selling on eBay ignore this simple tip. This is explained in the free report Free eBay Images Made Easy.

Optimize your images for the web. Many sellers use the highest resolution settings on their cameras and generate huge files that download very slowly. Computer monitors only show 72DPI, any extra detail is just a waste of the bidder's time.

List your item in the most appropriate eBay category. Many buyer's only search eBay by looking at listings within categories. If you are not in the right eBay category you will not be seen by lots of potential bidders and you item may end up selling for less than it's worth.

Systemize your eBay selling. Using a system to sell on eBay will lower the amount of time spent selling each item, and insure you don't forget any important activities.

That's nine simple eBay selling tips.

7 Tips For Selling On eBay

2012-03-06T20:51:00.002-08:00

I’ve recommended eBay before as a great way to test a new product. For a growing number of entrepreneurs, though, eBay is their sole storefront. The beauty of eBay is that it lets you get into e-commerce without having to go through the trouble and expense of setting up an e-commerce site of your own. These seven eBay selling tips will help you get started selling on eBay successfully and get on your way to becoming an eBay PowerSeller.
1. A picture IS worth 1000 words. It’s old-fashioned, but people still like to see things before they buy them. For successful eBay selling, make sure any products you list on eBay are accompanied by professional quality photographs.
2. Do your eBay research. When selling on eBay, before you list a particular product, spend some time researching other similar products on eBay and following the bidding process. This will help you gauge the interest for your product and help you determine how much your product might be worth.
3. Learn all about shipping. Shipping is under the control of the eBay seller, but some methods of shipping are better than others when you're selling on eBay. You want to find the best method of shipping for your product in terms of expense and reliability and then specify that shipping method in your eBay listing. (And don’t forget to include the shipping cost in your shipping information for potential buyers.)
4. Pay as much attention to the writing of your eBay listing as to your picture. For selling on eBay, you need a powerful eBay listing. And the trick to writing a strong eBay listing is to combine search engine friendly phrasing with concrete details about the product in a way that will entice people to bid on your product. Take the time to craft your eBay listing just as you would any ad.
5. Offer a full slate of payment options, including credit cards. The more payment options you, as an Ebay seller, offer prospective bidders, the more bidders your product will attract and the more successful your selling on eBay will be.
6. Focus on getting positive feedback first. Feedback really matters when you're selling on eBay. If you have a consistent record of positive feedback, prospective buyers will both bid more often and be willing to pay higher prices. So you may want to hold back on placing higher priced products until you have a successful track record as an eBay seller established.
7. Be business-like. Act professionally, provide the kind of superior customer service that will build your reputation, and make sure that you’re following all the business rules that apply, such as registering your business and properly charging and remitting taxes. Selling on eBay is just like any other business; to become an eBay success, you need to follow the rules and provide the kind of customer satisfaction that will translate into increased eBay sales.

Tips For Selling on Ebay

2012-03-06T20:50:00.001-08:00

For the last few weeks I have been selling items on eBay to finance two operations. I have been on a reading kick lately and am reading anything and everything I can get my hands on related to personal finance and personal development. I truly believe the saying, “You’ll be the same person you are today five years from now except for the people you meet and the books you read.” I find books on eBay, read them and auction them on eBay in the span of a week or two.
Ebay profits are also going towards my debt snowball plan and I am discovering even micro-payments here and there can drive down interest charges and overall balances. I’ve been buying and selling on eBay for years, but this is the first time I’ve put the proceeds to good use. Over time I have assembled some tips for selling on Ebay that I’ll pass along here; hopefully they will improve your selling totals, too.

Five Tips for Successful Selling on Ebay

Start 99% of your eBay auctions for $0.01. EBay makes money by charging sellers both a front-end and back-end transaction fee. The fees are based on the item’s beginning price and final selling price. No sense paying more in fees just to start your item off at a higher price. I’ve found that $0.01 auctions tend to generate a lot of interest at first and create a lot of “watchers.” These watchers will monitor the item throughout the selling process and come back near the end of the auction to bid. It’s tempting to set the starting price closer to what you would like to actually get paid, but I’ve found this method to be both costly and largely ineffective. One disclaimer: If you are selling a high-priced item you may want to consider a higher starting price, and/or setting a reserve price.
List your items at the end of the day. Most people peruse eBay auctions later in the day, so consider listing your items in the evening to get maximum exposure near the end of the auction. Consider the various time zones – ending your auction too early may not allow those on the west coast enough time to get home, have dinner and fire up eBay to see your listing. Listing items around 10:00p.m. EST has always worked well for me.
Time your auction to end on a weekend. Auctions ending on a weekend tend to generate more interest, and therefore higher selling prices. If you are using the most popular 3-day auction (and I recommend you do) list your item on a Wednesday or Thursday evening so that it will end over the weekend.
Personal messages and your own photos add a unique touch. Technology has made things easier over the years by giving those selling on eBay a product look-up via UPC codes, and stock photographs to insert in auctions. While these shortcuts do save time I recommend taking a couple minutes to include a personal message in your auction. Include your reasons for selling whether it be as simple as you’ve read the book and you are passing it along, or that you are are trying to get out of debt or build an emergency fund. If you have access to a digital camera consider snapping a shot of your item and replacing the stock photograph provided by eBay. Actual photos are great for showing item condition, guaranteeing a certain quantity, etc.
Stick with PayPal. Now that you know how to sell on Ebay, figuring out how to collect payments is the next logical step. I highly recommend signing up for Paypal and using it exclusively to handle your eBay transaction processing. Several years ago people were skeptical of using online payment services and sellers had to offer alternative methods of payment. However, most people today, especially those using eBay, are comfortable using PayPal to pay for winning auctions. It sure beats waiting on checks or money orders to be mailed and cleared.

13 Steps To A Better Ebay Selling Experience

2012-03-06T20:40:00.002-08:00

Research the hell out of each item you post. Dig through eBay to find what similar items fetch (and how often they sell). Check other places (Amazon, abebooks.com, other forums) to see what they charge for the item.
Use low starting bids. Low starting bids cost less to list, and they encourage participation. The more popular you expect an item to be, the lower you should set the starting bid. If you expect only a few bids, start bidding closer to your minimum desired sale point. For example, I sold some Tolkien videos on VHS that I thought would receive few bids, so I set my minimum bid at about $10. Do not use a reserve.
Start your listings on Thursday afternoons and evenings. Run ten-day listings. Time your auctions to end on Sunday evening between seven and ten Eastern (four and seven Pacific). This gives two weekends to attract bids.
If needed, pay the extra ten cents to prepare listings in advance and schedule them to start on Thursday evenings. Prepare a group of listings in advance, then schedule them to start within a couple of hours of each other. (Don’t have your listings end closer than within two minutes of each other.)
Offer free shipping and delivery confirmation. You could charge for these, but free shipping builds goodwill. Delivery confirmation gives you peace of mind. Free insurance is of dubious value; I sometimes offer it, but generally only on expensive items. You might offer it as a customer-paid option.
Offer a money-back guarantee, but only for when the item is not as described. (Not for when a person changes his mind or makes a mistake.)
Craft your auction title with care. For example, I recently sold a book entitled The Hidden Game of Baseball by John Thorn and Pete Palmer. I could have put all that into my auction title, but it would have been a waste. My title was geared toward keywords that I believed interested buyers would use: HIDDEN GAME OF BASEBALL Thorn Palmer SABR Bill James. Bill James had nothing to do with the book, but fans of Bill James would be likely to purchase it. You want many people to see your items in their search results.
Write a good description listing the strengths and flaws of your item. Write things like “I think this book is in great shape, but be aware that the cover has a small tear and the previous owner’s name is on the flyleaf”, etc. Try to place additional keywords in the description, but sprinkled into conversational sentences. For example, in my auction for the Tolkien animated films on VHS, I used the names of Peter Jackson, Liv Tyler, etc.
Be thorough. Many people advocate short descriptions. I disagree. I think that long descriptions are best, especially if they use bold text and highlighting to emphasize the important aspects of your auction.
Refuse to accept bids from headaches: people with negative feedback, people who haven’t been paying, foreign bidders. (Note: foreign bidders aren’t a headache for everyone; if you love ‘em, let ‘em bid!)
Take photos and post them in the description. Use the 35-cent gallery feature so that your photo appears when people browse listings. If condition is a concern, use many photos to convey the state of the item.
Answer questions. You will receive many questions about your items. Some of the questions will be stupid. Answer them anyhow. If it’s a question that many people are likely to have, post the your response publicly.
Be amiable! A friendly, easy-going persona is going to receive better response than a brusque, business-like persona. Make jokes. Show enthusiasm.

