How to Make Money by Selling on eBay

How do you sell on eBay?

Many people earn a decent income by working from home and selling on eBay. The hours are flexible, there’s no commute and you can work as much or as little as you wish.

It takes time to learn to sell on eBay. The way to do that is to start selling. After a while you will become an expert, but not in the first week, not even in the first six months. Here are some tips for selling on eBay.

Sell things you don’t want

Look around your house and see what you have that you don’t want and start by listing those on eBay. That way you will learn how to sell stuff on eBay, also you will have inventory of things you haven’t paid for.

Start small

Don’t start by selling expensive items, start by selling smaller, cheaper items and start the auctions at 99 cents. That way you won’t pay much in fees and you will learn how eBay works with things that don’t cost much.

Make mistakes

To start with, you will make mistakes. Treat every mistake as a learning experience. Sometimes you will undercharge for shipping and lose money, other times you will overcharge for shipping so that no one will buy it. There are other mistakes you will make, just make sure you learn from them.

Take good photographs

Take photographs and then crop the photograph so the item you are selling occupies most of the center of the photograph. If the photograph needs to be rotated, then rotate it. Nothing looks unprofessional like a bad photograph.

Write a good listing

Write a good description and don’t forget to list any flaws. Be honest about what you have, otherwise the buyer can give you a negative if they think you have described it incorrectly.

Accept returns

Buyers are very put off by a listing that says, “No returns”. Accept returns if the customer isn’t completely satisfied. You may lose on one transaction, but you will make a profit in the long run.

Finding products

The best places to find things to sell on eBay are garage sales and thrift stores. Consignment is also a good way of getting things to sell. As soon as relatives and friends know you are selling, they will ask if you can sell something for them. Most people who sell on consignment keep about 40% commission.

Ship promptly

As soon as someone has paid, try and ship within 24 hours. That way you will keep your customer happy.

Opening a store

Don’t open a store too soon. Having a store is costly in both time and money. Wait until you have 50 to 100 items to put in the store before you open it.

Find a niche

When someone sees one of your auctions they will often look to see what else you are selling. If you have a niche and all your items are similar, they are more likely to buy a few items from you. Even if you don’t have a niche, try and list similar items together.

Realize it takes time

It takes time to become an expert seller on eBay. Don’t expect to be an expert overnight. Selling on eBay is a learning curve and as time goes on you will get better at selling and you will eventually make more money.

Changes in ebay store fee structures came on March 30^th 2010. Store owners need to choose which ebay store is right for them. Here is a simple guide based on the number of items you want to list on fixed price.

Well I did the math, so that you don’t have to.

0-53 items

If you list 53 items or less on fixed price, the cost of listing each item is 50c. It’s not worth you getting a store subscription to reduce your fixed price fees

54 - 226 items

If you list between 54 and 226 items then it will be cheaper for you to pay the $16.95 store fee and be able to list your items for the reduced rate of 20 cents each.

227- 12500 items

If you list between 227 and 12500 items it will be cheaper for you to pay the $49.95 store fee and be able to list your items for the very reduced rate of 5 cents each.

12500+ items

Ebay is advertising that you can get store listing for a low as 3 cents. You can only get this reduced rate if you pay $299.95 a month for a store and it’s only worth your while if you have over 12500 items in your store