Selling at Ebay?

[Faery-Wings]

I am trying to get some extra money flowing into my home. Since I have tons of really nice kids' clothes I thought selling on Ebay might be one way to do it :)

I know WtchyChick sells there, and I was hoping you all could share some hints on how to go about doing it or if there are any catches I should be aware of.

I printed out the info on setting up an account and their fees yesterday. Now I want to get started! So I'll take any and all ideas, hints, tips and tricks.

Thanks and BB

[Xander67]

Chryssi :D

I read an article where it said that the affiliate buisness is a multi billion dollar industry on the web. one of the good sides of it is that it gives people the chance to earn extra cash on thier web site for next to nothing.

I had made 60 dollars one month from amazon books just from chit chattin in yahoo and haveing a link to a lil book store i made on my page :)

Ebay is pretty good too

here is an article on tips for afilliate sites

http://webdeveloper.internet.com/refresh/refresh_061600.html

and here is Commision Junction, http://www.cj.com/

:D good luck!!!

[Gwion]

No one will buy something from just a description; consequently, a digital camera is a must if you have a lot to sell. Pics of several angles of the item help too. The post office website will send you priority mail boxes, tags and tape for FREE. (I'll find and post it.) Search for the item you are selling on ebay to see if someone is already selling that and you'll be able to see what people are asking and paying for it. Good luck!

[WtchyChick13]

Chryssi my love I'm here for ya'!

I taught an eBay class on selling techniques. So PM me with any questions and I'll do my best to answer them!

Gwion's got the right idea about the Post Office. You can also go to the site to get shipping charges by zip code.

My father (who has been cleaning up on eBay) says his most valuable tool for selling is a digital kitchen scale. Since most shipping costs are based on weight, you would be able to give your customers an accurate price right away.

As I think of more, I'll post 'em here.




It might be a good idea to send this thread over to marketplace. Maybe have it as an eBay 101 type of thing? (Just a suggestion.) :D

[licorice whip]

Originally posted by Gwion
No one will buy something from just a description; consequently, a digital camera is a must if you have a lot to sell. Pics of several angles of the item help too. The post office website will send you priority mail boxes, tags and tape for FREE. (I'll find and post it.) Search for the item you are selling on ebay to see if someone is already selling that and you'll be able to see what people are asking and paying for it. Good luck!

one qualm i have with the priority stuff though is that you can only use it for priority, which is pretty expensive if you ask me. ESPECIALLY if you are just sending a teeshirt.

i would make it available for the winner to choose if they want priority or first class mail. and be HONEST about the shipping prices. if something is only $1.50 to ship, dont jack up the price to $3.50! ive seen that done way too many times on ebay, which is one of the reasons why i dont purchase from there very often.

[Jax]

wiccamoon sells on ebay and is very well established and renowned! You can get to her through her homepage and I'm sure she won't mind answering any questions etc!:D

wiccamoon (http://www.wiccamoon.co.uk/)

Hope this helps!:)

Brightest blessings!
)0(

[WtchyChick13]

one qualm i have with the priority stuff though is that you can only use it for priority, which is pretty expensive if you ask me. ESPECIALLY if you are just sending a teeshirt.

It really depends on the seller and the buyer's preferences. I personally don't use priority mail because my pieces are small enough to send First Class Mail in a bubble envelope.

Depending on what you are selling and if the buyer is paying the shipping anyway, one suggestion might be to give THEM the option.

When a buyer is searching, one thing that they ARE looking for is the shipping costs. So first of all, make sure you put that in your auction. Many times it depends on the item being sold as to what shipping option is offered.


On another note, while it IS better to have pics (either gallery or in the auction itself), many people buy on description alone. Bidders take their chances on online auction sites anyway, some simply enjoy the risk of not seeing the item they are bidding on. Also, if it is a very detailed description a person will know what they are bidding on. (Plus, it's cheaper not to have a pic.) It's really your preference.

A big thing to be aware of is the category. Make sure you go through the categories carefully OR search for an item that is equal or similar to the one you are about to sell. See what category(ies) they are using and it will provide you with a good starting place.

Also, take note of how much their starting bid is, if there are any bids on the item and if similar items also have bids. It gives you general area for pricing if you are not familiar with it.

I've been selling well over 2 years now and have sold with pics and without. It really depends on the item sometimes. My jewelry requires pics, but say a trading card may not.


