Section 5.1. Get the Lay of the Land

5.1. Get the Lay of the Land

If you're new to eBay, take some time to explore the site and buy a few things (Chapters 1 and 2) before you jump into selling. This feeling-out process helps you in two important ways:

  • Buying helps you build the feedback rating you need in order to sell . When you start out on eBay, your feedback rating (Section 2.1) is zip, zilch, zero. And that's how it should be, because feedback ratings describe transactionsand you, as a brand-new eBayer, haven't yet participated in any transactions.

    The problem is, few experienced eBayers will buy from a seller with no feedback. So, to start building a feedback rating that encourages buyers to do business with you, you have to begin by buying a few items yourself. (They can be inexpensive trinkets.)

  • Buying helps you conduct necessary research . How do you know how to price your stuff and present ithow to describe it so people want to buy it, what kinds of pictures to include with your item description, and so onif you haven't spent some time checking out other auctions? The answer is, you don't.

    If you're considering selling furniture, for example, check out a bunch of furniture auctions. Make a note of what sells and what doesn't, and see if you can figure out why. Is the price too high? The description hard to understand? The auction too short for bidders to find it before it ends? Which auctions make you want to open your wallet? Which ones make you want to run the other way? Make copious notes, and save them: you'll need them when you decide to list your own items (Section 5.4).

5.1.1. Learn from Others

When you have an item to sell, check out similar auctions that have ended recently. They can teach you the value of your stuff and give you clues on how to sell it for the highest price.

From the top of any eBay page, click the Advanced Search link and then type in keywords related to the item you want to sell. (For example, you might type in "Miles Davis records".) Then turn on "Completed listings only" before you click the Search button. Your results show auctions that ended in the last 30 days. Use the "Sort by" drop-down list to sort the results by end date if you want to see the most recent auctions; sort by price (highest first) if you want to look for pricing trends.

As you look over the results, check to see whether auctions ended with bids. To do so, you can either keep an eye on the Bids column (look for 1 or higher) or look for the boldface green numbers in the Prices column (green prices indicate that an auction ended with at least one bid).

Items that ended without any bids were probably priced too high, but they may have been listed in the wrong category or just ended on a slow sales day. Items with a lot of bids generated excitement; click the item title and take a look at the auction to see if you can learn from the photo, the title, or the description. You can borrow keywords and use other people's listings for inspiration, but don't copy these things verbatim to use in your own auction; that could get you in trouble with eBay.

See if you can find any patterns that show when items like yours are most likely to sell. Do digital cameras move faster on Sunday evening, for example, or toner cartridges for printers on Monday morning? Try setting up your auction to end then to get the best price.

If you notice a cluster of similar items that sold in a particular price range, that price range is your targetfor a winning bid.

The starting price you choose might be considerably lower. Check out successful auctions to see the opening bid. Some sellers like to start with a super-low priceusually a penny or 99 centsto generate interest, relying on competitive bidding to take it from there. Be aware, though, that if you start an auction for a penny and get only one bid, you'll have to sell at that price. Plus some buyers equate super-low starting prices with low quality and won't even look at penny auctions. Don't price yourself out of business in hopes of sparking a buying frenzy.

After you've determined an opening bid and a target sale price, remember to take into account the fees you'll owe (Section 5.3) and what it'll cost you in time and supplies to ship the item. eBay doesn't let sellers charge directly for eBay or PayPal fees (you can't inflate shipping costs or charge extra for these), but there's nothing wrong with adding a small handling charge to the shipping cost.

Don't overdo it. Buyers get justifiably fed up with sky-high shipping charges, but figuring out what it costs you to pack the item, prepare it for shipping, and send it on its waythen factoring that handling charge into your S&H chargeis perfectly reasonable. You can charge whatever you wish for handling, but it's really in your best interest to disclose that charge up front.



eBay[c] The Missing Manual
eBay[c] The Missing Manual
ISBN: 596006446
EAN: N/A
Year: 2006
Pages: 100

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