NOTE: In
my How to Sell on Ebay
classes (and in private Ebay consulting), I provide at least a hundred
hints for
successful Ebay sales and feedback. Here are fifteen of the most useful
ones:
1. RESEARCH YOUR ITEM ON EBAY
Once you are a registered seller on Ebay, you can search in completed auctions, using the ADVANCED SEARCH
page (near the right top of every Ebay page). Search for items like yours and
learn from them:
- if
they’re selling and at what price? Ask yourself: Are you likely to make a profitable sale on Ebay?
- in what category are they selling, and at what price range?
- if
there are several items like yours, which one sold for the highest amount and why might
that be so? An excellent description, quality pictures, testimonials, right
category choice?
-
any
details about the item provided that might help you with your own description
(you may NOT copy another description but you CAN learn from it)
2. RESEARCH USING SEARCH ENGINES
- Try Google, and also Froogle, Google's product search.
- Learn from the price and descriptions at online stores. Such sites will usually list the sale or asking price, but you won't know if buyers are willing to pay that amount. Based on your findings, you may want to indicate in your item description, by way of comparison, the sale price at other sites.
- Find testimonials you can use about the item or product. Fair use law in regard to copyright is complex, but you can usually quote approximately 75-100 words of a review or testimonial without getting permission. Be sure however, to credit the source.
3. SELECT THE ONE BEST CATEGORY
From your research, you have noted in which category items like yours sell most frequently and for the highest amount. Half the buyers on Ebay search by category. Category choice matters. For example, a first edition autographed U.K. Harry Potter book might sell for $500 in the antiquarian book category, sells for $90 in the children's book category.
Although you may be tempted to list in two categories simultaneously, if you're not sure your item will sell right away, try one category one week, and another category the second week if your item doesn't sell the first time. Why pay two listing fees for two categories when a dual listing may not be necessary?
4. MAKE YOUR DESCRIPTION INVITING
Do NOT begin it with a list of rules in regard to customer DOs and DON'Ts and payments you won't accept. Begin it rather with an appealing description of the item indicating not only what it is, but how and why the item is enjoyable, desirable or useful. However, no sales hype (like WOW!!!!) please.
5. STATE YOUR POLICIES
DO include a statement or paragraph about your policies, rules etc., but save that for the end of your listing and keep it as short as possible. Include it even if some facets of it are indicated in another section of your listing form - many buyers only look at the item description. A policy statement might include kinds of payment accepted, how long you are willing to wait to receive payment, if you require insurance, refund policy, and whether you sell or ship to customers outside the U.S.
6. DESCRIBE YOUR ITEM IN DETAIL
Put yourself in the mind of the potential buyer and ask yourself what possible concerns might this person have about the item he/she is considering buying. If it's a used video or dvd, is it in its original case and in what condition is the case? If clothing or collectible, has it been kept in a non-smoking environment?
Continued - Nine more Ebay selling tips
Go to How to Sell on Ebay, page two
Tracy is a certified Ebay Education Specialist conducting Ebay
trainings
in the Boston area; and an Ebay consultant helping people worldwide
learn
how to buy and sell on Ebay as well as Amazon Marketplace. She is also
an Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements instructor. See further information on her Boston area classes and consulting.
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