Contents
eBay Basics
How to Decide What to Sell on eBay
How to Budget Your eBay Business
How eBay Selling Works
How to Choose an eBay Listing Format
How to Choose an eBay Listing Price
How to Choose a Listing Timeframe
How to Improve Your eBay Listings
eBay Payment Methods
eBay Shipping Methods
Tools to Improve Your eBay Selling
How to Set Up an eBay Store
Customer Service for eBay Sellers
How to Run Your eBay Business
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How to Decide What to Sell on eBay
More than any other factor, the types of items you choose to sell on eBay determine the viability and profitability of your business. Though you can sell almost anything on eBay, to run a successful eBay business it’s best to sell merchandise that you can:
- Back up with personal expertise
- Find an existing demand for on eBay
- Buy or create at a cost that’s below the prices eBay buyers are willing to pay
- Verify as legal and acceptable for sale on eBay
Sell Items for Which You Have Expertise
To help you brainstorm the types of items you might sell successfully on eBay, think of hobbies, skills, or other areas you know well and enjoy. Selling items for which you have a particular expertise gives you an advantage in two crucial aspects of eBay marketing and selling:
- Answering buyers’ questions: eBay buyers ask sellers detailed questions about items up for sale. Since reliability and trustworthiness are key to success as an eBay seller, you must provide authoritative replies. If you know your items inside and out, you’ll gain the trust and repeat business of your buyers.
- Presenting your items: You’ll have a better sense of how to photograph and describe your merchandise in the most effective way possible, which can give you a leg up on the competition and generate more sales.
Though expertise in the particular items you sell isn’t
essential to eBay success, it can make a major difference in the repeat business you earn and the personal satisfaction you gain from running your business.
Assess Demand and Pricing for Your Items
Once you’ve come up with ideas for items to sell, use eBay to research the demand for your items and the prices at which the items might sell:
- Find similar items that already sold: eBay’s Completed Listings option on the Advanced Search page lets you search through listings of sold items. Look for items similar to yours and note the selling prices. To get to the Advanced Search page, click on Advanced Search at the top right of any eBay page.
- Monitor items like yours that are currently up for sale: You can use eBay’s Watch This Item feature (available at the top right of all eBay listings) to track listings for items like yours on My eBay, the page on which eBay lists all the items you’re currently watching, bidding on, or selling. eBay notifies you via email just before the items you’re watching are sold. You can then review the final price at which the items sold.
Buy Your Items at Below-Market Prices
Your success as an eBay seller will depend primarily on your profit margin, the amount of money you can make selling your items after factoring in all your costs, such as your monthly bill for internet access, materials you buy to pack your items, and so on. The higher your profit margins, the more money you’ll make on each sale. To sell at a favorable margin, you need to buy your items at below-market
prices—prices lower than the prices eBay buyers consistently pay for items like yours.
You can try to source your merchandise at below-market prices in a few different ways:
- Shop at garage sales and thrift stores: Both are great sources for items that you can buy for next to nothing and then sell at much higher prices on eBay. This approach works especially well for antiques, records, musical instruments, vintage clothing, and electronics, such as TVs and cameras.
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Buy wholesale: As a business owner, you can gain access to merchandise at wholesale prices by buying directly from a distributor or manufacturer. Buying wholesale usually requires that you:
- Consult the yellow pages to find distributors or manufacturers in your area who carry merchandise you’d like to sell
- Obtain a federal tax ID number (EIN)
- Provide your tax ID number to distributors to prove that you intend to resell your merchandise at retail prices
- Make the items yourself: If you make your own items, such as jewelry or ceramics, you should seek out source materials at the lowest prices possible to maximize your profit margins. The best way to lower the cost of materials is to buy in bulk, which you can do by buying wholesale, shopping at bulk retailers (such as Costco and Big Lots), or buying bulk lots on eBay.
Verify That Your Items Can Be Sold on eBay
As an eBay seller, you’re responsible for confirming that the items you sell are legal and acceptable for sale on the site. eBay will remove listings that include prohibited or restricted items and might also suspend the account of the user who created the listing. For eBay’s complete list of
restricted items, search for “prohibited and restricted items”
in the site’s Help section. To access eBay’s Help section, click on Help at the top of any eBay page.
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