• always create a seller ID that relates to your products – for example, mine is motivatedtolearn
• open a Paypal premier account so that people can pay by credit card as well as Paypal
• people have bought all kinds of crazy things
• sell what you know about and you can spot bargains and will also enjoy it more
• sell lower priced products (even at a loss) to gain a life-time customer – for example 99 cent ebooks. So if a person is selling televisions, write a guide about buying TV’s and sell it for 99 cents, then drive the eBay buyer to your website.

Stage 1: go through your house, flea markets, garage sales, craft fairs, estate sales, local auctions

Stage 2 – trade shows, online auctions, local manufacturers, wholesalers, local retailers with dead stock, factory outlets, liquidators, drop shippers, even dollar stores

• set up relationships for others’ products (especially if you can find them in another country)
• sell a service, but a product is much better
• research top searches and top competitor stores
• search want it now pages – if more than one person is looking, a lot more people are too
• go to completed auctions and see what sold
• low supply + high demand + powerful sales process = sales

Steps to optimize auctions:

• 60% search for keywords, terms, or phrases
• people browse categories
• you can bring people come from a google PPC (pay per click) ad

• your keywords are very important. You need to write a KILLER title – this will determine whether your customers will find you – as much description as possible in title including condition, brand name, size, etc. – up to 55 characters.
• avoid words in your title that are just descriptions
• most important keywords at the beginning
• use eBay acronyms and google will still bring them up in a search, but you use less letters – eg. NIB Ladies Black Pump, Cloud Nine by Nine West, Size 6
• be careful not to misspell, some people look for misspelled merchandise, buy it cheap and re-sell it properly
• you need a compelling listing, good pictures, disclosure of any flaws
• focus on the salescopy in your listing for more bidders
• to position your item as unique, you need to stand out, so package it with a report or ebook or some extra value to package with it
• create a killer headline, describe the features in an interesting way
• establish credibility as a reputable seller and an expert in the field – for a personally owned product, tell a story so people can identify – e.g. biker dressed in ex-wife’s wedding dress, teddy bear that person had since childhood
• describe in as much detail as possible
• try to create urgency to bid
• give bonuses
• ask for the sale
• take a great photo (very important). A bad photo will hurt sales – they will think you are hiding something
• only need low resolution digital camera for eBay
• take close-up shots of each aspect
• photograph in natural light when possible and a plain background, such as a white sheet
• to show size, let them see a contrasting item
• determine your price – need to know retail value, people will want it for less unless they can’t get it easily
• price is also determined by any bonuses added
• look at completed auctions for ideas – if they sold low and did a bad listing job, you can expect to sell for more

Pricing Rules:

• start low to generate excitement – 99 cents or so
• high demand, always start at 99 cents
• set starting bid higher if not as much demand
• choose your format- standard, best offer, buy it now (60% of all listings sold are buy it now – impulse buyers love this), fixed price (for listing multiple items), reserve (this is a hidden amount and must be met or you won’t sell) if you use this option, write your reserve price in the description rather than having it as your starting price or it can deter the buyer
• If possible, build the shipping price into your item and offer free shipping – people love this, use 3 day auction during rush buying, like holidays or specialty items
• use 1 day auction for tickets and other time sensitive products
• Usually set your auction for 7 days
• 10 days for maximum exposure but not much extra benefit
• remember the time of day you list is the time the auction will end
• make your listing stand out. Since each format extra costs money, don’t bother, but the gallery picture for 35 cents is a good investment

Shipping :

• add a shipping calculator to your auction for your buyers
• Or state a fixed amount per country
• If you can, wrap the shipping into your price and offer free shipping
• Use Canada Post Express Post for Canada and United States shipping, so you will avoid broker charges
• Canada Post Expedited Service often misplaces their parcels
• Try to offer UPS shipping as well for those people who want one to two day delivery
• UPS charges a brokers fee of about $30 if the contents are worth over $20
• The eBay buyer usually pays for shipping unless you state otherwise
• If your eBay product has a value over $200, pay the little extra to insure it when you create your listing