How to Sell on eBay

Sell things that you have knowledge of. eBay was originally created to cater to hobbyists and collectors alike, and is still a great place to show off the items you have. If you are good at finding bargains or rare items in a certain category, you should consider focusing on items you know well about.

Know what you can’t sell. Obviously, illegal or toxic items such as human organs, drugs, live animals and illegal services are not allowed. There are items you can sell that are restricted, for example those sold in the “adults only” category. Check eBay’s policy on prohibited and restricted goods ^[6] to avoid having your account suspended or even permanently banned.

Minimize risk by selling what you have available, or start trading on a small scale. If you’re not sure what you’re going to sell, it’s risky to take stock without first selling it. Try a few small items up for sale to see what’s selling and learn about delivery issues.

• You can start by selling items in your home that you no longer use, or try out a few items that you can return or keep.
• Testing before importing too many goods into the warehouse plays an important role. You may not be able to sell at a profitable price, or you may end up with more stock that is hard to sell.
• If you already have stock that you collect or from an existing business, you’re ready to start selling! Selling a few initial items can help you figure out the best way to do business on eBay.

Think about how to source. Usually, the source will determine what you sell. Sourcing items to sell on eBay takes time and effort, so it’s pretty important to determine a method of sourcing a supplier you’re comfortable with.

• eBay itself is also a great place to source good prices. Some people look for items that are underpriced, poorly displayed, or have misspelled titles.
• If you like thrift stores or second-hand markets, these are also great places to start. Keep in mind that you usually won’t be able to return your purchases, so there’s a chance there will be items you don’t sell.
• Discount stores, warehouses, and discount stores are places where you can find great deals, and often have return policies. You can take advantage of this policy if the item you buy does not sell.

Consider the time you will spend listing an item for sale. Remember, you must take photos, write descriptions, and choose a delivery method for each item. This work takes time, so it is more effective if you sell similar items, and items that are easy to photograph and describe.

• Try to find goods in bulk, or goods with similar characteristics. This way you can create your own listing, or you can even just create one listing for multiple items.
• Find items that are easy to describe and photograph. Popular items often don’t need much description because people already know exactly what the item is when they see it.
• Find items you can ship easily in the same way, this way you can pack quickly and get discounts on bulk purchase of packaging materials.

Consider shipping and warehousing. It may be difficult for you to make a profit from large or bulky items because shipping costs can be expensive, and take up a lot of space.

• Buyers look at the total cost of the item, including delivery costs, so delivery costs should always be taken into account when considering whether an item is reasonably priced.
• Space issues also play an important role. Selling from home can reduce costs, but if your merchandise starts to take up space, your life won’t be the same. Do you have enough space for all the products and do you have a place to pack and store the ordered items?

Think about how quickly you can sell, and how long you’re willing to stock. It’s important to note that a trend can pass quickly, and your product will become out of fashion. With other items, you may have to wait longer until a collector or interested buyer shows up.

Need to know which items are popular. Obviously, the more popular an item is, the more people search for and bid on it. This requires a certain knack, and often successful salespeople intuitively know which products sell. However, eBay also has a few tools that show which products are popular.

• Check out the “hot” page – the hottest item on eBay ^[7] . The items listed here are typically designer clothing, electronics, gold jewelry, fashion accessories and soccer t-shirts.
• View all listings for sale. This tells you how much a particular item sold, when, and for how much. If you have the eBay mobile app installed, it can be especially helpful if you’re at a second-hand store or marketplace and you’re not sure what to buy.
  • Type a keyword into the eBay search box, then check the box for “Sold listings – Spd listings” or “Completed listings” in the “Show only” section of the listings side. left page.
  • For mobile apps, enter keywords to search, then press “Filter – Refine”. Select “Overall list” or “Show only sold items – Spd items only” under “Options to filter the search – Search refinement options “.
• You can use products developed specifically for seller research, but you will have to pay a fee. Popsike.com is a free version for music sellers.
• It should be noted that when a product becomes popular, there will be many sellers who are very similar. Selling a saturated product can be quite difficult because customers easily get lost in the myriad of search results, and prices have become so cheap that making a profit from retail sales is almost impossible.

