1.Think before you sell
Whether it's a pair of shoes you've finally accepted have walked their last steps, some old text books, or your Pokémon card collection – it's crucial that you take a bit of time to decide whether something is in the right condition to be sold.
You might be keen to start making money on whatever you can get your hands on, but if you make the mistake of selling items that aren't in good condition or missing crucial parts, you'll get yourself a bad rating. This is basically eBay suicide, and you might as well just give up there and then.
What to consider before selling on eBay
Would this sell for less than the postage and packaging costs (i.e. would it really be worth the effort)?
Does it look like the dog's gotten hold of it?
Would I have to tell any white lies about the condition of this item in order to sell it?
Is anything missing that the buyer would need in order to enjoy (or even use) the item?
If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then the item probably doesn't belong on eBay (although in some cases, a product in poor condition or with parts missing can be sold for spares – just be honest about the condition!).
Top tip: If you're stumped on what to sell, use the 'most popular' tool on eBay to find out what the hottest items are at that time. Also check out what the most watched items are or whichever ones tend to have the most bids on them, and use this as a guide. This should give you an idea of what will sell and what won't.
Thinking seasonally is always a good idea too – you're not likely to get many bids on a pair of sunglasses in the middle of winter, so put them somewhere safe until the time is right. Chances are you'll make a lot more cash on them if you can be patient and wait until the time is right!
2. Before you begin, learn about the costs of becoming an eBay seller.
Before you begin making any money, you first need to work out exactly how much an item is worth and how much it's going to cost you to sell it. Obviously, you want to make a decent profit, but there are a lot of additional costs that apply when selling on eBay that you need to be aware of.
3. How much should you charge for your item?
Use the eBay advanced search tool to discover how much similar items have been selling for lately. Just search for whatever it is you want to sell and tick the 'completed listings' box to see heaps of similar items and get a better idea of what to charge.
Also, make sure you price the postage correctly, or you could end up out of pocket. Royal Mail's price finder will tell you how much you'll have to fork out for postage, so you can add this to the listing.
Note that high postage fees can put some sellers off, so we'd recommend adding the cost of any jiffy bags or sellotape into the price of the product itself to keep the postage figure down.
4. Take decent photos of what you're selling
A photograph of the item you're selling adds maximum credibility, and a user is much more likely to continue bidding if they feel they've been given a decent representation of what's on offer. If there are extra components to the item you're listing, you'll want to get them in the photo too – we're talking boxes, instruction manuals, batteries and whatever else you've mentioned in the description.
5. Remember that the job isn't done when the sale is made.
No relaxing just yet! Once your sale has gone through, be sure to send a confirmation email to your buyer as soon as possible and invoice them for the full amount, including the postage charge.
You should then send them another email once you've received their payment and when you've dispatched the item. We know this sounds like a lot of email, but buyers appreciate being kept in the loop, and if you're too quiet, there's a chance they'll get suspicious and report you.
Make sure you also dispatch the item as promptly as possible and beware of being too ambitious with your 'handling time' declaration. If you estimate that you'll take 2 days to dispatch the item, but the buyer hasn't received it later than that, you could receive negative feedback and the buyer may ask eBay for a refund.
Establishing Trust is Better than any Sales Technique..
