This article is contributed by Heather Johnson.
Please see the end of this article for her bio.
There are many “power sellers” on eBay who make a full-time living from the online auction site. Surprisingly, this isn’t a hard market to get into. However, there are some helpful tricks that will help you to maximize your earning potential and compete with other sellers. Below are five tips for becoming a more effective eBay seller.
1. List Your Items at the Right Time – Many buyers wait to bid on eBay items until the very end of the auction. If your items end at a time of day when the site is very active, your buyers will be more likely to get into a bidding war. In other words, the auction will end at a higher price. Make sure you don’t list items at a time when the auctions end during odd hours.
2. Mistype Your Auction Title – In addition to correctly spelling your item’s name, you could also include a common misspelling of the item. That way, those who search eBay with the incorrect spelling will find your auction. There are even sites, such as Mistyped Auctions, that will help you to determine how items are commonly misspelled. For example: “Guitar Hero” is commonly mistyped as “Gutiar Hero.”
3. Offer Good Pictures – Not only are images essential when making eBay sales, you need to take quality, detailed pictures. The first picture is free to list, so you may want to consider typing your description in HTML to add more images for free. That way, you can host images on Photobucket or Flickr, and then put them into your description’s code.
4. Don’t Gouge Shipping Prices – Never overcharge for shipping and then cite that extra charge as a “handling fee.” If you really think you deserve a handling fee, then put it into the listing price and not the shipping. Buyers will often choose one listing over the other because it offers a more reasonable shipping fee.
5. Research an Item on eBay Before Listing – Research each item on eBay before you list it. If you are convinced a certain item is worth $10 and you find that same item readily selling on eBay for $2, then you may have to adjust your strategy accordingly.
eBay sales can be unpredictable at times, but you can really tip things in your favor by following the above advice. There are eBay power sellers who make millions each year and everyone needs to start somewhere. With some careful determination, you too could become the next eBay success story.
About the Contributor:
Heather Johnson is a freelance writer, as well as a regular commentator on the topic of airline miles cards. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com.
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Morning,
My favorite tip for selling on eBay is to engage your reader. Write so the item comes alive in their minds and try to actively cause an emotional response (and if it’s unique enough, encourage the reader to twitter about it as well).
Enjoy,
Barbara
It took me quite a while to clue into the fact that ending an auction at 5am Saturday morning was helping me earn a living.
I always look at the shipping costs. So many seem to inflate the shipping costs and make their product cost a bit lower to suck people that don’t bother to check shipping costs.
I will email the user to let them know they lost a sale because they try to pull the wool over my eyes.
Best tip on there is the timing of your auction. It is also a great idea when looking for an item to get it cheaper by shopping at unusual times such as late at night or early in the morning.
-Alex
There is a great source at paypal.com - log in there and check out the shops section. You can browse shop categories and see how many sales a particular online shop has made. Its a great resource.
Listing at the right time so the auction closes at the right time is probably the most common mistake people make. I have a Free eBay Selling Guide if anyway is looking for more eBay Selling Tips.