Pricing your goods for eBay is one of the most important decisions you will have to make on an often daily basis. If followed through without much thought then you are likely to loose a lot of money but if done correctly, it can mean the difference between a hobby and a very successful career. The following guidelines will provide the serious seller with a valuable path on which to increase their overall profits.

1. Know your Item.

The most essential first step to pricing your item is to know how worthy your item is in quality and longevity. This might surprise many people who think the market research aspect is the pinnacle of this particular process however unless you know your product inside and out, you will be wandering in a thick fog. It's safe to say a majority of sellers price their items either too low or too high, hence the many sellers giving up and writing articles about how eBay is impossibly difficult to get into. Do not follow the crowd thereby settling for a price of which you have no idea whether it be the ideal or maximum. As I will mention further on, the way you market your goods is key. The more customers you get to each auction, the more bids you will get regardless of your competitor's prices.

Find online sources of information about your product and become an expert so that you are fully aware of the benefits it will give the lucky buyer.

2. Marketplace Analysis.

Market research of course is still very important and you will need to spend a large percentage of your time in this area. Use the eBay search engines to find what your competitors are pricing for their items and how many they have sold in different time frames. It is possible to search for only 'completed listings' which will give you a marvellous account of how popular your particular product is. Think also about the time your auction ends so that it is not the second or third auction selling the same product on the same evening. Study what the brick and mortar stores (eBay jingo for real-life shops) sell the products for too.

3. Ebay Fees.

There are a wide variety of different fee structures on eBay depending on the initial starting price, the number of items, the length of the auction and the closing price. As well as these there are the optional added extras which can spruce up your listing making it both more noticeable and also considerably more professional. If selling a car or an expensive item, then these added extras are well worth the investment.

You need to spend time constructing spreadsheets based on how many items you want to sell daily/weekly/monthly and the resulting eBay fees for both listing and final value percentages taken by eBay, which can be found in the 'Help' section under the heading labelled 'Selling'.

4. Postage and Packaging Costs.

Professional and full-time eBayers have a rich and constantly topped up supply of packing materials of varying shapes, types and sizes. For each item you plan to sell you first need to discover in what form it will be delivered to the customer. Work out the cost of the box, bubble wrap or envelope then add this calculation to the postage costs. Check your local post office for postal rates and remember it is best to send anything over $30 as recorded delivery.

5. Photograph and Internet Connection Costs.

These two factors are very often forgotten by new eBayers or have definitely been forgotten by those sellers who crash and burn into penny profit oblivion. Great photos speak for themselves and will increase the chances of selling your item immensely. If you're serious about an eBay career then you will need to invest in good equipment. However you will also need to work out the costs involved in photographing a single item and work that into your final calculations.

How much do you pay for your internet connection? Work that out by hourly, weekly and monthly rates. You might not think all this is important but the tax man certainly will!

6. Tax.

Speaking of tax, you need to work out how much you will have to pay depending on your location and other variables. Research this area thoroughly.

7. Paypal Costs.

It's not just eBay that will take a percentage of your final amount but also your trusted friend, Paypal. The percentage taken varies depending on what plan you have agreed to and also a small set fee will be included. Again, research is your friend and make sure to factor these costs into your final calculations.

8. The Price of your Item.

Finally you can decide what price you want to sell the item for. You have a number of factors which we have covered that you will need to go through in order to discover the best possible price that will make you a good profit. Add these costs all together, plus the amount you paid when you originally obtained the item, then add what you consider to be a reasonable amount of money for your efforts. If you have followed all these steps in detail and used a little imagination, you should come to a final price that is to your liking.

As was mentioned in point 1. How you market your goods is incredibly important. By using back-end sales techniques, search engine optimisation, adverts and creating a customer database, you will dramatically increase the number of people who see your sales, thereby also increasing the number of bids, regardless of the price and how that compares to your competitors. A lot of buyers do not check more than one listing of the same item. Good Luck!

Edward Beaman-Hodgkiss
Beaman's Bazaar