Whether you plan to sell a lot or a little, there are a few basics when it comes to selling that can determine whether you will be a success or failure. 

Despite how basic what I'm about to share with you is, I still see seller after seller posting to one of eBay's discussion boards asking what they've done wrong with their auctions and why they don't have any bids or have yet to sell anything.

1.  Know What You Are Selling.  Research your item on eBay and online.  Is there a demand for it, will people buy it, or are there hundreds of like items on auction or in stores right now, all going unsold and without bids?

Can you identify the item?  If you're selling a collectible, do you know who made it, when, patterns, or information that makes it a sought-after item?  If a potential buyer were to ask a question about the item could you answer it?

2.  Take Clear Photographs.  Natural light is best for most items.  Take good, clear photographs of your item, especially any damage or special features.  It's an unfortunate fact, but most buyers skim descriptions and auction terms.  They want to see the item and will spend more time examining your pictures than your description.

It's also important to remember that more than 60% of the Internet is still on dial-up, so size your pictures accordingly.  Nothing above 72 DPI, and keep the largest width of the photograph 4 inches or smaller.

Avoid photographing items that are not part of the auction, i.e. if you're selling a collectible plate and use a plate holder to display it, it's best to drape the holder so it is not visible.  If the auction includes the plate holder and the plate state that in the description.

3.  Write Good Descriptions.  Be precise.  Don't hold back when describing flaws.  If the item has special features, name them.  Keep the description as brief and to the point as possible and don't forget to spell check.  Excessive misspellings and grammatical errors can cause a potential customer to close your auction.

4.  Titles And Keywords.  A shocking number of eBayers search by title only.  The title is the first chance you get to grab a potential buyer.  Since you have a limited number of characters within titles, make every character count.  Don't waste space with special characters such as exclamation marks and dollar signs.  Get the name of the item in the title and as much information as you can.  Don't make your title distracting such as eAsY eNtErTaInInG wItH mArThA sTeWaRt.  It's hard to read and annoying.  Easy Entertaining with MARTHA STEWART or Easy Entertaining With Martha Stewart are far better. 

5.  Clean Layouts. Keep your layout simple and clean.  Make it easy to find information at a glance.  Group your pictures and description together, then group your terms of service below that.  The cleanest layout is left alignment.  Centering an entire page of text is hard to read and hard to find information at a glance.

Keep colors, fonts, font sizes, and background pictures to a minimum.  You're not selling your layout, but your item.  Avoid music, flashing gifts, and scrolling text.  Don't use more than two different fonts within the layout.  More than two loses any impact you hope to achieve.  Even worse, avoid busy backgrounds where type disappears.  Lighter backgrounds with dark type on top is the easiest on the eye.

If you're going to sell a lot, I'd recommend buying a template or logo from one of the many eBayers who sell those items.  Having an organized, clean-flowing auction layout can draw customers back to you time and time again. 

6.  Terms of Service.  There are two rules to remember with terms of service: keep them simple; keep them friendly.  Hostile terms of service are a turn off for many buyers.  Sellers with lots of rules and requirements to buy from them tend to have more problems than those with fewer terms.  No matter your terms, keep them organized and easy to find information.

Shipping and Handling
I ship within 48 hours of cleared payment.  I love to combine shipping.

Payment
Payment should be to me within 10 days of auction's end.  I accept PayPal, money orders, and cashier's checks.

Return Policy
Customer satisfaction is important to me.  If there's a problem with your item, please contact me within 3 days of receipt. 

Clean, friendly, and not filled with a lot of unreasonable demands.

7. After The Auction Ends.  Good communication can make or break a transaction.  You can use eBay's invoice feature to send your buyer an invoice.  Keep  e-mails and communication professional.  Once your buyer pays, it's a good idea to e-mail him that his payment has been received and when you will ship his item.

If the buyer does not pay, one reminder invoice is plenty.  Some sellers allow 10 days for payment if they take snail mail payments such as money orders or cashier's checks.  If you don't wish to give 10 days, the least you can give is 7.  eBay will not allow you to file a UID (unpaid item dispute) until 7 full days after the auction's end.  Demanding payment in 3 or 5 days is not enforceable.  The UID is an attempt to get the buyer to pay.  If they don't respond to the UID in 7 days, on day 8 you can close it and get your final valuation fees back.

8. Seller Protection.  eBay can be a safe venue to sell if you're willing to educate yourself on scams and what to avoid when selling.

If you are selling in a high-fraud category such as electronics, it's best to make your auctions a Buy It Now (BIN) with immediate PayPal payment.  This means that the auction cannot end unless the buyer pays through PayPal first.

If you take PayPal, especially for high-dollar or high-fraud items, be sure to set your seller's preferences to accept bidders with confirmed PayPal accounts.  This simply means that they've gone through the process of verifying that their credit card or bank statement goes to the address on their PayPal account.

When you ship, include insurance on any item that you cannot afford to replace or lose.  Contrary to popular belief, disclaimers of "as is" or "not responsible for lost, stolen, or broken items" are worthless.  If your buyer pays with PayPal and they do not receive their item or it arrives broken, you are responsible for it and PayPal will refund the buyer.

PayPal's Seller Protection Policy requires you ship to a confirmed address, within 7 days of receiving payment, and with a delivery confirmation.  If you don't follow all three of these requirements you will lose any claim against you.

Avoid any transaction where a potential buyer wants you to ship his item to a country he does not reside in, namely Nigeria.  Avoid buyers who want you to charge shipping to their FedEx or UPS account.  Most of these are hijacked accounts.

Any e-mail from PayPal notifying you that payment will clear as soon as you ship the item and provide proof of the shipment is a scam.  Never ship any item without going to paypal.com and checking your account.  Don't follow links in e-mails.  Bookmark sites like eBay and PayPal and use your bookmarks, not the links provided in e-mails.

These are the bare basics of selling on eBay.  You'll learn more about selling and what works and doesn't work for you the more you list and sell.  For situations not covered in this guide, click the COMMUNITY link at the top of your eBay page and follow it to DISCUSSION BOARDS and SELLER CENTRAL. 

Happy selling!