Meet Me on eBay
By Stephen Bucaro
It seems like just about everyone on earth has
purchased
something at, or at least visited, eBay. There must
be a
hundred books out there titled something like, "How
to Get
Rich Selling Useless Trash on eBay". Well, if you
believe
that, I have a bridge that I'd like to sell you.
The people that I know who sell on eBay spend many
hours
tracking down items to sell. Then they have to spend
time
entering auction information, reviewing the status
of
their auctions, communicating with buyers, and
packaging
and shipping the item. If they counted the number of
hours
used relative to the revenue earned, I'm sure they
are
working for less than minimum wage.
Many people are asking the question, "What sells
best on
eBay?" The answer is antiques, collectibles, and
memorabilia. If you don't have a continuous supply
of this
type of material, it is difficult to make money on
eBay.
Lately, there has been a market for "garage sale"
type
items such as used baby clothes and children's toys.
But
who has a continuous supply of these?
Along with the time invested in locating items to
sell,
they have to pay $1.00 to list the item (whether it
sells
or not). If it sells, they pay an additional $1.25
and
2.5% of the selling price. If the buyer pays through
an
electronic payment service like Paypal or Billpoint,
then
they pay an additional $0.30 plus 3% of the selling
price.
Who pays the shipping charges? The seller may think
that
the buyer is paying shipping charges, but because
the
buyer considers it when evaluating the purchase, in
effect, the seller pays the shipping.
Why do people keep working eBay if they are not
making
money? The fact is that these people just love
scouting
out antiques, collectibles, and memorabilia, or used
baby
clothes and children's toys at garage sales and swap
meets. They get excited about posting it on eBay and
watching the bids come in. Hey, everybody needs a
hobby.
To sell on eBay, you have to register by providing
your
name, email address, and a credit card number (for
paying
auction fees). Then, with your user ID and password,
you
can log in. To list your item for auction, click the
"Sell" link on the "Welcome" screen. This takes you
to a
very long form.
The first thing you have to do is choose a category
and
sub-category for your item. Choosing the correct
category
is essential. When choosing a category consider your
target buyer.
Next, enter a title for your item (45 characters
max).
Your title should consist of carefully selected
keywords.
Buyers use keywords to search eBay. At the end of
your
title, you might want to enter the letters "NR".
This
stands for "No Reserve" and means that you are
actually
willing to sell your item at the price you enter as
the
minimum bid.
Next, enter a description of your item. Fraud is a
concern
on all auction sites, so make bidders feel at ease
by
giving as much information as possible. Then enter
your
City and State.
Next enter a "Minimum bid". This is the lowest
amount you
are willing to accept for the item and the amount
you
require to make the minimum acceptable profit. Then
set
the "Auction duration", the number of days that you
want
your auction to run. For best results, your auction
should
end on a Sunday.
If you don't want to actually sell your item at the
minimum bid amount, then enter a "Reserve Price".
This is
a price higher than the minimum bid, at which you
are
actually willing to sell your item. Buyers can't see
your
reserve price, they only know there is a reserve on
your
item. Buyers don't like reserve price auctions, so
you
might want to leave this entry blank.
Next, you can select many optional features for your
auction, such as prime product placement, double
category
placement, a small picture in eBay's Picture
Gallery, and
so on. But these options are costly.
Next, set checkboxes to select the types of payment
you
will accept; checks, money order, etc. Then enter
any
shipping, handling, insurance, and sales tax
charges.
Next, enter your return policy. If you don't want to
have
to refund money to a buyer, enter "No Returns". Then
set
the radio button for "I will not accept escrow." For
an
expensive item, you might accept an escrow. Escrow
is when
a third party holds the buyer's money until he
receives
the item. Then, if the item is acceptable, he gives
the
escrow company permission to release the funds to
you.
Next, unless you want to ship overseas, set the
radio
button for "Will ship to United States only". Then
select
the checkbox for the shipping payment method;
"seller pays
shipping", "buyer pays actual shipping cost", or
"buyer
pays fixed amount".
This is a lot of information to provide on a form.
If you
sell many similar items, you can set a checkbox for
eBay
to remember your preferences so that you don't have
to
fill out the entire form each time.
Next, click the "Continue" button. You are then
given an
opportunity to review your listing and correct any
errors
before submitting. After reviewing your listing,
click the
"Submit" button. Your item will be posted for
auction.
Now that your item is listed, you can login to eBay
at any
time and click on the "my eBay" link to get the
status of
your auction. If your item is sold, you will be
charged
$1.25 plus 2.5% of the final sale price. If the
final sale
price is $25.00 or less, the fee is 5.0% of the
final sale
price.
That's the basics of selling on eBay. If you feel
you need
to pay good money for a book titled "How to Get Rich
Selling Useless Trash on eBay", then meet me on
eBay, in
the "Bridges" section.
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