a. Presentation counts a lot.

If you would like to make money on ebay through auctions, you should be able to devise a way to make your products more presentable to your target customers or market. In this case, presentation is everything because people are not likely to pay a high amount for something that looks like it is low in quality. Human nature dictates the habit of judging things by the way they look, thus one should exert efforts in making his or her products as enticing as possible.

b. Categorically speaking.

It is a must to position your product in the right category to make your product more visible. If it is somewhere it should really not be, chances are it will not gain the proper attention it deserves from auctions enthusiasts.

Make use of the category guide provided by ebay to help you on this matter. Also, the proper title for your item should be given major consideration since this is what buyers will be keying in if they would not want to go through the tedious task of rummaging through hundreds of categories.

c. Proper Advertisement

Advertisement is essential in any business and apparently this particularly applies to eBay auctions too. In advertising your item, its description should be given ample consideration. Too lengthy and it gets too boring. Too short and it will look not so well thought of. Being truthful with your item’s description will prove to be one of the best way to do it. A picture of the item you are selling will also do great in making your product attract more traffic. Practice on producing good shots of your item to make more people appreciate the effort you put in advertising your product.

d. Starting Price Schemes

You can use various methods in pricing your item to make buyers to look at the auction.

Depending on your item, you can either price it low and wait for it to be bid up to your expected level. Ebay offers fixed pricing as an alternative. If you prefer a method wherein you will determine a certain minimum price or a reserve price you just have to be ready for the limited traffic and the extra amount you have to pay for your auction to be listed.

e. Payment Methods

If you limit your payment method to only one, say Paypal, it will lose the chance to be considered by other buyers who can afford to bid and pay using other payment methods. If you are planning to do this for a long haul, including other payment method options will help you do better in auctioning off your products.

These are only a few of the fool-proof ways to capture the attention of buyers and eventually convert them to sales. It is still important that you keep yourself updated with the other methods that other ebay sellers are employing for their auctions to do well.

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*Be a buyer as well as a seller. This will introduce you to other eBay sellers and encourage them to check out your “About Me” page to find out more about you. Not only that, but you can learn a lot from other sellers – what they’re doing right that you can adopt and what mistakes to avoid.

*Set up different eBay identities for each category of item you sell. Let’s say you sell two totally different types of items: discounted trendy clothing and household tools. You might name one selling ID “trenz4less” and the other “handymanspecials.” You’ll be taken more seriously if you can build a reputation as the “go-to” person for a particular kind of product.

*Send automated email messages in response to questions about your auction items. This lets potential customers know that you received their email and that you will respond to them personally at your earliest convenience. It’s also the perfect opportunity to provide more information about your business – like your shipping policies, for example. You can even include a link to your other auctions.

*Promote backend products to your mailing list. Send email to your opt-in list featuring more of your items. A person who has bought one thing from you is FAR more likely to buy something else if it’s related to their initial purchase.

Just make sure you do NOT market to your customers unless they have explicitly opted in – it’s against eBay policy!

*Turn your buyers into customers for life. When it comes to running a business, there is NO greater asset than a loyal customer! Not only are they more likely to come back to you and buy more of your products, they’ll also tell their family and friends about you and spread the word about your site!

Make sure you send them emails thanking them for making a purchase after they’ve bought something from you. Do everything you can to make sure your customers are completely satisfied.

These are just some of the ways you can ramp up your auction sales to make money on eBay. For more auction tips, from novice to advanced, check out http://www.AuctionTips.com.

Start selling items from around your home

Go through your closets, garage, cupboards, attic and basement and look for things you don’t use or no longer need. Remember, trash is trash, but things you might think of as trash actually can be sold on eBay very easily. Selling items that you no longer need or want will help increase your feedback and allow you to build your reputation on eBay. You probably won’t get rich selling the stuff you don’t want, but it sure is a great way to remove clutter from your home and make you some extra cash.

