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Learn How to buy and sell on eBay
Turn unwanted items into cash
- The basics of buying and selling on eBay
- How to make that extra cash
- Tips on buying and selling
- Where to find the items to sell
- More
There are over 50 Million eBay users worldwide; and you can have instant
access to them. At eBay you have the opportunity to sell your unwanted goods
and make some extra cash. Perhaps go on from there seeking out further items
for selling through eBay. With such a vast number of potential buyers the
chances for success are great.
Getting Started
Firstly, are you a registered eBay user? ... No?
Then lets sort that out. Opening an eBay account is free and you don't have
to buy or sell anything. Click one of the eBay links below to sign up for
your free account. One account will let you buy or sell anywhere in the
world. If your country isn't listed below, then you should perhaps open an
account using the USA site.
eBay UK -
http://www.ebay.co.uk/
eBay Canada -
http://www.ebay.ca/
eBay USA -
http://www.ebay.com/
eBay Australia -
http://www.ebay.com.au/
Follow the instructions on those pages, and you'll have your account up
and running in minutes.
Now that you've created your eBay account, click on My eBay
and check the settings in that section to make sure your preferences are set
the way you want them.
Bidding & buying:
There are some important things to know about buying. Even if you're
intending only to sell at eBay, it's advised that you make at least one bid
for an item so that you know how the process works. Knowing what buyers and
bidders go through will help you get that friendly look to your auctions.
Remember any bid is a legally binding contract, so don't bid unless you
actually intend to pay up if you happen to win. This makes test bidding a wee bit
difficult, so you really need to bid for something you wouldn't mind
having.
Submit a test bid
Below are three options, select one to use as your test bid so you can get
the feel of how the eBay system works:
1. Search for something you'd like to buy, perhaps a CD, DVD,
book, or even an article of clothing.:
2. Search for something cheap. Do this by clicking on
Advanced Search, then choose to find items under say $1 or $2.
3. Search for an item just listed and bid for it. You'd be assuming
that others will bid after you and so you won't need to have to buy it.
Remember if nobody puts in a higher bid you have to buy it.
About the eBay Feedback System
If you win an auction at eBay and don't go through with the purchase, then
eBay's feedback system is likely to come into play against your good name.
Both buyers and sellers are encouraged to enter feedback about their
experience at eBay. Future buyers and sellers checking on the reputation of
the person they are doing business with will read that feedback. If you were
the successful bidder on an item and didn't pay, the seller would most
likely enter a negative feedback for you. In the future anyone who was
considering buying or selling from you would note that negative feedback.
Page Construction
When you've found an item that you might be interested in, take a closer
look at how the page is constructed. Text, images, etc, the seller has set
it up to entice you to buy. Note the good points so you can use them when
you start selling.
The Bidding System
It's important to understand how the bidding system works. eBay asks you to
enter the most you're willing to pay. It then only increases that bid as
much as is needed to keep your bid in front. So, if the current bid is say
$2 and you bid $10, it will still only put your bid in at $2.50 or some
other amount, and then increase it automatically for you as necessary up to
$10.
Placing a bid
To place a bid, just enter the amount that you're willing to pay, and click
Submit. You'll be asked to confirm that bid.
If, after you place your bid, you’re told you've
been outbid, it’s because the person before you has placed a higher maximum
bid, so the system is automatically increasing the bid on their behalf as
mentioned above.
Over time you’ll find that most people leave their bidding until nearer
the end of an auction. Some bidders will sit back and watch, and you’ll see
sometimes in the last hour of an auction the bidding go crazy with the price
rising dramatically. Some sit on their computer for the last 30 minutes of
an auction and try to outbid others by small amounts. If you put in your
maximum bid from the beginning as I mentioned above, then the eBay system
will do that for you.
Tip
Bidders will usually bid using a rounded amount, such as $5 or $10. Consider
adding an extra few cents more over the rounded amount. Say $5.25 or $10.50
or whatever the system will allow. This tip should win you more auctions
than those who stick to a rounded bid should.
What to sell
You’d be surprised at the kinds of things people want to bid for, and you’ve
probably got such items lying around your house they'd be interested in.
Have a look, you’re sure to find something that you no longer have any use
for. CDs, DVDs, books and Video games tend to sell really easily. find an
old game or CD you no longer want and sell that.
You can also pick up bargains at garage and car boot sales. The more you use
eBay the more familiar you’ll become with the kind of items to sell and
you’ll become much better at finding bargains that you can resell on eBay.
When choosing items to sell consider how easy it will be for you to post. On
eBay, buyers generally pay for postage, but keep in mind how easy it will be
to post.
How to sell
In order to start selling, you actually need to open a sellers account,
which is free. Simply log into your normal eBay account, click on Sell, and
you’ll be prompted from there.
Listing Fee
There are fees to sell items on eBay. First, there's a listing fee, that’s
paid whether the item sells or not. The listing fee varies depending on the
initial listing price. this can vary from as little as 35cents up to
a few dollars. If you start your bidding at 99cents, you’ll pay the lowest
amount for a listing fee, even if the item eventually sells for hundreds of
dollars.
Final Fee
A final fee is charged if your item sells, it’s a percentage of the sale
price. This varies depending on the type of item and it’s value, but it is
usually under 5%. The latest information on fees can be found on the eBay
website.
Back to selling
eBay will guide you through the selling process step by step, from entering
information on the item for sale, to adding a photo and setting postage
costs. Just follow the prompts. In addition consider the following:
Item Title
The title of the item you are selling is most important. The eBay search
engine to give your item prominence uses the title. So, to attract more
buyers, you should use as many keywords as possible in the title. For
example, if you were selling a CD of Elvis, ensure your title includes
Elvis, CD, music, album etc… this will alert people looking
for Elvis album, Elvis CD, Elvis music, and so on.
Photographs
It’s been proven that items with photo's sell easier and have more bidders.
So it does help if you can show the buyers a photo.
Length of time for Auction
There are two things worth considering here. Firstly try and make your
auction run over the weekend as well as during the week. There are a lot of
weekend buyers out there who only come on-line at the weekend. Also consider
timing your auction to finishes around 8-10pm in the country that you think
is going to produce the most bidders.
Other Sources - Wholesale
People are making decent money by selling things on eBay. They’re not just
selling old CDs and items from their sheds. Just like normal retailer
they’re buying items wholesale and selling them for a profit. So if you get
the bug, consider following up on the wholesale angle.
Other Sources - Drop Shipping
If the sales spark is in you, then you might consider a drop-ship
arrangement. Drop shipping is when a wholesaler agrees to ship items
to your customer on a sale-by-sale basis. So, you don’t have to buy stock in
advance or even hold any stock. You simply advertise the item, and when it
sells you make the order and the wholesaler ships direct to the buyer. You
earn the difference between the sale price and the wholesale price without
touching or even seeing the item. Here's an example of a drop shipping
company :
http://www.worldwidebrands.com/
Business Theme
If you feel you can make a go at running your eBay account as a business
using the wholesale or drop-ship method then it’s important you choose your
product mix wisely, you should pick related products. Buyers will often look
at other items you have for sale, and if there is a general theme to your
products, people are more likely to trust your expertise in those products.
Finally, if you ever receive an e-mail appearing to come from eBay, asking you to
login and confirm your details, Don't do it, these e-mails are always
fraudulent.
Hope you found this informative, perhaps I've pointed you towards a new
profitable hobby?
Any feedback, positive or negative would be appreciated.
Send feedback
Hugh McCallum.
Webmaster
www.threetowners.com
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