It seems everyone has an opinion on how to sell on eBay. However, not every idea and tip are effective across the board for each type of item listing. EBay has grown and changed since it began in 1995, and what was once a sure way to make money has become much more complex. Learning how to sell on eBay successfully requires certain skills and techniques.
Below, you'll find nine mind-blowing eBay selling tips that will set you apart from the competition and will take your eBay business to the next level.
1. Click! Take a Pic
When you are buying on eBay, do you usually skip over the items without a picture or with a poor quality photo? Yes, of course you do. That's why you need an attractive, appealing photo to go with your product if it is a non-commodity item. It's a fact that listings using photos receive much more traffic than a no-photo listing. More traffic equals more bidders. Plain and simple! Don't list a non-commodity item without a picture.
2. Go the Distance with Your Listing
Many sellers who do not see a lot of bids on their items begin to panic and want to end the auction early. But the nature of the eBay auction is that most bidders wait until the last hour, minute and even seconds of an auction to make their bid. If you cut out early, you can almost guarantee you are losing out on money, because you didn't let the last minute potential buyers have a chance to bid.
3. Choose Your Words Carefully
The title is everything in eBay. It's much like search engine optimization in that you want to select keywords in your listing title that people are going to type into the eBay search engine. It's wise to focus on description words that people will use in the search. Are people going to type in-wow or look at me or amazing? Probably not. But they will type in: size large, designer handbag, or pink Princess Aurora nightgown.
4. Focus on the Positive (Feedback!)
Positive eBay feedback is as important as good reviews are to books on Amazon.com. Just like you probably won't buy a book if it has low ratings from many customers, a potential buyer is unlikely to bid on your items if you have received consistently poor feedback. However, consistently positive feedback is the golden ticket. People will feel confident in your business and will be more willing to bid and pay higher prices. It may make good sense to start your eBay businesses with lower priced items until you have built up your positive feedback. Then, you can comfortably move on to higher priced listings because you have established your good reputation.
5. Be Professional
Consider your eBay business like you would any other type of business. In order to become successful, you must provide excellent customer service as well as follow the rules and etiquette of good business practices. Present your listings and eBay store in a professional manner, being sure to use correct spelling, well-written descriptions and the best page design you can find.
6. Be Reasonable When It Comes to Shipping & Handling
We've all seen the listings that ask for way too much money for the shipping and handling cost. Bidders are not stupid and they typically know how much it costs to ship a particular item, and they will avoid eBay auctions that list unreasonably high fees. Still, it is important to list the fees you charge upfront. Because it's true that bidders will avoid listings that do not include the amount for shipping and handling. Plus, you can almost guarantee negative feedback if you surprise a customer with high fees after they have won the item. Negative feedback can kill an eBay business.
7. Always Tell the Truth
When you write the details of the listing, address the item's condition in detail. If there is a blemish on the product, you must state it. It is very important to avoid using "like new" if it is not indeed perfect. Even an item that has tags on it can appear worn or dirty. As the goal is to avoid the dreaded negative feedback, always use honesty and give details when you describe the condition of the product.
8. Build Customer Relationships
It is good business practice to stay in touch with previous bidders. Whether you have an autoresponder system to follow-up with customers after the purchase, or you just want to let them know when you have special sales in the future, keeping in touch is a good way to obtain repeat business. Much like a business that sends newsletters and flyers to customers announcing sales and new items, it makes sense to continue communicating with your bidders and buyers.
9. Research. Research. Research.
Unless you want to get eaten up by other eBay business people who really know what they are doing, don't forget to research your product. Just throwing items into eBay auctions without doing your homework on the product as well as the competition may make you vulnerable to those who will purchase your item and resell it on eBay with a better description.
People actually make a lot of money doing this because they have taken the time to research how to sell the items. In order to stay one step ahead of these sellers and to make sure you are creating the best listing possible, read eBay selling books, visit and learn from sellers forums, and take solid online eBay courses, like the one by Sydney Johnston.
Johnston's Auction Genius Course teaches important tools from identifying the right products to sell to utilizing Internet and affiliate marketing to increasing your eBay income with AdSense. It's a great tool to have in your arsenal as you conduct your pre-sale research.
