Tips for New Ebay Auction Sellers

I remember when I first started selling on Ebay. It was a bit overwhelming, but with some guidance from "seasoned" sellers, it became much easier in no time. This article will offer several suggestions, tips and ideas for making your auctions more appealing to buyers.

1. Accept PayPal payments.
This is normally the only payment method I accept. Not only is it faster, but you are also provided with some extra protection when using PayPal to send and receive monies. The only (minor) drawback is that Ebay policy is that if you accept PayPal as a payment method, you must accept all forms of PayPal payment, including e-check transfers, which requires you to wait for the funds to clear the bank before being deposited into your account. In cases such as these, wait to ship the item until the payment has cleared (we'll discuss this more in depth later) so as not to jip yourself in an unfortunate situaiton that the funds don't clear. Another up-side to using PayPal is that you are given a FREE debit card that you can use anywhere to access your funds. So far, the only down side I can come up with when using PayPal is that when you receive money, there is a small "fee" to do so, which decreases your potential profit. Go to www.paypal.com to get more info and set up your free account

2. Always use at least 1 photo.
The first photo you upload to your auction is FREE! If there are flaws in/on your item, be sure to take a picture of them so potential buyers can see just how large or small they are in proportion to the item itself. When I first began listng items, I would use several pictures, which can get expensive & QUICK! If you want or need to use more than one picture in a listing, my suggestion is to utilize an auction template site such as www.sellersourcebook.com The subscription cost is approximately $8 per month, $21 per quarter, and $70 for the year.

3. Use as much in the title as you can possibly think of.
This is how your item is searched. Therefore, the more "buzz words" you have in the title, the more likely your item is to be seen by someone searching. Learn the abbreviations to save space (for example, NIP=new in package, NWOT=new without tags, etc.).

4. Research before listing high dollar items.
Mpire.com is a good place to search through auctions that have ended so you can get a feel for what the average sale price has been. Be sure to search ebay as well in case things that have recently ended have not been updated at mpire.

5. Stay away from reserves.
These tend to scare some people away. If you must use a reserve (minimum winning bid), be sure to tell what it is in the description. This will also save time in the long run as a person who is extremely interested in the item will often message and ask what the reserve is. Another option to consider in lieu of a reserve price is making the starting bid the reserve price. There are charges for each of these options, but it may be cheaper one way versus the other.

6. Get FREE shipping supplies!
Go to www.usps.com and order their free priority shipping supplies (boxes, forms, tape, etc.) to save yourself a trip to the postoffice when it comes time to actually ship your items you have sold. There are also other shipping places who offer free shipping supplies, so check them out as well.

7. Invest in a digital scale.
You can buy them on ebay for fairly cheap, and you will thank me in the long run. Not only will it prevent you from shorting yourself when it comes to calculating shipping costs, but this will also save you a trip to the post office, and it's not an expensive investment. I got mine for under $25 on Ebay (with shipping).

Remember, selling on Ebay is hit or miss with certain items. It never ceases to amaze me how much people will pay for "junk" items you think won't sell, and then the items you do think will sell go for extremely cheap. Don't give up. If something doesn't sell the first time, re-list it at a later date. A nice feature of Ebay is that it offers you suggestions as to how to sell your item (ex. add a picture if you don't have one, lower the cost, offer to ship to other countries, etc.).