Selling On Auctions
Important facts you need to know about Selling on Ebay
by: George Pierce
Thanks to Ebay, selling on Ebay is simple and easy, but there are still a few things you need to know.
Most Ebay members find that they can readily sell some of their treasure that have been stored in the attic, basement, and/ or garage. We need to give Ebay credit, because credit is due. Selling on Ebay is safe and secure. Over the years, Ebay has strove to make their site a unique community. Ebay is one of the busiest sites on the internet, because of their diligence in the areas of trust, safety and security. They have achieved phenomenal success and growth because they have earned it.
Why is this success so GREAT? The members of Ebay benefit directly! The better Ebay becomes, the more that the buyers and sellers benefit.
It has become a circle, more traffic means more sellers. More sellers means more choices and more buyers . Selling on ebay has not only been made easy…Ebay will hand carry you through the process. Ebay also has Ebay university (I am a graduate-smile), which is a wealth of information. More and more people think about going to Ebay before they buy. More and more people are benefitting by selling on Ebay.
Ebay has made selling on ebay so easy because they do not just tell you WHAT TO DO…they tell you HOW TO DO it. If you can follow directions, you can start selling on Ebay. If you have a question, about 99.99% of the time, ebay will have an easy to find and easy to follow answer. If not, Ebay will answer your question or you can probably find a quick answer at Ebay community, where you will find forums, blogs, discussion, chat and more.
Ebay can be proud of the fact that they have over 200,000 members with a growth rate of over 30% last year. Yet, they have maintained a close knit community atmosphere. Ebay members will bend over backwards to help each other! Ebay has successfully created a bond, a unity, a family…also the busiest marketplace on the planet.
Selling on Ebay and Buying on Ebay have never been better. If you are thinking about trying out Ebay as a buyer or seller, by all means, DO IT! You will find that it is easy and simple.
YOU WILL ALSO FIND THAT BUYING OR SELLING ON EBAY IS FUN!
I probably do not need to tell anyone that the buying is fun, but most people are pleasantly surprised to find that SELLING ON EBAY IS FUN. Ebay gets you to try it and then you find out that it is not only easy, IT IS FUN! AHA! You have fallen into Ebay’s trap (GRIN), sell some of your treasures, ENJOY YOURSELF WHILE YOU ARE SELLING ON EBAY, and…the icing on the cake…MAKE SOME EXTRA MONEY!
Actually, there are thousands of ebay members that are enjoying a full time, work at home income from selling on ebay. Ebay is also helping struggling college students, single parents, people in need of extra income and much, much more. In other words, ebay is a steady source of extra income for many, many members as well. If you are considering selling on Ebay as a hobby, great! If you are considering selling on Ebay as a steady source of income, your timing could not be better.
Selling on Ebay as a steady source of income is one of the best ideas that you could have! There are no SECRETS and there is no MAGIC to selling on Ebay. Most of what you will need to know is available for free.
There are a few important facts that you should know!
A steady income will not be maintained by all your treasure. Selling your treasure is a geat way to start, but sooner or later you will need a dependable supply, a dependable source of product or products (whatever you will sell). So you run into the two major questions that a new Ebay seller faces. What do you sell? Where will you get it? The possibilities are endless, which makes your choice even more confusing.
You may want to consider a wholesaler and/or dropshipper. You want and need a steady dependable supply, and you will need to be able to buy low and sell high. You should be able to get a good price from a wholesaler and a dropshipper. A dropshipper will take your order and send it directly to your customer, usually for a fee. The advantages of dropshipping is that you have no money tied up in inventory, no storage problems, and the dropshipper takes care of shipping and handling. A wholesaler usually has minimum quantities, so you will typically end up having the product shipped to you. You will therefore have money tied up in product(risk) and you will have to handle shipping and handling. Do not rule out wholesale opprotunities, but as a new seller you should look long and hard at dropshipping. Later, with more experience and more capital, you may want to get into wholesale or bulk buying…you can make a killing in this way…you can also lose your shirt. So WAITING until you have more experience and money is good advice.
