Ever wonder why you are selling the SAME exact item as JOESMOE, but in the end yours sells for half the price, and his had 100 times more viewers or watcher?

  Well this question is probably asked 100 times aday from people who hear "EBay can make you millions", but after a few failed attempts, disregard it and move one. The key to success on EBay, no matter what scale you are selling on is starting out is being prepared and precise! SO many new Ebayers and some old make so many mistakes in their auctions that it is unbelieveable to me and I wonder what they were thinking. Here are a few examples:

KEYWORDS - This is crucial to your EBay life expectancy. To many new Ebayer wont try to fill up the ID description with as much information as possible, making it impossible to find on EBay. For instance: Your selling a Canon EOS 1V digital SLR Camera with lense and pro filters *NEW*, instead of listing it like that, some people will list it as ** New digital camera**. There are over 15000 digital camera on EBay, how are they gonna see yours until there is 1 minute left? Do your reaserch on EBay, find a compreable auction to what you have and get ideas prior to listing your valueables.

MISSPELLING - It is unreal how people get in such a rush to sell their stuff, that they dont bother even taking the time to proof their spelling on the Auction ID description, which might I add is the key to getting to people to your auction in the first place. Here is a example you can look up quickly : Instead of selling a quarter, people sell a QUATER.. There are 55 Quaters on Ebay right now......That might make you laugh, but it is true, and people just cant figure out why they auctions end so low!

AUCTION DESCRIPTION - People buying from you what to know 2 things, first that you are legitimate, and second that the description of the item you are leaving is correct! So instead of saying your camera work fine and that you only used it 5 times... Take the time to give some specifics, and if  you used the item, how it worked for you. It takes a little more than 3 minutes to write a very detailed description of your item, so take the time and do it. You can also cut and paste article from the internet about your item too, including specifications.

PICTURES - This one is crucial, especially in selling valueables! Take the time to get the best shots you can. I can't tell you how many times I have seen coins for sell on EBay, where the seller has the coin sitting on carpet or a desk flat, and the picture looks like it was taken standup with a polaroid! Remember something, when you go to put the picture in the auction, ask yourself, "WOULD I BUY THIS IF I SAW IT?" You can go to any kinko's in the world and have items scanned profesionally and transfered to disc, and for larger items, take the time to borrow a decent camera, or even buy one.... Take it back for a refund after you use it for all I care, but get quality pictures to assure the buyer that your item is legitimate as you have described.

FEEDBACK - This one is tricky.. NOBODY on Ebay likes buying from someone with no feedback, but doesnt everyone start out at zero........... Here is what I did, and it was the smartest thing I ever did. I researched, and was smart enough to realize that I couldnt get premium value for my coins on EBay starting out, and that a STRONG feedback history would have to be established. SO, what I did was this.. I went home on night, and dusted off a old rack of DVD's I had, and never watched, which I know 90% of people have. I put them on EBay, 100 of them, for 1.99 a peice and 1.00 shipping :) They sold fast, but I wasnt worried about the price.  The feedback was 10 times more valuable to my futue on EBay than sellling the DVD's I never watched. And before I knew it, my feedback was soaring, and I was showing EBayers that I was reliable. Then I waited 30 days until the feedback was buried and the auction itself could be brought back up, and went right into coins. That little trick saved my thousands in lost profits, simply because I sold some junk to build my feedback. This also helped me learn how to deal with EBay problems. To me it is easy dealing with a problem over a 1.99 DVD, but when you have a person that just paid you 2000.00 for a dime, then you better have some tact and patience. The DVD's gave me a foundation of breaking into EBay slow.

I hope this small guide can help a few start out or expand on EBay, and know that in the short term there is alot to learn, but the gain in the long term are great. Hang in there and be patient, EBay will take care of you, and buyers always come back to the great sellers.

Till Then....................