This article is a short guide for eBay Beginners.
A. Getting Started
- First of all, you have to be registered with eBay if you are not all ready. Just go to eBay’s home page where you will see a place to sign up. There you will have to come up with an account name. eBay will give you some ideas on what to use. But once the account is submitted you will not be able to change it.
- Look around the home page and get familiar with some features and options. Finish creating your account. This will include a valid e-mail and a password of your choosing. You will need this when you sign in again.
- Then set up an account with PayPal if you don’t have one already. Make sure you use links from eBay to PayPal so you can get paid for your item.
- Make sure you set up a Profile page about yourself. This should include a recent picture of yourself. Buyers are more comfortable if they can see what you look like.
- Along with the Profile page, you want to establish credibility, as buyers might be reluctant to buy from a “new” seller that they don’t know anything about. So buy a few inexpensive items, complete the transaction, and leave positive feedback to the seller and he/she will also leave a (hopefully) positive remark about you, as a buyer. This feedback will help establish you, as a “good guy/gal” which will help give you a positive reputation on eBay.
B. Deciding what to Sell.
- First, let’s point out what you CANNOT sell. Some obvious things would be illegal items, like illegal drugs, and hazardous items, like filled propane bottles, spray paints, live animals, etc. You should check eBay’s’ restricted list for further information.
- Unless you have a specific item that you will be getting through a wholesaler or drop shipper, you might want to think of items around the house that you could sell to start with. Since eBay restricts you, first, as to how many items you can sell per month, you might think about what inexpensive items you can sell so, as not to build a large inventory at first.
- At first, you will want to check around and experiment a little, as to what will sell and what won’t. If you want to sell repeatable items, it would be best to sign up with a wholesaler or drop shipper. However, they might charge you a fee for doing business with you. This could be several hundred $$ a year for each company. You might want to look at some of these possibilities for sales sources:
A. Thrift Stores.
B. Overstock stores.
C.. Discount warehouses (those that do not charge a selling fee).
D. E-Bay itself, look for underpriced items, or poorly advertised sales items.
4. In considering what to sell in the long term, you have to decide do you want to have your inventory or do you want someone else to ship it. In very general terms there are but two ways to do this, you buy the product from a supplier and handle the shipping and collect the payment. The second way is to use a drop shipper who handles the shipping and other customer service functions. You still have to receive the payment through PayPal.
5. If you choose to carry your own inventory, you must consider storage. Is this a fast-moving item? Will you need a shed or even a small storage building? What happens if this item turns sour on the market? Once you buy something from a supplier, in most cases, it is all yours, usually with no return. But of course that all depends on the supplier. Then you also must have shipping supplies and include that in your selling price.
6. The second cleaner method is the drop shipper who “stores” inventory and does the shipping. Many drop shippers charge an annual fee, for their services. You should add this to your selling price.
7. A third thing to consider is your item being heavily sold on eBay already. The more experienced and established sellers will sell items below your wholesale cost to establish themselves, as a best-seller for the buyer. It will take some research to find something that will sell on eBay to make a profit. That is what you are trying to do, make a profit, right?
8. In helping to determine will this product is the right one for the moment, check eBay’s home page for their “hot” items to see what is selling. You should also check on the “completed sales” column to see what a particular item sold for and how many sold. Be careful if there are many listings for that “gadget” you want to sell.
A new seller could get lost in the multiple listings that accompany a popular item. Your research might include scrolling through various product listings to get an idea of how a particular product is doing.
C. Listing Your Item
1. There are two basic ways to sell on eBay. The first way is “Auction”. This is where you list an item at a certain price and allow it to be bid on for 1-10 days. You set the price for starting and the number of days for the auction. The top price, of course, is the winner.
2. The second way is “Buy It Now” which is sold at a fixed price that you set. This listing continues until it is sold or the item is withdrawn from eBay.
3. After you have decided which format to use (auction or buy it now) make a good title for your listing. There is a small amount of space for a title so make wise use of words.
4, Use photos, as a photo is worth a thousand words You can submit 12 photos per listing.
5. Enter a description of the item. Be precise and descriptive, but not excessive in too long of a description. List manufacturer name, model (if applicable), color, size, condition, and weight. If the item has any apparent flaws, it would be wise not to try to sell it on eBay as this could damage your reputation as a seller. But if you still want to sell the flawed item, describe the flaw.
7. Set a price base on what you paid for the item (wholesale), eBay fees, and shipping costs. Don’t inflate the shipping cost but be reasonable in prices. There may be a lot of competition for the same article. Many sellers offer free shipping. Adjust your price accordingly.
8. Schedule an auction to end on the weekend as bidding will be higher on the weekend. Auctions end on 1,3,5,7 or 10 days after it starts, so plan accordingly. Consider offering a refund policy as this tends to offer a buyer a sense of ease with you.
A Few After The Sale Notes
1. If you are using the auction, watch how the sale is going, if the bids are few or none, and it is more than 12 hours before the auction ends, you can lower the price.
2. Once the sale (Auction or Buy It Now) is completed and the buyer has deposited funds in PayPal, ship the item promptly. If you have a way of contacting the buyer let him/her know their purchase has been shipped
3. Give positive feedback to the buyers who pay promptly and thank them for their purchase and ask them to return to your “eStore” soon.
4. Finally, be cautious and beware of scammers that ask you to send the item before the deal is completed. Selling on eBay is not a “get-rich-quick-scheme” but it can be an “income slowly scheme” It takes time to build your reputation as a seller. Make every effort to be prompt in all your dealings with all honesty.
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I Hope This was Informative Thanks for Reading
