Whether you’re looking to set up an online business or you just have a pile of clothes you’re hoping to turn for a profit, learning how to sell your stuff online can be a valuable and lucrative skill. Using eBay, one of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms, you can sell just about anything, with a few notable exceptions. Business Insider spoke to experts and online sellers about some of the best tricks for selling items on eBay. When photographing the items you’ll sell, take shots from multiple angles. It’s incredibly important to make sure shoppers have as much information about your product as possible and high-quality photos are one of the best ways to differentiate your item’s listing from similar ones. For example, photograph clothing on a hanger, dress form, or mannequin. For shoes, photograph them from the top, sides, and bottom of soles,» Sam Brightvice president of merchandising at eBay North America, told Business Insider. If the item is pre-owned, include photos of any flaws or scuffs that you have described in the listing. Editing photos to brighten them or remove shadows is okay, but make sure the finished images that you post are accurate representations of the item you are selling. Determining the best way to list an item will help you to increase your chances of making the most money from a sale. Bright said you should sell your items at a fixed price using the «Buy It Now» feature when you know the market value of your item.
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Share best practices, tips, and insights. Meet other eBay community members who share your passions. I have been selling on Ebay for about 6 months or so and between shipping, ebay and paypal charges, I am really not making any money. Do you have more luck offering free shipping, flat fee or calculated shipping? I live in the midwest and it seems the majority of customers I get live on the west coast or down south. Does that make shipping more expensive? Anyway, I’m really wondering if all this is worth it. What are you using for a camera? Are you using a phone cam or a tablet cam? I notice that a lot of your sold items you only got a single bid on I also notice that in most of your photos, the focus is very soft and bordering on out of focus. You should always check your photos on a bigger screen like a computer or a TV even to make sure they are clear and in focus. Most phone and tablet cameras have an inferior lens even in comparison to an inexpensive pocket camera Poor or incorrect lighting can cause it, too. The reason I bring this up, is that unless I’m shopping for a bargain, if the photos are not sharp, I move on to the next listing. If I AM looking for a bargain, often an item with less than optimal photos will only get a bid or two on them, so I can almost always buy them for less. Something for you to consider.
Work a Little and Earn a Lot
GIMP is a lot closer to Photoshop in what it can do, but it also has a bigger learning curve, where Photoscape is fairly simple to use. I know it can be a pain to stop and edit photos, but if you are going to take the time to do a listing, why not make it as good as it can be by optimizing your photos, too? As for your original question, if you can get more bidders on your items, you’ll make more money by default. I usually offer free first class shipping on lightweight items, and calculated shipping paid by the buyer on other items, but sometimes I vary it up just to see if it makes a difference. The secret of making money at anything is not in the selling price, but in the buying price, because what you have in an item greatly determines what you are going to want to sell it for, so always, always buy as low as you can.
The eBay Community
With more than million active users in , Ebay remains one of the top online platforms for buying and selling products. It currently sits at the number 3 spot behind Amazon and Walmart in terms of visitor numbers, with an impressive million visits per month. Ebay lets sellers create an auction easily and cash in within a week. As of February of , the app has an audience reach of People dipping their toes into Ebay for the first time are usually looking to sell pre-used items. These Ebay users pop up only when they have stuff to sell, usually items they have around the house. This group of Ebay sellers trade during their free time and usually scales up when the business shows true potential to expand. Refers to established businesses with a large customer base and significant product turnover. They typically work full-time on their Ebay business. Knowing who to source your products from and building a strong relationship with suppliers is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle if you want to have a successful dropshipping business on Ebay. Most beginner dropshippers will probably fire up Google and try to look for a product to sell and where to source it. And while you may want to give them a shot, your Scam-O-Meter tells you otherwise.
To become a truly successful seller, you need to have lots of positive feedback. It’s important to look for items that are similar to yours in as many ways as possible. If you fail to receive payment from a buyer, do your best to work it out between the two of you. You do not have to accept any Best Offer bids that come in unless you want to. Related wikiHows. As your sales and feedback rating climb, you will begin to gain more customers and bring in more money. To make good money, you need to build a positive reputation.
Why it’s a good idea to dropship on Ebay
Show less If you’re looking to bring in some extra cash or maybe start a new career, selling on eBay could be the answer you’re looking. There’s money to be made by becoming part of the eBay seller community. Put in a little time reading the steps below, and that investment could pay off for you in a big way. To make money on eBay, decide what you want to sell, take high-quality photos of your items, and create listings that are clear and detailed.
Be sure to price your items competitively by checking what similar items have sold for in the past! Once you figure out what sells well, look for more of it so you can continue selling that item. As your sales and feedback rating climb, you will begin to gain more customers and bring in more money.
For tips on taking great photos and creating strong listings, read on! This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Together, they cited information from 6 references. Heidegger Metayer. Log in Facebook Loading Google Loading Civic Loading No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great.
By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Home Categories Hobbies and Crafts Collecting. Article Edit. Learn why people trust wikiHow. It also received 15 testimonials from readers, earning it our reader-approved status. Learn more Method 1. Create an eBay account.
If you don’t already have one, you’ll need to go online and create an account on eBay. The account is free and allows you to operate as a seller or a buyer. Once you have an account, you can log in to My eBay and track your auctions, view bids and send and receive emails.
