How to Sell on eBay Successfully

Introduction

Since its debut, eBay has grown to be a multinational, multibillion e-commerce titan with operations in dozens of countries. It raison d’être is to facilitate online consumer to consumer and business to consumer sales. Millions of customers around the globe have succesfully made purchases via tha corporation’s online platform and a staggering amount of businesses, both small and independent as well as large and interconnected, have made use of it to increase their sales and make huge profits.

Whatever your reason for being interested in selling on eBay may be, you would do well to research how to become a successful seller first – this applies to people who want to create a business as well as those who only wish to make some cash while ridding themselves of their overfilled warbrobes and closets.  Below we will present you with the best tips and principles you can apply to your eBay selling to maximize your success and future earnings.

Marketing Tips

• Focus on reputation & getting positive feedback: As far as eBay is concerned, your reputation is everything – you should guard it with your life. The more consistent your record of positive feedback, the easier it will be to attract prospective buyers. Thus, you should refrain from placing highly priced products until you have an established and solid track record as an eBay seller.
• Low starting price: A simple trick to attract attention to your auction is to start at a very low initial price. Ask yourself what the lowest amount you would be prepared to receive for your item and go from there. The more bids you receive the better. The effect is similar to a market stall with hundreds of people standing around it – our natural human curiosity almost forces us to take a look.
• Product Bundling: The innocent looking “See Other Items” and “More from this seller” eBay features do wonders to increase your sales – assuming you are selling groups of similar enough items. Be sure to expand and capitalize on them. The more variety you give to your customers, the more likely it is they will commit to buying a product of yours.
• Honesty is your friend: Nothing hurts your eBay selling more than being deceiving. This is a sure way to garner negative feedback – which as we mentioned will crush your reputation and throw your chances of successful selling out of the window. If your items are in a less than ideal condition, be open about it from the start and do not refrain from showing it. You don’t have to dwell on flaws and defects, but make sure you mention them to avoid returns. Remember that the customer is king on eBay.

Practical Tips

• Do your eBay research: This goes well beyond studying eBays rules and regulations – which you should have already researched before even thinking of selling on eBay. Before you list a given item, you should also spend time researching similar products as well as their bidding process. This will allow you to capture the interest for the items you are planning to sell, as well as determine how much they are generally worth, allowing you to calibrate your own products accordingly.
• Detailed Measurements: Letting the customer know exactly what they are getting is key. Measuring the length, width and depth of an item with a tape is much more detailed and open than just saying it is of a medium size. It makes you look professional and addresses their doubts.
• Shipping: Not all shipping methods are made equal. Spend the time to research and find the best method of shipping for your item. You should focus on two aspects of shipping: The expenses – which you should always include in your shipping information – as well as the reliability of said method. No customer wants to receive broken items.
• Full slate of payment options: It would be a shame for a customer to be interested in your product only to find it lacks a viable payment method for them. Do your best to include as many payment options – credit cards included. The more options you give to prospective bidders, the more bidders you are likely to attract.

Artistic Tips

• A picture is worth a thousand words: Perhaps the most important tip we can give when it comes to eBay success is to invest in high quality pictures of your items. If you are willing to make lots of sales, your smartphone’s camera probably will not do. Go the extra step and invest in professional quality photographs. The company has even put up a free resource to help you take great photos.
• But pay attention to your writing: A great picture will do wonders for your sales, but this does not mean you should neglect your listing writing. The key is to write text that will be highly informative to the customer as well as invoke feelings and emotions in them – how can your item improve their life or ease their pain? Also, while you are at it, try and make your text optimised for search engines. You want as much exposure as possible.
• Story time:  Flesh out your items by giving them stories. Your old Magic the Gathering card collection does not have to be lifeless. It might be the very cards you have used in the past to triumph against your competition in a great number of tournaments. These cards you have gone to hell and back with, and you have hold them dear for all those years.

Conclusion

Selling on eBay is not as easy as it may initially sound. While the platform is really easy to use, and the company has done its best over the years to facilitate the process you still have to do your own homework in order to be successful. We have provided ample tips and tricks for you to employ and increase your sales – but you still have to apply yourself and do your due dilligence in order to really make your business skyrocket.