Please note, I’m not thinking of starting a business or making millions at this, just selling off extra junk and stuff I no longer want.
I tried putting one item (a colloectable doll) up, and as far as I could tell, no one even looked at the auction. I did however, start getting an amazing amount of mail from people promising to teach me how to sell effectively for only $19.95 (or $29.95 or…)
Now, I realize that most of this is bunk, but I am perfectly willing to believe that there is a certain skill set to selling on eBay, and that I don’t have it. Where can I find out about what I need to do, what works, what doesn’t, what sorts of eBay bells and whistles I should pay for, etc.?
Is there a reputable book (maybe one of the ____ for Dummies type books) or other resource that can help people like me?
I don’t know of any books, but there are certainly a number of websites dedicated to the subject; a google search on ebay selling tips turns up quite a few.
My advice is to look at what other people are doing; before you list your item, search for similar items from other sellers (incuding completed auctions, which will give you an indication of the typical end price.) - Try to find a way to make your item genuinely more attractive than other similar items on sale.
Good photographs. And that means HONEST photographs - if there’s a flaw or fault, then put a picture of it on the advert so people know what you are talking about.
Clear instructions about payment, particularly overseas postage. And don’t harp on about Paypal costing you an extra 4% - just swallow it and shut up. And don’t put “postal insurance recommended” - you might as well say “I won’t pack the item safely”.
Don’t get excited about discovering how to do colours and borders with HTML. Google uses black-on-white for their web pages, as does this board, as does just about any other website worth reading.
Make sure you’re posting in the right categories. Seek out the obscurist ‘collectables’ sections you can.
Consider offering shipping worldwide. One CD single I’m selling at the moment has had four bids, two of which were from Sweden and Germany. Without them, the price would not have risen as high. You get to set the postage to cover international, so there’s no risk involved.
also, patience is key. Be willing to search all over ebay for those similar items to set your prices by. Mr finette6 makes his living selling used books on ebay and he swears by searching the completed items. That way you get a sense of how well a certain type of item has done over the past 30 days- if 20 of the same thing were listed and none sold, best to hold off for a while.
Don’t be afraid to go all-out for an item you think will do well- list in multiple categories, and re-list if it doesn’t sell.
Also, he lists all of his items to end at midnight the following sunday (by using the feature that lets you select a starting time). This makes shipping easier because all of the payments come in roughly together, and he believes more people look at them that way, since they spend the weekend on the “ending soon” pages.
good luck, and don’t get discouraged- we sell an average of half te stuff we list each week.
E-bay is odd in that you can list an object and it seems that nobody wants it. You then relist and it seems that everyone wants it. Go figure.
I have found success by having my listings end during working hours. It seems that people are more inclined to check on the auction’s status while at work.
Thanks for the advice. I clicked on the Google search, Mangetout, and found some very helpful hints. I will definitely start checking on items similar to the ones I am trying to sell. I will pay attention to when auctions end, as well.
One more question, several people have mentioned completed auctions. I did a search on eBay for “completed auctions” and got no matches. I also checked the site map and didn’t see anything. What blatantly obvious thing am I missing?
You can find a lot of good information by looking at the resources and boards in the community section of the site. eBay built itself and is known for its community members assisting one another.
I’m going to disagree about the insurance thing. I always look for insurance, as I’ve had too many items lost in the mail…including stuff that I packed and mailed, so I know that it made it into the post office.
Black and white is good. Make sure that’s black text on white background. Just about any other color combination is a lot harder to read. If I can’t read the listing without eyestrain, I’ll go on to another item. DON’T USE A PATTERNED BACKGROUND! Similarly, if I can’t see the item clearly in a picture, I’ll pass. There have been hundreds of items that I looked at, and wanted to buy, but I couldn’t see them clearly in the photograph. I’m not interested in excuses for a poor picture. If you could take one picture of the item, you can take another. This is particularly important with collectibles. Having several views of an item is very nice, and will make me stop and examine each picture if I’m interested in the item at all. Don’t put music on your page. It slows down the loading time and just aggravates the customer. Also, don’t get fancy with the cursor (leaving a little trail of hearts might seem adorable to you, but it turns my stomach). Don’t have anything scrolling or moving on your eBay page, it’s a sure sign of someone with no taste whatsoever.
I won’t bid on an item unless I have a pretty good idea of what the postage will be. I don’t mind paying a bit extra for handling, as I know that shipping supplies cost money, too, but I do resent sellers who charge an exorbitant fee to make up for a low starting bid. I think that they’re trying to cheat eBay out of the proper fee, and if they’re willing to cheat eBay, they’re willing to cheat me, too. Since I tend to only look at auctions that are about to end, I’m not interested in emailing the seller for postage costs.
I don’t do PayPal. I WILL, however, send a money order. Those who insist on PayPal only won’t get my bid.