eBay Best Practices

Did you know that you can access tons of FREE information on eBay that will help you jump start your sales on eBay and give you insight that can help you understand the eBay online marketplace?

If you are new to eBay, I strongly suggest that you take a look at the information provided on the following link:

http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/bestpractices.html

Here's an excerpt from the site that will get you started:

Selling is a snap when you're armed with time-tested strategies for success. Follow these simple best practices used by eBay's most successful sellers and watch your sales soar!

Research Before you list your item, check to see what comparable items have sold for by searching completed listings-it's easy!

Pricing A high opening bid can "choke" bidding on your item. Setting a reserve price can often have the same negative effect. Learn strategies to maximize profit and limit risk.

Selling Formats Discover strategies for using auction vs. fixed price listings and choose the right selling format for your items.

Merchandise Maximize your sales through effective merchandising. A savvy title, well-written description, and clear photos can make a world of difference and give your item the edge!

Promotional Tools Learn how to maximize exposure with eBay's listing upgrades and advertising programs.

Packing & Shipping The right shipping solutions can help you save time and money. Learn how to select a shipping service, calculate shipping costs, pack your item, and track a package.

Buyer Confidence Offer customer-friendly policies that make it easy for buyers to purchase your items and encourage repeat business.

Feedback Learn why seller feedback is the cornerstone of the community.

How to Communicate with Buyers/Sellers

Communication is the key to good relationships. We've all heard it especially when it comes to successful marriages.

When buying or selling on eBay it's important too! It's a short term relationship that can go well or leave you with a feedback black eye rating that takes tons of transactions to erase.

As a professional sales person, I know what I need to do to communicate properly with clients and I know how things can go south with miscommunication.

What works for me is this:

1. Do your best to be prompt with your response when a question about your listing comes in.
2. Be polite! Remember, that's your future customer!
3. Answer in a positive way. Make sure your response has a "yes" tone. Even if you can't do something - you can still answer with I wish I could, here's another option, etc.
4. Thank the person who emailed for their email and interest in your item. Do this at the front of your response. Remember, they can buy from someone else.
5. If you're going to be away and can't be timely, don't list items to sell. Wait - you'll be seen as more responsive and get better feedback.
6. Read the question and ask for clarification if you don't understand it or don't know how to respond.
7. BE HONEST. Make sure you don't misrepresent your item.
8. Encourage buyers to send you another question if they need to.
9. Make sure your contact information is correct under your eBay Account.
10. Do not use spam filters that require people to sign up before they can email you.
11. If buying an item, make sure to read the listing completely - your answer might be there.
12. If selling an item, make sure to put enough information in the listing and people won't have to ask a great deal of questions!
13. Have a sense of humor! Most eBayers appreciate it and like fun transactions.
14. Always put yourself in the other's shoes. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you - it still works!

This is just a sample of ideas that will help you to communicate with buyers and sellers on eBay. Remember, it's a great place to have fun, meet nice people and make some money!

Sell Your Passion on eBay!

When teaching newbies how to sell on eBay I almost always hear the same two things "I want to make money selling things on eBay!" and "What should I sell on eBay?".

I always answer with - "Why aren't you?" and "SELL YOUR PASSION on eBay"!!!

What does that mean? It's simple. When you follow your passion, good stuff happens! Personally, professionally, romantically, etc.! It's where your heart is and where your interests lie. It's where you want to be and what you want to spend your time doing. Hopefully it's your work. If it's not, then it should be. When you're passionate about something, it makes it easier to do, more fun, exciting, you are more driven, and you don't loose interest.

How do I know this? Because I had to figure it out for myself. I've spent hours thinking about what I want to do when I grown up and what I should sell on eBay. I have finally figured it out by reviewing my life, what makes me tick and analyzing who I am. What made it all come together for me were 5 simple questions that I came up with that I would like to share with you!
Treasureholic's - 5 Questions to Help You ID Your Passion!

Answer each question honestly. Your answers need to be places and things and NOT people. List as many as you can for each question.

1. What do you love?
2. What hobbies do you have outside of work?
3. What objects do you surround yourself with?
4. What do you treasure?
5. If money were no object, what would you do with your time?

Now that your finished, I'm sure that you have an interesting list. Now take the same questions and ask 5 of your closest friends or family members to answer the questions as they pertain to you. Basically, they are going to give you an outside perspective of what and who they think you are. For example:

1. What does Dana love? etc.

Their answers will give you additional insight about yourself. When you have your answers, make a list of the common items. You will start to see similar things come up! Guess what? That's where your passion lies! You've done it! You now know what you need to sell on eBay and can say... It's My Passion!

Find a way to List items that match your passion(s) and you will be successful! Your listings will shine and your buyers will appreciate your finds, interest and knowledge on the items that they are buying from you.

Before you know it, you will be making money doing what you love!

Sell Free Items For High eBay Profits!

All eBay sellers will tell you that it's their goal to sell items on a repetitive basis that cost them little or nothing and bring in a decent profit after the fees are paid and the positive feedback is in.

How can you do that? It's easy! Find an item, or items that don't cost you upfront money and start selling!

Here's an example. I sell two items on eBay that fit the criteria - Japanese Maple Seedlings and Custom Initialed Cocoa Door Mats. http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=treasureholic1

I have a local source for the maples and they don't cost me a dime. I dig them up to order and ship them bare root USPS Priority Mail. No cost in the transaction but my time and some simple packaging.

The door mats are made here in South Carolina. The first thing that I did was research the company and review the products. When selling on eBay, it's best to find a unique product that only you sell. If you have exclusivity, it increases your ability to make more profit and ensures that ten other sellers won't be doing their best to under cut your price.

I found a mat that was unique to the eBay market. At that point I called the Director of Sales and asked him for the opportunity to set up a distributorship for the mats. It was simple, I provided minimal financial information and set up a house account.

When I sell one, I send the manufacturer an email with my buyer's shipping information. The factory custom makes the mat, ships it to my customer and bills me net 30.

All I do is pass the paperwork and don't handle the item at all. It's a great way to sell on eBay!

I hope this helps you find items that you can sell in a similar manner! Please email me and let me know who it works for you! treasureholic@gmail