You can make money on Ebay!  It is easy,  It is quick.  If I Can Do It, So Can You! 

Here is a step by step guide that can steer you through the process.

First of all, you will need a computer and a way to get to the internet. If you do not have a computer or an internet connection, this is not a problem!   Your local library can usually provide the computer and access needed.  Problem solved! 

Second you will need an Ebay account.  This is something that you can do by yourself, but is usually easier with someone who is already a member.  Setting up a screen name, setting up accounts such as Paypal and getting started is not difficult with all the help available online through Ebay itself.  Take your time and follow the screen prompts and you will be well on your way.  You can do the account setup usually in about an hour or less.  Take your time and relax.  This is probably the most difficult part of your journey. 

Next on the adventure is finding your items for sale.  This is not difficult.  Open your garage, check the upstairs linen closet, check the drawer in the kitchen, look in the hallway, check the box in the closet.  I found old baseball cards, my friend found an old Barbie, mom's house had some old jewelry, unused watches, old souvenir memorabilia from Disneyland, old lunchboxes from when you were growing up, old vintage clothing, old tools, glassware, crystal, silver, and just about anything that may have some old memories are all prime Ebay material.  Once you have exhausted the homefront, you get to go garage sale-ing.  Others have a wealth of treasures and rarely know their value. Your keen eye will assist you.  Friends who are moving are often prime donors.  Check out estate sales.  Consider it an aerobic activity.  You get out, you buy low and sell high.  You cannot go wrong in picking out merchandise for Ebay. 

Your next task is to twofold.  You need to prepare the item(s) for sale.  That can mean anything from cleaning it up, shining it, washing it, to finding out its value.  This preparation cannot be stressed enough.  You need to find out if you have a $2 item or a $200 item.  Most often you can be a reasonably good judge of value, but often estimates may vary (sometimes too high and won't sell or sometimes too low and are cheating yourself).  In the case of my friend's Barbie doll, the doll itself was virtually worthless, but in a "package" with the doll stand, the microphone, the earrings, shoes,  clothing and other memorabilia, the total value jumped off the chart.  The only way I found this out was by consulting the experts at the local Barbie convention.  What the untrained eye might have only sold for a few dollars, I found out to be worth at least 20 times what I would have sold it for.  Let this be a lesson to you.  Do some leg work/phone work and find out what your items are worth on the worldwide open market  Once you have cleaned up and priced your item, you are ready for the fun part, listing your item.  Another important option on pricing your item is to look your item up on Ebay.  Go to the Buy section at the top of the page and research your item(s) there.  See what others are selling the same (or similar) items for on Ebay.  See how they write their listings.  See what they include, what they leave out and how your listing can be better than theirs. 

Here's what you need to do to list your item.  You will be asked to pick a category.  Give as much information as possible.  Let Ebay assist you.  Remember that they want you to sell the item as much as you do.  Once you have chosen a category to sell in, decide if you need a subtitle.  Sometimes it is helpful to give a little more information, sometimes it isn't.  Remember that many of your Ebay listing choices create an extra cost.  You will have to decide if the extra money brought in by the added information will be offset by the extra cost. 

Next, make up an interesting title.  It should be descriptive and as complete as possible.  Tell as much as you can in the title in the 55 spaces provided.  Make sure that you put all key words and phrases in.  Try to inlcude color and/or size if possible.  Tell the age if that could help a potential buyer make a decision.  Be creative!  Think it through.  Try a few versions and read it to yourself over and over until it makes sense and says everything you want it to say.  Tell as much as you can.  Try to use up most of the 55 spaces given.  The more information given, the better.  The title is possibly your first and largest chance to grab the eye and mind of your buyer.  Let the title tug at their heartstrings before it tugs on their pursestrings.  Their first impression of your item may be the one that may determine a sale.  Hit 'em with your best shot!

The description of your item comes next.  It is the meat and potatoes of your listing.  Be sure to include all the information about your item.  Leave nothing out.  Include size, age, color, type, brand, and anything else of consequence.  You are given some choices here that are good to use.  You can choose a new font, size, and color of lettering  Use this to your advantage.  If you are selling team merchandise for say the Cincinnati Reds, use large red lettering.  It can draw more people to your listing and it can make it easier to read.  I cannot stress enough to please, please, please spell your work properly and use your best punctuation and grammar.  There are few things that will take a buyers confidence away faster than mistakes in the listing.  Triple check your work in this section.  Also, be sure to list flaws, imperfections, or anything that would change a buyers mind on your item.  It is better to not have a sale, as opposed to getting a sale and having to take it back later.  Above all, be honest.

