Make the most from your eBay listings
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Top tips for more eBay profit
- Improve your seller rating
By selling smaller items first on eBay and providing excellent customer service, you can build up your seller ratings. People will be more likely to buy smaller items from a new seller as there is little risk involved and then once you've got some good sales to show from yourself, you'll have more success with bigger items.
- Package your items nicely
Putting a little effort into your packaging and perhaps including a thank you note can really help your seller feedback. It will cost you very little and will hopefully reap rewards.
The more detail your item listing gives, the better. Impatient shoppers don't want to have to email you queries about your product, so try to think of all possible questions a buyer might want answers to and include them in your listing. You can deliver a lot of information in a clear way by using bullet points and quick short sentences.
- Make your listing stand out
It's a great idea to try to make your listing stand out in some way. Whether it's fancy design or a bit of humour in the text, if you're selling an item that is easy to find, then you should find a way to make people choose your item over the others.
- Make sure your photos are good quality
And when we say good quality, we don't just mean high resolution. You have to make sure that your photo shows your item in the best light. For instance, if you're selling a black t-shirt, don't hang it against a black background. Often an indicator of size is a good idea, as without reference it's difficult to really see what size some items are. Always take as many photos from different angles as you think you'll need. The better your item looks on the webpage, the more interest you'll get.
- Think about when your buyers will be shopping
You may think that it's best to always sell so your items are finishing during the weekend when people can be watching to bid again if they are outbid, however it really depends on what sort of product you are selling. Often office equipment is bought when people are at their offices, so during office hours would be a better bet.
Good customer service is going to work wonders, so whether it's a quick response to a question (you should really only take 24 hours maximum to respond to a query) or a simple thank you email to your buyer, a small gesture can go a long way.
And finally, remember; they are more scared of you than you are of them! |
Most of us have browsed eBay at some point and admired the colossal amount of merchandise available to buy. So how do you get the most out of selling and listing items yourself on the world's largest online market place? Our guide should get you on the road to clearing all that junk out of your house - and making a tidy profit from it. What you can sell eBay is a true treasure trove and so even if you think some of the spare things you have lying around at the back of wardrobes, under beds or packed away in lofts are just junk, one man's trash is another man's treasure. Objects for sale on eBay should be in a fairly decent condition, simply because if they are broken or useless, you are very unlikely to sell them. However, if something is beyond repair, think about selling parts that could be useful to someone else. Even small seemingly useless things can sell for a good price on eBay; that He-man figurine that you've had since you were small could be a collectors' item and fetch a nice profit. Similarly, old magazines may go for far more than they are worth to you. Another way to check if your product could sell is to browse around on the site and see if there are other similar items listed that are selling well. Computer, camera and video cables that you no longer have the actual machines to go with can be useful to others. This also goes for manuals, as often you can't sell electrical equipment without a manual and so someone with the same model appliance and a lost manual could pay a lot for yours if they are thinking of selling it, or even if they just can't work it. The basic rule is, if it's in good condition pay the 25p to list it and take your chances. Getting started
The first thing to do, whether you’re buying or selling is register as a buyer. Then once you’re into your account, you can click on the tab in the top right corner labelled ‘Sell’ and fill in the information required. You will need to enter your credit or debit card details here, but when you register it’s just for verification purposes; you won’t be charged. However even though it’s free to register, you will have to pay fees for your listings when start selling.
Fees Once you’re registered, you can start posting items and this is where you’re going to need to think about what kind of listing you want, as different listings incur different fees. - The first fee that everyone selling on eBay has to pay is an insertion fee. This is what you pay for putting your listing on the site. The amount of the insertion fee depends on the starting price of your item and the kind of item that you are selling. It can get pretty complicated, so the best thing to do is check the insertion fee of your item here, taking into account what kind of item it is (media, clothing, electrical) and the starting price you want to list it at.
- On top of the insertion fee, you have to pay a little extra for features that enhance your listing, like a gallery or the ‘buy it now’ feature. It’s not much extra, often only 10p, but check here to get the exact amount. All these fees are payable upfront before your listing is live.
