Buying and selling on EBay has become a business by itself, as against just supplementing your existing business or income. Familiarity with eBay routines and adopting certain success strategies can help you succeed on eBay. Read about these routines and strategies in this article.
This page comes under the section Small Business Ideas.
You need to register as an eBay member to start. Once registered, you have to create a seller's account. To create a seller's account:
Once you have created your seller's account, you can list items to sell. Start the process by clicking on the Sell link at the top any eBay page. You will then be able to enter information about the item to sell, step by step.
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You have to pay a listing fee, and additional fees for certain promotional options. The fees are typically small amounts. If the item is sold, you have to pay a final selling fee based on the selling price. EBay's preferred option for payments is PayPal, an eBay company.
The above is the bare outline of how you sell on eBay. For successful selling, you need to adopt certain strategies. We look at these in the following sections.
When you click the Sell link, you are sent to a page where you can enter a brief description of your item. You will also find a link Search Completed Listings. Completed listings are those that have run their listing duration. Click on the link and then click on the product you want to research.
Click the Advanced Search link against the search box. In the page that comes up, tick the Completed Listings check box, scroll down and click the Search button. You will see a list of completed listings for your product. Some of the items in the list would have been sold (identified by prices in green) while others remained unsold (prices in red). This will give you an idea of the price you can expect.
You can view current listings in fuller detail. Observe how the items have been presented and which items are attracting a high number of bids. Look at the descriptions, pictures, starting prices, shipping costs, return policies and the categories under which the product is listed. You will begin to get a good idea of how to list items.
Unless you do certain things, your eBay listing might never be found by prospective buyers. Buyers find listings when they search for specific products, or when they come across prominently featured listings. To improve the findability of your listing:
Even if your listing is found, it might not sell unless you create a good sales copy. A good sales copy includes:
EBay has made it easy for you to attend to all the above by providing step by step instructions and other facilities, including a listing designer.
Selling results can be improved dramatically by adopting certain strategies. You can sell using the traditional auction mode with a starting price, auction with a reserve price below which you will not sell and finally, at a fixed price. Traditional auction, allowing bidders to set the price, is best.
Sellers have found dramatic results by starting at a low price like $0.99. This can set off a bidding frenzy that can ultimately culminate in realizing a very good price for the item.
Listing the item for a longer period is also a good strategy as more buyers can come across it.
Regularly listing items on eBay can help you earn a good living, provided you follow the success strategies and also find items that cost little and can be sold for higher prices. You can start with unused items lying around the house and then get items at garage sales and flea markets, for example.
Find a selling proposition for each item. Consider how you can make each item into an appealing and valuable product. Old items can be sold as antiques. Ethnic items can be sold for their exotic value.
There are many publications in the market from experienced eBay sellers providing valuable advice on how to earn a living by buying and selling at eBay.
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Thinking about buying or selling items on eBay? Whether you want to use eBay to make smart bids and win auctions or turn household clutter into cash, eBay for Dummies, Fifth Edition is your passport to the most successful trading community on the planet.
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