How to Sell Household Belongings (Especially Books) on EBay

Chances are that there are items in your home or apartment that are no longer needed; they are space-takers: an old baseball card collection, your college textbooks, or perhaps vintage videos on VHS or DVD. Maybe you create handicrafts as a hobby. With a little effort and patience, you can market and sell some of these items on E-Bay, the electronic marketplace, and make some extra cash doing it. You can be proud of the results, and you may enjoy the satisfaction of being a good seller.

The first step is to identify items of value. These may belong to you or someone you know. Rather than take them to a fly-by-night "Sell Your Stuff On eBay 'store'" in your community, which will guarantee you a sale and then keep up to 25-35% of the proceeds, why not sell things yourself? Take my case for an example.

I have a friend who has been a college professor for over 30 years. She had authored and co-authored several textbooks, and contributed to others. Over the years she had accumulated several dozen textbooks still in shrink wrap that she had nothing to do with. I am studying to be a teacher myself, so I tried to keep the books. Then I found there were too many to keep. A friend suggested I sell them online. In the first month of selling on E-Bay, I sold 18 textbooks for a total of $324.25. And there are still more to sell. All you will need is a reliable internet connection and a few spare minutes.

Step 2: Setting up a seller account

Once online, set up a seller account. This is quite easy. On E-Bay's homepage, www.e-bay.com, click on "Sell," and you will be directed to set up an account. The only personal information you are required to give is your name, a physical address, and a credit card or bank account number. Your information is safe and confidential ("encrypted"). But beware of imposter e-mails you may receive once you get going. Report them. The only real E-Bay e-mails you should receive are duplicates of the messages you will get in your E-Bay on-site inbox anyways.

The second account you might want is with PayPal, at www.PayPal.com. PayPal is your payment buddy. It simply allows you to receive payments from another person's credit card or bank account. You can either keep the money in PayPal, where it currently earns over 4% interest, or you may deposit it in your bank account, or you may withdraw it in cash.

Step 3: Listing your item

Now you will create your first item listing! You choose the appropriate category. For textbooks, there is an exact category match: "Education - > Textbooks." Books are also easy because you can enter the ISBN, or serial number on the back that identifies the book with the Library of Congress. E-Bay will usually come up with the title, a publisher's description, and a stock photo, on the spot. You'll still want to take your own pictures.

You still have to give your item a title. Factual is best. Include relevant facts: example - > "Special Education in HIgh School Classrooms in Maine," by Roberta Smith, ABC Publishing, 2nd Edition, 2004, Hard Cover.

Next you'll write a description. Be complete. You need: Condition, Make, Model, Year of make or manufacture, Physical Description (measurements if applicable). Write in clear, descriptive, short bullets. Look up other items like yours, and imitate the description format.

Step 4: Pricing your item

Price your item intelligently. Start the bidding low - $.99, for example. Or start a bit higher for a more costly item. Use the "reserve price" feature to enter the lowest bid you will accept. Once you've sold some items, you may enter a "Buy It Now" price. Your best bet is to research the going price(s) for the item you are listing before you enter a starting bid, reserve price, or Buy it Now price.

Clarify the payment process to your readers. What kind of payments will you accept? How soon do you want the payment? Where do you want it sent to? You may state that you only want PayPal payments. This is the safest route, as you will find out immediately whether or not you have been paid.

Step 5: Shipping

Don't forget that there is a shipping cost to your buyer as well. You need to make it clear so the buyer is not surprised. Research some inexpensive ways to ship your item. Offer local pickup. For shipping, the Postal Service is just fine, especially for books. For books, use the category called "Media Mail," which is much cheaper than standard parcel post, not to mention FedEx and UPS. Give your buyer several options. Let them know how far and where you will ship to.

A nice free feature for PayPal users is purchasing your postage through PayPal after the sale. The buyer's address and your return address will appear on a Postal Service label which you may change as need be, purchase, and then print at your home. Using a free PayPal/E-Bay box or some inexpensive packaging paper, you may create a package entirely at home, and request a Postal Service pickup at your home!

Step 6: Feedback and 'My eBay'

Finally, keep in touch with all bidders and buyers. It can only improve your chances of a good sale, and, more importantly, good feedback. Be prepared to answer questions about your item during the 7 days it is up for bidding. You may post your answer below your item description so everyone can read it. Even after you have made a sale, keep your shipping information on hand to answer any questions from your buyer. The sale is not finished until they have received their item, and the shipping service they chose may make a mistake. This happened to me recently. The Postal Service somehow misplaced a book I shipped, and I had thrown away the tracking number on the receipt. Don't do that! That shipping receipt and tracking number is your proof to your buyer that you did in fact ship the item. If something goes wrong, they deserve to know that tracking number so they can pursue their item.

Keeping in touch and using courtesy are the keys to getting positive feedback. Your feedback score is your reputation on E-Bay. Having 100% positive feedback is the best way to earn buyers' trust and interest.

This said, you may keep track of the status of your item using your "My E-Bay" page. Each item you have listed will appear here. An icon will appear next to it, indicating whether it has sold, been paid for, been shipped, whether feedback has been received and left, etc. It is just as important for you to leave feedback for your buyer, that they have paid you promptly. They will appreciate your positive feedback. Try not to leave negative feedback unless absolutely necessary - first you should try to contact the buyer a few times. If they simply will not pay, and will not answer you, then you may leave negative feedback. Be courteous but truthful. Courtesy, and good sense, will take you a long way. Best of luck, and happy selling!