These techniques have worked well for me, even though I do two things that defy conventional eBay wisdom: I use ten-day listings and I provide free shipping. I feel that both helped me get better prices.

Selling Wholesale Merchandise on Ebay

2012-03-06T20:39:00.000-08:00

1. Get a tax ID and or reseller’s license. The cost is relatively low…usually about $25.00 to $50.00 depending on your state. You will find that it will help tremendously in the way of securing legitimate wholesale companies who are willing to sell their products to you at a wholesale price. If you’re unsure how to get this just check your state’s Department of Revenue website or your local area Chamber of Commerce.
2. Once you have enough inventory consider starting an eBay Store. The basic package runs about $15.95 a month but includes many benefits not available to regular eBay sellers such as real time reporting, pageview statistics from your shoppers, the abilty to offer discounts with markdown manager, exclusive merchandising features and much more.
3. Customize your templates and or listing backgrounds by learning more about html. eBay allows the use of html in your listings to change color, add images and pictures, change text, layout width and length and etc… Try visiting a site called FreeForm. It’s free to use and may help quite a bit.
4. Consider setting up an LLC or incorporating your business for legal protection against law suits and to help with taxes and write offs and such. You can usually download the forms from your state’s Secretary of State website but it can get complicated doing it yourself. There are many websites online who will do this for you as well for a fee. Some are higher priced than others and some are just plain criminals. I’ve read good things about CorpNet, Incorporated if you would rather have somebody else handle it for you. Setting up a corporation is serious business and should be treated as such. If you have a personal attorney you might consider talking to him or her first.
5. Use item specifics when setting up your listings. When you list a product on eBay, the “Sell Your Item” form will ask you specific questions about the item your selling such as color, size, brand and many other questions based on similar listings. You’ll want to add as many item specifics as you can per listing. The reason is because many people searching to buy on eBay are searching for specific things and they will use the eBay functions to narrow down their search. If you don’t have the item specifics filled out your product may easily be skipped over.
6. Try to start and end your auctions at optimal times. You’ll want to do this for increased sales of your listings. Saturdays and Sundays at noon is a good time. If you must end them through the week try to end them around 5:00 to 7:00 PM. This should give everybody enough time to get home from work. Also keep in mind the different time zones.
7. Always Preview your listings. This will accomplish two very important tasks. By remembering to preview your listings before listing it you can be sure to fix errors and also check that your listing is easily readable with proper spacing between benefits and selling points.
8. Take great photos. How many times have you purchased an item on eBay that had a terrible photo? Probably not too often! Get yourself a good digital camera with high megapixel capability. Don’t be afraid to show different angles of the product and use different lighting when needed.
9. Keep track of your costs. There are fees involved when selling a product or products on eBay or anywhere else. To be profitable, as with any business, you must have a real understanding of your true product cost. Not only will you have the cost associated with the purchase and shipping of the product when you bought it wholesale but you will also pay other fees such as listing fees, final value fees, shipping cost and shipping materials, Paypal and credit card fees and so on. It’s critical that you always know and understand what fees are involved in selling a product otherwise you may sell a boatload of stuff and find out that you’re in the hole at the end of the month.
10. Make an effort to find your own niche market. Everybody and their mother sells electronics on eBay. This makes the competition stiff and keeps your profits low. Try to find a niche product in high demand by a relatively small group of people. This can help ensure the future success of your eBay business.

Successful eBay Selling Tips

2012-03-06T20:37:00.002-08:00

In this post I want to share some successful eBay selling tips for those of you who are either currently selling on eBay or who aspire to do so. eBay can be a phenomenal way to earn extra income for yourself or you can be like the many people who do it as a full time living. These are some of the things that have worked well for me.
Let’s begin.
Tip 1 – Write all your titles in all capital letters- If you look at eBay listings you’ll notice that most people will use capital letters only for the first letter of each word. When people look at listings and they see one that is all capitalized they subconsciously think the listing is more important and will click on it to read more.
Tip 2 - Take advantage of 30 day listings – eBay will let you list a product for 1 day, 3 days, 5 days, 7 days, 10 days or 30 days. By listing your product for 30 days you are essentially lowering your cost per listing because you have to pay eBay every time a listing is sold or ends.
Tip 3 - Offer shipping through the US Post office – The US post office is a very reliable and inexpensive way to ship your merchandise out to your customers and you can get all your Priority boxes for free from them.
Tip 4 - Offer multiple shipping choices - Give your customer the option of how fast they want their merchandise shipped to them. For example with USPS you can give them the option of Parcel Post, First Class Mail, Media Mail, Priority Shipping, etc.
Tip 5 – Offer Free Shipping whenever possible – Keep in mind that some if not most eBay shoppers are shopping on eBay in search of a deal. If you can offer low cost or better yet free shipping you will be miles ahead of your competition.
Tip 6 - Get your product from a reliable source – Make sure you are dealing with companies that will deliver your goods to you or your customers on time every time. Companies such as SaleHoo and World Wide Brands have proven track records. They can supply you with an enormous amount of trusted wholesalers and drop shippers along with an extensive list of selling tools all designed to assist in making your business more successful.
Tip 7 – Answer questions promptly – Try to always answer your buyer’s questions quickly. While some people may have the patience to wait for your response, others may not and they will move on to the next seller causing you to lose the sale.
Tip 8 – Use keywords wisely in your titles - eBay is set up similar to an Internet search engine. Keep this in mind when creating the title for each listing. If one of your products is “Nike Air Jordan Tennis Shoes” then make sure you use all of that term in your title. Don’t just write “Nike Air Jordans.”
Tip 9 – Download and use eBay Selling Manager Pro – This program will help you automate many of the time consuming daily chores you must do when selling on eBay such as creating new listings, leaving feedback, sending invoices, sending payment reminders, etc.
Tip 10 – Make all your customers special – Write little notes on their packaging slip thanking them and asking them to visit your site again, deliver their purchased items fast, leave them great and unique feedback if the transaction went well, etc.
Tip 11 - Package sold items with care – When people spend their hard earned money with you take the time to protect their items. Use bubble wrap if needed. You can’t control what happens while it’s being delivered but you can sure take steps to make sure that there is less damage from handling during shipping.
Tip 12 – Buy your shipping materials in bulk - Purchase your shipping materials in bulk to cut costs. Items such as boxes, tape, bubble mailers, bubble wrap are all expenses and should be treated as such. I use a company called Value Mailers. They deliver on time and it certainly helps to keep the costs down.
Tip 13 – Sign up with PayPal – Setting up an account with PayPal will allow people to pay you and for you to pay other people. I also recommend printing all your shipping labels through PayPal as well. You can purchase your postage and print your labels from the comfort of your own home and avoid standing in line at the Post Office.
Tip 14 – List in the proper category – Make sure to put your listings in the proper category. This will again serve to make sure your product gets optimal exposure. You don’t want to be listing your tennis shoes in the jewelry category.
Tip 15 – Make use of gallery tools – Use gallery tools such as Auctiva to display multiple listings inside each listing. If you have a bunch of different product to sell it’s a good idea to be able to showcase your other listings inside each listing. This way your customers can see all your other products you have to offer.
Tip 16 – Remain conscious of your DSR ratings – Detailed seller ratings are your report card for the general public. People grade you on how good of a job you did based on 4 main categories. The item description, communication, shipping time and shipping and handling charges. Keep your customers happy and your DSR ratings will stay high. eBay will also give you a certain percentage discount every month from your final value fees, after you become an eBay Power Seller, if you have good DSR ratings.
Tip 17 – Offer to ship overseas – This can sometimes be a hassle because you can’t print your own labels from home with overseas shipping but it will certainly get you extra sales. The world is a big place!
Tip 18 – Offer a combination of No Reserve Auctions and Buy It Now listings – People like choices and they like deals. Try to offer a combination of no reserve low priced penny auctions to increase the traffic and fun of your site and also do plenty of Buy It Now listings as well to solidify your position in the market place.
Above are just a few of the things that have worked well for me in the past. If you have other ideas you are certainly welcome to add them in the comments as I am sure that people who read this article will be very appreciative of your help. Anybody who has ever used eBay as a selling platform also knows they can always use some more successful selling tips. You can also check out eBay Selling Basics and Getting Started Selling on eBay at their site for additional information.