My first suggestion is to really check out the competition and see how well similar items are selling. You also have to figure out what type of payments you want to take. PayPal is a great service and now that they've merged with eBay, it's a little easier to use.

I also use a free software program called AuctionSubmit. I LOVE THIS THING! You can set up multiple auctions and whenever you are ready to start them, you hit one button and the program does it all for you. eBay has it's own thing, but it is VERY slow and if you are selling more than one item, it can take forever.

I guess that's enough for now! :lol:

[Gwion]

WitchyChick, where can I find Auctionsubmit?

Paypal is fast and reliable.

Seeding your auction with words that will bring it up in searches is important. When I sell a mask, the title often reads something like Leather Catwoman Mask Fetish LARP Renaissance Faire SCA etc. (LARP stands for Live Action Role Playing.) Anytime I sell a skull mask I include Deadhead in the description. Think of your target demographic.

[Xander67]

My Friend Elaine sells comic books and cards on Ebay, she has been doing it for quite some time, I will ask her if she can give a lil bit of her success secrets here :)

[WtchyChick13]

Originally posted by Gwion
WitchyChick, where can I find Auctionsubmit?

Paypal is fast and reliable.

Seeding your auction with words that will bring it up in searches is important. When I sell a mask, the title often reads something like Leather Catwoman Mask Fetish LARP Renaissance Faire SCA etc. (LARP stands for Live Action Role Playing.) Anytime I sell a skull mask I include Deadhead in the description. Think of your target demographic.


Here ya' go darlin'!!!
Auction Submit (http://auctionsubmit.com/)


You know what else you can do??? I saw this trick on a few auctions that I thought was very clever....put your "keywords" or "search terms" in white so that they are not seen when the auction page is opened. However, they WILL help out when it comes time or someone to search for your item because the term will technically be in the auction.


Pretty cool eh???

[Gwion]

from the Govt. Can you believe it?

http://shop.usps.com/cgi-bin/vsbv/postal_store_non_ssl/display_products/productCategory.jsp?cat=Business+Use&prodCat=/Shipping+Supplies/Business+Use/2.+Priority+Mail&BV_UseBVCookie=yes&appName=SSOL

[WtchyChick13]

I just found out yesterday from my father (a retired postmaster married to a current postmaster) that if you don't have direct access to a post office that for a small fee, they will come and pick up your packages for you!

I am one of those without direct access because I don't drive so this option would be perfect for me! (I wish I had known this earlier!!!)

So, you can order your free priority mail stuff from usps.gov, call your local post office and ship away!!! :T





Edited to add:

If I find out any other handy tidbits, I'll share 'em with ya' here! :D

[Faery-Wings]

Thank you for all your helpful tips and suggestions. I don't know why I am having a difficult time getting started. *shakes head*

I am wondering if you can lose money if you stuff doesn't sell. I'd hate to post a bunch of clothes and then have nothing sell.

[Dragonmother]

Yes, there are fees to put auctions up on ebay... But if your stuff doesn't sell the first time, you can resubmit within 30 days, and if it sells this second time, your resubmission fees are credited back to you. Now, you don't have to resubmit right away. So, if it doesn't sell, you could, for instance, post a link to it here, and we could see if we can make it more irresistable... And childrens clothes sell like crazy anyway!
By the way, you will notice that almost everything with a cat in it, on it or about it- sells....
I useauctionwatch (http://auctionwatch.com) to launch my auctions from, and I just downloaded software to launch from my desktop. (I work on a mac, so auctionsubmit won't work) The thing is, Auctionwatch has excellent BB's that can be really helpful...
and I keep my "about me" page uptodate
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/dragon-mother/

[WtchyChick13]

You can also list on a site called Epier.com. It's also an auction site and they have free listings and much smaller final value fees. But I would check it out a bit first.

I was successful there only a couple of times, but they've seemed to grow quite a bit. It may be an idea to get yourself aquainted with the whole auction process. :)


Dragonmother, I like your about me page! I haven't updated mine in a bit...one of the links needs to be changed but other than that, it's pretty up to date: About Me (http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/thegoblet/)


I have listings up now by the way. hehehehe :D



Chryssi, there's always a risk, but you know that. If you do a little research on what you are selling...like do a search for your particular items, you can see how much people are charging for similar items. (Starting bids and such.)

Let us know when you list something and be sure to list it in marketplace!!!

;)