If you are thinking of selling on Ebay this guide will give you some insight into making it a positive experience for both you and your buyers. 

Thoughts to consider:

1. What to sell & where to find it -  There are varying opinions on this topic but it is My belief that if you want to be happy with your career choice you need to sell products that you are know and enjoy.   If you wish to target buyers wanting current fashions than you must have the latest fashions. However if your interest  & knowledge is vintage clothing then you'll need to find vintage clothing.  KNOW your product and represent it properly. There are many wholesale outlets and they can be found by typing  wholesale lots, liquidations, clearouts into search engines I am particularly fond of Google. You can also find wholesale lots through Ebay and in Ebay stores.  Click on buy, type in wholesale lots and click the store inventory box, its down the list on your left.  When doing these purchases, be sure to factor in the shipping fees and view the sellers feedback, both what they receive and what they leave for others.  Its also a good idea to test run a seller to see how long they take to ship and if the products live up to their description.  I bought 25  children's handbags that were listed under ladies purses. They were useless to me.  I should have purchased one lot of 5 and then I would not only have been out a small amount.

Thrift stores, yard sales and buy/sell magazines are great places to find fun & unique items. As well once you start paying attention you will find that many stores have unbelievable unadvertised sales at the end of the season. Watch for store closings, auctions and even craft shows as many sellers are open to offer their items on consignment.  I have gotten $30.00 jewelry at 3 for 4.99$. When you see something that you wish to sale at these prices BUY.   If its not something you wish to sell you can sell it in wholesale lots and still make a profit.  Making $1 an item is not worth it but if someone buys 100 of these, you have 100$ profit with minimal effort.   Drop shipping is another option, just be sure to factor in all costs, sometimes by the time everyone is paid, it can cost you money.

2.  The things you need to consider when you are pricing your items.  Again there are varying opinions on this. Some say you need to research and see what others are charging and offer yours for a lower fee.  If you decide to go that route, be sure to factor in Ebay fees, Paypal fees, packaging & shipping, your cost per item and your labor.

Many of us in the beginning actually lose money on our first few sales, I know I did.  I listed at .99 thinking it would go high and I selected a random price out of the air for shipping, surely shipping a garter out West can't cost more than 5.25.  WRONG!! it cost over $9.   When I started using the actual shipping costs i thought 'holy cow people won't buy this' but they do.  Most of the items I sell are less than store prices even with shipping.

Low pricing items that you send to auction can help if you have an Ebay store and want to draw attention to your store. You may not make a profit on the item but you may sell 10 store items.  These are called 'loss leaders' and are a good way to attract people to your store.  Large chain stores do this all the time because a large majority of people are impulse buyers.  We just need to let them know we are here and what we have.  Funny thing about loss leaders - I had a pair of shoes in my store for 2 months at 44.95 and finally I thought I should just get rid of them. I posted them on auction starting at 9.99 with a BIN (buy it now) for 34.50 and holy cow, they sold for  $66.00.   

3.  Payment & Shipping Options - You will need to consider the methods of payment you will take.  Paypal charges fees but the money is in your account as soon as the customer pays.  I'm not crazy about the fees but I like the instant.  Money orders can be a good way, it just takes a while. NEVER mail out the package no matter how nice the person seems until you have cashed the money order.  I generally leave a few hundred dollars in paypal in case I have an unhappy client and need to do an instant refund. Its not in My account yet and doesnt feel like my money lol. 

Shipping options -  First buy a scale, its the best way to determine the true shipping costs. If you are in Canada you can apply for  a Venture One card, its free and you will get a discount on some types of mailings if you go to the post office. I'm not sure what is available in the US.  Online shipping is available through Ebay/paypal I love it.  I get a discount on some mailings, find it easy to use and I never have to wait in line at the post office.   Depending on the items you are selling you can find inexpensive mailing supplies on line.  I buy all My shipping supplies on line, labels, packaging. Even with the shipping costs its about 75% cheaper than anything I can find locally.

When shipping to your customers, ship ASAP and let them know when it has been mailed.  This makes such a huge difference in the customers attitude.  If there has to be a delay , inform the customer and keep them up to date.  Silence is not a good thing.

4. Return policies - I have noticed that many sellers will not do refunds unless they have shipped in error and they expect the customer to pay postage.   Personally I hesitate to buy from someone who doesn't stand behind what they sell.  I have had many less than honest sellers send me items that I've thrown out and I'm sure that others have as well.  I offer a full refund or store credit, no questions asked as long as the item is returned as received.   I attempt to describe the item thoroughly and note any apparent flaws in a strong contrast color in the listing.  I've had roughly 200 sales in 3 months and have had no refunds.  I want to build a strong customer base of repeat customers who know they can trust Me.  Duping someone may seem like you won BUT they won't ever buy from you again and they will tell others. 