The Feedback Score is Very Important

As mentioned above, you want to build your feedback. Shoot to get your feedback score up in the double or triple digits as quickly as possible. This will make a huge difference to your potential customers. Feedback scores are grouped together into one category whether you are buying or selling. If people want to view your feedback score (your reputation) they can visit your feedback profile area and read the comments that are left by previous buyers and sellers that you dealt with. Do people really do that? YES they do.

Sign Up With PayPal

95% of all payments I receive are made to me through PayPal. PayPal accepts credit card payments and electronic checks so you don’t even need to get a merchant account to sell on eBay or anywhere else online. PayPal is set up to be a simple and fast funding source for eBay customers and is quickly becoming one of the primary payment sources all over the internet.

Communication is very important!

EBay is all about how well you can communicate. Your item description is one of the most important factors in whether or not your item sells. Your description should tell the buyer everything about the item you are selling. Lots of quality pictures are also a very important factor to determine whether or not you make a sale. Once again look at what the other sellers are doing and take note of why some sellers just seem more credible than others. It is OK if you are selling something that is flawed or scratched as long as you tell the buyers about it in your ad. Do not be afraid to point out the condition of the item. If it is not working it can still sell. There are people looking for what you are selling. It all comes down to price and whether or not they find you a credible seller.

Be sure to communicate with the buyer before, during and after the sale. Messages sent letting customers know what is going on at all points in the process will help assure you receive a positive feedback. Be sure to send a thank you message when the item is won or purchased and additional messages when you receive payment and ship their item. In all your communications be polite and courteous. When you do this you will build an incredible reputation and people will be spreading the word about you as a great eBay seller.

Don’t get discouraged

It is likely that it will take a while to become accustom to selling on eBay and build your reputation to the point that you see regular sales. People are bargain hunting on eBay, so find items you can afford to sell, and price them so you can make the profit you want. If you have items that are hand crafted or homemade, decide if the price you can sell them at is going to be worth your time and effort. Search eBay for items similar to your own and get an idea of the price things sell for. Check your competition. Find out if hundreds of people selling the same item? Can you compete with them? Are your suppliers selling the same products on eBay? Millions of items sell on eBay daily so don’t limit yourself or get your heart set on selling one specific thing.

You can make great money selling on eBay just like the millions of eBay sellers all over the world. Whether you want to be an EBay seller part time as a hobby, or turn it into a full time business will be up to you. These 5 basic tips will help you set the foundation to build a profit producing eBay business of your own.

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eBay makes it quite easy to get your items listed on their site.  In case you need a few pointers to get started I put together this “How to Sell on eBay Tips for Beginners” post for you.

Open your eBay seller’s account

If you’ve bought anything on eBay before, then you already have an account with them. You just have to login and click the ‘Sell’ button in the top right of the page. Next, click ‘Create a seller’s account’. If you’ve never bought anything on eBay before and you never registered with them before, then you’ll need to open an account by clicking the ‘register’ button on the top left of the homepage. Then you can click ‘Sell’ and ‘Create a seller’s account’ buttons. eBay will then guide you through the account setup process.

Prepare the details of the item you are going to sell

No matter what you are selling, you have to have some critical information ready before you list your item. Using the manufacturer’s description is ok but you need to add any notes on wear and tear and be honest about the condition of the item.

If there are any flaws, blemishes or wear on the item be sure to capture that in your photos.

Once you click the “Sell” and “Start Selling” buttons you will be well on your way to listing your item.

eBay has a great new interface that will walk you through the selling process in an easy to understand, step-by-step sequence. When in doubt, look to the items that make YOU want to buy them and emulate them. Do not copy them, but follow what you think are the best practices for the listings of the items that YOU would want to buy. The first three things that you have to fill in are the Title, image and description. Again, refer to what the best sellers are doing for some direction here and be sure to use some good, clear photos.

Next you will get into your auction type, selling price or bid starting price and length of listing. Only you can gauge the price that you should be selling at and I have mixed opinions about selling at a set price versus letting the bidding begin at one cent. I have had great results with both so it is up to you. Just remember, using the true auction format can help you sell your item for more than you thought you would get for it by setting a finite Buy It Now price!