77 Tips and Tools for Selling on The New eBay

2012-03-06T20:35:00.001-08:00

Free eBay tips and eBay tools and services to help eBay sellers build a profitable eBay business
Whether you're a casual seller, or looking to build an eBay business, you will first need to master the "basics" of successful selling. These tips, techniques, and suggestions are a good start—but it's just the tip of the iceberg of what you can learn to increase your eBay success.

1. Buy on eBay before you sell

I get emails from people all the time wanting to know how to make money selling on eBay. The first question I ask them is if they have bought anything on eBay. Amazingly a lot of them say no. You really need to buy on eBay to understand how the platform works and what eBay looks like from the buyer's point of view. You will never be successful selling on eBay until you learn to buy.

2. Learn to sell on eBay by selling on eBay

The best way to start selling on eBay is to actually start selling on eBay. Yes, there are some things to learn, but take your time, look at the eBay help files (and these tips) and just start selling. You will make some mistakes—we all do. But don't get frustrated or give up. You will get better with experience.
Also, selling will make you a better buyer. You will understand things from the seller's point of view and learn other ways to spot bargains.

3. The best types of products to sell on eBay

Everyone wants to sell the latest consumer product, but the truth is there is a lot of competition from established sellers and even big online companies that have special deals with eBay. The best item to sell on eBay is something used or a very specialized (niche) product that few others are selling.
You can buy virtually anything used: clothing, books, computers, DVDs, Stereo equipment, and so on. If you are going to sell new goods, make sure you can buy them cheaply enough to sell and make a profit. One source is the closeout and liquidation companies that sell overstocks and seasonal items returned by department stores. Here is a link to a Free Wholesale Search Engine. I also offer an inexpensive product called My Top 99 Wholesale Sources for eBay Sellers. This is a great place to find good wholesale sources that will work with eBay sellers. These are not perfect or complete resources—they are just a place to start. Be a little careful with the Wholesale Search Engine. It is a search engine and I can't control what shows up there. So just because a company comes up in a search that doesn't mean I endorse it.
Another great product area is consumables. The idea here is to get repeat business via your website from customers who buy from you on eBay. One of the best selling products from The Auction Seller's Resource is the Wholesale Buying System (WBS). This tells you how, what, and where to buy products to sell on eBay. The WBS comes with access to a members-only website where you can access thousands of wholesale companies directly. The website is updated monthly to add new sources.

4. Master niche marketing and specialize for success

This is home-plate for your success strategy. Find your own niche. Define your market. Then you can know the type of person you're going to be selling to and the types of product you want to sell. You will also have less competition.
Forget trying to sell computers, digital cameras, iPods and plasma TVs. There is no way you can compete with the big guys unless you have tons of money. And those drop ship web sites and programs that claim to have those products are mostly scams. Find a small niche --or several small niches that you can dominate.
Along with being in a superior position to take advantage of repeat business, the benefits from becoming specialized are endless. If you know more about your product area, you will be able to buy at better prices and people who sense you specialize in something will be more comfortable buying from you.

5. Become an expert in your field

Become an authority on what you do in your online auction business. It doesn’t matter if you sell fishing lures, ink cartridges or collectible glass -- you want to be thought of before anyone else.
When you become an authority in your field, a whole new universe of business and opportunity is opened up to you. I buy certain types of things on eBay from the same sellers over and over. I wouldn't dare do business with anyone else, not when they have proven themselves and their product.
You want to earn that same type of position in the minds of eBayer's for your niche. Also continue your auction education. Read books and training manuals, visit the chat and message boards, attend an eBay University when it comes to your town, go to eBay Live, and keep learning all the time.

6. Increase sales by putting audio in your auctions

I began using audio (voice) in my auctions in May of 2004. I saw an immediate increase in sales. For example, I sell expensive fire pit barbeques ($200+). Before using audio, I was selling one or two a week. Once I put audio in my auctions I started selling almost one a day. The same thing happened with my EZ Cube Photo Studios. I was selling about two a week on eBay. When I added audio to my auctions with Seller's Voice, my sales more than doubled. Now I sell at least four and sometimes five or six units a week.
We also sell Starbucks collectibles. I ran a test of identical auctions with and without audio. Every auction with audio got more bidders and sold for a higher price—in some cases as much as 22 percent higher!
I use a company called Seller's Voice for my audio. It is so easy. I just dial an 800 number, record my message and then go to their website and copy a short line of code to paste into my auction. If you launch your auction first, you can also record the message and just type the auction number into the phone and they will paste it in for you.

7. Get a sales tax number

Contact the sales tax authority in your county or state offices to get a sales tax number. This enables you to buy from many wholesale companies that would not deal with you otherwise.
If you are not sure who to contact in your state, just call your local chamber of commerce and they will advise you or give you the phone number or website address to register. If you go to the FREE Articles page on our web site there is an article on state sales taxes with a link to all of the state websites where you can apply on line.

8. Automate your auctions

Automate your auctions with an auction management service. I have tried several companies and have finally settled on Vendio. They provide auction templates where you type in your headlines and text, insert your images, set your price, terms, length of auction, and schedule your auctions to launch at any day or time you specify.
These services also track your inventory and sales, send automated emails to customers, provide a PayPal or credit card gateway, and automatically post feedback once payment is received. People are often hesitant to pay a monthly fee to an auction management company, but believe me, over time they really save you money and they are far better than eBay's tools such as Turbo Lister and Selling Manager.
You should also invest in software to print labels. The website www.edicia.com is a good resource. You can get a great deal on label printers and scales that integrate right into your computer.

9. Build credibility

Be trustworthy. Remove every doubt about your credibility. You can do this through presenting yourself positively through your feedback, being passionately devoted to your business and by being an expert. Create an About Me Page on eBay. A photo of yourself will humanize the online experience and can bring amazing results. One with your dog or cat in the picture is even better.

10. Your auction headline and item description is where it all begins.

Your headline is your advertising and your item description is your salesperson. On the web, how your potential buyer perceives you and your product is everything.
Be sure to use power words in your auction title (headline). Rare, Unique, Powerful, New, Unusual, Stunning, Top Notch, First Class, etc. Just be sure not to exaggerate. Don't call something "rare" if it is not.
Copy writing is the art of showcasing yourself and what you sell to your buyer in the best possible light. It's the most important thing you have going for you. A carefully crafted sales letter (item description) can increase your results exponentially without having to spend an extra penny.

11. Use keywords in your auction headline (title) and description

Remember that almost all eBay bidders find what they are looking for by using the search function. Be sure to use carefully chosen and accurate keywords in your title and description. eBay gives you 55 characters in your title. Be sure to use all of them. This will help you get hits. Important keywords include the brand, color, size, and model number.

12. Stand behind your product and service

We offer an unconditional money-back guarantee on everything we sell. This has been our practice since our first day on eBay. Now if you are selling cars or houses or "as-is" used goods that may not be a good idea, but the simple offer of a satisfaction guarantee will dramatically increase your sales.
Even unhappy people rarely go to the trouble of sending something back. The cost of providing the few refunds will be far out weighed by the increased volume of your sales. At the very least offer a guarantee that your items are exactly as described and you will give a full refund if they are not. You must spell out your return policy clearly at the end of your auction description and/or in the form eBay gives you to do this. Even if your returns policy is "no returns" eBay requires you to include it.

13. Set up an eBay Store

eBay Store listing fees are lower than for non-stores sellers. The inventory shows up in the main search results (just like any other 30 day fixed price listing). There are many extras that eBay Stores sellers receive, but based on price alone, you are probably ready for a Store once you are selling 55 or more items through fixed price listings per month. That is the break-even point between the fees and the Store Basic level subscription.

14. Launch more but shorter auctions

eBay places auctions ending soonest higher in the search results. If you have identical merchandise, run shorter auctions more often. This way you will show up in the Time Ending Soonest and Best Match search orders more often. You will pay a little more in listing fees, but your should make this up by selling more items.