Put some thought into the name you choose for your eBay user ID. This is how you’ll be known in the eBay community. Pick something that’s memorable but not weird, inoffensive and positive. Look into fees. When you sell on eBay, you can operate under the standard fee arrangement or choose to become a subscriber. Among the differences are the number of free listing you get per month and the add-on fees you’ll pay.
As someone who’s new to selling on eBay, you’ll probably want to operate under the standard fee agreement. There are three paid subscription accounts available on eBay. Open a PayPal Account. PayPal allows your buyers to use a credit card or a checking account to pay for the items they buy from you.
It also allows you to sell internationally. Buyers initiate the payment transaction with PayPal, and PayPal, in turn, transfers the money to your account. It’s not required that you have a PayPal account in order to sell on eBay, but it can be difficult to succeed without one. Decide what to sell. It’s best to start by selling things that you already have around your home.
Go room by room and look for things you no longer need or wear or perhaps have never even used. Ebay offers an online tool called «Selling Inspiration House. It’s also a good idea to look around on eBay to see what other people are selling and at what price. Check to see how many «bids» an item has to try to gauge its popularity.
Sell what you know. Not only will you need to write a detailed description of your item, but potential buyers may contact you with questions. It can be difficult to thoroughly explain the benefits of a product and answer detailed inquiries if you’re not all that familiar with the item. Determine what sells well and look for more of it. Local garage or estate sales can be a good way to buy things inexpensively that might sell for more on eBay. Start small. While your ultimate goal may be to become an eBay Power Seller, you want to take things one step at a time.
Starting with just a few items to sell gives you the chance to learn the ropes and establish yourself as a reputable seller. Like any new enterprise, selling on eBay may present you with some unexpected challenges, and you’re bound to make a few mistakes—everybody does. Begin by selling just a few items so you can familiarize yourself with the responsibilities that come with being a seller. To become a truly successful seller, you need to have lots of positive feedback.
When you’re first starting out, you won’t have any. Build your business slowly and give great customer service so that you can earn positive feedback. That way, you’ll earn the trust of buyers, who will be more likely to do business with you once they see you’re an established and honest seller.
Method 2. Choose how you want to sell. Consider how quickly you want to sell your item, whether or not you’d be willing to let it go at lower price than you’d hoped for and how much effort you want to put into the whole selling process. Traditional auction. If you list your item auction-style, you establish an opening bid and then allow a set number of days for buyers to submit their own bids for your item. Whatever the highest bid is at the end of the auction period, that is the final selling price of your item.
The hope, of course, is that interest will be high and the price will rise over the auction period so that you come out a winner. You can set an auction to last 3, 5, 7 or 10 days. Sellers with a feedback rating of 10, will also be given the option of a 1-day auction. Many buyers watch items for a while and think about them before placing a bid, so a longer auction could be to your advantage. While it may bring a bit of unwanted drama to your life, using the traditional auction method could pay off.
If you want to ensure that an item you list for auction doesn’t go for a price you can’t live with, you can set a Reserve on the item. A Reserve is the minimum bid you must receive in order to sell your item. If you set a Reserve, be aware that interested buyers may be in touch to find out your Reserve amount, so you may be spending some additional time answering questions. The BIN feature lets you set the price you want for an item right from the get-go.
Buyers who look at your listing will immediately know the price, and they can purchase straight. BIN gives you the opportunity to perhaps sell your item quickly for the price you want and be done with it or move on to your next listing.
You can add a BIN option to an item you have listed for auction. Best Offer. That way, interested buyers can submit to you a price they’d be willing to pay for your item. You do not have to accept any Best Offer bids that come in unless you want to.
You can hold out to see if anyone will purchase your item at the BIN price. Decide on your price. The best way to price an item is to see what similar items have sold for on eBay.
Log in to your eBay account and choose «Advanced Search» and check the box marked «Completed Listings» to see what items have sold for across multiple categories. Look at how the items were sold auction, BIN, Best Offer or Reserve and pay particular attention to those that used the selling method you’ve decided to use for your own item. It’s important to look for items that are similar to yours in as many ways as possible.
That means condition, age, color and a variety of variables should be taken into account when comparing your item to those that have recently sold.
You can see information about items that have sold within the last 90 days and for items that didn’t sell within the last 30 days.
When determining how much to charge for your item, use an eBay profit calculator. It’s important to do this so that you will factor in all the costs involved such as fees, shipping, packaging, cost of the item.
An item may sell at a loss if calculations are not completed prior to setting a price. Take photos. It won’t be enough to simply talk about your item, you have to show buyers what you’re offering. In fact, as of July 31, eBay requires at least one photo for each listing. Photos must be border-less, without seller-added text or artwork and be at least pixels on the longest .
How I Made $70,000 Selling On Ebay By The Age 16
Check it. Here’s. Plus, insider tips on how to make money on eBay from eBay senior exec Jim Griffith.
5 expert tips for selling on eBay
Mwke Sethi. We also interviewed a senior executive at eBay to get insider tips on how to make money selling stuff on eBay. Want more sellinf Susan and I are both fans of Big Wins. That means aggressively cutting costs, optimizing our spending, and earning. How much can you really make on the site anyway? Most importantly: Is it worth it … or am I just going to get screwed by selling all of my stuff way below market value.
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