My friend has just begun her first seller’s auctions on ebay- I sense a new addiction brewing. Not sure how it’s going to fit in with the shoe addiction, the makeup addiction…<sigh>…
BTW, she’s started with small value items, using digi photo’s and plain backdrops, simple descriptions and no reserves.
Anyhays…any tips from old timers out there, any street smart tactics she should switch on to… ?
NEVER EVER EVER USE BACKGROUND MUSIC/MIDI CRAP! NEVER EVER JUST DON’T!!!
Sorry. Too many sellers do this, and even though I’ve told Internet Explorer NOT to play background music it still does, and the damn thing stalls the entire computer while it loads, and it’s annoying as hell and makes me close the auction window immediately without even checking to see if the item is any good.
So don’t do that.
Here are some of my eBay theories:
Never have a reserve. It annoys people and they don’t bother to bid.
If it’s a popular item and you know it will sell for a decent price, start it really low. Like $0.01 low. That will get several bidders hooked on your item, and drive up the price.
If you’re not sure if anyone wants your item, start at a higher price. You don’t want to start an unpopular item really low and only get one bid. I’ve made that mistake before.
The more pictures, the better. Just don’t make them so hi-res that the page takes five minutes to load. Never run an auction with no photos.
Those rules seem to work well for me. Good luck.
-Andrew L
Amen. I don’t understand the reserve option at all. If you don’t want it to sell under a certain price, then start it at that goddamned price! Rather than being interested in the item, I just pass. It’s not worth the bother.
A good place to learn about all things ebay is
Online Traders Web Alliance.
I’m new at ebay so
I bought two of the CDs found in Wierd Stuff that purport to give ALL of the ebay secrets.
One of them is still in the mail.
This CD says that the real secret is in the ad.Kind of like a newspaper ad salesman,sorry Ed.
Anyway they aren’t very expensive, $.99 for the CD plus 4.01 for shipping .Give you any ideas??? Looks like the stamp costs .57.
I’ve found some interesting stuff and I’m hopeing the other guy has different ideas.
Racinchikki – I agree with you but, damn ! it just makes me want to recommend using something like Mongolian throat music.
** njufoic** and Gundy– yep, the ‘no reserve’ rule was my first inclination when she asked but I’m not particularly retail aware so thanks for the confirmation.
** hillbilly queen** – Now, that’s a handy link. Some useful tips there, I sent her over to check it out. Hell of a lot of links, in fact…LOL. Cheers !
** justwannano** – Yep, I guess there are tips that the experienced ebayers use that aren’t widely known…I don’t know, I guess she’ll see how it goes and if it looks like bigger money will be involved, maybe she’ll check out those CD’s.
BTW, there have been five bids (total) on seven items in the first 24 hours, I guess that’s encouraging. Happy sho-ping !
Cheers !
Watch out with buyers with a 0 rating. Makes sense to put this in ad. I have been stung twice like this. Only accept bids from people with feedback.
Hope this helps
If she hasn’t already, tell her to check out the eBay help boards. It can get a big snitchy sometimes, but there’s a whole heap of useful advice as well.
When I started, the thing that worked for me was giving impeccable customer service. If someone emailed me with a question, I’d answer as soon as I could, and I would mail the item as soon as I received payment. Now about a third of my sales are repeat customers. And even if they don’t win the auction, their bids still drive up the price. 
Do not ever under any circumstances ever use anything but a plain white background. EVER!
That is so freaking annoying.
Please let the bidder know up front what the shipping and handling cost will be. These charges can be substantial!
If you receive payment in the form of paypal or money order please ship out the godamn item right away! I’ve had to wait up to two or three weeks at times for the seller to ship my item or items even after payment was received! I know you should wait if a personal check is received for payment. A lot of these sellers just flat out procrastinate or forget to send your item.
Again, using the reserve option is retarded!
Luck to your friend!
Handy, re:#6. As a a buyer, I hate when I have to initiate the feedback to a seller, especially if they have a really high number. I think it’s the seller’s right to withhold shipment until payment, and the buyer’s right to withhold feedback until I get a positive for paying correctly and promptly. What, they are afraid I’m going to give them a negative after they give me a positive? Come on. I just have to pay, you just have to get me what you promised. I’ve held out for a while on people and not gotten feedback until I posted first.
nothing to add but a second to all of the above, and BUY MY STUFF!!!
eBay- A fool and his money is some party!
ElwoodCuse, if someone pays for the stuff they bought from me, their role is done. Basically.
In other words, the feedback I write would say they paid promptly. I just have to hope they
don’t mess up things after that & so far, no one has.
Keeping in good contact with buyers and potential buyers is a must. Your friend should make sure to check her email several times a day, and respond quickly to any questions or concerns.
Thanks again for all your help folks, some very helpful advice.
Now the first set of auctions are over it really struck me ( as **handy **mentions in his point 4) how important it is to take great care with the wording of both the Title and Description of items – ebay’s (obviously) huge and getting all your keywords included and just right is vital…seems quite an art given the character limitation for the title.
Anyway, happy shop-Ping !
BTW, she sold six of the eight items (in theory…we’ll see now how the payment thing goes). Next set is being readied.
When my college friends and I get broke we do some selling of various things 
I second everything that has been mentioned with one more addition - state in the add where you are willing to ship - if you’re not willing to ship outside the U.S (or whereever) then state so in the ad. You will be amazed at where some of the bids will come from - and sometimes it’s just not worth your time/trouble to deal with overseas shipments, and if the winning bid is from Ulan Bator - you’re screwed. Some people will bid anyway hoping that they can convince you ship when they win the auction - but at least you can refuse to ship to them knowing that you were upfront in the ad for the auction.
planetpeschel chiming in with my experiences as a seller:
In the title, forget words like “RARE.” Almost nothing’s rare on ebay and no one searches by it anyway. If you have room, include mispellings (Hemmingway for Hemingway, for example).
Be completely honest in the descriptions, especially of any wear or damage to the items. This covers your butt in case there’s a problem.
Try to get as good quality pictures as you can get. After my first few sales, I earned enough to buy a scanner, and now I’ve got a digital camera. Use as many pictures as you see fit (I think ebay charges now for more than 1 pix, which can be a bummer).
If there’s anything sexy about your item, emphasize that as well.
Spend time in the chat rooms. That’ll give you ideas about what kinds of frauds are perpetrated. From the sellers viewpoint, it seemed to be mostly bounced checks and chargebacks on credit card sales.
If you don’t accept PayPal or BillPoint, MENTION IT. At least twice.
Good advice about mentioning where you are willing to ship. I was willing to ship far away, but it was understood that it would be expensive and the buyer would have to pay it. I would state specifically: “$3 for ground postage by USPS, $4.50 by FedEx 2nd day, overseas mail would be much more expensive, in the $10-$15 range to Europe.”
If you’ve got a lot of stuff, try to stick to a regular schedule, and tell your customers what you do. I sold books, comic strips, and games, so those collectors learned to check in on Thursday, when I posted new items.
I also bought a ledger to keep track of sales. Each item got its own line, spread out over two pages. I would record the item, when it was put up for sale, the suggested postage and when it the auction ended. After it was over, I’d record who bought it, the address and e-mail, when I shipped it, how, and how much the postage actually cost. It showed me at a glance who paid and who didn’t, and if there was a question, I had the facts at my fingertips.
Oh, one big thing, for a little extra (.35 I think), the post office would put a bar code on your package. It’s not the same as return receipt requested, but a cheaper version of it. It records when the package was actually delivered. It’s a little extra insurance for your peace of mind.
Good luck.