5.  Feedback - This is a tough one and I see much abuse of this system.  We all want 100% positive feedback but we can't please everyone all the time.  I got my first negative feedback a few days ago, one that I felt was totally undeserved, I was so upset I cried. Seems funny now, it sure wasn't then.  The seller posted positive for 2 of the items 2 weeks earlier and than said she didn't receive the 3rd item , 2 weeks later with no discussion in the meantime.  I am hoping she will reconsider & retract it but there is nothing I can do.  Even though she left a red for me when I responded to it I didn't say she was a bad buyer, because until that point she had been great. I just commented on that aspect.  I am hesitant to leave negative feedback in an aggressive offensive manner as it still reflects on us as a person, a seller and can affect how the buyer views us.  I have avoided sellers because of how they respond to customer's concerns. Just be honest, list the points and wait a bit until you have all the facts instead of reacting in anger.  

When/if you get negative feedback, take a look at what the customer is saying.  Could there be a grain of truth in it? Was your item as described, did you package well, did you ship promptly, did you respond to their emails in a timely manner?  Most Buyers are more understanding if we are helpful and caring when there is a problem. 

If you describe the item properly, package well, ship promptly, respond promptly & honestly to buyers questions negative feedback will be kept to a minimum.

  6. Listing Formats & when to post your auctions -  A common theory on this seems to be Thursdays at 7PM and Sundays between 3 & 8 PM. It is really not wise to list late at night or early AM as most are sleeping.  I think it depends on the items you are selling and when the buyers are most likely to be online.  One way to determine a good time for the items you want to sell is to do a search on your particular item and see when most of these sellers are listing.  Keep an eye out for sellers with power seller beside their names as those are the top sellers on Ebay so if it works for them, it will probably work for you.   Its also a good idea to post a few items at varying times of the day & different days of the week and see which ones seem to attract the most attention.

It is also a good idea to try different types of formats to see which will work best for you.  I use a variety of options.  At the moment I am particularly fond of an auction with  the BIN feature. IE list it at 21.50 with BIN at 27.50.  The 21.50 is what I want, the 27.50 is a bonus *s* ..Some people want it NOW and that works for them, others want to feel they get a deal.  Most of  my BINs will buy more than one item.  I also run a few really low price unique items from time to time to draw interest to My store.  I know they could probably get more money and some do but My main interest is getting people to look around and to add My store to their favs.

7. Using the community boards & staying on track - Ebay has an abundance of user boards and the members are generous with sharing their knowledge. It is a GREAT resource.  Be sure to take the good and leave the not so good.  Some of the Sellers focus on the negative aspects when fees are raised, changes are implemented  and if we do that, we are lost. Many give up!! Our attitude determines whether we succeed or not. If postage goes up 5% increase your postage 5%.  if prices go up 10% increase your prices 10% or find a cheaper source to buy your products or 3 products in the same listing and have a lower fee.  If you focus on how to work with what you have there are many ways to overcome these challenges. We can read the negatives and wallow in that feeling or we can brainstorm with people who are trying to find a way to work with it and become stronger. It is up to us.

Yes Ebay's fees are high compared to what they used to be. Yes paypal fees are high when you look at the totals. I DONT look. Every time my Ebay account drops below a credit of $50, I transfer over 100 from My paypal account.  The only time I view My bill is at the end of the month and I dont have to pay it because it has a credit.  Lets take a look at the Ebay fees.. With a basic store at $15.95 a month, $20 or so of auctions a week, and your listing fees, fvf (final value fees) you can expect to pay several hundred dollars a month. 

Now lets take a look at a Brick & mortar store - Rent - cheap would be at least $500 (not a prime location)  utilities several hundred,  equipment? staff thousands,  theft hundreds..you get the idea I'm sure.

Now lets look at this together... Ebay ----- lets say 600 $ a month   Brick & mortar low range $3000 a month...  Now... on Ebay we have access to millions of people all over the world and in our Brick & mortar low rent store we have access to...... I'm thinking if we saw 30 people a day that would be a GREAT day.    Like I said, its all in how we look at it.  PLUS if we want to be away from the store for a few days, things still sell.  I go shopping and come back and find while I was shopping I sold more than I spent and even while I sleep, people buy!!!

This is my first attempt to write on Ebay, Please Vote for Me if you find this article helpful at all.. THANKS!!!!

DISCLAIMER - Please note that I have been selling on Ebay for 3 months so I have lots to learn still. As well these items were available as I have listed them at the time I created this article but may have been removed or altered since them. Thank you in advance for reading this article I hope you find it to be of value.