Ten Tips to Help You Be an Ebay Star

EBay auctions can be a wonderful way to either get rid of the stuff you have lying around the house or start a home-based business. The eBay site is highly visible with lots of traffic. They are known throughout the world. Simple online instructions show you, step by step, how to become an eBay star and make the process easy; but not easy enough to do it without a good working knowledge of their procedures, a period of trial and error and a bit of luck. With a few basic tips, the process to ebay stardom can become much easier.

I've made handcrafted jewelry for nearly twenty years. For nine of those years I taught jewelry-making classes at an inner city ministry. I've spent a lot of time marketing both mine and my student's work at gift shops and private showings; but mostly we sold at arts and craft shows. Twenty years of driving, lifting, setting up a booth and standing out in the sun (or the rain) all day to sell to customers became tiresome after a while; so when I took a break, I decided to try eBay.

I approached eBay like I would any skill I wanted to master. I studied and did my own version of on-the-job training. While my success wasn't instantaneous, over the past year and a half I have sold over eight-hundred of my handcrafted jewelry items and maintained a 100% positive rating.

Here are a few basic tips on getting started and maintaining your eBay business.

1. Think Of A Great Screen Name-
Just in case you don't know what a screen name is, that's the alter ego under which you will conduct all eBay activities. If you have an existing business, for consistency you might find it best to register that name as your eBay screen name. It will allow existing customers to find you more easily, help develop your online personality and help you build your brand name.

If you don't have a business name or don't want to use the one you have, think of a really great one before you register. Go to the eBay Community page to do a search of names to see if anyone else has something similar; and don't be surprised if the really great name you decide on is already taken. To avoid disappointment, have a few names in mind before you register.

2. Register-
Go to eBay.com and sign up. Even if you don't plan to sell or buy right away, register anyway. The act of registering with eBay puts a date next to your name, member since...., you know like the credit card people. That date tells prospective buyers you are not an eBay newbie who might be here today and gone tomorrow. Longevity is one of the many factors that helps to generate trust.

3. Open Your Paypal Account-
During your registration process, you will be prompted to go Paypal.com to sign up for what is essentially an online money handling account. This account, which will be tied to your personal bank account or credit card, is an eBay standard and becomes part of your eBay credibility. Through Paypal you may receive or send money using an email address, make purchases on eBay or other online sites. If money due you can be paid as an instant payment the money becomes available immediately. eBay, payments can be deposited directly into your account.You may ask for a Paypal.com debit card and use it as you would any other debit card account.

4. Get To Know Ebay-
Remember back in high school when the teacher told you studying was the way to get better grades, so you studied. Or maybe you didn't. Perhaps you played football, chased jocks or simply daydreamed during class; and on your report card you got a 'D' for effort because you didn't live up to your potential. EBay is like that. It's easy enough for anyone to do it, but to get better, you must study it. Give it enough effort that if you were graded you would get an A.

There's lots of information to study on eBay. You will have a My eBay page of your own that will hold access to your personal information, links to the eBay Community with groups and postings, key messages from eBay administrators and lots more. There is a Help page with a large learning section containing information on many eBay related topics and tutorials.

But don't get so hung up on studying eBay that you don't move on to the actual selling. Like most training, information becomes more meaningful once you begin the actual duties of the job.

5. Search-
One of the best ways to familiarize yourself with how to list and sell your item is to study the search pages and see how others do it. There is a search block at the top of each page. Type in an item name and hit enter to see what happens.

-Do a search of an item similar to what you intend to sell, say hammers. You search will generate a page of links to listings that fit the category you searched.
-Click on a listing and look at the way other people do it.
-Check out the information contained in an individual listing. That will give you an idea of the information you will need to know for your own listings
-As a registered and signed-in eBay member you may do a completed listings search, by checking that option at the left side of the page. This type of search shows listings ended because the item sold or the time period expired without a sale. If you click on one of these listings, it will show the listing details.
-There are lots of search options, auctions, Stores Only, fixed price listings, searches by expiration date and time, distance, manufacturer, vintage, artisan. By looking at the categories, you can get an idea as to how you might want to or not want to do it.

6. Buy Something-
While you're searching, there's a good chance you might find some neat thing to buy, an auction on a great collectible or a digital camera. Bid by all means. Even if you don't win the act of bidding is a great eBay learning experience. If you win, buying and waiting to see how long it takes for your package to arrive gives you a better feel for the whole process and can help you learn what to do and what not to do when the roles are reversed.

7. Develop Your Online Personality-
I developed my selling personality long ago at arts and craft shows. It was based on who I was already. I enjoyed the art of creating unique jewelry and teaching my skills. I loved talking to people. At shows I wrapped jewelry purchases in pretty tissue and put them in nice bags. I gave away little gifts or discounts with a purchase.

