Selling on eBay is fun and it’s a great way to earn extra money. Some people even earn a living by selling on eBay. I’ve done pretty well for myself as an eBay seller and have therefore decided to share information about the things that I did in order to start my eBay career. I’ve included some basic guidelines for becoming an eBay seller along with some of the tricks of the trade that I have learned over the past couple of years. Good luck, and happy selling!
How To Sell On eBay For Beginners
1. Sign up for a free eBay account. Click here to get started.
2. Sign up for a free PayPal account. Click here to get started.
3. Buy 10 things on eBay from 10 different sellers.
Building and maintaining a strong feedback score is essential to your success as an eBay seller. When you open a new eBay account, you naturally start with a feedback score of zero. You need to at least have some positive feedback associated with your eBay account before you should even consider trying to sell on eBay. The easiest way to establish your credibility on eBay is to purchase 10 things from 10 different sellers (they can be small and inexpensive items) that you either need or want. Pay for these items quickly and leave feedback for the seller. In return, the seller will leave you positive feedback which will help you to earn the trust of other members in the eBay community. I specifically recommend purchasing 10 items because when you reach a feedback score of 10 you’ll earn a gold star which will appear next to your eBay username. Quite simply put, this will look good to your potential eBay customers.
You should also take note of why you chose to buy your 10 items from their respective sellers. Perhaps it was because their eBay auction listing looked better than their competitors listings? Maybe the seller offered free shipping? Was it because you asked the seller a question and he or she just seemed like a friendly person when they responded? You’ll also want to pay careful attention to how the seller packaged and shipped the item.
4. Research what you are going to sell on eBay, start by selling YOUR stuff first!
Now that you’ve completed a few transactions on eBay and have earned some positive feedback you are ready to begin selling. The easiest way to start selling on eBay is to identify items around your house that you no longer use and put them for sale on eBay. This will help you to “get your feet wet” as a new eBay seller and won’t cost you any money up front because you already own what you are going to sell. Eventually however, you will run out of things around your house that you can sell so you’ll have to look elsewhere for your inventory. The best way to do your product research is on eBay itself. If you have the ability to purchase an in demand product for a relatively low cost and then sell it for a profit on eBay, you are well on your way to becoming an excellent eBay seller.
5. Research how you are going to ship BEFORE you list your item on eBay.
This is a critical part of the eBay auction process because shipping and shipping materials cost money. Your profits will suffer if you do not learn how to control your shipping costs. Make sure that you are getting the best deal possible on your shipping materials BEFORE you list anything for sale on eBay. You’ll want to have your shipping materials on hand by the time that your auctions end so that you can ship as efficiently as possible.
6. Take pictures of the things that you are selling on eBay.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Grab the best digital camera that you can get your hands on, find a room with excellent lighting, and then take pictures of your items. eBay allows you to upload one photo per auction for free. There is a small charge if you need to use more than one picture for your eBay listing. If you’re serious about selling on eBay and you don’t have a good digital camera then you really, really should go out and purchase one. Poor photography is by far the most efficient way to ruin a perfectly good eBay auction listing!
7. List your item on eBay and be specific!
Make sure that you describe the condition and the details of your item as accurately as possible. If you are selling an item on eBay that is brand new then the condition of the item will pretty much speak for itself. You may however add additional details such as “It was my birthday and I received two identical items as gifts…” This can help to encourage cautious buyers to go ahead and purchase from you. If you are selling new clothing and your item still has all of the original tags, you’ll definitely see an increase in profit if you specify that your article of clothing is new with tags (NWT.)
If you’re selling used items on eBay then you really need to be sure to describe the condition of the item as accurately as possible. Your buyers will expect and understand that used products will have some degree of wear and tear. Don’t however take advantage of this… For example, if you are selling a used cell phone, don’t describe it as “having minor wear and tear from normal use” only to have the buyer receive the phone and find that it has a crack in the screen. If you are selling something on eBay and the condition is questionable, then make sure that you document as such and provide photographs of the specific problems with your item.