Do market research. Do some research on eBay for similar products to what you want to sell, and read the product catalog, especially the entire catalog that sells for a good price, or the current product category that is attracting a lot of important customers. heart.

• Take note of the information and images you find useful to you as a potential buyer – the same kind of information will help your potential customers as well.
• Think about what it would be like to be a trustworthy seller and how you can convey that sense of trustworthiness through your sales and personal profile.

Log in and access the “Sell” section in “My eBay” or via the Main Page at the top of the page.

Enter a title for your listing. The headline is the facade that helps your offering get noticed. A catchy headline not only gives potential customers enough information to help them decide if the item you’re listing is of interest, but it also attracts people looking for what you’re selling.

• Use all the relevant words and spell them correctly. Titles that do not provide enough information will only attract potential customers and/or low bidders; As a result, such an item will not sell, or you will have to reduce the price a lot to sell it.
• Please use appropriate words. Don’t use hype words like “great” or “excellent”. You don’t have a lot of space, so you should use words people are searching for (no one goes to eBay to search for goods but uses words like “LOOK!” (LOOK!) or “AWESOME!!! !”).
• Use an alternative word or phrase if you have space. For example, if you sell iPods, use “MP3 Player” in your title. However, eBay’s search engine will automatically search for alternative terms; and sometimes also use the product group name to search in addition to using the title of the offer. Try searching for the title of the sale with some specific words and consult the results.

Take a good photo of the item. Images that clearly illustrate the item for sale can make for a good sale; Conversely, a bad image can upset customers. Find a cheap digital camera or camera phone if you don’t already have one. You are required to post at least one photo of the item you want to sell, and having more images will definitely make buyers trust you more. You can include up to 12 photos per item for sale.

• Make good use of light. If possible, turn off the flash and use natural light. Can take pictures outdoors, or take pictures next to the window.
• Rotate or crop an unnecessary portion of an image to make it look better, and use eBay image editing software or tools to make it look more appealing.
• Take as many images as possible according to the client’s needs, and then select a few. Take pictures of the item from all angles that you think customers will find useful.
• Capture product anomalies, defects, and other problems. Since it’s to increase buyer confidence, it’s almost always worth it (except for the lowest value items). Of course, there are items that just need a photo; Please rate yourself.
• Don’t use distracting or smudged backgrounds and get rid of all the clutter around. For a clean, neutral backdrop for small items, all you need is a simple white sheet of paper.
• Never copy images from other items for sale or from any source on the internet. In addition to being dishonest and showing fraud, this also violates copyright; Almost anything on the internet or from anywhere is copyrighted, whether it has a copyright notice or not.
• Check out our free great product photography tutorials for more ideas on creating great photos to sell on eBay.

Please write a description for your item. Provide all and any relevant information. It includes information about the manufacturer, compatibility level (for things to be shared with other items), size, weight, color, condition, and more.

• You should be careful when giving too much information. Buyers can skim through information they don’t need to know, but are likely to hit the “skip” button if they don’t find the information they want. More information can also help search engines find your listing.
• Put the most important information near the top or in the sale section.
• Need to keep the design simple, if you find it necessary to design the listing. Some sellers clutter their listings with extraneous details that make it harder to track. Let your images and text speak for themselves.
• Choose medium-sized, easy-to-read fonts for your listing and don’t overdo animations, contrasting colors or distracting details. You need to remember that some customers have poor eyesight and prefer large font. The font size in “large print books” is an example for your reference.
• Clearly describe any damage to the item. Buyers will see this damage anyway, so let them decide for themselves what is the main problem and which is not. Clearly describing the flaws of an item will give buyers confidence and make them more likely to want to buy from you.

Please choose a sales method. You can choose whichever format is convenient for you and best suits your item

• Online Auction. An auction lasts from 1 to 10 days, and can sometimes help you get a higher price, as it encourages buyers to compete with each other, and enjoy the thrill of getting the right item. treat.
  • This is great when you have an item people are looking for and are willing to compete for it, like a rare item reminiscent of a memorable sporting event.
  • Auctions also come in handy when you’re not sure at what price to sell, and can help you determine the price of similar items later.
• Buy It Now items are items that have a fixed price. It allows buyers to place an order and request immediate delivery, instead of having to wait for the auction to end.
  • This is suitable for items that customers buy frequently or without purpose in advance, or for items where supply has exceeded demand, and when you want to sell at a competitive price.
  • Items that people need right away often don’t attract a lot of bids when they go up for auction.

