8 Tips on Selling Items on EBay ...

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People often get the itch to sell things on eBay and immediately go out and buy a whole bunch of stuff that they think might sell. This tactic can work if there is a major need for specific items and you know for sure that you’ll be able to sell all of what you just purchased. Most people find it more cost effective to start selling items they already own, as opposed to spending money before they make any.

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While it may seem beneficial to open a store right from the start, it can actually end up costing you more money. Selling individual items at first and then working up to opening a store is a better option for most new eBay sellers. One reason for this is that people tend to buy from sellers who have already sold many items and have lots of positive feedback. In order to get started with collecting positive feedback, you’ll need to purchase at around 100 different items through eBay and get great feedback from the sellers you bought things from.

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Sometimes there are items being sold on eBay that are the same or very similar to what you are trying to sell. It’s a good idea to search eBay before listing an item, just to see if it might already be on there. This will give you an idea of how popular the item is, how much it might be selling for, how many people are interested in the item already listed, and if it is in a similar condition as the one you are trying to sell. This is also a helpful tactic when you aren’t sure how much you should sell a particular item for.

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Posting pictures that are too small to show any detail of your item is frustrating to buyers. Be sure that the pictures you post show details of your item and the images are very clear. It’s hard to buy things online, since you can’t physically see the item you are about to purchase. When someone has a choice between two items that are selling for the same price, but one has better pictures, then the latter is usually the item that gets sold. No one wants to buy something sight-unseen, if they can help it.

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The more detail you give about the item you are selling, the better. The description space is available for you to provide any additional information that might not show up in the photograph. Try to be as clear as possible and be sure to describe any imperfections that the product might have. It’s better to let buyers know all about the pros and cons of the product, so that they aren’t surprised when they receive it in the mail.

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For auctions on eBay, they run for a minimum of 7 days. In order to get a larger crowd, most people find it helpful to put items up for sale on a Friday or a Saturday. People who work during the week will usually peruse eBay during the weekend, so they will be more likely to bid on something that they can watch during the last minutes of the auction. I know I find it frustrating to be trying to work and wondering if someone just outbid me on an item I’m trying to buy. Having an auction end during Friday or Saturday gives people time to be at home and monitor their potential purchase.

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Some buyers feel they are getting a deal when free shipping is offered, especially for large purchases. If you can manage to offer free shipping on your items, then you might end up selling a lot more. It’s also to your benefit to provide buyers with combined shipping. I know I’m more apt to buy multiple items from a seller if the postage for shipping will be figured all together. There is usually at least a small amount of money saved when the cost of shipping is added all together.

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Putting up one item for sale tends to look a bit sketchy. It’s better to list a number of things all at once. Plus, you will be more likely to reach a variety of customers if you have many different items up for sale. Sometimes people search for items and come across other things on accident. Having multiple products up for a sale at any given time might help you to snag some of these accidental findings for your own products.

These are just my 8 tips on selling items on eBay. Do you have additional ones that you‘d like to share? Have you found selling items to be successful or more trouble than it’s worth? I’d like to hear your ideas on ways you’ve used in the past for selling items on eBay.

Top Photo Credit: Ryan Fanshaw Photography