Ebay has become a wonderful place to not only bid on items not normally found at local auctions, but it has also become an awesome place for sellers to set up their markets! It is very hard though to become a respectable business man, unless you have a game plan and you know some tricks of the trade to progress yourself. I have never gone to business school to acquire a degree in this area, but I have a keen observation of how things are done, and I have a lot of patience when it comes to growth in my Ebay store. I will share several areas of success that will help you in the direction you need to head in and allow you flourish with selling your items on Ebay. I will be taking you step by step along the Ebay process to help you understand the importance of knowing your items and the interests of customers. If you lack in these two things than I can guarentee you will not acquire nearly what you deserve when selling an item of worth.

First, when putting an item onto Ebay it will give you dozens of main categories to place your item into. They range from coins-toys, almost anything you can imagine. This is the main category your item will be found under when a customer is seeking your item out. After determining what the main category is you will be brought to the second page which you will determine what your sub category will be. This is very integral part when it comes to selling, and knowing about your item. Say for example I'm selling a Star Wars Chocolate Mpire 2 pack set.

Where would I place these! Would I go to M+M collectibles? Would I place it under toys: Star Wars? If I did what category would it go under Star Wars? It is very important to know where you will place the item to get the most attention and sales. People sometimes use the search engine on Ebay to find items, but the majority go to the specific categories to find what they are looking for. If you place your item in the wrong category, you will be only wasting money and time. What I do is a little tedious, but in the end it does prove to be very smart. I usually spend any where from 5-10 minutes browsing Ebay for similar items and where people have placed them. It gives me a general idea of where the most sales are.

Moving on we find ourselves in the next part of the sales process that has us give our item description and our item detail. Your item title is extremely important when a customer is browsing. Catchy words or phrases are a plus. Also, words such as "New", or "Used", or even exclamation marks are very important as well. I also know that spelling your item correctly is not even a question of importance. It's just good business if everything is done in a neat fashionable manner. Now when putting your item title in you have only so many charecters to use, so use them wisely! With the above example, how would I title that? Since I only have so many charecters I would say: SW Choc. Mpire figures Luke and Leia, NEW!!!

Capitalizing certain words and adding several exclamations have proved countless sales in the past. It is eye appealing and leads sales to your store. Now since there is only so many charecters in the title sometimes you have to abbreviate words. SW in my title of course stands for Star Wars, and Choc. stands for Chocolate. Only abbreviate words which you know your customers will understand.

Next, we come to the part of our item description. It is absolutely important and necessary to list everything about your item in here. You must be honest to your customers, there are no exceptions in this case. Name the condition of your item, color, age, anything that proves important about your item. If its an uncertified coin, has it been cleaned? Does it have any noticeable marks on it? Is it a replica? This is very, very important to the sale of your item. If you are dishonest here, you should not be a seller here on Ebay! If your item is a little damaged, it is better to state the problem with it and take a hit on sales. By being honest you will bring that customer back wanting more hopefully.

The next part of the process is store features and picture views. When first brought to the page it will ask you in what part of your store do you want it to go. This is relatively simple if you have designed your categories to what you are selling. Next it will ask for a quantity of your item. Those who have a higher selling volume and want to save money usually use this feature. It's convienent and its a time saver.

Now when it comes to your pictures, this is what I consider the most important part in your process of selling. There are many things you must consider when taking a picture(s) of your item. First you need a clear, distinct picture showing all that you have described in the previous page. Are their tears in the cardboard to the figures you are selling? Are there marks on the coin your selling? Take pictures of all that you can to ease the minds of your customers. The less you take a picture of the more doubt that lies in the customers mind. It does prove costly if you are not aware of a special subscription for sellers. Under subscriptions you will find an area for picture manager which has three different options to choose. Lower sales reps will probably go with the 9.99 plan. Medium sales reps will go with the intermediate at 14.99. and higher sales reps will go with the highest. It is a convienent subscription which with each level has a different storage capacity. So insteading of spending an extra .15 on each extra picture I suggest using the subscription to take more pictures for free and to increase sales.

Now that we have established the amount of pictures, we need to focus on what the pictures look like. Make sure the pictures you take are in a controlled environment looking professional. When I see photos of items on beds or kitchen countertops it doesn't seem professional and will actually turn business away. Use a desk, the floor, a blanket, anything that looks like a professional business out of someones home. Next, the picture you took, was it clear in focus? Can I make out the features of the item? This is very important, and it is a proven fact that blurry pictures do not sell nearly as well. Even if there is too much flash it will infringe on your sales. Another no no in the business is only taking a picture of the item. Too many people take a photo which gives me a view of there living quarters. You will be surprised at the infringement of sales because of this.

After the photos have been taken there are many option you can use to further your sales. The one thing best suited for all items is the gallery option. It places a picture of your item on the page where customers will look. Many times if a gallery photo is not there a customer will not bother clicking to view your item. In order to bring out the best with your item you will need to experiment with different features that Ebay so convienently gives you. Prices will vary and some may seem high, but if you yield a lot of profit from your item some options prove worth it for their exposure.

The next page brings us to weight, payment, and shipping options. Most can guess the weight for their item, but to make the most of your profits and business it probably would be wise to acquire a digital scale, especially if you sell worldwide. By getting a scale, you can get the precise weight and find out the exact cost off of any mailing agency. It is quite convienent and it will save you money in the long run.

Payment options are important to alot of people. Some prefer paypal, other prefer paying by a check. Investigate Ebay and find out how most people pay for an item. The most convienent thing to do is allowing all payment methods, but then again their are a lot of dishonest people out there. Be wise in your choice, for it is your business and your profits that are involved.

Shipping options are convienently placed on Ebay to help your customers choose how they want it shipped. The United States Post office is the most convienent and less expensive, but you have to take charge when it comes to knowing how to ship your item and how much it will cost you.

Lastly, Ebay will give you an overview of all the information and pictures that you have provided in the process of selling your item. Take a minute a look everything over. Is something mispelled? Are these the right pictures for my items? Is the weight correct to my items?

After deciding that everything is in order you can submit your item for sale.

I have completely taken you through the process and I hope that these tips will help you in your pursuit of a business on Ebay. Most of all, BE HONEST WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS, no matter how rude some might seem. The first rule of business is the priority of the customer. If they feel they are neglected, then your sales will decrease significantly. Be efficient with your shipping as well. Too many customers have to wait endless weeks sometimes for something they ordered. Efficency will prove wonderful things for your business. After all is said and done, good luck in selling your items. You never know, you might have something of interest that I want!