Set a selling price based on the purchase cost, time, eBay fees, and shipping costs you have to pay for the item. Remember that once someone has purchased an item from you or at the end of an auction, a sale has been made, and it will be hard to get over unless both parties agree to cancel the sale. See more details on pricing for items sold on eBay.

• You can change the price at any time if you’re selling at a fixed price, or before the first bidder if you’re auctioning.
• A low starting price will attract more bidders and more interest in your item, and it’s possible the item will sell for a higher price, but if the item doesn’t garner the level of interest needed necessary or not eye-catching enough, you are likely to end up selling for a very low price.
• There is an option that allows you to choose a “reserve” price for the item when you set up a low starting bid, but eBay charges a fee for this option and some buyers find it annoying.
• Don’t charge high shipping and handling fees. Sometimes increasing the shipping fee helps you lower the asking price, and covers both handling and delivery costs, but most buyers will shy away from items with conspicuously high shipping costs.
• Keep an eye on the invoices eBay sends you and pay them on time. You’ll be charged commissions and other fees from the time you post your sale, and you’ll need to make regular, full payments to keep posting. Fees may surprise you at first, but consider them part of the cost of doing business and you’ll quickly remember that these fees need to be separate from your product costs and your time costs.

Choose when to start and end the auction. Auctions end 1, 3, 5, 7 or 10 days after they start. The end time and duration of an auction can make a difference in the price of an item being sold. By setting the auction end time at peak buying hours, you can often sell at a high price.

• Auctions that close on the weekend tend to receive higher traffic, thus increasing your chances of getting your item up for sale. ^[8]
• Many items are also seasonal, so there are times of the year when you can get them for a higher price than others. For example, beachwear will sell better in the summer while snowboards will sell better in the winter.
• You can check eBay’s promotions for certain categories [pages.ebay.com/sell/resources.html here]. Review and plan sales as these categories are highlighted.

Use friendly words. Many sellers seem to want to intimidate potential customers; They seem to think that creating several warning pages (with large fonts and colors) is necessary to report non-paying bidders, and other problems. Don’t do that! You don’t want to buy from a store that looks like a real-life store, has a store owner watching your every move, or you don’t want to shop at a store where salespeople complain. about other customers. On the internet it’s no different; treating customers as if they are going to steal something or do something wrong is a form of customer abuse; Please eliminate these ways of showing this lack of goodwill.

• If you need to add information to the sales policy section, make sure it’s shorter than the product description.
• Please provide a return policy. This policy not only helps you qualify for a discount on eBay, but it also increases the likelihood that buyers will buy from you. In fact, very few people return purchases, so you have the potential to earn more from making buyers feel secure than losing money on returns.
• Answer buyers’ inquiries while the auction is in progress. Be responsive, and always be patient, clear, professional and friendly. Buyers don’t like to see unanswered questions and it affects your professionalism, so don’t hesitate to answer.

Double check everything before saving. Just be sure when you’ve finished everything at the last minute (when you’re on the “overview” page) check back and click the “Submit” button. If you do not press the submit button, the content you enter will not be saved. You will receive an e-mail confirming your product has been posted on eBay.

• Need to check spelling. In other words, typos don’t make the post look bad, but it’s still bad in a way. Capitalizing and using punctuation in the right places make your posts a lot easier to read.
• Please correct errors if any. You can continue to correct errors in the auction you post until the first bid is placed, after which no further changes can be made!

Stay tuned for auctions. You’ll find out if it’s engaging by tracking engagement changes, and if only a few people are watching, you may need to tweak the content to look more engaging. Learn by observing what works, what doesn’t, and make changes where necessary.]