Now for the hardest part of all.  Setting the price.  I personally have found that if you set the price at about 75% of what I reasonably expect the item to sell for that will get me a minimum bid that I can sell it for and may create a "buzz" for the item.  The best thing in the world is when there are a few bidders who are actively involved in the auction.  They decide that they want it and little will keep them from it.  This doesn't happen often, but when it does, whooppee!  It is really great when an item you expect to sell for a few dollars sells for 5 to 10 times (or more) than what you expected.  Those old baseball cards of mine come to mind.  I had them in a drawer, took a few pictures of them and listed them.  They went for about 10 times what I expected to get for them.  As Mr. Rogers said, "It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood".   

After the price is set, determine how long you want your auction to run.  You can run it for one or more days.  An important aspect of the auction run time is to have it run over the weekend or at least finish sometime Saturday or Sunday.  That will usually give potential buyers part or all of the weekend to look over your auction without feeling rushed to do so..    

Photos are the next piece of the puzzle to consider.  A cheap digital camera (that you can probably get on Ebay) or a scanner will be needed.  Take a few various pictures of the item from various angles and distances.  If possible, take the pictures outside in the light of day.  The colors come out better and will give buyers the best possible view of your item.  Take 5-10 pictures even if you only use one! You can always delete them from the camera's memory card.   It is much easier and faster in the long run to have the pictures available, rather than stopping and taking more as you go.  Trust me on this.  Another helpful tip is to use the Ebay enhanced picture service.  It is a simple download away, does not cost anything and will allow you to crop pictures and brighten them or change the contrast.  These are all good things that allow your buyer to see your item in the best possible way.  You should decide whether or not to use a "Gallery" photo.  That is a photo that shows up when the listing is viewed.  I have found the Gallery photo to be very valuable to my listings.  It is an additional cost, but I think it is well worth it.  Also, more photos make it easier for the buyer to get an idea of the value and condition of your item.  There of course is a price to pay.  Sounds like my mother talking, doesn't it?  Beyond the Gallery, you will have to make the decision on how many photos is right. 

Once you have your title, listing, price, and picture(s), the next section to consider is your shipping and handling.  Things to consider in addition to the postage itself are if a box must be purchased, how the item will actually be packaged and secured, if the postal service or an outside vendor will be used and whether to post the shipping price with the listing or charge for the shipping after the auction is complete.  Optional things such as insurance and delivery confirmation are things that the buyer may request and can sometimes be made additional options to be offered to the buyer.  All of these possibilities must be considered and determined before the sale is complete.  Of course this will depend on the weight and size of your item and how far the item will be traveling to arrive at its new home.  Much of this can be included  in the shipping section of your listing.  I personally like to keep things simple (thereby using the KISS principle...Keep It Simple Stupid). I do this by adding a fair price for what the item will cost to ship and if it costs a little more or a little less, it averages out to a fair price.  Another concept to consider is whether you plan to ship internationally or not.  If you do, it opens your business to millions more customers, but on the other hand it adds another level to your shipping process as many international shipments must have some paperwork completed before shipment commences.  Once again decisions, decisions.

Almost done.  All you have to do now is give a final check to your work.  Review each of the decisions you have made from title to description to price to duration to photos to shipping and so on and so forth.  Are you happy with it?  If you answer that question with a no, then go back and review and revise.  If you answer with a yes, then submit it and check it every day.  Be sure to answer questions that may arise from potential buyers in a timely fashion.  Now is the fun part, watching your auction increase from day to day.  It may start out slow and not get any bids for a day or two, but be patient.  Often your auction will seem to go nowhere for days on end.  Be patient.  Often bidding does not begin in earnest until just a few minutes before the auction is about to end.  That's okay!  Let the market determine the price of your item and be content to know that you have done everything to make the best listing possible.

You can now gloat over how well your auction has done and that your item has sold, but you're not done yet.  Go to your Ebay and send out the invoice to the buyer and don't forget to include the shipping and handling.  The buyer will pay you (hopefully quickly)  and you then can again gloat over how much money you made.  Don't forget to give feedback to the buyer and often they will return the favor and give some to you.  That's how your reputation is built on Ebay and that's how you can help build your sales base.

Hopefully this has been a helpful primer on how to begin to sell on Ebay. There are many more questions that are included in each auction, but these ideas are just the most basic ideas on how to run your listing.  If you attempt even some of the ideas included here, you should have success on Ebay.   If you have any questions, please feel free to write me at hebefrank on Ebay.  It has been fun writing this.  Thanks for reading.  Happy selling everybody!  May all your auctions lead to sales!