The Powerseller Princess » eBay Selling Tips

Successful eBay Sellers Do These 10 Things (You Should Too!)

Sabra Fields — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 05:17:08 +0000

Here are some great tips that you must use in order to be a successful seller on eBay. These are very basic techniques but very important.

1. Research the item before you list:

Go to eBay and type in what the product is and see if any identical items are listed. Next go to completed listings (bottom left of the page) and see how many items sold in the last three weeks. This area consists of auctions that have already ended and tells you if it sold (price highlighted green) or if it didn’t sell (price highlighted red). If a MINIMUM of 3 of the items sold, then you have a possible item to sell. Average out the prices of the items sold (if they are similar) and you have a possible selling price for the item you are considering. Besides finding the average selling price, you can see the average starting price, and features, and key words that attract buyers. When you complete a search look for the radio button that says Completed Items located in the left hand panel of the search results.
2. Use a low starting bid:

Getting that first bid is very important. Buyers are more likely to bid once they see other bids on an item. A common starting bid is $0.99. Be careful about using reserves. Reserve pricing turns off many buyers, but if this is the only way to protect a valuable item then it’s worth a try. Instead of a reserve you could just start the bid at a higher amount. A low opening bid with no reserve will usually jumpstart bidding and increase your final selling price.

3. Write titles that attract buyers and complete descriptions of the item:

Buyers search for key words so use them. Your item title helps bidders find your items. eBay gives you 55 characters compose your title with the buyer in mind. I try to create my titles based on what I would look for if I was looking for that particular item. A good description is concise, organized, and easy to read. Keep your description organized and easy to read; I find that using bullet points works pretty well. I would discourage writing in paragraphs because the buyer will most likely skim read it and miss something. Be sure to include specific facts such as style/type, brand, size, color and condition that your buyer would naturally be interested in.

4. Always Include Photos:

A good picture will sell your item and reassure your buyer. The more photos the better (up to a point). I usually post about 4-6 photos to show all angles of the item. It’s really up to you how many pictures you use, different angles are good but don’t list a bunch of pictures that are practically identical with a very slight variation. That’s over-kill. Take clear, well-lit photos that point up any and all features and any and all problems about the item. Always take close-ups of any flaws on your item. Use good lighting and an uncluttered background to get the most out of your photo. I usually hang up a solid color sheet on the wall will thumbtacks and take my pictures that way. It’s more pleasing to the eye and makes your listing look more professional.

5. End your auctions on the day and time when most buyers are online:

This is usually in the evening between 4-8 PM (Pacific Time). However this is not true for all items so it pays to check eBay’s completed listings to determine the best time and day for your category. For example, merchandise purchased by businesses usually sell better during the business day when the owners are at work and looking for the items. Also ending your listing on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday (Sunday is the best) can be very successful because everyone is home on the weekends and looking for things to buy.

7. Take Excellent Care of your buyer:

Always respond quickly (read this to mean immediately) to any buyer questions. Always send the buyer an email telling them when and how you shipped their item. If they have a problem, even if you think it’s without merit, make good on the item. Offer to refund and give them the item that they are complaining about. Replace it if that’s what they want. Whatever it will take to satisfy them—do it. Sure, some people will take advantage, but the majority won’t and it’s more than worth it for a good review and repeat sales. Be aware that there are some customers who you just can’t seem to please and they just leave negative feedback and that’s the end of it. Just take it and move on; remember this is a rare occurrence.

8. Don’t stand in Line at The Post Office:

The best thing to do is schedule shipment pick-ups in advance with the Post Office. Set up a “carrier pickup” with USPS and your mailman will personally come to your door and pick up your package(s). This saves a lot of time and hassle. Or if you are at work or running errands, you can just leave it on your doorstep or back door. You can print postage online with the Pay Pal checkout feature or by going directly to the Post Office website at www.usps.gov.

9. Save on Your Shipping Supplies:

If you use Priority mail, the United States Postal Service offers a variety of free shipping supplies, delivered directly to you within a few days. The other source is a local gift shop, kitchen store, house wares store, discount store etc. These places receive shipments every day and usually break up the boxes for recycling. Many of them will gladly give you their boxes, Styrofoam and bubble wrap. I also save bubble wrap and boxes from items I buy from eBay and it really helps you cut on shipping supplies.

10. Don’t Mark Up Shipping:

Gouging your buyer on the shipping cost is one of the reasons a buyer might rate you poorly. Always charge the actual rate for shipping. It is against eBay policy and it’s a good way to get low DSRs or even suspended.

