The intent of this guide is to help beginning sellers make money on eBay although it can also help someone that has been selling for awhile.  I have included some of the pitfalls of listing along with suggestions.

You have an item you want to sell. First, I would strongly recommend that you accept Paypal. Most people pay with it and if you get an account, you will sell to more people. You can set up Paypal so that they send an email to the auction's winner (you can personalize this letter) and they will add the Paypal logo to all your auctions if you check this off in the set-up. I personally hate sending moneyorders. I would suggest that you accept moneyorders but not personal checks.

The next thing is research, research, research. Do a search on eBay to see if others are selling the same item. You can also do a search for the items sold in the last 30 days. Both help.

Take a picture. Do not "borrow" other eBayer's pictures by copying and pasting. It is against eBay rules. You can get a small camera for your computer for around $20. I use a piece of paper under every item I take a picture of to help show it off, varying the color of paper. You can use fabric, etc.

I personally suggest buying a scale from the post office store online. It cost me about $40 and saved the cost of itself well over. The scale goes to 10 pounds. This allows me to know for sure how much the item will cost to ship. I used to estimate and quite often lost money on shipping. Add a little bit extra in for tape, supplies, etc. DO NOT charge high amounts over what it would cost. Buyers know about what it should cost. You must have seen a sale item that cost $.01 but shipping was $10? They are making money on shipping and that is not the purpose. I ship most items parcel post, media (for books, cds, and movies), with the smallest items going first class. State how it is being shipped in your listing.

You can ship the item calculated to the buyer's zip code or do a set shipping cost. What I do is weigh the item, look up the way I want to ship it zipped to California (since I am on the East coast) and then list the item. With calcuated, you do not have to look up anything. Just pick how you want to ship it, put in the weight, file in the spot to add extra for shipping and you are done. Either way works fine.

If you plan to list regularly or to list a lot of items, then go to the site map and download TurboLister. This is a listing program that allows you to list the items offline and then upload them. It saves me time as it is faster to list items offline.

There is a place in the shipping to write to your buyer's. I use that place to suggest insurance. I always offer it but only require it when the item is expensive or fragile. There is also a place to block certain buyer's. You can block buyers in countries in which you do not sell (I do not sell internationally), buyer's with negative rating, etc.

I used to lug all my packages to the post office and wait in line. Now, I use my scale and go thru the Paypal shipping center. Its great. I print my shipping label with postage (you can click hidden postage or allow it to be seen which I recommend) and put out for the mailman who takes it away. It is paid to the post office right thru Paypal. Another good thing with this, is that delivery confirmation is added and your eBay customer is automatically sent an email with the shipping date and confirmation number.  That has saved more than it ever costs me. I no longer have buyer's stating that they did not receive their item. Just a note, in order to use delivery confirmation, the item must be 1" thick. I get around this by using small boxes to place a thin item in.

Use the whole line for the item name - people search different ways. For example:

Vintage brass candy dish OR Vintage brass candy dish 1970 era engraved design - like new

You only have a few seconds while the potential buyer is reading your item name so fill it up full. Give the condition or size if you can.

In the description, truthfully describe the item. Give measurements. Let them know if the color of the picture is accurate. If this was your mom's, tell em that. People like to know an item's history. If you list a cd then write the songs. The more information the better - then on its own line in a different color in the center write the condition of the item so it stands out.

As soon as I receive payment, I give the buyer their feedback. They have done their part. I do not wait until they give me positive feedback. To me, that is unfair.

Well hope this has all helped you. Selling is fun and I have found it worthwhile. I have made money, reduced the items in my home I no longer need, and had fun. I wish you the same. Mmoonchld

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