15. Use an email signature

One great free way to promote your auction business is by using an email signature. Signatures are six to eight line inserts at the end of your email messages. All email programs support them. Your signature should include a description of what you sell and a hyperlink to your eBay store or your about me page. Set it up to automatically put your signature at the end of every email so you don't have to type it each time.

16. Automate your shipping and save time and money at the post office

If you don't have much time to spend at the post office, and I'm sure you don't, prepare in advance. You can have all of your mailing supplies sent to you by the USPS and UPS.
Visit http://www.usps.gov and http://ups.com for more details. eBay and PayPal now have an automated shipping system integrated with UPS and USPS right on their site.
If you ship via USPS Priority Mail (a favorite option for eBay sellers) you can use delivery confirmation to track your packages. It is free if you do it on line at http://www.usps.com or it costs 70 cents to do it at the post office window. You can use delivery confirmation for parcel post and first class parcels, but it is not free online, and costs 80 cents at the post office.
PayPal now also offers the ability to pay for your shipping online. Also, you get a better rate through the USPS if you pay either online through its site, or through PayPal.

17. Building a high Feedback Score quickly

Here is a quick way to build good feedback: Sell something at a very low price, such as an inexpensive baseball card for a dollar. Put up a fixed price listing for 50 of the item you are selling. Don't worry about making money; just try to break even. Mail the cards out quickly, post great feedback for each buyer and send each buyer an email politely asking each of them to return the favor. Be sure to include the hyperlink to the feedback post in your email.

18. Where to get free shipping supplies?

If you send your items via USPS priority mail the post office will give you free envelopes, tape, and boxes. Think this through. If you pay the priority mail fee, and get free boxes, that is often close to what UPS charges when you add in the cost of a box.
Another source for free shipping supplies is your local gift shop or kitchen shop. These merchants receive merchandise in good boxes everyday with plenty of bubble-pak and Styrofoam peanuts that they simply throw away or pay to have recycled. Get friendly with your local gift shop and you can have access to tons of free shipping suppliers.

19. Sign Up for BuySafe if you sell expensive products

If you sell expensive goods, BuySAFE is a company that provides fraud insurance to your buyers. It costs a little to sign up, but BuySAFE has plenty of evidence that shows that using BuySAFE in your auctions will increase your bids and final values much more than the cost of their service. Sign up at www.buysafe.com.

20. Sell SquareTrade Warranties

If you sell electronics or cameras, you can make extra money by offering a warranty on your products through SquareTrade at www.squaretrade.com.

21. How to keep your customers happy and generate lots of positive feedback

Customers want three things: (1) instant gratification, (2) clear, fast communications and (3) to get what they were promised.

Use PayPal to get payment quickly and then ship quickly.
Answer emails immediately.
Reveal any flaws or shortcomings your item has.
Never over-promise or over describe an item.
Package your items carefully and professionally.
If you can, toss in something for free. (I recently bought a collectible beer mug and the seller included a few free beer coasters.)

22. Get your news from AuctionBytes.com

www.AuctionBytes.com is a great site with lots of free resources for online sellers. They have an online auction calendar that lists best times to start and end an auction, a free online tutorial on how to take good photos, a daily and a bi-weekly free newsletter, and plenty of additional free resources. Best of all they have a daily news feed of news about eBay and other online venues.

23. Learn how to write great titles and item descriptions

Our premier book, The Complete eBay Marketing System has two chapters on writing auction titles and item descriptions designed to help you increase hits and bids. Poor titles and descriptions are one of the largest reasons eBay sellers get poor auction results.

24. Find Wholesale Products to Sell With Our Free Wholesale Search Engine

If you click on the link to Web Wholesale Search in the navigation at the top of this page it will take you to a wholesale search engine. Now, as with any search engine there are always people who can scam the results, so there are some companies that will come up who are not true wholesalers and you will get results from companies that claim to be dropshippers but are mostly phony middlemen who make their money off of fees they charge you to sign up. But keep looking as there are many true wholesale suppliers and real distributors that will come up in the results.

25. Learn simple HTML commands to spice up your auctions

eBay has an HTML editor but it is limited. Once you start selling, take the time to learn a little HTML. Don't be afraid of HTML. Anyone can do it. For example, you should start all of your eBay auction item descriptions with the command: . This will make your type larger and easier to read. It helps to break your item description into smaller shorter paragraphs to increase readability. Just use this command to create a new paragraph
.
You can make your text bold by typing at the beginning of the bold text and where you want it to end.
Go to: www.davesite.com for a simple and free online tutorial on how to do HTML.

26. Create attractive backgrounds for your auctions

Go to: www.grsites.com/textures to get free background textures for your auction item descriptions. Over 6000 backgrounds are available at no cost.

27. If you are going to be in this business, you need to know the vocabulary

Net Lingo at www.netlingo.com is a free site that teaches you all the terms and lingo of the world wide web and various online services.

28. Get a professional auction education

Attend eBay Live
Attend the online eBay workshops (Look on the announcement board for the schedules)
Use the various eBay online tutorials
Bookmark the eBay help files and print out the ones you access very frequently for easy reference
Print this document out (77 tips) and put it in the same notebook
Buy some of the great eBay training books from The Auction Seller's Resource Bookshop

29. Incorporate to protect yourself from liability

Not many people get sued selling stuff on eBay, but it can happen. If you incorporate, the corporation can shield you from most lawsuits. In fact once a lawyer learns that you are incorporated and you don't keep assets in the corporation, a lot of times they will not bother suing because they know your assets are protected. There are also lots of tax benefits to incorporating even if your eBay income is fairly small.
I used a company called My Corporation. They did an excellent job—very personal service and very quick. Best of all they did it right. Some of the online incorporating services are really shoddy and they don't tailor the corporation to what you are doing. (I know a lot of folks like Legal Zoom. I used to recommend them but then I had a bad experience with them, so I now use and recommend My Corporation).

30. Learn how to buy at government auctions

You don't have to pay for this information. Here is a link to our site where everything you need to bid on government auctions is free: www.skipmcgrath.com/auction_sr/gvnmtauctions.shtml.
Government auctions can be a great place to find bargains, but proceed with caution. Make sure you thoroughly inspect anything before you buy it.

31. Package your eBay shipments professionally

No one likes to receive his or her "treasure" in a battered shoe box or an old cereal box. Take the time to pack your sales carefully. Invest in bubble pak, peanuts, tissue paper, and so on. Many of these supplies can be sourced from local gift shops who would have to recycle them. Alternatively, you can find great prices for shipping supplies on eBay.

32. Know your fees before you sell

Here is a great little free tool for eBay sellers. It is an online calculator that calculates eBay and PayPal fees to help you decide the best price and format to list an item on eBay. If you are running an eBay business this is a great little tool to help you figure out the best price to start an item and the most efficient selling format. There are two free calculators that I like: www.newlifeauctions.com/calc.html and www.ebcalc.com.

33. Sell Liquidation Closeouts

Clothing, accessories, electronics, household goods, toys and sporting goods are some of the hottest sellers on eBay. It can be very hard to source these products new from the distributors. But many eBay sellers make excellent profits buying these products from Liquidation and Surplus Dealers. One of the largest and easiest to deal with is Liquidation.com. They use an auction format similar to eBay. One word of caution, check the shipping before bidding. Click here to see the wholesale auctions at Liquidation.com.

34. Set your starting bid low to attract hits

Do you have a good item that you KNOW will sell well? Start it off at a very low price. This will get you healthy early bidding. You want a large group around the item; some will be competitive bidders—people who will pay extra just for the thrill of winning.
You'll usually get more for your item than someone who priced their item higher, because your auction has more bidders watching.
Plus, your first 100 auctions listed with a starting price under $1 do not have a listing fee. So you have no cost until it actually sells.

35. Write complete item descriptions

Make your item description as complete as possible. Include all relevant details: condition, size, weight, age, collectability, any short-comings or defects, etc.
Something you think isn't important could actually be very important to someone else. Describe your item's condition, talk about its benefits and uses and keep writing until you run out of something to say.

