Getting Started Selling on EBay

Online auction sites like eBay are a great way to clear out some of the unwanted items in your home and make some extra cash. There are literally thousands of people who have started a business by selling items found around their home, picked up at flea markets, or garage sells. The key is knowing what sells and what does not sell. Use eBay as a place to learn how to wheel and deal and learn a few business strategies concerning setting up sells, advertising, shipping, and handling customers. Ultimately, you might then take the learning experience to setup a small business with its own website.

Getting Started

Step One - First and foremost make sure to sign up with Paypal. Most sellers handle all their sells through Paypal. And it is a good idea in the beginning only to accept payment through paypal to smooth all sales and transactions. Many buyers prefer Paypal because they backup purchase with a guarantee to buyers.

Step Two -Get started with a few introductory items. These are small sales that get you familiar with sales on eBay. Check your basement, attic, closets, for items that you do not want anymore. For example, an old camera, video system, video games, kid's clothing, baseball cards, used designer label clothing, used designer handbags, DVD movies, music CD's, comic books, even novels. The list is endless. Experts suggest starting with a very small item to reduce shipping and handling.hassles., thus making your item more attractive to buyers.

Step Three - Make sure that it is legal to sell your item on eBay. The auction site has a list of items that are prohibited. They include items like firearms, military weapons, police badges, license plates, drugs, email list, forged items, fakes, just to name a few. Check eBay for the entire list.

Step Four - Research the items that you are going to sell. Find out the average selling price for the item so that you know what to charge. Here are two easy ways. Type in the item that you are selling into the eBay search box. See what other sellers are charging for the same item. Surf around on the Internet to various retail sites and see what they charge for the item you are going to sell.

Step Five - Make sure that you clean the item and take a good photo to upload to the site. Pictures increase sales. Now it is time to set up your listing on eBay. The site has a form that will walk you through each step.
Remember eBay does charge an insertion fee. The fee is based on your starting bid. Start the bidding at under a dollar to pay a lower insertion fee. Or try the Buy Now method at full price for a quick sell. Of course, those who use the Buy Now method for the item that they are selling will pay a larger insertion fee.

No matter what method you use for your eBay business, try to have fun, and learn as much as possible from each item. This helps to guide you toward better business in the future.