Before Selling
Selling on eBay is fun and easy way to make money via the Internet. For as little as 30 cents you can list your item on eBay and market it to millions of potential buyers.
However, you can list your product on eBay's auction listings, here are a few preparations that you should consider.
1. Pay necessary selling fees. There are 3 different types of fees that you could be charged for selling things on eBay.
Insertion Fee — A non-refundable fee charged to your account when you initially list your item on eBay. This fee varies by the type of listing you choose and the starting bid on your listing but will generally range between $0.35 and $3.30.
Additional Option Fee — This fee is charged when you choose one or more of the optional seller features, such as having your listing appear as a featured listing on eBay's homepage.
Final Value Fee — You will be charged this fee at the end of the listing based upon the final sale price (final value) of your item. This fee is only applicable if the listing closes successfully — that is, if there is a winning bidder declared — and it is generally a small percentage of the final value of the item.
2. Research the competition. It is important to compare the market. See what other similar products are being sold. This will give you an idea of the popularity and value of the item your selling. In your research, consider the selling history and price of similar items, proper category listings and standard product lingo and information.
Scheduling the auction
The importance of scheduling your action at the proper time is a key feature in the preparation process. The market fluctuations for different kinds of goods tend to be different.
So you should definitely experiment to determine the optimum pattern/rhythm for what you have to sell or want to buy, and adapt your behavior accordingly.
However, the basic rule for scheduling your auction is to anticipate who your buyer is, and try to schedule your auction so it will close when they would likely be online.
Here are a few more helpful rules to consider when scheduling your auction:
Sundays between 5 and 6pm PST is generally considered the best time to close an auction (Long holiday weekends excepted).
7 days is generally considered the best auction length.
Avoid ending youth-oriented auctions on Friday and Saturday nights.
End auctions featuring items that appeal to retirement age people mid-morning.
Writing a Title Line
The next step for selling your item will be to fill out the title field description of the Sell your Item form. Writing an effective title field is critical to your product's selling success because that is what eBay's search engine reads.
A well-written title line will get viewer's attention and ensure the selling success of your item over the competition. Here are a few tips for completing this title field:
Get as much information as possible in the title field and be precise. eBay's search engine favors titles that include the most information, so put as many descriptive and specific words as possible.
Avoid using unnecessary words, such as "Wow" or "Awesome". The title field is limited to 45 characters so don't waste precious space with words that are useless descriptions.
A good title should identify what you have (and sometimes optional names for what it is). Always mention a brand name or maker (or artist) if known. Identify the material it's made from whenever relevant. If selling an illustration of any type, the subject matter must be in the title. The more relevant information that you can jam into your title, the more bidders you will attract.
Writing a Product Description
After completing your title field, the next field that you will have to enter is the description field. In this field, you should enter as much information as possible about your product.
When developing your description, try to anticipate all of the questions prospective bidders may ask and address them as briefly as possible.
A good description should AT LEAST address the following concerns: [1] what your item is, [2] the title if it has one, [3] the maker or marketer or artist or author if known, [4] list of all marks or other identifiers, [5] specify what it is made of, [6] give its dimensions, [7] give its condition, and [8] list any special features or history.
Make sure to include all dates, patent numbers, and other information printed on your item.
In your description, don't be afraid to tout your item a little or even include a story about the item; just make sure that you are being truthful.
You should also include all shipping and payment acceptance information as well to remove as much doubt as possible from prospective bidders.
Design techniques
In addition to what you write, how your auction page looks is also important to attraction potential buyers. Employ the following good design techniques as you design your next page.
Organize information. You should make it as easy as possible for bidders to read about your offering. Keep it simple, direct, clean, to the point. Make sure that all of your description information is organized effectively.
The key is to get viewer attention WITH YOUR ITEM and its description, rather than all of the incidental information such as payment acceptance and shipping policies. In the following order: list title, description, photos, and then all the other information.
Always include a photo of the item and make sure it is clear and shows all the details, regardless if they are good or bad. No one likes to buy things they can't see.
Avoid slow-loading graphics, animation, color backgrounds, music, etc. Learn how to use your camera or scanner so you can make modestly sized pictures. Low resolution jpeg images that load quickly are perfect for eBay under most circumstances.
If you're using scanned images, make sure to resize them so they load fast, fit on smaller screens, and can be viewed in their entirety without scrolling. Thumbnails are great, but if you use them, make certain the most informative picture is first.
Unnecessary features such as animations or music usually only annoy serious bidders and turn them away because they are slow to load and usually have nothing to do with the product itself.
Closing the Sale
Congratulations! All of your hard work has paid off and you have sold an item. There is still plenty of work to be done though.
After the auction has ended, the first thing that you must do is contact the high bidder via email. At the close of the auction, you will have received a notification from eBay containing the winning bid price and contact information for the bidder.
As the seller, it is generally your responsibility to contact the winning bidder within three business days of the close of the listing. Your initial email should contain the following information:
- Final Price
- Shipping Costs
- Payment Options
- Time frame in which you expect payment
- Mailing Address for Payment
- A hyperlink to your feedback page (to encourage feedback)
Ship the Item: After receiving payment, carefully pack the item and promptly ship it to the buyer. However, if the payment is in the form of a personal check, for your protection you may want to wait for it to clear your bank before shipping the item. Call your bank for details on this procedure.
Leave Feedback: Finally, make sure to leave feedback on the buyer in eBay's Feedback Forum.
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