36. Use Item Specifics

The item specifics are drop-down menus shown near the top of the Sell Your Item form. They are category specific and include things like brand, color, size, style, etc. If you are offered Item Specifics, use them fully. Buyers narrow down their results using these options. If you didn't use them, your item goes into the "not specified" group. Very few buyers ever look in there. Also, if you didn't put a keyword in your title, but the item would match based on your item specifics selections, your item will still show up in the search results. So, if you forgot to add that it was red in your title, but in the "color" item specifics menu you selected red, it will still show up if the buyer includes "red" as a search term.

37. Have a written sales, payment, and delivery policy to protect yourself and avoid misunderstandings

Spell out everything you do. How much do you charge for shipping? How will you ship the item? What is your policy on insurance? Do you use escrow for expensive items? When do you post feedback?
The more information you give a buyer the better the buying and selling experience will be for both parties—but don't forget to make it sound friendly. You don't want your auctions to sound like a bunch of rules written by a high school principal.

38. Don't get greedy and overcharge for shipping

Overcharging for shipping is one of the leading causes of negative feedback. and low DSR scores. You should only charge what it normally costs you to pack and ship. Buyers are sensitive in this area. They know when you are making a profit on shipping. You can charge a small premium to cover your cost of handling and shipping materials, but it should be reasonable. Always offer to combine shipping costs if a person buys more than one item. Explain your shipping policy in the item description.
There is a game some sellers play whereby they list a $5 item for 99-cents but the shipping is $7.99 when it only cost a dollar to ship. eBay will cancel your auction if they catch you doing this as it constitutes fee avoidance.

39. Offer combined shipping to entice buyers to purchase more

Getting a buyer to purchase more than one item from you is called cross-selling. If you specialize in a product niche, this isn't too hard. Offer good combined shipping rates (not just $1 off the second item) to entice buyers to purchase more. It saves you time and money because you only have to ship one parcel, but it also gives you more feedback opportunities. The buyer can leave feedback for every transaction. So if you sell five items to one person, you could increase your feedback score by five just from that one buyer. If you can get the majority of your buyers to purchase more than one item, you will increase your feedback score much quicker. Plus, buyers who purchase more than one item from you are more likely to add you as a favorite seller and come back for more items.

40. Always include the item number in your emails

Always include the item number with the end of auction notice and any request for payment. Place the number in the subject line so you can easily track emails. People often bid on several items and can get confused. eBay automatically sends a "won" item email which usually gets buyers to pay, but you may need to follow up, so keep this number handy.

41. Start and end your auctions at the best times

Do you always start and end your auctions at the best times? Start and end your auctions at peak traffic periods when traffic is the heaviest.
I like my auctions to end on Sunday or Monday evenings between 5 and 7 PM (Pacific Time). Saturday and Sunday mornings are also good times. Believe it or not, Mondays during the lunch hour are very good also. Remember there can sometimes be a posting delay of up to two hours on eBay during the busy times. Also, don't forget that eBay uses Pacific Time.
This is one of the best reasons to use an auction management service such as Vendio. You can create your auction and schedule it to launch at a specific time or day. eBay also has a scheduling utility but they charge you 10¢ every time you use it. Ten cents sounds like a small amount of money but it can add up over time.

42. What to do when you make a mistake in an auction?

You may be able to revise your listing depending on the error you need to fix, how long your listing still has to go, and if you have any bids. If it has more than 12 hours until the end, and you don't have any bids yet, you can change your pictures entirely, reduce the starting price, and change any information in your listing except the format (you can't go from auction to fixed price or vice versa). If you do have bids, you can still revise a lot of the listing (add to the item description, add photos, reduce the reserve price, and so on). The buyer has the right to withdraw his bid if your additions to the item description significantly change the item. For example, you said the iPod was black, but then revise it to say it's actually hot pink.
You can cancel the auction entirely if your error is not fixable or if you have less than 12 hours remaining before you caught the error. If you relist it using the "relist" button on the closed listing page, you are eligible for the relist credit if your item sells when you relist it.

43. Why does eBay end auctions?

eBay will only end your auction if you violate the listing guidelines. Read them carefully. They are written to give eBay wide latitude. eBay rarely discovers a listing violation. They rely mostly on the community to report violations.
The most common violations are listing in the wrong category, keyword spamming, excessive shipping, putting a link to an outside website in your auction description, and not selling a tangible product (such as an eBook download).

44. What to do when eBay ends an auction?

If you are guilty as sin—just forget it and get on with your life. It's not the end of the world. If you feel you are wronged, then answer the "auction ended" email with a polite request for an explanation and/or tell your side of the story.
Please understand the eBay enforcement employees receive hundreds of angry emails a day. It is very easy for them to get "pissy" (excuse my language). A polite and sincere inquiry will often uncover valuable information. Your violation may have been a minor technicality, which can be easily corrected. They will rarely tell you this if you send them an angry or rude email.

45. Set up a website and use eBay to drive business to it

Every eBay seller should have a website. Remember sales you make from your website do not incur eBay fees. eBay has cracked down on sellers using auctions to drive hits to their websites, but there are still some loopholes and techniques you can use without running afoul of eBay. These are explained in detail in The Complete eBay Marketing System. (I can't give all my techniques away here!)

46. Learn how to promote your website and/or eBay store

This tip is really an advertisement, but one that I think you can benefit from as I did.
Simply the best website builder system and training on the web is from a company called Site Build It. This company has been around for 12 years and is very highly respected. Their customers love them so much they are almost cult-like and rave about their service.
People are often frightened by websites because they think they are too technical –but with Site Build It, if you can point, click and type you can build a website and get traffic to it. But most importantly Site Build It comes with tons of free training.

Getting ranked at the top of search engines
Web page promotion and design
Turning leads into lifetime customers with e-mail marketing
How to get White-listed with major email services such as Yahoo, AOL and MSN so all your email gets through to your customers.
Building a responsive opt-in email list—FAST
Exploiting AOL and other online services
Free and low-cost online classified ads that produce sales
Dominating your market with affiliate/reseller/associate programs
Newsgroup promotions
Snowballing your profits with Auto-responders
How and when to promote yourself on bulletin boards
Getting links from high traffic sites
Sales strategies
Writing killer ad copy
Banner ads (tips and tricks)
Profiting with discussion lists and newsletters
Completely automating your business
Getting your own Visa/MasterCard/AmEx account with ZERO COSTS

... and this is just the tip of the iceberg! Even if you are a complete newbie or a seasoned Internet marketer, I guarantee you will benefit from the unconventional tips and tricks that Site Build It can teach you.
I personally used the information I learned with Site Build It to increase traffic and sales from my website by over 400% in less than three months. There are plenty of techniques you can apply to your eBay business and you will learn ways to develop synergy between your eBay business and a website.
So if you are interested in starting a business or just increasing your profits from an existing business, visit Site Build It. They even have a special page for eBay sellers here.

47. Brand your business

If you go on the eBay search engine and type in eBay store design, you will find a number of eBay sellers who will design an eBay store for your with branding and matching auction templates. This will give all of your listings a similar look and feel and help brand your business so people can find you again. If you want a professional company to do this for you, check out www.frooition.com.

48. Over-communicate with your buyers

When an auction ends, send your buyers an immediate email congratulating them and providing clear payment instructions. Send them another email when you ship the item (this really impresses buyers). Send them a follow-up email to see if everything went okay. This email should include the link where they can post feedback.
Make sure you enter the parcel tracking number in My eBay if you didn't purchase the shipping label through PayPal. Buyers look for this to see that the item has actually been shipped. Plus, it can save you from getting a follow up email asking for it. Include the number in your "item shipped" email too and remind them that it is also available in My eBay.

49. Be careful using a Reserve Price Auction (RPA)

No one likes a reserve. Most people understand the necessity for it, but there are a large percentage of users who will simply not bid on RPAs.
If you are selling a very expensive item, certainly place a reserve on it, but let the potential bidders know what the reserve is. It doesn't have to be a secret. The point of a reserve is to protect you against something selling too cheaply. Being open about your reserve can actually help you get bids.