• Cancel the auction if necessary. You can cancel an auction 12 hours before it expires. However, this option should be used sparingly, as it is possible that followers are already excited about the bid and they will be disappointed to see auction cancellations happening so often. Cancel an auction only in exceptional circumstances such as damaged, lost or stolen items. Once you’ve posted your item for sale, keep it in a safe place.
• Please reduce the guaranteed price. Before the last 12 hours of an auction, you can lower your guaranteed price even further if you find that there is a chance of no bids being received.
• Need to follow up the buyer. You can block some shoppers for certain reasons, for example shoppers who don’t pay with PayPal, buyers from countries where you can’t ship, and buyers who have low ratings or comments Good. You can also set up a list of Approved Buyers to automatically allow certain buyers to set prices.

Be prepared when an item goes on sale. When you receive a notification that an item has been sold, immediately invoice the buyer if you do not receive payment within a few hours.

Please leave a comment. It is polite to leave a comment when a buyer has fulfilled their responsibilities and is good business practice. Making a comment on the day of delivery is good for both, and if you got everything right, there’s no risk in leaving a comment now.

• It’s okay to politely ask buyers to leave a comment if you have the time and want to do so. Only recommend once; don’t disturb them.

Pack goods neatly and safely. If the item is fragile, improper packaging can cause the item to break and make the customer unhappy! On the contrary, careful packaging increases the good impression your customers have on you. Include delivery costs (containers, pads, etc.) to set a fair selling price, or add it to shipping and handling fees.

If you are unhappy with a buyer or seller, contact that person to politely discuss the issue at a reasonable time. Negative comments are a last resort if the problem cannot be resolved.

• Always try to negotiate first because negative comments are hard to take back or walk away if you make a mistake. Keep in mind that you won’t be able to tell if the buyer has been in a car accident or injured and has to go to the hospital instead of paying you, things like this can happen in life.
• Be careful when submitting comments. You could be sued if you make dishonest statements on the comments page, so remember that you are solely responsible for your own opinions. Make sure your reviews are honest and professional, and above all, don’t make childish and angry comments.
• Negative reviews will make buyers doubt you and make sellers think twice about selling to you. Continue to monitor negative reviews based on exact facts. Don’t just rate for yes.
• It is necessary to help the rating system to be honest by only giving honest reviews and avoiding the “exchange” of positive comments. Seller should leave positive comment if buyer pays in time. Buyers should leave a positive review if the item they purchased is delivered within a reasonable time and is as advertised. Sellers who only look forward to positive reviews from buyers are actually exchanging comments. This action causes the ranking results to be misleading.

If you sell original art or crafts of any kind, join eBay groups devoted to your product type. Collectors who join these groups are often artists/artists and many of them are also buyers. Some people who have their own hobby may sell their stuff to get money to buy something else. Read the lines of communication, be tactful and friendly, don’t get into heated arguments, and compliment the things you like. This is a great way to make friends and join this growing community.

Use the power of social media to promote your merchandise. For example, write a blog post about something you’re selling, especially if you’re an artist or artisan. Please share the article on Facebook and Twitter.

Include the delivery fee in the total sale price or the lowest bid. Buyers who see cheap or free shipping may find it easier to make a purchase. If you’re selling cheap or with free shipping, let them know.

Selling cheap items will help increase your reviews. Your review is a very scrutinized component of an eBay purchase. Buyers who compare two sellers of a similar or nearly identical product will often choose the seller with the higher review rating. Therefore, increasing your comment rating is extremely important.

Consider if you want to be a Power Seller on eBay. You cannot claim to be a Talented Seller, but you are likely to be recognized by eBay if:

• You reach your minimum sales per month, consistently (see eBay’s latest requirements as they can change over time and according to your region).
• You maintain the minimum sales for at least three consecutive months.
• You are well commented.

Follow the eBay Sellers Unite (eBay Sellers Unite) blog until you get this title. The blog site has the address: powersellersblog.com. This page offers some great sales tips.

Consider opening an eBay store. This type can be attractive if you want people to search through your unique path in search engines, if you want to group items together in your own custom categories, and if you want to build Build engaging profile content to attract regular buyers and others.

• There are some benefits to this such as lower, longer-lasting “fixed price” listings, but these items only show up in your store, not the regular auction listings .
• In addition, there is a monthly fee for owning a store that you need to factor in when making a sale. For new sellers, you should first look at other stores and then decide if you need a separate store after a trial sale.