How I Made Selling on Ebay Work
Image courtesy of Ryan Fanshaw
Have you ever wanted to sell on Ebay did not know where to start? Have you considered using Ebay as a side business? Well, last summer I got married in May and moved to Southwest Kansas with my husband. Now, there are not many people in Southwest Kansas, so that means there are not a lot of summer jobs. By the time I got there, the high schools had already gotten out and I had no hope of finding a job for the summer. So, that is when I decided to sell on Ebay. I did not make a huge amount of money, but I did make some and I am sure that if I had been a little more dedicated I could have made a lot more. So, how did I do it? I followed my mom’s method. My mom has been selling on Ebay for a number of years now and is quite good at it. If anyone else wants to try this method, it definitely has a lot of promise. Remember, there are many different ways make money selling on Ebay. This is just one method.
1) Obtain Items to Sell. Before you can sell something on Ebay, you need to have something worth selling. There are four places my mom and I went to find items to sell. First, we went to auctions. My mom lives nearby an auction that is held every week. For me, I had to travel farther to go to estate auctions all over Southwest Kansas. Auctions were by far my favorite way to find great items. Often, the estate auctions I went to only had a few people there. Because of this, I was able to purchase great antiques and collectibles for very low prices. Make sure to focus on items that can be shipped easily. Secondly, we went to garage sales. If you go early enough, you can sometimes find quality items for near steals! Thirdly, we went to thrift stores. This option was more difficult than the other two, but the less busy the thrift store was, the more promising it was. Finally, we would get items from other people. Sometimes, family and friends would ask us to sell items for them. They would offer us a percentage of the final sale price for the item.
2) Do Your Research–It is difficult to tell what you should buy from the places mentioned above unless you have done the research. For me, research started by looking at the advertisements for each of the auctions I went to . These ads often listed some of the more valuable items that would be sold. I would look these items up on Ebay to see how much they were selling for or had sold for in the past. Make sure you don’t use collector’s price books to find prices because the actual selling price on Ebay is often quite different. Next, I went to the auctions early to look at all of the items. I am lucky enough to have internet on my cell phone, so whenever I saw an item that looked promising, I would look up the selling price on Ebay right then and there. Once I knew how much the items were going for on Ebay, I decided how much I was willing to spend on each item. If you are unsure about how much an item is going for, don’t be afraid to take a risk. If you can get the item for very cheap, it often does not hurt you to try. It is more difficult to do research on items from garage sales and thrift stores, but you can still use the cell phone method.
3) Buy the Items and List Them–The next step is to buy the items that you can get for your decided-upon price or lower and then list those items on Ebay. The most difficult part here is deciding what your starting bid should be. If you are certain the item will sell and have multiple bidders, then the usual rule of thumb is to keep your starting bid low. This will attract bidders early on. If you do not think many people will bid, it might make more sense to set your starting bid at the minimum price you are willing to accept. You may also elect to do use “Buy It Now”. I used this occasionally and sometimes it worked great and other times it did not. Make sure to check your listing and final value fees, though. Often, “Buy It Now” listings have higher final value fees than auction-style listings. Another thing to remember when listing is to ALWAYS include at least one picture. If the item is a popular or unique brand, it is also smart to take a picture of the label or stamp with the brand name on it. Be completely honest and specific in your listing. If there is a chip on a plate you are selling, make sure you say so. It will save you a lot of trouble in the end. Also, make sure you specify your return policy and insurance policy. You may even consider requiring insurance on shipments.
3) Maintain Communication–Once your item has been listed, it is important to maintain communication with your bidders. You will likely receive questions about your item or your policies. Make sure you answer these questions in a timely and professional manner. If you think others will ask the same question, you can click a button that will let you post the question and answer at the bottom of your listing. Once your item has sold, send an invoice to the winning bidder immediately and thank him for his purchase. If any problems arise, open communication usually helps to resolve them.
4) Ship the Item–This is probably the most difficult step. It is crucial that you package your item effectively. For fragile items, it helps to double box them. Also, make sure you use quality materials. You can request free Priority Mail boxes from USPS. Also, make sure you use sturdy tape and make sure that nothing is loose inside the box. I would recommend purchasing your own shipping scale. That way, you print postage labels from your computer at a discount and request pickup from your home. Make sure you ship the item as soon as possible.
5) Leave Feedback–Both buyers and sellers greatly appreciate it when someone leaves them positive feedback. As a seller, you cannot leave negative feedback for a buyer. However, you can and should leave positive feedback. Some sellers send feedback as soon as the item has been paid for. Personally, I wait until the buyer has given me feedback. However, if the buyer does not leave me feedback within a week or so, I go ahead and leave them positive feedback. That often encourages them to leave me positive feedback as well.
6) Keep Good Records–One of the most vital steps of selling on Ebay is keeping good records. I kept spreadsheets showing how much I paid for the item, how much it sold for, how much I had to pay in Ebay and Paypal fees, how much I received for shipping, and how much I actually paid for shipping. These records take some time, but they are worth it in the end for tax purposes and for analyzing what type of items make the most money for you.
Do you have any experience selling on Ebay? Do you have any other suggestions? Let us know!
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Great tips & ideas…great blog…good luck with ebay in the future…maybe you can get ebay to be more seller friendly… any ideas on that?
Very good article–you sound like an ebay pro! Make sure you do your research before selling on ebay and keep up with your research–what sells good today, may not sell well tomorrow! Always remember that when you sell on ebay it is a lot of work and you should maintain it like you would any other job–be ready to work and give it your best, and you can have alot of success and fun!