50. Increase bids by making your auctions readable

Use a short opening paragraph that promises something, and then deliver on the promise. Describe the product, but also write about its benefits and/or how it is used. If you have personally used the product, describe your experience.
Short sentences are easier to read than long ones. If you write a long sentence, follow it with a short one. Keep your paragraphs to less than three or four lines. Boldface important words or phrases. Include attention-getters: questions, news items, a guarantee or a promise. Ask for the bid at the end of the description. Use active verbs, write in the 2nd person, and use enthusiastic language.

51. Use Bold and Subtitle to increase visibility

Boldfacing your title in the search results is pretty expensive and so is not appropriate for low cost items unless you are using a multiple-quantity, fixed-price listing. Adding a subtitle is cheaper, but still not always cost effective. Still, it has been proved that they increase both hits and bids. Plus, these are the only listing upgrades available now so they are more effective than before.

52. Use a hit counter to track your auction

The most important thing to know about an item that didn't sell is did it not get hits, or did it get hits and not get bids? If you are getting hits and not bids, then you know there is demand and interest in the item, but there is something wrong with your price, your photos, your shipping cost, or your description. If you are not getting hits, then there is either no demand or interest in the item or your listing title stinks (i.e. it's not coming up in search and/or buyers are not enticed to click on it).
eBay offers a hit counter option when you list your auction. You should always use it. If you use an auction management service like Vendio or Auctiva, they also offer a free hit counter.

53. Always use a regional listing

There are some people who only/prefer to buy from their local regions. When you pick a region, it doesn't limit your auction to a region, it just tells sellers from that area that you are nearby. There is no charge to use a regional listing. This is particularly useful for heavier items that the buyer may prefer to pick up rather than have you ship.

54. Use Second Chance Offers

eBay has a feature called Second Chance Offer where you can offer your product to the second best bidder if their bid was high enough to you. This is used when the highest bidder flakes on paying, or if you have more than one item in your inventory and the second highest bidder placed a bid high enough for you to make money. You only pay the Final Value Fee on Second Chance Offers, so you don't incur any other listing fees when you offer this. Note: the person receiving the Second Chance Offer is under no obligation to accept it.

55. Build a mailing list of your customers

If you followed my advice to specialize, then you will be building a base of customers who buy your type or category of product. eBay keeps all email addresses anonymous, however you can offer an opt-in mailing list through eBay. If the buyer says yes, they do want to receive future communications from you, you will get their email address and can then add them to your regular mailing list.
Another tip is to get them to your website with the promise of a freebie document (like this one) and then give them the option to sign up for your newsletter or mailing list there. That way it doesn't matter what they do on eBay—you can then market to them from your website.

56. Re-listing Strategies

Did your auction fail? No bids, no hits? You can still relist it and may get an insertion fee credit. Before you hit the relist button let's look at what happened.
Was the item over-priced? Was it in the correct category? Do you need a better title or description? Is there any demand for the product you are selling? Were your shipping costs much higher than your competitors?
When you relist the item (using the link in My eBay or on the closed listing page) you become eligible for a Relist Credit. This is the cost of one insertion fee. Here's the catch—you only get it if the item sells the second time. Many people think it is a free relist and don't think about improving their auction before relisting. It's a one-shot deal. If it doesn't sell the second time you list it, you don't get another chance at the relist credit. So, you've now paid two insertion fees, not received a credit for either one, the item still hasn't sold, and you are no longer eligible for the relist credit if it does sell the next time you list it.
So, before you relist, make sure you know why it didn't sell and make improvements to increase the likelihood of it selling this second time. If you didn't research the item properly the first time around and realize there's really no market for the item, don't bother relisting it. You will just end up paying more fees and not getting results.
I use Vendio to manage my auctions and they have an automatic relisting service.

57. Experiment for success

Don't be afraid to try something new. Just be careful that you don't throw a lot of money into something that isn't yet proven. Try new products, new categories, new sources, new titles, and so on. eBay is nowhere near being a mature marketplace. It is still growing and evolving. The rules change weekly. Don't be afraid to be a pioneer—just use a little caution when it comes to spending large amounts of money.

58. Choosing a category

Okay, you have put a lot of thought into your product and completed the introspective phase of getting started. You are excited about your merchandise and ready to start selling it. The next step is to find your niche market: this refers to the category you will list your item(s) in. Considering eBay has thousands of categories to choose from, this should be a relatively easy process. But remember, buyers narrow down the search results by categories, and the most relevant with matching keywords show up at the top. So, make sure you are using the most relevant category. When you use the Sell Your Item form, eBay suggests categories for you. Check them out and look at the completed listings to see how many from that category actually sold. That will help you decide between a couple of matching categories if you are unsure which to choose.
It's very important to be in the right category. eBay will often move (or cancel) your listing if it is in the wrong place.

59. List in two categories

eBay has a feature that allows you to list in two categories. It costs double the insertion fee and any optional upgrades you selected. Here is an example: if you're selling a girls 4T dress, you could sell it in Baby and Toddler Clothing—Girls Clothing newborn-5T or Children's Clothing & Shoes—Girls clothing size 4-16. Both are in the Clothing, Shoes, and Accessories main category, but buyers only select one to narrow down their results. So, if it was an expensive dress, or even a lot of items being sold together, you might find the extra bids if the listing is in both of these categories is worth the increased fees.

60. Use good photos and images in your auctions

Digital cameras and scanners have become very cheap. My neighbor recently purchased a child's digital camera at Toys-R-Us for under $50. It takes amazing photos and comes with basic image management software that lets you crop and rotate images, and performs some simple enhancements.
I'm not going to recommend specific models because they change frequently, and there are many cameras that will work for auction photography. I like Nikon or Canon cameras personally, but as I said, you can use pretty much any digital camera. Features to look for are: ability to turn off flash, change white balance, optical zoom (at least 3x), macro feature, at least 2MB photos.
Shoot at a higher resolution because you can always compress it down. eBay does this automatically for you when you upload your photos. By shooting at a higher resolution you don't risk having a grainy photo in your auction. There is an "enlarge" link for buyers beneath your photo on the listing page. If they click that, the image is opened full size in a new window. You want to be able to showcase all the detail, so use a 1-2MB file for upload purposes.
If you need to crop your photo down, use a higher resolution. When you crop it, you reduce the resolution of the image at the same size, so higher is better. But use common sense—don't try to upload a 10MB photo. There's not much difference on the screen once you get over 2MB.

61. Take the time to take good photos

Here are some simple tips to take good digital photos:

Clean up the area around the subject or use a backdrop
Always use a tripod to make your photos sharp
Avoid clutter in the photo
Shoot outdoors on a cloudy day or in open shade. Don't shoot in direct sunlight, as the contrast is too high
Indirect window light is also excellent. I often shoot objects on a table next to a window with a white or gray sheet for a backdrop
Get reasonably close to the object
Show a close-up of any repairs or defects using the macro feature
If relevant, show the product being used.
If size is an issue, show something such as a coin or a ruler to indicate dimensions.

62. Learn the right way to drop ship

Let's face it, many of the drop shipping companies who advertise on the web are scams—or if not scams they often don't work. In my opinion it is somewhere between difficult and impossible to make money from these membership sites. You can spend a fortune in eBay listing fees trying to sell products that are priced too high to sell on eBay.
The best way to drop ship profitably is to work with a direct source such as a manufacturer or master distributor. Most general drop shipping companies are just middlemen who buy from distributors, mark up the product and sell it to you. The markup they are getting is the markup you need to make a profit.
Chris Malta, is the product sourcing editor for eBay Radio. He runs a program called the WorldWide Brands. His directory is a website list of actual manufacturers that have all been contacted by his staff and they have agreed to drop ship for eBay sellers.
You could probably find all of these same companies by going through the Thomas Directory—but that would take days and weeks. Chris has already done the work for you. I have used his directory to find several drop ship manufacturers that I now work profitably with. This is currently the only wholesale sourcing program I recommend (other than my own that comes with my Wholesale Buying System).

63. Use Fixed Price Listings to increase your profits

If you are a Low Volume Seller, or if you sell products with a low dollar margin, you may need to run multiple Fixed price Listings (FPL) to make a good living on eBay.
A FPL is used when you have several identical items for sale. You set the minimum price you are willing to sell for, and specify the quantity for sale. eBay only charges one low listing fee no matter how many items you have for sale within that one listing. When someone buys an item, it sells right away and the balance of the items remain listed until they are all gone or until the listing ends. You can set your listings to run for 30 days with a Good-Til-Cancelled feature so they automatically renew. As I mentioned before, if you consistently sell more than 55 fixed price items per month, you will likely find an eBay Store is a more profitable option. The fees are lower, you get extra perks (such as free photos), and the listings show up in the search results just like other Fixed Price Listings.

