Top Mistakes Beginning EBAY Sellers Make

[castlemagicmemories]

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/top-mistakes-beginning-ebay-sellers-make-1140390

Please feel free to add your suggestions to help and encourage new sellers. 

Thank you!

eBay Selling Tips For New Sellers

• Share
• Pin
• Email

•••

BY ARON HSIAO

 

Updated January 05, 2019

eBay has very few barriers to entry; so, most new sellers just jump in and start listing. While eBay makes this possible, it is wise to step back, read the eBay policies, and understand what can cause account restrictions and suspensions. eBay doesn't buy "I didn't know better" as an excuse when a rule is violated. Make sure you understand these basic rules before starting to sell on eBay.

Take Your Own Photos

It is against eBay policy to use another seller's photos or to steal them off the Internet.

If using a photo that you did not take, you must have written permission from the owner. The official eBay policy states:

You should be sure you have permission from the rights owner or creator before you use the following:

• Images or text copied from websites or internet searches
• Stock photos and text 
• Information from product packaging
• It's usually OK to use information such as measurements, weight, or other item specifications that are necessary to describe the item that you simply can't say any other way. However, you should avoid using any other text from product packaging unless you have permission from the owner to do so. 
• Images and text copied from listings of other eBay members
• Scans or text copied from catalogs or advertisements

Understand Your Selling Limits

All sellers have selling limits. If you are brand new to eBay, your limits will likely be as low as 10 items and $500. If you have had an eBay account for several years, but have never sold anything, your limits will be higher because eBay sees you as a trusted community member.

Selling limits are somewhat hidden on eBay. You can see most of your account limits in My eBay and in Seller Hub.

• Click My eBay at the top of most eBay pages
• Sign in to your account
• Then select the "All Selling" option in the "Sell" section on the left side of the page (or in the Selling Manager Summary).

• In Seller Hub, you can see your account limits in the Overview section.

Learn About the VeRO Program

eBay has a program called VeRO, which stands for Verified Rights Ownership.  VeRO is a list of companies or brands that don't want their items sold on eBay or insist that the items be authentic to be listed and sold. For example, Michael Kors is on the VeRO list, but as long as the item is authentic, it can be listed and sold.  eBay provides this statement about its VeRO program:

The Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) program allows owners of intellectual property (IP) rights and their authorized representatives to report eBay listings that may infringe on those rights. VeRO embodies our commitment to provide a safe place to buy and sell, which respects property owners' rights.

If you commit a VeRO violation, you will receive an email that says,

Your auction was most likely terminated because it displayed unauthorized reproductions of copyrighted images or trademarks owned by (company), or because it offered for sale unauthorized merchandise.

The listing will be pulled off eBay and your account may be limited.

Give It Time: eBay Is a Marathon Not a Sprint

New eBay sellers often throw in the towel when their items don't sell right away.

The 7-day auction is simply an arbitrary number of days to have a product for sale. Try 30-day listings for a few months and give buyers time to find your listing. The right buyer may not see your item in 7 days, so leave the item listed for a while. List a variety of different kinds of items. You will learn what kinds of items you like working with and those you don't. It takes time to learn how and what to sell on eBay. Take your time and find what works best for you.​

[castlemagicmemories]

To new sellers, be sure to come to this Board when you run into a problem.

Many come after the issue has concluded, when it is too late to help.

[a_c_green]

I don't think that article is all that helpful to a new seller. They need a good grounding in what makes an effective listing (e.g. "Take photos as if there was no description; write the description as if there were no photos"), how to use keywords effectively in the title. how to use the Item Specifics, and that sort of thing. That article reads like the middle piece of a much longer discussion.

Also missing is any warning about not jumping into the deep end by listing a laptop or smartphone until you have lots of experience selling less-expensive items first. That would lead logically from an initial discussion of what to watch out for when listing on-line: basic scams to avoid, how sales and payments work, etc. 

[moo*cow*corner]

Yeah, I agree that there's a lot missing from that fluffy article.

Isn't there a whole section in the Community forums for new to ebay folks? Getting started, buy and selling basics etc. I'm confuzzled.

[tunicaslot]

Tagging - new sellers seldom come to the boards for any education. I believe the vloggers do a good job with educating new sellers on the dos and don'ts. Also the social media platform groups also do a great job at mentoring. I see many new sellers posting in the social media groups and commenting on the youtube videos. The boards here provide a lot of good info - unfortunately today's society is all about social media and that's where most people get info on a number of different topics. I'd rather watch a how to video with actual step by step filming of what I need to know than read an article or forum.

[moo*cow*corner]

Interesting and probably very true! I'm the exact opposite. I want to read things first, and then may or may not ever watch a video. I'm also one of those ones who will read a transcript rather than be stuck listening to a podcast.

[eunster1313]

https://community.ebay.com/t5/New-to-eBay/ct-p/new-to-ebay-db

[yuzuha]

---

@moo*cow*corner wrote:
Interesting and probably very true! I'm the exact opposite. I want to read things first, and then may or may not ever watch a video. I'm also one of those ones who will read a transcript rather than be stuck listening to a podcast.

---

Same here.  I love videos for how-to things, like "how to tie a bowtie" where seeing someone else do it is helpful to understanding how it works.  But for other things, I'd much rather just read.

[castlemagicmemories]

---

@a_c_green wrote:

I don't think that article is all that helpful to a new seller. They need a good grounding in what makes an effective listing (e.g. "Take photos as if there was no description; write the description as if there were no photos"), how to use keywords effectively in the title. how to use the Item Specifics, and that sort of thing. That article reads like the middle piece of a much longer discussion.

Also missing is any warning about not jumping into the deep end by listing a laptop or smartphone until you have lots of experience selling less-expensive items first. That would lead logically from an initial discussion of what to watch out for when listing on-line: basic scams to avoid, how sales and payments work, etc. 

---

I understand, it is lacking; that is why I asked for other suggestions.  It's just meant as a starting point.

Thank for sharing your suggestions, though, that is very helpful.

[moo*cow*corner]

@eunster1313
I was sure I'd seen something somewhere, but couldn't remember where I saw it. Thanks for the link!

[abfabvintage]

I'm not sure if this is a full article by the actual author(s), or an in-between the lines OP comment? Just confused as usual. 

[castlemagicmemories]

---

@eunster1313 wrote:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/New-to-eBay/ct-p/new-to-ebay-db

---

Thank you for the link.  Just putting some info here in another place as you never know where someone might find it!

[tunicaslot]

Thank you for trying really - unfortunately like most threads - it will roll off before many new sellers can take advantage of it. Unless someone continues to bump it of course.

[abfabvintage]

Not only you are confuzzled lolol...shouldn't this be on some other forum like you suggested? New to...getting started...etc. which is in the first left side drop down box once you sign in here?

[myjunqueyourtreasure]

Added to which most new sellers have no clue there even IS a "community" anymore.