Selling on EBay: A Beginner's Guide

So you have a bunch of junk around the house, and you think maybe you should donate it. Well, why not give it a whirl on eBay first? You need to know it is not a free service that they offer, but it is pretty reasonable. If you do a basic auction it can be as cheap as 50 cents.

First thing's first

When you create your seller's account make sure you read all the charges and prices that you will incur during your auction. They will charge you a listing fee and then at the end of the sale they will take a percentage. You should also pay attention to specials on listing fees. They run these every once in a while and it can save a few pennies here and there. You will also need to set up a PayPal account if you do not already have one. This is a necessity for selling on eBay. It is a simple process and makes everything go very smoothly. When you are going to be a seller on eBay you have to upgrade your basic PayPal account to a Premier account. This allows you to accept all kinds of PayPal and eBay payments. There is no initial charge for this but you need to be aware that they will take a percentage from the payments made to you. I recommend that when you set your original start point for your auction, you keep in mind that eBay and PayPal will be taking some cash from you, so maybe you should at least add a dollar to the starting price to cover that.

Now Start Selling

This is so simple. Setting up your auction page is very simple. You just need to be clear about what you want your add to look like. You also need to be as descriptive as possible on all items you are selling. Note every flaw on your item and if you can get a photo of the flaw, even better. Be upfront. No one wants a surprise stain on the dress they just spent $25 for. They WILL give you negative feedback if you don't disclose this information, so be prudent about it. Make sure that you weigh everything out properly and figure your shipping cost to the best of your ability. The bidder is not going to pay extra just because you did not charge enough initially. Have a clear and concise return policy. This will make for an easy transaction if there is a problem. Once you have a couple auctions under your belt you may want to make your auctions more appealing to the bidder. I have found that it is really simple to do this with the help of a website called Auctiva. Here you enter all your auction information, post your pictures and pick a pleasing template and they post it to your auction for you. It is fantastic!

Closing Your Auction

So easy! eBay will notify you by email when an auction closes and give you a link to invoice your bidder. Do this immediately. The faster they get the invoice the faster you get the money. There is also a feature called Instant Payment that many bidders like to use when they actually watch the auction till the end. This is nice. You get you money a.s.a.p. If you haven't seen a payment from a bidder after a couple days there is no harm in a little follow up. Send them a nice note asking if they are still planning to purchase your item and if so, when you can expect payment. If they do not respond and do not pay after 7 days just let eBay know and they will follow up for you. With any luck, a little nudge from the eBay gods will push them along on the road to payment.

Shipping your Goodies

Now you sold some things and you are ready to ship. One of the best things that I found out was that I could get all my shipping supplies from the USPS for FREE! You can go right in your post office or go to there website and order it. It is fantastic and saves you a bunch of money. No need to buy envelopes and boxes. Just let your postmaster know when you drop off your first few auctions that you will be eBaying and they can hook you up with some start up goodies.

Leaving Feedback

Be fair when you leave feedback. Make sure that you gave your bidder ample time to pay before sending them negative feedback. I also like to leave in the feedback how awesome it was when someone used Instant Pay. If you leave them great feedback they will hopefully add you to their favorite sellers and come back to bid again.