64. Use Multiple Variations Listings when you have the same item in different sizes/colors

eBay allows you to offer item variations in a fixed price listing. Let's say you bought a wholesale lot of women's shoes. They are all the same style, but you have different colors and sizes. You could list just one fixed price listing and add variations for size and color. The buyer selects the size and color from drop down menus in your listing. Once they purchase it, that size/color combination is automatically removed from your available stock for that listing. By using one multiple variations listing, you save a fortune in eBay fees. If you had 5 sizes and 4 colors, that's a lot of listings to get all the combinations. This way you just use one. Plus you will get better Best Match placement because you will have more sales within that one listing.

65. Learn to sell information products on eBay

People will pay good money for information they can use. If you can write reasonably well, and you have a topic you have some expertise in, you can probably write a reference guide or "how-to" manual and sell it on eBay and even on the web.
I recently saw one called "How to Make $30 an Hour Sharpening Knives." Another lady wrote a short eBook explaining how she sells children's clothing on eBay.
You can create an e-book (or a printed book) on almost any topic: Pets, Finance, Bible Studies, Poetry, children's stories, software, computer tips, making money with XYZ and so on. You can also compile information on antiques, collectibles, computer images, recipes, genealogy, etc. Search the non-fiction books category and the information products category on eBay to see what is selling then try to identify a unique niche for a new product or category.
In 2009 I revised my book: How To Create and Sell Information Products on eBay to include the new eBay regulations about selling information products on eBay. It is a printed manual with three bonus CDs and takes you through all of the steps to create and sell information products on eBay and the Internet. Click here to learn how you can make money on eBay with this strategy.

66. Buying at Costco, Sam's Club, Big Lots, and Outlet Malls to sell on eBay

Don't laugh. A lot of eBay sellers make money this way. I recently went to Costco to buy a pair of Avia running shoes (for $19.95). These shoes normally retail for around $60.
I decided to check out what they were going for on eBay. Sure enough, there were several pairs selling at prices between $29 and $49 pair on eBay, and yes, they had bids.
Just before Christmas, my wife spotted a Fitz & Floyd Santa cookie jar selling at Costco for $39.95. She had seen the same cookie jar in a high-end mail order catalog for over $100. We bought 10 of them and sold them on eBay for $69 each right before Christmas.
We have a friend who does flea markets and sidewalk shows. The day before a weekend market he always drops into the local Sam's Club and buys anything he sees that might sell at a profit and buys them. A week before Easter he scored 20 beautiful Easter Baskets full of goodies for $19.95 that he got $35 each for at a street fair.
Tools are another good bargain. Costco and Sam's Club always have great values on sets of tools, fire extinguishers, fire detectors, and other similar products. Last year Costco was selling a set of Hoffritz BBQ tools for $17.95. We have sold them repeatedly on eBay for over $30 a set.
Another source of goods to resell is Wal-Mart. Watch for their sales where you can often get goods at excellent prices. My wife and I are doing the Atkins Diet program. The Atkins diet bars sell in the supermarket for $2.29 each, but we watch for the sales at Wal-Mart and buy several boxes at a time for about $15 for a box of twelve ($1.25 each). I have also seen people selling these on eBay for as much as $25 box.
If you live near an outlet mall, you should also check there for sales. I was in Jones New York looking for a gift for my mother when they were having a big sale. A Chinese lady from Vancouver, Canada came in and bought over $10,000 worth of clothes. I heard the clerk ask her what she was doing. She said she sells them on eBay and sells them to her friends in Canada. She was buying high-end blue blazers for $40 that retail in Jones New York stores for over $150.

67. Where to get help with your auction questions

Forums and message posts are one of the quickest and easiest ways to get help answering almost any question that might come up about selling on eBay and other auction sites.
The best, and most used, forums on eBay are of course at eBay's Community section. You can find the discussion boards broken down by subject at: http://pages.eBay.com/community/boards/index.html
There are several category-specific chat rooms at: http://pages.eBay.com/community/chat/index.html
Another excellent link on eBay is The Answer Center at: http://pages.eBay.com/community/answercenter/index.html
There is an excellent independent forum on Auctionbytes.com at: www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/index.php
These forums are moderated by David and Ina Steiner and other experts they recruit. The posts are broken down by subject areas, including an excellent one on fraud.

68. Bookmark these eBay links to save time

Set up a favorites folder marked eBay and place these links in it for easy and quick reference.

Advanced Search page http://pages.eBay.com/search/items/search_adv.html

Search eBay stores http://pages.eBay.com/search/items/search_stores.html

Announcements and news: http://announcements.ebay.com

Discussion Boards http://pages.eBay.com/community/boards/index.html

Leave Feedback http://pages.ebay.com/services/forum/feedback.html

Rules and policies http://pages.eBay.com/services/tsindex.html

End my listing
http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?EndingMyAuction&EndingMyAuction=&guest=1
eBay Fees http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html

69. What to do when someone doesn't pay?

eBay has a defined procedure for bidders that don't pay. Here are the steps:
First send an email requesting payment and warning the buyer you will file a non-payment complaint to eBay if they don't pay within the specified time. If they still don't pay, go to your My eBay Page and find the link to the Resolution Center.
Follow the instructions there to make a claim and file a final value fee credit (to refund your fees)
eBay will contact the buyer and give them a warning (this often gets the buyer to pay) Any bidder that receives a third warning will be indefinitely suspended from eBay.
If you want, you can use the Unpaid Item Assistant to automate this process. You can begin the Unpaid Item Dispute process four days after the listing ends. The UPI Assistant automatically opens the dispute after the time you choose has lapsed, and then completes the process (including closing the claim to receive the final value fee credit) for you. You can go in manually and change the automated settings if the buyer contacts you and you decide to give them more time. This is mostly for high-volume sellers, but can be a useful tool if you find you're getting a lot of non-paying bidders.

70. Make money selling things for others

There are several PowerSellers and Top-Rated Sellers who specialize in consignment sales. Simply put—you find people who have something to sell, but do not have the time or knowledge to sell on eBay. You sell the item for them and take a commission. Typically you can earn 15-20 percent on expensive items and up to 40 percent on lower cost items.
eBay has a program called Trading Assistant where you register to help other eBayers sell their goods. You can register HERE. My bestselling book, How To Start & Run an eBay Consignment Business contains all of the contracts, forms, and ads you need to become a successful Trading Assistant.

71. Turn your inventory over often

How many times you can turn your inventory over is the key to making high profits. Too many sellers get stuck with something that won't sell at a profit and they keep relisting and relisting until some day it eventually sells. In the meantime, they could have sold the dog at cost, and put the money into something that will turn over rapidly. Rapid turnover and re-investing your money back into more products is one of the long-term keys to success on eBay.

72. How to get something for free on eBay

Check out the wholesale lots section on eBay. Often the same people who are selling individual items at auction are selling the same things in wholesale lots for a lot less money each, but you may have to buy 10 items to get the wholesale price. I recently saw an auction for home theater audio systems at $250 each wholesale in lots of five. The same seller was selling them individually at $375. You could buy a lot of five, keep one for yourself and quickly sell the rest at $325 and make a small profit.

73. How to buy large wholesale lots with very little money

I often see goods going for incredible low wholesale prices, but you have to buy a very large quantity to get the great price. Here is where you need friends. Get a group of people together to share the cost of a wholesale lot. Once you get the items, put them up in smaller wholesale lots. Here is an example: A few years ago the mini RC cars were hot sellers. A year later they were all over eBay at $9.95 each. Most wholesale sites would sell you the cars for $4.25 in case lots of 24. But those who really made money at it went to the importer and bought them for $2.50 each with a minimum of 10 cases. You could have gone in with a few friends and each bought two or three cases and sold the cars retail at a good markup or at a low wholesale price and turned them over very quickly. The same is true of any recent hot toy product that's already peaked.
Buying at wholesale and finding wholesalers is very difficult. I know. I had to learn the hard way. My book, The Wholesale Buying System that covers almost everything you need to know about how, what, and where to buy wholesale to resell on eBay or your website. The printed instruction manual comes with password access to a website that lists hundreds of wholesale sources for eBay sellers and special search engines to help you locate thousands of wholesale products. We have sold over 7,500 copies of the manual to date.

