eBay Selling Tips

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eBay Selling Tips

Here are some great tips to help you sell more effectively on eBay.

Tip – If your market is stay at home moms, start your auctions in the morning. eBay is located in the Pacific Time Zone. If you reside in the Eastern Time Zone, you will want to start your auction early in the morning. To hit the Pacific Time Zone at 10 A.M., start your auction at 7 A.M .in the Eastern Time Zone. This will reach the other time zones at 8 A.M. and 9 AM. Keep in mind, all auctions end at the same time they start.

Tip – Use the evening hours to list items for the working families and the major ticket items for those folks who need to make a joint purchase decision of the larger amounts.

(This is all subjective because if you have done your homework, you should have the times charted in each category for the highest traffic times the bidders are active. Advantage: seller.)

Tip – You’ll need to research the days that are best suited for your particular categories and items. For example, if you find that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings generate the most response, then run a seven day auction. If you want to list on Sunday evening, then list the item for a 3 day auction to end on Wednesday evening. Again, chart the categories and you will soon see a pattern develop that works the best for you.

Use this guide and before you know it, you will be on your way to becoming a eBay pro.

Tip – On average, the best months are January to the middle of June, then from the middle of September to the middle of December. The in-between months are the traditional vacation months when activity slows down. Additionally, the week after Christmas can be a very good exposure period with all the new computers being hooked up on Christmas day. Everyone wants to rush out and see what all the excitement is about on eBay.

Tip – Use the reserve price to set the minimum amount for your item if you are starting with a minimum bid far lower than your acceptable selling price. Set the starting bid at or near the amount you want. For example, if you want $50 dollars for your item and start the bid for a penny and it only gets one bid for that penny, you are committed to sell that item to the bidder. If you start making excuses and refuse to let the item go at that bid, you could lose your eBay privileges.

As you research the auction items, you will see where sellers will start a bid at one penny just to get you to look at the item and then you will see “reserve not yet met.” That seller may have set a $1,500.00 reserve. In a case like this, bidders will start getting impatient when they offer what they feel is a reasonable price for that item and finally quit and go look for similar item to bid on.

eBay recommends that you keep the starting bid around 25 percent to 70 percent of the reserve price you have set. This is excellent advice.

Tip – If you type NR or N/R after the title of your auction item, you will get more bids per visitor. The NR and N/R indicates to the buyer there is no reserve price to be met. This will create bidding frenzies to get started in some instances.

Tip – The hottest bidding times are when a listing is new and during the last hour. Don’t get discouraged if there is not much bidding activity during the days in between. The bidders are not asleep, they are like you, just monitoring their favorites. Some sellers have had items jump by $400.00 in the last 10 minutes of the auction.

The best way to view this activity is to go to the “going, going, gone” section of the categories you are most interested in and take note of the price of the last bid. Then visit that page to see the actual selling prices of those items. “Going, going, gone” is the area where items have five or less hours to go before the auction closes.

Tip – Try bidding on an item just to get a feel for it. As soon as you make a qualified bid, eBay will send you an immediate email that your bid was accepted and that you are the high bidder. When you are outbid at a future time, eBay will also send you an email to let you know that you have been outbid by another.

Tip – At the top left of each page is a link called “my eBay.” This is a very important link to an eBay seller because it provides a full accounting and stats of your eBay account.

Once you have logged in, be sure to bookmark this page for your records. This page will list all your activity, what you are selling, buying, feedback from others, your buyer’s email address and account balances that will include your listing fees and commissions paid.

Tip – Offer free shipping if the bid reaches a certain amount.

Tip – For credibility offer a money back guarantee.

Tip – Review your listing before it is submitted. Once a bid is made you cannot revise it. Also make sure your starting bid is what you want. If you push the “submit my listing button“ you can not change the price. One seller placed an item up for auction for $300.00 instead of the $3,000.00 it was supposed to be. Fortunately, no one bid on the item and the error could be corrected. But it was a terrifying week for the seller. So make absolutely certain to review your listings before pushing that submit button.

Fortunately, you do have the opportunity to revise your listing as long as there haven’t been any bids placed except for the price of the offering.

Tip – Always leave a positive feedback for your buyers and ask them to leave positive feedback for you when the transaction is complete. This establishes your credibility as your business grows.

Tip – You can re-list auctions that have sold. Go to the URL for the ended auction and click on “re-list.” eBay allows you to re-list the item even though it sold, saving you time and effort so that you don’t have to copy and paste the title and item description into the form again. This is particularly useful for High Volume Sellers.

Tip – Use eBay as a vehicle for advertising your products and Web sites. You can list your URL on your auction page. However, do read eBay’s rules regarding this tactic.

Tip – Use eBay’s bulk uploading tool if you run more than 10 auctions at a time. With “Mister Lister,” you can upload hundreds of auctions at once, saving you much time and effort. Click on the eBay Help files to see how it works and to download the software.

Tip – Dutch Featured Auctions are your key to success. The way to maximize your profits on eBay is to determine your hottest selling items through market analysis and then list them as Dutch Featured auctions. Using this secret technique, you can make as much as $100,000 per month on eBay, or more.

Note: You cannot set a reserve price on a Dutch Auction. You also need a 50 feedback rating or an ID verification and at least 60 days as an eBay user.

Tip – Information is your greatest asset. Read up on online marketing and read every eBay FAQ and Help file. Know everything about your venue of sale. Your success on eBay, or with online marketing in general, is directly proportional to your level of knowledge and experience.

Tip – Don’t be afraid to try new things on eBay. List new products, try out new categories, and use the proven methods in the Trial and Error section to find out what works and what doesn’t. Do not fall into a rut and remain content with a solid income of $1000–$5000 per week. The profit potential on eBay is tremendous — make it work for you.

Tip – Offer quick shipping. Your customers want their merchandise quickly and efficiently. Charge reasonable shipping rates and send their items priority mail when possible. Make each customer feel that his order is important to you — because it is. This will be your key to positive feedback and satisfied customers. Happy buyers come back for seconds.

Tip – Set up an e-Commerce merchant account. You need to be able to take credit cards and online checks to be a successful eBay seller. Many customers will only pay by credit card and will choose another vendor if you don’t offer them that opportunity.

Tip – Don’t put a ridiculous shipping price on your merchandise. Many purchasers look to the price of shipping before bidding. Do put a price in for shipping so your bidder can have a guideline. Do check with your Post Office for book rates and other special rates that you can use for packaging.

Tip – Package your merchandise well. Your purchaser will remember what great care you have taken to get their product safely to them.

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