Online community guru Dan Wilson offers us some tips on how to make money by selling your unwanted possessions on eBay.
eBay is ten years old: it opened its online doors in Britain in 1999 and has fast become a national favourite. Millions of people visit the site every month to buy and sell. Whether you’re a collector looking for an elusive trinket or a cost conscious buyer seeking a bargain, eBay has become a firm favourite with buyers.
Whilst many people buy on eBay, many fewer are active sellers. It might be part of the furniture, but many people haven’t taken the plunge yet and are new to the idea of selling online.
If you’ve never used eBay and are scared, don’t be. Anything new is a bit daunting and you’ll need to learn the ropes. But this needn’t take long. Here are some ideas, tips and pointers.
Learn eBay as a Buyer
The best way to get to know eBay is to become a proficient buyer. You can learn about feedback, bidding, postage, auctions and Buy It Now whilst shopping for bargains and hard to find treasures.
Your first sale is an experiment
Don’t rush headlong into selling on eBay and try and shift that valuable heirloom or a huge pile of stuff. Get to understand the selling process by listing a few low cost, easy-to-post items first. When you understand the basics you can move on to selling more ambitious products. eBay often holds cut price listing promotions that mean you can experiment without paying seller’s fees.
Your image is important
When you’re selling an item on eBay, the picture you included in your listing is one of the most important ways you can influence a buyer. Take clear, unfussy images that show your sales off in the best light. Avoid background clutter and make sure buyers have the information they need to put their hands in their pockets. Even a decent photo taken with a camera phone can do the trick.
Factor in the Fees
Don’t forget that eBay charges fees for selling on the site. There can be Listing Fees for putting an item up on the site and eBay also charges a sales commission or Final Value Fee for successful sales. These fees can easily eat into your profits so it’s vital to understand what eBay is going to charge you.
Build your Feedback
Your ongoing selling success depends on building a good Feedback reputation: when you use eBay, people review your performance. Make sure that you send buyers their purchases swiftly and items are exactly as described. The better your Feedback reputation becomes the greater your visibility in eBay’s search engine.
Trade safely
As an eBay seller or buyer, you might be worried about safety: lots of scare stories have given eBay a reputation of being an insecure site. The simple fact is that eBay doesn’t need to be dangerous. eBay has lots of vital security information available on the website. When it comes to staying safe on eBay the number one tip is obvious: use eBay’s own online payment service PayPal.
For more information on how to make money on eBay, you can buy a copy of Dan's book 'Make Serious Money on eBay UK' from Amazon. Click here to find out more.