74. Know and understand your costs

It is very easy to sell a lot of goods at auction and not have any money left at the end of the month. If you are going to be successful, it is critical that you track your cost structure.
Here are some of the costs you should be tracking:

Product cost (including inbound shipping)
Listing and reserve fees
Final Value fee (if the item sells)
Auction Management Service (if you use one)
Credit card or PayPal service fees
Internet service or DSL fees
Shipping costs and materials

Quicken is a very good program for tracking costs and has a sub-set for running a business in the home. As you get more sophisticated, upgrade to QuickBooks. The low-cost basic version is fine for most eBay sellers. These come in very handy around tax time too, since you can track every expense you can deduct.

75. More on what to sell and finding a niche market on eBay

In the early days, you could sell just about anything on eBay and make money. Today, major corporations such as JC Penny, Bloomingdales, and Disney have moved onto eBay in a big way. It is still possible for small sellers to make big profits. The key is to specialize—seek out the offbeat and find used items that are in demand.
While researching another article on eBay, I came across several unusual items for sale. Upon checking, I discovered many of these sellers were PowerSellers and some were shooting stars (feedback over 5,000).
Here are just a few of the unique items I came across: Used radio tubes, used (vintage) hi-fi equipment and parts, juggling supplies, used music and game CD's, old board games (Monopoly, Scrabble, etc.), clown equipment and supplies, used tools, old garden tools and decorative items, used college textbooks, small appliances (blenders, pasta machines, irons, etc.), personalized children's books, collectible fountain pens, new and used magic tricks and magic supplies, used bubble-pak and Styrofoam peanuts, and the list goes on.
The point is you don't have to sell the latest digital camera, Gucci shoes, or expensive diamond jewelry to make money on eBay. Most of the sellers of the items listed above buy their goods from garage sales, thrift stores, flea markets, and closeout dealers.

76. More on writing power listing titles

This subject, and the next item, are so important, I wanted to give you some further tips and strategies to work with. The auction title is your headline. Newspapers and magazines use headlines to attract readers to the story. Advertisers use headlines to pull readers into the sales copy. Remember your headline and your item description is your front-line salesperson.
Almost all eBay bidders find their items by searching and then narrowing down the results. Make sure the item you are selling is described in the title using a term someone would search for. Be sure to spell the name correctly.

Use all capital letters in your headline to make it stand out.
Use the Boldface option if your price-point can afford the extra fee.
Use tildes "~ " to set off your headline. (Caution: Make sure there is space between your tilde ~ and any searchable word or eBay's search engine may not recognize it.)
Avoid goofy characters such as "L@@K," "MUST C" and "SAVE $$$$$$".
If you are not using a reserve price, say so with "No Reserve" or "NR".

Most of all, be sure your headline is credible and accurately describes what you are offering.

77. Last, but not least—have fun!!!

I think eBay is just the coolest thing to come along since the Wright Brothers proved powered flight was possible. eBay demonstrates just how powerful the Internet can be in bringing people together, finding common interests and yes—you can make some money.
Dive into the whole eBay experience. Buy, sell, chat, post on the message boards, go to live events, and buy an eBay T-shirt or hat. Most of all, when the bidding gets hot and furious, remember it's just a piece of merchandise you are bidding on—it's not the end of the world if someone beats you out.

Tips for successful selling

2012-03-06T20:25:00.001-08:00

Listing your item

Make sure you know the rules for sellers before listing on eBay. If you're not sure that your item is allowed, check our prohibited and restricted items policy.
Take one or more pictures of your item in a well-lit area. Effective pictures that are sharp and bright will help sell your item. Evenly distributed artificial or natural light is better than a camera's flash for most items. A tripod steadies your camera and ensures your picture will be in focus.
Choose the most specific category available to help buyers find your item. For an additional fee, you can list your item in a 2 categories to maximize your item's visibility.
Help buyers find your listing with a title that is clear, complete, and descriptive. Say exactly what the item is even if the title repeats the category name and include details such as brand, product name, size, or artist. Imagine you are the buyer when you create the title and description for your listing. What would you want to know about the item? What are its most appealing characteristics? What words might you use to search for your item?
If your item is associated with a product in our catalog, use product details and a stock photo from our catalog for your listing description. By including product details you can save time, create a more complete listing description, and make your item more visible to buyers.
Use our advanced selling tools to save time creating and managing your listings.
Plan your pricing strategy. Search completed eBay listings. You can also visit online stores that sell similar items to help you choose a price for your fixed price or auction-style listing, and decide whether you'd like to set a reserve price.
Consider using calculated shipping and decide which shipping service you'll use. Pack your item for shipping so that you can weigh it and measure the length, width, and height so you have this information when you list it. When you use calculated shipping, you won't need to guess the amount it will cost to ship the item.
Consider creating your seller account before you begin listing your item.
If you want to open your own eBay Store, learn more about selling with an eBay Store.

Expanding your selling options

Explore listing upgrades to distinguish, promote, and enhance your listing. Listing upgrades include making your title bold and adding a subtitle.
Use multi-quantity listings to list identical items all at once with a Buy It Now price.
Sell multiple similar items in a single listing by creating a listing with variations. For example, you can list a T-shirt in various sizes and colors in a single listing instead of creating separate listings for each variation.
Manage your market. eBay is a global community and you'll need to decide where you want to sell your item and if you want to add buyer requirements to your listing. Learn more about the requirements for and benefits of selling internationally.
Offer PayPal as a payment method. We recommend accepting PayPal as a fast, easy, and secure way to accept credit card or bank account payments on eBay. To keep eBay a safe place for both buyers and sellers, new sellers are required to offer either PayPal or a merchant account credit card as an accepted payment method. You can sign up for PayPal before you list your first item for sale, or when you list your first item.
Use our selling tools to list more items and automate seller tasks. Use selling tools if you want an easy way to manage your growing eBay business or just need to list a lot of items at once.

Communicating with buyers

Ensure that you attract the right buyers for your item by selecting buyer requirements and using buyer management tools including the blocking bidders and buyers feature.
Check the buyer's Feedback Profile, including detailed Feedback comments from other sellers. Learn more about knowing your buyer.
Be sure that your contact information and email address are correct and up to date. Check your personal information to make sure it is correct. Also, check that any spam blocking software you have installed doesn't prevent a buyer from communicating with you.
Plan for alternate computer access. If you have computer or connection problems, or need to be away from your computer, you can access your eBay account using any computer with Internet access. For example, you can monitor your listings through My eBay using any computer.
Use My eBay to track your listings. Learn more about managing your selling activity.

Maintaining buyer satisfaction

Establishing and maintaining buyer satisfaction will help you build a solid reputation as a trustworthy seller on eBay. Ultimately, a good reputation will help drive your sales activity.
Sellers are expected to consistently perform in a manner that results in a high level of buyer satisfaction. When a seller lists an item on eBay, and a buyer buys or wins that item, the seller and buyer have entered into a contract that both members are expected to honor. If the seller doesn't live up to this agreement, it leads to a bad buyer experience that can result in negative or neutral Feedback for the seller.
Providing great service is key to your selling success. Keep in mind that Top-rated sellers will have their fixed price listings promoted in Best Match, and sellers who don't meet the seller performance standards will have both their auction-style and fixed price listings demoted. Learn more about improving your detailed seller ratings.
Providing great customer service and reasonable prices and shipping costs are key in determining your position in Best Match.

Good practices that help you promote buyer satisfaction include:

	Accurately describing the condition, size, and quality of the item
	Honoring original terms when you accept payment for an item at the end of a successful sale
	Promptly shipping the item with appropriate packaging after payment has been received
	Responding promptly and courteously to questions from the buyer
	Communicating with the buyer about when the item will ship
	Issuing refunds in a timely manner if you accept returns or when there are problems with delivery
	Quickly resolving problems directly with the buyer so the buyer doesn't have to contact eBay. If a buyer does open a case in the Resolution Center, reply quickly and address the buyer's concerns.