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How to Sell Stuff on eBay, efficiently
So
you want to sell stuff on eBay, but you have two minor
problems: you don't know how and you don't have stuff.
Not a problem. Keep reading for some tips to get you
pointed in the right direction.
Before you begin you’ll need some basic equipment:
Computer, Internet access, digital camera, and some
space to put your stuff. That’s really all you’ll
need to get started. You’ll also need shipping
and packing supplies but that is addressed later.
Next
you’ll need to learn how to list auctions. Go to
the eBay sellers overview: http://pages.ebay.com/education/sellingtips/index.html.
This will be your lifeline. There is a plethora of information
there on everything you always wanted to know and more.
Don’t be overwhelmed; just take it one step at
a time. You’ll see there is information on listings,
on bidding, on photos, on feedback – it’s
all there.
Next
you’ll need to figure out what to sell. Before
you zero in on a particular niche you need some experience
and some feedback. Buyers are generally leery of buying
from someone who is brand new and has a feedback rating
of less than 10 evaluations. While you are getting your
feet wet, look around your own house first. You’d
be amazed at what people buy. You could list outgrown
clothing, magazines, candle holders, CD, books, flannel
sheets, recipes, the ugly old lamp that was Aunt Mildred’s,
all those goofy Christmas gifts sitting in your basement,
that old baby gate with a stain on it. Get the idea?
You never know what someone will want.
Although
you need experience, you don’t want to list something
that isn’t likely to sell. Do your research first
before you invest the time in putting together a listing.
An easy method to use is do a “search” on
eBay, then look up COMPLETED ITEMS, then sort by HIGHEST
price. Then you’ll see if your Tommy Bahama
shirt is really worth anything. Or you’ll see that
your old baseball cards had 23 listings and not one
of them sold.
Pricing
is another challenge. Again, you’ll need to
do your research. See what they’re going for. Don’t
have overly high expectations. You know how you feel
when you go to a garage sale and you see a pair of jeans
for $15 or books for $4 each. Many people come to eBay
to look for a bargain. Consider how much you have into
the item. If you have an item from around the house,
you may consider that something is better than nothing,
so you may be inclined to start the bidding quite low.
If you bought it with the specific intention to resell,
you will, at the very minimum, want to break even, so
take the price you paid for it and consider other costs,
i.e. listing fees, final value fees (all explained in
your lifeline – eBay seller overview above). People
are much more apt to bid if the bidding starts LOW.
Sometimes though, you will have collectibles that are
worth a chunk of money. Don’t give away that vintage
postcard that is worth $56! Do your homework.
The
next big question is how do you get paid? You
determine what you would accept. Online payments such
as PayPal (paypal.com) are very convenient. You can
also decide that you’ll accept money orders or
personal checks. The more options you leave your buyers,
the more likelihood you’ll get more bids.
You
also need to decide how you want to ship your items
to the winners. Many sellers use USPS, others prefer
UPS. If you use USPS and ship via Priority Mail, you
can get your envelopes and boxes free from USPS. If
you ship First Class or Parcel Post or UPS, you’ll
have to shop around for deals on boxes or envelopes
and bubble wrap or packing peanuts.
Overwhelmed
yet? Yes there is a lot to learn, but it’s not
nuclear science. Just take it one step at a time. It’s
a learning process. Some yahoo groups (or MSN or AOL,
or whatever your preference) are great sources for support
and camaraderie with others who are doing the same.
So
in summary, if you want to just “start pushing
buttons” and learn on your own, YOU CAN DO IT.
If you do better chatting with others, those resources
are available too. Use what is available.
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