- After your item has sold, you then have to pay a Final Value fee to eBay. This is never more than 7.5% of the final sale price, but it can be less. Check out the final value fee table here.
Getting ready to write your listing
The next thing to do is take a look around at what’s already on eBay using the completed items search that you can find in the advanced search under the search tab at the top of the page. This way you’ll know what kind of price you can expect to sell for and listings of items similar to yours will tell you what category to place your item in. You can also get an idea of what kind of description gets the best results (long and detailed, or written in bullet points), what kind of information is it essential you provide, and whether you’ll make more if you put it in a standard auction or buy it now format. You will also be able to see from completed listings whether high or low starting prices get higher final sale prices.
Taking a photo
You may think it’s a question of just putting up a simple photo, but you’ll be able to see from completed listings that having more than one photo can work wonders for your final sale price. If your item needs photos from different angles, or would benefit from being photographed on a model (clothes) or with any extras you’re selling it with, then it’s essential you do it in order to increase your final sale price. It’s important to take photos of all the good elements about your item, but also if there are any flaws, you must take photos of them to allow the buyer to work out whether it is worth their while bidding on your item. The first photo you add is free, but spending the little bit extra on more than one photo can really improve your final sale price. Photos to upload to eBay must all be either .jpg or .gif file formats.
Selling
Once you’ve worked out the type of listing you want to have (auction or buy it now), what you’re going to put in the description and how many photos you’re going to use, then you’re ready to list. You’ve then got to enter all this information on the sell your item form, plus the location of your item. You’ll also have to choose which categories to list your item in. If you list in more than one category, you’ve got a bigger chance of exposure of your item which should make it worth the small extra cost you’ll pay to do this. You’ll also have to choose a title for your item. Take a bit of time over this and think of the kind of things buyers who want to buy something like your item will enter into the search engine. Then try to get at least some keywords into your title that you think buyers will associate with your item. You can also spruce up your listing with different font colours and formatting, however don’t go over the top, over complication can be as off-putting as lack of detail. You'll also have to decide the length of your listing. Again, refer back to your research of completed items. These should tell you whether or not a longer listing is more profitable than a shorter one. Listing your item over at least one weekend is a good idea, as lots of people are more likely to search eBay in their leisure time, than whilst they are working during the week. And then it's time to set a starting price. Sometimes it's worth taking a risk and starting your item at a lower price to encourage people to bid on what they think is a bargain. With more valuable items you might not want to take the risk, but you can still start the bid at a low starting price by using a reserve to protect your item. This means that unless someone's bid exceeds the stated reserve, the item will not sell and you can list it another time. However, eBay feels that reserves discourage buyers and so the highest reserve they offer is £50. The final things to decide on are payment and postage. It is important that you offer Paypal to your buyers as this is easily the most popular method of payment. It allows you to accept debit and credit card payments over the internet and the transfer of funds is completely secure and super speedy, letting you get your money quickly and therefore send the item out promptly to improve your seller rating. You can also accept cheques or postal orders to maximise the amount of buyers that will consider your listing, but these methods will take longer for the money to clear. What you're going to charge for postage doesn't have to reflect what it's really going to cost you, but a cheaper postage will encourage people to bid on your items, so before you post your listing, get down to your post office with your item and work out how much it will really cost you to send it and go from there. Remember to check how much international postage will cost if you don't mind selling to international buyers. Completing the sale Once the listing has ended and you've got a buyer, you and the buyer will recieve a confirmation email. If your buyer pays through Paypal, then you'll get an email from them when they've paid so you know when the money has come through and when you can post off the item. Never post an item for which you haven't received payment, and that doesn't mean getting a cheque in the post, it means the cheque has cleared and the money is in your account. You'll then receive an invoice from eBay for your final value fees. If you receive the invoice between the first and fifth of the month, you must pay by the last day of the month and if you receive it between 16-20th you must pay by the 15th of the next month. If you don't pay, eBay will freeze your account and then send the bailiffs in. If you don't sell your item, you obviously won't have any final value fees to pay and you can relist your item for free (so long as it sells the next time - you then get the second relisting fee refunded). Useful links: |
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