You should also site your return policy, payment policy, and turn around time in your eBay listings as well.
7. Answer buyer’s questions.
If a buyer emails you with a question be sure to answer it as quickly and as accurately as possible. Customer service is everything on eBay even though you and your potential buyer might live thousands of miles apart.
8. Ship your product quickly and carefully.
Be sure to ship your items as quickly as possible. You need to make sure however that you are not sacrificing quality in order to get a product out the door quickly. Take the time to carefully package your items before you ship. Your buyer will really appreciate your attention to detail and it will reflect in your feedback score.
The secrets of my eBay success.
Let me start off by saying that I have been selling on eBay for years and that I have done very well for myself as an eBay seller. I have actually even been invited to join eBay’s Powerseller program! I declined to join the program for the specific reason that I really only sell on eBay during the holiday season because it’s very profitable, and in February and March because the local economy in my area comes to a grinding halt during those months. I will also of course sell things on eBay when I feel that I have too much “stuff” lying around collecting dust. Needless to say, I wouldn’t be able to make the eBay Powerseller’s sales volume requirements hence my reason for not joining the program. Having said that, I make REALLY good money on eBay during the times of the year when I do actively sell which lead me to write this how to sell on eBay guide for beginners. So pay careful attention the secrets to my success that I am about to share with you!
1. The trick is to find the right items to sell on eBay at the right price.
Use eBay to determine what’s hot and what’s not. Even if you can obtain an item for a low price there is no guarantee that you can actually sell it especially if no one wants it! One of the markets that I’ve had the most success with is what could be called the “hot holiday items market.” For example, Two years ago Nintendo had stated in August that the Nintendo Wii was going to be in short supply for the holiday season. I bought as many Wii’s as I could in September and waited until December to sell them. I made $125-$150 per unit! Clothing can also be a lucrative market because nobody wants to pay full price for clothes. Just wait for the right department store sale and then buy as many in demand brands as you can. List the clothing that you just bought on eBay as soon as the sale ends. I have also had very good luck selling baseball cards on eBay. This however has changed since the economy went sour. If you have collectibles to sell, wait until the economy has fully recovered. One last word of caution for people who are beginners at selling on eBay; don’t go overboard when paying for your inventory until you are positive that you can sell it off for a profit!
2. Watch your time and get your shipping costs under control.
Shipping and handling is probably the most time consuming process of selling on eBay. If you don’t control your shipping costs then you can kiss your profits goodbye. I ended up purchasing a package scale (with up to a 50lb capacity)
3. To ship for free or not to ship for free; that is the question.
Buyers naturally love free shipping but to sellers it’s just another cost of doing business on eBay. Some sellers claim that by offering free shipping you can typically recuperate the shipping cost in your auction price because people will bid higher when an auction has free shipping. Here’s what I do; If free shipping is the norm for a particular product then I too will offer free shipping if I am trying to also sell THAT particular product. Electronics items for example, are usually sold with free shipping because competition amongst sellers is pretty intense in that market. If however I am selling a product such as baseball cards where the buyer typically pays for shipping then I do not offer free shipping.
4. Start your auctions at a low price.
A low auction start price will attract more buyers and will cost you less money in eBay listing fees. I start all of my auctions at .99 cents and I never use a reserve price. Do your research in this department however, there are some markets where you would want to start your auction at a higher price and or use a reserve price.
5. Schedule your eBay auctions to end on a Sunday.
Sunday is by far the best day of the week to end an eBay auction. To do this, you’ll have to either start a 7 day auction on a Sunday or start a 10 day auction on a Thursday. Remember that you can always use the auction scheduler so that you can create your listing on any day of the week and schedule it to start when you desire.
6. Use an HTML template for your listing.
eBay allows you to customize your listings using HTML. I would highly recommend that you take advantage of this feature. You can design your own HTML template, find a readymade HTML template, or higher someone to build your HTML template. An HTML template will make your listing look more professional which will attract more buyers. I took the time to build a stunning HTML template and my sales went up tremendously afterwards.