I appreciated my customers and tried to show it in everything I did; and in turn, they appreciated me. I did the same things for the ministry I worked with and it helped their program grow from a small group to a thriving cooperative. At arts and crafts shows people called me "The Nice Lady" and that became my selling personality. When I started selling on eBay, I kept doing exactly what I'd been doing for years.

Think of who you are, what you want people to see and feel when they deal with you. You don't have to have boring listings. Make them happy, fun and compelling. Do your packages up nice and pretty. Ship them on a timely basis. Develop an eBay personality that shows appreciation and your eBay business will grow.

8-Carve Out Your Niche-
I made jewelry so the decision on what to sell was easy for me. I do handcrafted jewelry with cute themes and poems sometimes. I try to do pieces unique from everything else I see, since I work with metal, I can cut things out and do things many others can't do. I have carved out my own eBay niche.

You can do that too. If you have a hobby you love, like dolls or widget-making, do that. Or find some other unique thing and add your own spin to it. Sell unique things with your own personality. Write wild and crazy listings, or sweet and subdued listings. Wrap your sold items up in nice packages and send them out quickly; and you will be on your way to carving out your own eBay niche.

9. List Something-
The best way to learn is on-the-job training. Once you are Registered and signed-in, you may sell an item by clicking Sell. But before you do that, take a picture of the item you're selling. People have to see what it is they are buying, right? A single picture is free with each listing; and it will appear as a thumbnail on the search pages and full-sized on your listing page.

Clicking the Sell tab will take you to a page that prompts you to type in a description of the item you want to sell. When you push enter, it then takes you to a list of categories. Select the category that best fits your item. It will then prompt you to select further descriptive phrases that refine your category selection.

You may list your item in more than one category, but each category comes with a price which you pay whether you sell or not. I caution you to start with one category. If your item doesn't sell, you can always re-list it in a different category.

After you approve your category selection, you are taken to the Sell Your Item form, which seems confusing at first but is actually a self-explanatory fill-in-the-blocks form, so just relax and follow the instructions. You are given a space to name your item, upload a digital image, write a description of your item and add shipping, pricing, format and return details.

Description-
When you searched eBay listings, you might have found a lot of dry, formal wording, lots of restrictions, even angry words and admonitions about what you could and could not do if you bought that item. Your listings don't have to be that way. They should show the world who you are. Your Description should share your personality, as long as its bright and inviting.
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Auctions-
You decide on a starting price and open your item up for bids. You set a number of days for your auction to run, 1, 3, 5, 7 or 10. The auction format generates the most excitement and gives the most visibility as your item is more likely to show up in the main search pages at one point or another.

Starting with a low bid generates interest. If you are concerned that a low starting bid will lead to a too-low final bid, you may set a Reserve, which allows you to reject an auction result if it doesn't meet your minimum dollar requirement.

Shipping-
It's your business so you decide how soon to ship and how much to charge. Although some eBayers try to make money from shipping, it adds to your credibility and sales if you have reasonable shipping costs.

To calculate shipping rates, you will need to know the boxed-and-ready-to-ship weight of an item. You can buy your own postage scale or use one available at the post office. You may get an estimate of the cost from the post office or use the site's shipping calculators to help you figure out a reasonable cost to list on your SYI form.

A great option is printing your own shipping label through Paypal.com. An eBay link next to your sold/paid for item will take you to Papal; you can print your label, attach it to your package, then drop it in any mailbox and avoid post office lines.

Ship to other countries. The dollar is low against most currencies, and overseas customers buy because American goods are a bargain. It's really only a matter of filling out a customs form.

Return Policy-
That's another thing that's up to you, but people buy with confidence if they know they have the option of returning an item.

Listing Enhancements-
Many new people get caught up in adding borders, colors, front-page rotation, bold type and extra words to their listings. They have statistics that show the benefit of adding these things; but these enhancements come with costs that can get out of hand very quickly.

Experiment with enhancements, they can give you greater visibility; but remember they can add up to more than what a bidder ends up paying for your item. If you use enhancements, it's good to think of them as an investment in your overall eBay business and not just the one item. Enhancements for one items my draw potential customers to your other items or your storefront, which might lead to future business.

10. Other Selling Formats-
Most people are familiar with eBay's auctions, but there are a few other formats available for listing your items:

Fixed Price
You list your item for 1, 3, 5, 7 or 10 days just like an auction, but the item sells for a a fixed price.

Store Inventory-
Once you decide eBay is for you, you may chose to open a store, which gives you a customizable storefront to have all of your auction and fixed-price items displayed. You may also choose the economical Store Inventory listing option, which allows you a 30 day fixed-price listing for a smaller fee than the other sales options.

Best Offer
this option added to your listing allows potential buyers to negotiate for your item by making a lower offer which you may accept or reject.

These are only a few ideas. I hope they are enough to help you get started on your way to becoming an eBay star.