I am a webmaster and have several sites about starting up an internet business…I have one particular site which has a whole section dedicated to just Ebay. You might be curious about some of the history of ebay, but you will also find helpful resources and tools, that you can use to solve the questions of what to sell and where to get it. Did you know that there are tools that can help you use Ebay itself as a source of supply, and how you can make handsome profits.
For more information click here: www.theplacetobeishere.com/ebaysection.htm
You will find that after you visit the ebay section, you will have information to help you solve the problem of product and supply.
You are almost ready to start making money, selling on Ebay, just one more important issue that you need to be aware of.
An EBAY STORE!
When using Ebay as a steady source of income, please consider an ebay store, immediately, or sooner-smile. The advantages far outweigh any disadvantage. There is really no disadvantge…the small cost will save you money. With an Ebay store, you can open a store in the busiest market place in the world!!!… with very little start up cost! As an ebay store owner, you will have everything you need to run an online store…ebay has thought of it all. (There are a few accounting and Email tools, you will need later, but not until your business and your client base is built up). You will have fun and make money…oh yeah…one other fact…you will need to provide some time and effort…I call that “the law”…law of economics. On the other hand, with some investment of time and effort, you have an opportunity to leverage your income…your income is unlimited. A part-time venture with little start up cost has the potential of making you a lot of money! Ebay has made it so simple that anyone can do it! I wish you MUCH SUCCESS with your new Ebay store!
Sincerely,
George Pierce
© Copyright 2007 The Place to be is Here, All Rights Reserved
About The Author
From the desk of: George Pierce http://www.theplacetobeishere.com/ebaysection.htm
I am fortunate enough to live in western NC, USA, a place where people still wave and say Hello. I also get to enjoy mountains, streams, and waterfalls. The internet, which started as an avocation, has become a vocation…be careful…it can get into your blood. I do not consider myself, an author, but I do have some knowledge and information that I hope you, the reader wil find interesting and/or useful. Thank You for reading.
http://www.theplacetobeishere.com/ebaysection.htm
The Worst eBay Selling Strategies… Ever? Part One
by: Linda Kerr
“An idiot repeats his mistakes. A smart man learns from his mistakes. But a genius learns from the mistakes of others.” — unknown. If you are planning on setting up your own eBay shop, then I suggest you learn from the costly mistakes that I have made, it could be the difference between your success and failure.
Supply and demand
Most people don’t do enough research on whether there is enough demand for their product. If there are too many people selling the same thing and not enough people buying, then this drives the price down. You should do thorough research on each product to make sure there is enough room for you to enter the market. You can do this by looking through the completed items to see how many were listed versus how many were sold and for how much. Also if you look at the Want it Now listings to see how many there have been and how many responses were given. This can be time-consuming, however I found a great tool that speeds up the process and will throw up ideas you would never have thought of. I will tell you where you can get it later.
Poor quality photographs – First impressions count
When a customer is searching for a particular item, lets say silver earrings, they are faced with pages and pages of items for sale. There is no way they are going to click on every single listing to read more about your product. This is why you need a quality photograph as a gallery photo.
I was naïve to think that anything will sell on eBay – that’s what the media keeps saying anyway. So instead of taking the time to produce quality photographs, what I did was place the items on a scanner. I see a lot of people suggesting this but I seriously wouldn’t recommend it. Certainly not for jewellery. The result was that my items didn’t sell for as much as I hoped.
I quickly recognised that if this was going to be a full time job, I was going to have to do a lot better. So I bought myself a Nikon Coolpix 4200 and a tripod and took photographs in natural daylight. The only problem is getting the lighting consistent, especially in the winter when it gets dark early. If getting the light the way you want it is a problem, there are some very good lighting setups designed for people with no knowledge of photography. They are ideal for taking photographs of jewellery and other small items
With the gallery photos, try to zoom into the most important detail. My competitors often take their photos from a distance and it is not uncommon to see coffee cups and remote controls in the picture too! Remember, this is a business and so you should give the most professional impression you can. You don’t have to be professional photographer to do this
Take photos from as many different angles so that your customer has a good, clear idea of what they are buying. If there are any chips, scratches or cracks you must mention this in the description and try and take a photo of it. If you ignore this point you are just asking for trouble and negative feedback.