7. Do your shopping on eBay.
You can save time and money by doing your shopping on eBay plus you’ll receive positive feedback for each transaction that you complete. I do all of my Christmas shopping on eBay each year which keeps me out of packed malls and helps me continue to build my feedback score. Additionally, I earned eBay bucks for each purchase that I made which I then used to purchase a little gift for myself at the end of the year.
8. Get other people’s opinions and read, read, read!
Even as a beginner you’ll quickly come to realize that everyone has his or her own opinion regarding how to sell on eBay. Listen to them, especially if they’re an experienced seller! Here are the links to a couple of my favorite books about eBay. They’re on my bookshelf, and if you’re serious about selling on eBay then they should be on your bookshelf as well!
Hi Rita, to clarify, the first picture per auction is free. So if I had one eBay auction in which I was selling baseball cards, and another eBay auction in which I was selling fishing lures, eBay would allow me to upload one free picture for the baseball card auction and another free picture for the fishing lure auction. Does this help to answer your question?
hi mike
this is great article , I want to sell my stuff on the flea market ,but
decided not to do this, because I had to be there at 4.30AM , also there was other cost in volved, So I decided to try e Bay, It all new items from blankets to bathroom stuff, decorating stuff for the house and much more ,you said first picture is free with ebay,
lets say my first picture is decorative vase ,so this picture is free,
but I also want to sell a bathroom set , I need a other picture of the bathroom set . Question now I have to pay for this bathroom set picture????
I have a lot of items the pictures could cost me a lot!
Hi Leah, I do not sell directly on Amazon, but I do use Amazon’s affiliate program and link to products that I review on my different blogs if I feel that there is a distinct benefit to the user. I do like Amazon’s affiliate program, but I unfortunately don’t have any experience selling directly on Amazon.
Hi Mike, Since eBay has increased their fees for some folks….do you also sell on Amazon? And if so, is that just as good?
Thanks so much for the info
selling household/estate items make offer tel no. 585-396-3574
i make ristras this are dried red chile hung on doors usually to greet guest. they come in 2foot and 4 foot up to 10 or 12 foot and they run 7.50 every 2 feet these are very beautiful and good for year round use. thanks kia
Hi Barbara, retirement sounds great! I only have about another 30 working years before I am eligible so I am indeed envious! Definitely start by buying a couple of things on eBay, that will help you to get your feet wet. Then, you’ll want to go ahead and sell things that are lying around your house that you no longer use or need. Doing so will help to ensure that you aren’t losing money as you’re gaining experience as a seller. The other thing that I do which is key is this; I watch auctions that I am interested in. I study the seller’s presentation that they use for their auction, i.e. graphics, fonts, etc, and I really scrutinize their item description. If THAT particular seller sold the item for a good price, I’ll emulate their selling style. Keep in touch as you have more questions. I’m always happy to help.
Mike
P.S. Here’s the answer to your other question;
“Sort of, follow the links in my guide to eBay and PayPay and you’ll see that you can easily setup both accounts. You might consider going to your bank and opening a dedicated checking account that will be solely used for eBay/PayPal. eBay fees are something that I need to really take more time and write about. Stay tuned!
Mike”
Hi Mike, I’m retiring soon and thinking about ebay as a possbile soultion for making money as a pt/ft job. Your site is very informative and your answers are honest. What do you feel is the best way for me to begin.
Thanks-hope to hear from you soon.
Barbara
Tim, the only stupid question is the one left unasked. Here’s a link to eBay’s relisting policy.
Mike,
That was a very interesting artical. I am just starting out on ebay, so this will probably be the dumbest question you ever get. If my item does not sell, are there any fees that I have to pay? Thanks for your feed back.
Hi James! You’re going to want to go ahead and check out eBay Motors. Although I haven’t yet had the opportunity to buy or sell on eBay Motors, I can tell you that the fundamentals still remain the same. Take plenty of pictures of your vehicle, describe it as accurately as possible, and always answer your potential buyer’s questions in a prompt and courteous manner. You’ll also want to checkout the eBay Motors Help guide as well. I have a buddy that uses eBay Motors to sell used vehicles and used car parts… Maybe I can hit him up for a guest posting?
