eBay is one of the largest growing websites that allow you to buy and sell practically whatever you want these days, but I always keep hearing people say that they can’t do it because it’s to complicated or they have nothing that they can sell to make profit. Well, that’s what I first told myself, but as I read many success stories and saw how easy it could be, I was willing to give it a try.
Now, you don’t have to be a computer geek to sell or buy on eBay. You just need to know how to follow directions and if you can do that, it really is pretty simple. So, just to clear up a few things for a sellers information, eBay won’t charge you for registering for either buying or selling products, the only fees that you primarily will have to pay for are your insertion fees and your final value fees depending on if you sell the product. There are a few odds and inns such as picture fees, reserve fees, etc. For the buyers information, it won’t cost you to bid or buy an item, the only fee that you’ll most likely have to pay for will be your transaction fee from what ever payment method you took, such as pay pal
To start things off, if you want to sell products on eBay, but you don’t think you have anything that is valuable enough to make some sort of profit from, you’re wrong. You can sell anything on eBay from advertising on your forehead, to selling your grandfathers Ford Model T. So, just find anything, go to garage or rummage sales if you want, anything at all will do. Once you have a product, I recommend researching it on the internet to find out how much it’s worth, and also going on eBay and try to find the same product, even a dollar of a difference matters to a buyer when he or she is looking at products. Then, when you have a reasonable price for your product, there are a few more steps that you will need to have done. You will no matter what, want to try to upload a picture of the item to your computer so you can attach it to your post. A picture really is worth a thousand words, or in this case money. So be sure you are going to be able to obtain a picture, and if you can’t, don’t let it prevent you from not selling your product. It will just draw away serious buyers looking at your product, so I recommend including a very detailed description. Unless the product has a bar code on it, eBay has a very easy to use system that you can use to obtain a picture of your product depending on if they have it in their database through entering in the UPC number found on your product.
Ok, so you have the three basic fundamentals for selling your product on eBay, the product, a description, and a picture if you have one. Now you need to go through the process of posting it on eBay’s website. There are primarily two ways that you can sell an item, you can sell it in an auction format, or sell it at a fixed price. If you are uncertain about the auction format because you are afraid you might not get the amount of money you want to get from your product, you can always set a reserve. A reserve means even if the auction started at one dollar, a bidder will not be able to buy the item until it reaches the minimum amount that is wanted, which is your reserve. If you choose to go with the fixed price format, which means you will set the price that you want for your product, so that’s what you will get, nothing lower. Just remember that if you set the price too high, you probably won’t sell it, and don’t set it to low that it sounds too good to be true. This step is very important to maximize your profit.
From here on, you will have about five more steps that you will have to get through on eBay’s website to get your product sold. The first two are fairly strait forward and simple. First, you will have to choose a category for your product; this is vital when you consider a buyer searching for your product under a different category then what you chose. Second, you will have to include a title and description of your product. Like I said before, include everything that is associated with your product, even possible damages or defects.
The last three steps need a little bit more care and thought, such as how to maximize your profit. So for third, you will be asked to include a picture of your product if you have one, it is not mandatory, but it is necessary if you want to draw more buyers to your item. Fourth, you will have to choose your payment and shipment methods. If you are not sure about what payment method to choose, I recommend pay pal for its ease of use and low transaction fees. Though there are many other methods of payment, pay pal is one of the fastest ways for you to receive your money quick. But, keep in mind that not all people have pay pal, so remember to add another payment method that you are willing to accept. This will increase the chance of a buyer buying your product. Shipping deals with many factors including how big your item is, such as an antique chest, and if you want to offer free shipping or local pick-up only. Free shipping is a definite selling point for your product, and I recommend mentioning it in your title for your product. Just make sure that you will need to make enough money to pay for the shipping, and that it will not interfere with the profit that you want to make. Finally, for the last step, which I think is the easiest, review and submit the item. Look over everything very carefully, and make sure that everything looks nearly perfect.
If you think you’re done, think again. There are a few more steps that you can and should take to increase your reputation as a so called “eBayer”. Leaving feedback is a great way to let your buyer know that you had a great transaction with him or her. It also gives you a better chance at buyers since the number of feedback will show up next to your username. Just include a sentence or two describing how the transaction went, it really shows how responsible and professional you are. Other ways would be simply packaging your item nicely to avoid damage. Buyers like this, and it will give you a better chance of them buying from you again. If you are on a low budget, just do a little dumpster diving. You can always find bubble wrap and other things that will make you seem more professional if you look behind office products stores.
Remember, selling something on eBay should be fun. You don’t have to go to places where they offer they will sell your product for you. You just end up wasting money considering what you have read above, showing you how easy it can really be. So find something you want to sell, and sell it. There are no major rules to eBay, so if you’re doing well, you could even turn your hobby into a fulltime income, the sky is the limit.