The rest of the setup process is straightforward and easy to complete. Now it is just a matter of time.

Wait for your item to sell

Just remember, if your item doesn’t sell, you can list it again for free using eBay’s relist feature.

There would not millions and millions of people selling on eBay if it didn’t work! Good selling! .

]]> http://cracking-the-auction-code.com/how-to-sell-on-ebay-tips-for-beginners/feed/ 0 http://cracking-the-auction-code.com/ebay-selling-advice-and-tips-for-new-ebay-sellers/ http://cracking-the-auction-code.com/ebay-selling-advice-and-tips-for-new-ebay-sellers/#comments Sun, 24 May 2009 20:43:01 +0000 http://cracking-the-auction-code.com/?p=348

Just a blurb on eBay selling advice and tips for new eBay sellers.

For now, here are a few things that you need to be thinking of for each item or group of items that you are going to sell.

Have you done due diligence is looking for the same item already selling on eBay?

This is a no brainer. What does your competition look like? How many of the same or similar items are being sold at any one time? What related items are being sold (so you can expand your product offerings)? Will you get the money that you need to get out of this item for it to be profitable for you? Search around a bit and make sure that you understand what you are up against and how you should position your item.

Have you taken photos of your item yet?

Remember that your photos have to be of good quality and show the product at all angles. Are there any worn or scratched areas on your item? If so, make sure that you get photos of those.

Every time you receive a question about your item it is an opportunity to be honest with your customer and tell them a bit about your product.

This is your chance to sell them on why they should buy the item and close the deal right there. Great communication is just one sign of a great eBay seller.

Remember, honesty is always best here.

If you were selling this face-to-face and your customer was right in front of you, what would you be telling them about this item? What questions would they ask you if they could thoroughly examine the product? It is best to have all of this information in the description.

Don’t forget to get make sure that you pack your item in a presentable fashion!

You should have adequate packing materials so that the item is not damaged during shipping and you should have a presentable box that does NOT 4resemble a ball of tape! Presentation speaks highly of the quality of operation you are running and can make the difference of someone buying from you again or not.

Last but not least: Follow up on every sale!

Your future business could be riding on it and every point of contact that you have with customers has to keep their experience as positive as possible. Customer service is not always the easiest of jobs but as an eBay seller you will be wearing many hats and this may be the most important one of them all.

Step 1. Market Research – What’s Hot on Ebay?

The common advice is to sell your passion. But many people don’t have a passion, or at least not something which can make money. Or maybe they are just not good enough at it to make money. Not a problem.

You just need to sell what’s hot on Ebay. Fortunately, Ebay makes this easy – they regularly publish a report called Ebay Pulse, which lists the hottest items sold. This report is regularly updated, and you can use it to decide what are the best items to sell on Ebay.

So take this list, and cross-reference it against the closed auctions. Note the lowest price, highest price and median price for each product.

Step 2. Vendor Research – Finding Wholesalers For Ebay Sellers

Now look for directories of wholesale dropship supply vendors. These are companies who sell goods at wholesale prices and ship them directly to your (Ebay) customers. Some vendors work on different business models, e.g. paying commissions instead of selling goods at wholesale prices. The following discussion assumes the vendor will sell goods to you at wholesale prices (while dealing with the shipping and handling). If the vendor uses other business models, you’ll have to make appropriate adjustments.

There are different directories offering different levels of information. Free listings are usually not very up-to-date and don’t contain very much data, but paid listings are no guarantee of quality. Your best choice is to look for directories which offer either a test-drive or a money-back guarantee.

For each hot product in your list (from step #1), look for at least one dropshipper who can provide you with products at a good margin. Objectively, what’s good for one product may not be good for another. Since you still lack experience, what matters most is that you are comfortable with the margin.

Step 3. Sales And Marketing – Set Up Your Auctions

Pick one product and dropshipper (from step #2) and look up the Ebay’s closed auctions for this product. Look for the auctions which sold at higher prices and try to figure out what made them profitable. Usually, the 3 most important factors are: Offer, Headline and Timing.