Techniques That Every eBay Seller Should Use

Techniques That Every eBay Seller Should Use

Sabra Fields — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 05:31:37 +0000

These 7 tips are the one’s that are the most important in dramatically increasing your success on eBay. Follow these tips and you will notice increased revenues, happier customers and increased success selling on eBay!

1. Research, Research, Research. One of the first things you can do is to go to the Browse link on the eBay homepage and see if you can find similar items already listed and if there are any active bidders on them. This will help you set your price.

2. Buy a Digital Camera for your photos and learn how to take the clearest, most detailed shots to place on your listing. A close-up lens also comes in handy for smaller items. Good pictures will increase your success rate 50%.

3. Write Good Descriptions. Be honest about the quality, age, condition etc. of the item you are selling. Point out any flaws etc. A potential buyer will trust you more if you are absolutely honest. Especially about any flaws in your item. You want your buyers to see exactly what they will be getting so there are no misunderstandings, which usually result in negative feedback.

4. Time Your Listing Right You never want to list your items so they end during the day, unless it’s the weekend during the day. 7-day auctions work the best unless the item is expensive, then list it as a 10-day. You will pay a little more to do it this way, but it’s worth it to let as many people as possible see your listing. Try to list something everyday from 7pm until 9pm.

The last 4 hours of your auction gets the most clicks. That is the busiest time for bidding on items. If you list too late in the evening, you’ll lose people to sleep or TV. If you start out listing on the weekends especially on a Sunday. If your listings end around 4pm many more people will be home to watch your auctions end! This increases your chances of making more money.

5. Make Payment Easy as possible is also a big deal. A small minority of people still want to pay with check or money order – you need to weigh the pros and cons of dealing with people outside of the electronic payment system. First, it is much slower waiting for mail and matching paper payments with online sales, and there is the added risk of bounced checks after you have shipped products.

6. The Importance of Good Feedback. Your feedback score, as an eBay seller, is of the utmost importance. It’s your online credibility and therefore one of the cornerstones of your business. If your competitor has a higher score—they’ll get the sales. Increase your positive feedback score by:

a. Communicate with your customers & lookers immediately. Answer all questions fully. Keep your buyers informed by email through every step of the sales & shipping period. Send a follow-up email after shipment to make sure your buyer was satisfied.

b. If a buyer is unhappy, do whatever you need to do up to & including a refund to keep them from filing a complaint/losing them as a future customer. Again, respond to their original complaining email that day. Let them know you’ll make sure they are satisfied through the process.

c. Don’t overcharge on shipping. Be fair with your prices. This is one of the areas that triggers a lot of buyer complaints. Get as much as you can on your item but charge reasonably for shipping.

7. Create an Item Title that Sells. ‘Tweaking the Title’ is the single most important element in an eBay listing because buyers search based on the words in the title. Take a look at some successful listings that sold what you want to list and see how they wrote their titles. Your goal should be to fill out the maximum number of characters (in your search title) using as many matching search terms as possible while still clearly describing the item. Go to eBay pulse (pulse.eBay.com) and look at your category to find relevant keywords to include in your title.

From Newsletter # 2 7/1/2010

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Successful eBay Sellers Do These 10 Things (You Should Too!)

Selling Something for Nothing!

Sabra Fields — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 04:42:27 +0000

So in the ever increasingly difficult world of selling on eBay what is there left to pitch? I mean how many variations of power cords or cell phones can one person sell? I know that it gets frustrating, so maybe this post will be for those of you who still want to make money on eBay but are tired of the constant hustle and low profits margins to get there.

Enter the world of hand crafted goods… as close to something for nothing as one can get.

This handmade box was probably found in a second hand store somewhere for a fraction of what its going for, as they say… one man’s trash another’s treasure.

Hand painted art is always in style on eBay.

These purses are made from cigar boxes which are free if you ask for them at any cigar shop, they have them piling up all day. Then you cover it with cloth or a design on the outside (or leave the original cigar box design) and connect a wire handle to both sides. Put some beads on it to fancy things up and you’ve got yourself merchandise for pennies on the dollar.

From these 3 examples there are hundreds more of items that were made with almost no cost except creativity. Find a niche like this on eBay and not only will you always have buyers but you’ll never have to be buried under the cost of doing business again.

From Newsletter # 2 7/1/2010

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