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Tools to Improve Your eBay Selling

eBay offers a number of time-saving features and services to help streamline the process of selling on eBay.

eBay Features for Sellers

eBay offers a suite of built-in features that can help you track current listings, relist items that don’t sell, and even get health insurance for yourself and your family.

My eBay

My eBay is a feature that allows you to manage all of your eBay selling (and buying) activity—including account balance information, emails from potential buyers, feedback you need to leave, and items you’re currently selling—in one place. You can access your My eBay page by clicking on My eBay on the top menu of any eBay page.

One-Click Relisting

If your listing ends without a winning buyer, eBay sends you an email that includes a link enabling you to relist your item (with the same description and duration) in one click. You won’t have to pay a new insertion fee, but if your relisted item sells, you’re charged the applicable final value fee.

The eBay PowerSeller Program

A PowerSeller is like an eBay all-star: a seller who has a consistently high volume of monthly sales and at least 98% positive feedback. PowerSellers receive:
  • Recognition: eBay marks a PowerSeller with an icon next to his or her User ID. eBay buyers tend to view the presence of an eBay PowerSeller icon beside a seller’s User ID as a sign of integrity and reliability, which can help the seller generate more sales.
  • Improved support: PowerSellers receive prioritized support from eBay and exclusive access to PowerSeller discussion forums.
  • Health benefits: Some PowerSellers can qualify for health insurance plans for themselves and their families.
For a complete list of qualifications a seller must meet in order to become a PowerSeller, search for “becoming a PowerSeller” in eBay’s Help section.

Turbo Lister

Turbo Lister is eBay’s free downloadable software (for PCs only) that allows you to prepare and manage your listings offline. Among other features, Turbo Lister lets you:
  • Archive your listings: Turbo Lister saves your listings in one program so that you can reuse them or retrieve a particular template whenever you need it.
  • Edit your listings: You can make changes to listing descriptions or formats across various listings at once.
  • Upload your listings: Once you have all of your listings ready to post on eBay, you can upload as many as you’d like with just one click.
Mac users often use a program called GarageSale, which mimics many of Turbo Lister’s core features. Download GarageSale ($29.99) at www.iwascoding.com/GarageSale.

Selling Manager

Selling Manager ($4.99 per month but free to eBay Store owners) is a subscription service that upgrades your My eBay page by improving several of its standard selling features. For instance, with Selling Manager you can:
  • View a detailed status report of all of your active listings at a glance
  • Create a customized set of emails to use when corresponding with buyers, such as when sending invoices or requesting feedback
  • Leave feedback for many buyers all at once with just one click

Third-Party Tools

In addition to eBay’s proprietary tools, eBay sellers can choose among a variety of third-party software applications and services to help streamline the selling process.

Third-Party Auction-Management Software

There are a number of third-party auction-management software programs that aim to improve upon the features of eBay’s Turbo Lister by including extras such as photo hosting, hundreds of HTML templates, and automated inventory control. Two popular options are:
Services such as these typically charge a monthly fee of about $10–30. Sometimes you’ll also have the option of paying per listing.

Website Hosting for Storing Photos

Since eBay charges you fees to include more than one photo per listing, you’ll need to store your photos on your own website or with an image hosting service, a website that allows you to store a set number of images, usually for a monthly fee of around $5. Rather than use an image hosting service, buy a website hosting plan and store your photos on your own site. Website hosting often costs the same as image hosting ($5–10 per month) but provides much more storage space. To find a website hosting provider, search online for “web hosting.” GoDaddy (www.godaddy.com) is a popular and reputable hosting service.

Alternatively, many third-party auction software providers bundle free image hosting with their software applications. If you choose to buy auction management software, you might not need your own site for image storage.

 
 
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