Analyze these factors, and test them out in your own auctions. Some of your experiments will produce miserable results – they don’t matter. Take your most successful experiments and work on them until they consistently make you money.

Once one product-dropshipper pair is successful, rinse and repeat for a second product-dropshipper pair. You want to diversify both your income and your suppliers to smooth out your earnings. Making $9,000 in your first month then $0 in the next 2 months can be discouraging. It is better (and easier to claim success) when you make $3000 every month.

This means your second product must be completely unrelated to the first product, and your second vendor must be a different company as well. If you can pick up 3 to 5 different products in your portfolio, you’ll be well on the road to success.

Product sourcing for Ebay is one of the strategies power sellers on Ebay use to make a living. It’s not the only strategy, but it’s something even beginners on Ebay can copy and start making money quickly.

Want to learn more about product sourcing for Ebay? Click here to find more information on product sourcing for Ebay.

So you want to be a successful eBay seller with your very own eBay business? Here’s an easy to follow blueprint to get you started.

Step 1: Identify your market. Take same time to see what sells and what doesn’t in the categories that you are interested in. Any market research data that you can collect will be very, very useful to you and is a priority for your business. You’ll probably be able to pick out the winners and losers fairly quickly. There are always those one or two items that always seem to sell for a good price. It’s up to you to find the opportunities. (HINT: Cracking the Auction Code has an entire process mapped out that helps you ID the
opportunities very quickly!)

Step 2: Know the competition. Before you invest any of your hard earned money, see what the other sellers in your category of choice are selling and what they are selling successfully. What are their strategies? Pay special attention to what they appear to be doing well and what you can improve upon. This is where you can jump in and beat them at their own game. (HINT: Cracking the Auction Code covers this in detail too!)

Step 3: Find a product to sell: Now that you know what you are going to sell, you need to find a good source of product. You may begin selling stuff that you own right now. But, what happens when that is all gone? You need to find a steady supply of product and you need a reliable partner to help you be successful. The best partner, hands down, to eBay sellers can be found here.

Step 4: Start small: You can get started on eBay with literally no investment. You have planty of opportunties to obtain product at low cost or no cost. eBay is one of the least expensive if not the least expensive home business to get started. For a ton of information about getting started with little to no investment, check this out.

Step 5: Test and repeat. Keep trying different strategies, auction titles and product descriptions until you find something that works. Then, rinse and repeat. Once you find a good thing and get it going, capitalize on it and try it with different items in different categories.

Step 6: Work out a business plan: A business plan doesn’t need to be anything formal but you HAVE to have a plan. You have to know where you are going and have an idea of how you are going to get there. Hands down, there are many eBay books and courses that teach you the basics of selling on eBay but nothing gives you an inside look at what you need know about the business of eBay like Cracking the Auction Code.

Step 7: Invest and expand: Now that you have found something that works and you have some objectives, you can build this business. Take it to the next level. Throw more listings out there and capitalize on what you have learned.

Step 8: Make it official: Once you’ve made a few thousand dollars of profit you need to make sure that you have the legal side of things covered. You need to talk to an attorney and an accountant. As you get bigger you want to be sure that you and your business are protected and that you are taking advantage of any benefits you get as a small business owner.

Step 9: Automate: You’ll probably find that you’re doing the same tasks again and again. From customer service to product listings, it is time to automate. There are plenty of software applications out there to help you run your eBay business, you will eventually have to invest in one of these if you want to scale your business and make some serious money.

Step 10: Never give up: Even when it looks like it’s going to be a tough road to the end you need to persevere until you succeed. If you keep plugging away at it you will get over the hump and things can just take off. Never quit!

Once you get into the swing of things, you might start thinking that you should quit your job and take up eBay selling part time. But it’s not always as easy as that – there are a lot of things that you need to consider. Probably the best resource to help you through all of the tough business decisions, whether you are selling on eBay yet or now, is definitely Cracking the Auction Code!