Hello Mike I,m going sell 75 brazer chevy. Its classic the top competely remove from the truck. my question is how do i go by selling this item on ebay. ( Ihave account with ebay and pay pal.)
You might consider using craigslist.org if you are only selling one item. It’s free, and unlike eBay it won’t cost you a dime in seller’s fees. You could even announce on Facebook (if you use it) that you have a collectible item to sell. Facebook now even has its own marketplace app that you could use. Using either of these options would help you to target buyers in your area so that you wouldn’t have to get into shipping and handling as well collecting payment online. Hope this helps!
i have a spud mackenzie bud light plate that i believe is a collector i have never used ebay and am not the best on a computer how do i go about selling it? I also do not plan on making ebay a reguler thing i do so i don’t want to go through buying things and all that stuff, just looking to get rid of one item?
i could deal wit it
Excellent question! eBay in and of itself would definitely be a very good way to sell your doggie blankets. You might consider taking a multi-pronged approach however. I.E. a combination of selling via your own e-commerce site, eBay, Craigslist, and Amazon. This would be akin to being a company such as Kitchenaid and then selling your products in different retail stores such as Target, Walmart, etc.
Hi
I wanted to try sewing customized doggie jackets and selling them. I can never finds warm jackets with the correct length for my dogs (I know of other people with the same problem). Is ebay the best way to sell this?
barb
You might consider consulting with a local antiques dealer. This is usually most appropriate for certain rare treasures like yours.
I have a gold stamp in a wooden box with the month of dec.7 1787 Delaware USA 22 . I can’t find anything on this stamp. I do know that it has something to do with ( Chadwick’s) spool of thread. It is very old. I would like to auction it off but don’t know what it is worth. Would like to here from anyone that could help me .
Thanks for the free advice & ideas. I hope I can be as successful as you.
hi mike, listen i’m only 10 and i dont get i mean what if you were swlling a flat screen tv[hypathettically] and it cost you say 1,000$ how much would you auction it off for.
Hi Robyn, you could try either eBay or craigslist. The computers and electronics market can often times be very saturated with product and competitors and computer parts tend to depreciate in value very quickly. You need to be very specific when selling computer parts so be sure to include as much information from the packaging as possible. Good luck!
I have lots of older computer parts still in their original packages…my husband collected them to build his own but never got around to it…what is the best way to sell them? I know i’ll take a loss but they fill up my house and I need some cash.
Good morning Bill! Great question BTW! I have found that my auctions have attracted more bids by starting auctions at a low price. A couple of years ago I was selling Nintendo Wii packages on eBay during the holiday season. The entire package which included the Wii, an extra controller, and a game cost me around $350 to obtain. Believe it or not, I started my auctions at .99 cents each! I still made a huge profit on each auction. What I recommend that you do is this;
Look at what other sellers are doing with regards to the product that you are trying to sell. Are they using Buy It Now? What is their starting price? Most importantly, are they getting bids? In other words, follow the market! My markets typically have items with a starting price of .99 cents so that’s where I start my auctions. Another thing to consider is this;
Suppose that your item is in fact worth $50… BUT, you picked up the item at a tag sale for only $10. Would you take $45? How about $40? Always consider your cost to acquire an item when you are trying to setup your auction pricing.
Some of the eBay guidebooks that I have read have entire chapters dedicated to auction start prices, I may therefore write a post on the subject.
Mike
I understand to start the bidding low, but every auction at .99? What if I’m selling an item that I know is worth more than $50.00 and it gets sold for $5.00? That’s far from making a profit. Am I missing something? I’m obviously new and wanting to get started.
Hi Mary, you can use PayPal to collect payments from your buyers. If you have previously made purchases on eBay, then you probably already have a PayPal account. If you need more information on PayPal, feel free to ask!
Mike
How does a new seller, with just a limitednumber of books to sell, handle the payments coming in? Is a credit card required?