Every type of product being sold on eBay will require slightly different selling techniques. I can only tell you what I have done to sell jewellery. I must be doing something right because I have been able to give up my day job and am making a very nice income. I often look to see what my competitors are selling and what prices they have achieved. It ceases to amaze me how I am able to get a much higher price than they are for the exact same products. Simply follow the advice I have given you and there is no reason you can’t do the same.
About The Author
Linda Kerr
No idea where to find profitable products to sell? Most people don’t either. That’s why Auction Inspector (http://ai.finerliving.net) and SalHoo (http://salehoo.finerliving.net) are probably the best resources for you. Remember to sign up for a free 6-part importing guide from SaleHoo. All the best, Linda Kerr
The Worst eBay Selling Strategies… Ever? Part Two
by: Linda Kerr
In Part One of “The Worst eBay Selling Strategies… Ever?” I told you about researching your products and the importance of quality photographs. Now in Part Two I will be advising you on staring bids, Buy it Now, why you need to find competitively-priced sources of goods plus warning you of the risks of over-diversifying.
Starting bid too low
It is cheaper to list your item at 99p than it is £20, so I got into the trap of listing everything at 99p. The problem is that it can take a lot of frenzied bidding to get the closing price you want and more often than not I was disappointed.
I noticed another seller starting the bid at what they were looking for with the addition of a Buy it Now price which was quite a bit higher. What this does is sets a perceived value in the customers mind. If you have the bidding start at £25 with a Buy it Now price of £30, then it will look like the lower price is discounted and that they are getting a good deal. Some people are impatient or don’t want to get involved in a bidding war so they simply buy now. I love it when that happens, although sometimes I feel a little guilty as they could have bought it much cheaper elsewhere.
The key is to experiment and take note of the closing prices. Each product is different so you should ultimately decide for yourself.
Paying too much for your goods.
Depending on what niche market you are selling in, eBay can be very competitive. A lot of customers on eBay shop around for the best deals before buying so you need to have a competitive edge. What sellers are now doing is importing from abroad, especially China. This means you are cutting out the middle-man so can pass the savings onto you customer.
Don’t I need to buy in bulk?
It depends on what supplier you are dealing with. I have seen a lot of jewellery manufacturers asking you to buy a minimum of 120 of each item. This is a massive risk when you are just starting out. However the industry in China is highly competitive so it should be easy enough to find a manufacturer who is willing to sell you much lower quantities in hope you will spend more in the future. I know of some very good resources which I will tell you about later.
Diamond Rings and Power Tools.
It is always a good idea to diversify with the products you sell, however it looks very bad if you just have one shop to sell them all in. If you have a shop selling jewellery, then by all means branch out into other fashion accessories such as handbags and scarves. Just don’t list power tools, computers and wheelchairs as well, otherwise you could end up looking like a cheap market stall.
Also be aware of combining differently priced goods together. I really don’t think having an £8,000 diamond engagement ring listed next to a £2.99 plastic necklace gives a good impression.
Try and get into the mind of your customer. If you are selling expensive jewellery, what else will your customer need? Jewellery cleaner and a jewellery box perhaps? Always try and up-sell by letting your customers know of complimentary products in your store.
I can’t think of a better way to start your own business than on eBay. Whether you are just looking for a part-time job or want to build up a massive company with warehouses and staff, eBay provides the tools you require. With other businesses you have to spend a lot of time and money advertising your goods whereas eBay takes care of this and has an already massive customer base all over the world. Just be careful and make sure you do your research. Remember this, if you fail to prepare, you should be prepared to fail.
About The Author
Linda Kerr
No idea where to find profitable products to sell? Most people don’t either. That’s why Auction Inspector (http://ai.finerliving.net) and SalHoo (http://salehoo.finerliving.net) are probably the best resources for you. Remember to sign up for a free 6-part importing guide from SaleHoo. All the best, Linda Kerr