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10 Steps to Getting Started with Ebay
by: Joyce Moseley Pierce (1017 words)
Now that you've recognized the benefits to selling your stuff on eBay versus
tying up your time in a garage sale, it's time to get started.
Here are some things you will need or want to do. You don't necessarily have
to do them all in this order, but this is one way to do it.
1. Go through your house and gather things that you either don't use, or
you just don't "love." If you need any help in this area, go to
www.flylady.net and she can help you.
Flylady offers a great system for
helping you de-clutter your homes and simplify your life.
2. If you don't already have one, go to
www.ebay.com and set up
an account. It won't cost you anything to get started and if you just get to
the home page you'll find a link that will lead you through the steps to
get set up.
3. Go to www.paypal.com and set up an
account so you can start receiving
money from those who buy your items through eBay. It will take you a
few days for PayPal to confirm your account, so this is one of the first
things you need to do. By the time you get your items listed on eBay,
it will be available for you to use.
4. Go to eBay and look up the item you want to sell. Let's say you have
an Olympus camera you want to sell. Go to the "sell" link in eBay and
do a search for your camera. Include the camera name and model number.
You will see a display of all of the cameras, like yours, that are already
on eBay. Don't be discouraged if there are already several others
listed. No two items are exactly alike - you might have the manual
where another one won't; yours might be used where another one might be
brand new. Look at all of them, look at the description, and get an
idea of what your particular item might bring on eBay.
5. For starters, you may want to just go to the "sellers" link and
list your first item, but if you make a practice of listing items,
you will eventually want to download their Turbo Lister software.
It greatly reduces the time you spend listing your items. Once
it's on your computer, you can enter the information whenever you
want and then upload it to eBay when you're ready. This is
especially nice when you want your auction to start or end at a
certain time but know you won't have the time to enter the information
to make that happen. With Turbo Lister, you can upload everything
in one swoop.
6. Decide the lowest price you can or will accept for this item.
Remember that this is an auction and you may not sell it at all,
or you may only get one bid. If you're not willing to sell
Grandma's china for $1.99 then there are a couple of things you
can do. You can either list it at the lowest price you'll take,
or you can start the auction at $.98 and then put a reserve on
it. By including a "reserve" even if people bid on your item,
you don't have to sell it unless they pass your reserve price.
It's good to start with a low price because people feel like
they're getting a bargain and you are more apt to have people
join in a bidding war. If you start a bid too high, you run the risk of
scaring people off. Some people don't like items with a reserve, but
at least you won't have to lose something valuable for $.99.
Start out with things you just want to get rid of until you get a feel
for how the system works.
7. When setting up your account with eBay, be sure to read the
rules and restrictions. The sale of some items is not allowed and
can cause your your eBay account to be suspended. Be sure you know
what you can and cannot sell before you get started. For instance,
you cannot sell fake copies of name brand items, alcohol or
firearms.
8. When establishing your price, realize that you will pay a
listing fee for every item you list. If it sells, you will
also pay a "final value fee." In addition, PayPal will collect
their own fee for handling the transfer of money. Some people
add a $2.00 shipping and handling fee on low priced items just so
they will recoup some of the fees involved.
9. Another thing to think about when listing your item is the
cost involved to ship it. Recently I stated that a glass bowl weighed
1 lb, but that same bowl, wrapped properly to avoid breakage, weighed
5 lbs. Some people pay as soon as they win the auction, so it's good
if you have the weight on your listing so they will pay you the
right amount. After all, you are the one who has listed the amount
and they are paying based on your information. Don't lose money by
having to use part of your profits to pay the shipping.
10. List your auction for 1, 3, 5 or 7 days. If you're selling tickets
to an event, a 1 day listing might be appropriate. Some feel that it's
better to list an item so it ends on a week night and not a weekend,
but others think a weekend is good. It's probably not a good idea to
have your auction end at 6 am EST because that is 3 am PST and you may
miss out on bids from people in that time zone. It's better to have
bids end in the evening at a reasonable time for the general population.
Maybe 10 am PST, 8 CST and 7 EST. Remember that the auction will end
the same time of day that you list it unless you use Turbo Lister, and
then you can set the time you want your listing to start. of course there
is an additional charge for that service.
eBay is a great way to make money at home. In fact, it is rapidly growing
as one of the biggest home-based businesses in the world. With a
bit of preparation and reviewing the eBay website so you'll know what
you're doing, you'll become an expert on it in no time.
Copyright 2005 Joyce Moseley Pierce Joyce is a freelance writer and owner of
Emerson Publications. Her website is designed to help and unite families at
all stages of life. Please visit
www.emersonpublications.com to learn
more about working from home, to subscribe to the Family First ezine,
or to read other family-friendly articles.
Joyce is a freelance writer and owner of
Emerson Publications. She is also
the creator of
“All They’ll Need to Know,” a book that will be invaluable to
your loved ones when you can’t
be there to guide them. Visit
www.emersonpublications.com for
lots of good family-friendly information.
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10 Steps to Getting Started with Ebay
by: Joyce Moseley Pierce (461 words)
Now that you've recognized the benefits
to selling your stuff on eBay versus
tying up your time in a garage sale,
it's time to get started.
Here are some things you will need or
want to do. You don't necessarily have
to do them all in this order, but
this is one way to do it.
1. Set up a PayPal account so you
can receive money from your eBay
sales. It'll take a few days to
verify your account, so do this
right away.
2. Set up an eBay account if you
don't already have one. www.ebay.com
3. Go through your house and gather
things that you either don't use.
4. Look at some of the items you've
gathered to sell. Go to eBay and
do a search for that item. See
how much it's listed for and if
anyone is bidding on it.
5. Decide the lowest price you
can or will accept for this item.
Even if other people are paying
$50 for others just like it,
don't list your item for $50.
People may be willing to pay that
much, but they don't want to
start bidding at that price.
6. You will pay a listing fee,
a final value fee, and if you
accept PayPal you will pay a fee
there, too. Know what those fees
are before you list your item unless
you want to just give it away.
7. Read the eBay Terms of
Agreement and abide by them.
Certain items are illegal to sell.
8. Be sure you have an accurate
weight when you list your product.
You don't want to get stuck paying
your own money for shipping.
9. List your item(s), taking
all of these things into consideration.
10. List your auction for 1, 3, 5
or 7 days. I like to start my
auctions in the evening so people
are typically home and can be in
front of their computers to bid.
Take time zones into consideration.
Auctions will end at the same time
of day you list them unless you want
to pay more!
eBay is a great way to make money at
home. In fact, it is rapidly growing
as one of the biggest home-based
businesses in the world. With a
bit of preparation and reviewing the
eBay website so you'll know what
you're doing, you'll become an expert
on it in no time.
Copyright 2005 Joyce Moseley Pierce
Joyce is a freelance writer and owner of
Emerson Publications. Her website is
designed to help and unite families at
all stages of life. Please visit
www.emersonpublications.com to learn
more about working from home, to
subscribe to the Family First ezine,
or to read other family-friendly articles.
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