| Simple Selling on eBay | |
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If you're new to eBay and want to get started as a seller, you may have already found the "simple" eBay selling form. If not, this tutorial will help you to open the form and fill it out. You may also find the simplified selling form useful if you're a veteran eBay seller that just happens to be in a hurry-that wants to list an item the "quick and dirty" way without too much fuss. (If you're an experienced seller with time on your hands or you want to list your item using any of the more interesting seller features, the simplified form probably isn't for you; consider using the traditional form instead.)
Here's how to access the simplified form and fill it out, in a few easy steps!
Preliminary Step: Open the Selling Form
To sell an item on eBay using the simplified selling form, begin by clicking on the "Sell" link at the upper-right of any page on the eBay website, as shown above.
Preliminary Step: Enter a Description and Select "Keep it simple"
eBay begins the selling process by asking you for a brief description of the item that you want to sell. Click in the text box (A) and enter a couple of words that describe what your item is in the most basic possible way, like "mens leather jacket" or "hot wheels car" or "beanie baby collectible."
Then, select the "Keep it simple" option (B) rather than the "Customize your listing" option and click the "Start selling" button (C) to proceed to the simplified selling form.
Step 1: Enter a Fuller Item or Listing Title
Now you have arrived at the simplified selling form and should see a form that looks much like the images shown throughout the rest of this article. Your first job is to click in the text entry box (A) and enter a more detailed description or headline for your item. This is the text that others will see as the "title" of your item listing on the eBay website, and the text that will be searched by eBay when prospective buyers are seeking items on which to bid.
Step 2: Categorize Your Item
Next you'll need to tell eBay how to categorize your item. eBay's categories are sometimes used by buyers to find items as well, so it's important to select a category (A) into which your item fits well. If you don't see any categories that seem to match, click on the "Browse categories" tab (B) to get a bigger list of categories from which to choose.
Step 3: Add Item Photo(s)
It's really very important to add a photo of your item to your auction listing, since listings with photos tend to sell much more quickly and at a much higher price-buyers want to see what they're getting, after all. Use your digital camera to take at least one nice photo of your item (keeping this list of photo tips in mind), more than one if necessary to give a buyer a clear impression of what he or she is getting.
Once you have photos saved on your computer, click on the first "Add a photo" button on the simplified selling form (A) to tell eBay you'd like to add a photo and use the file dialog that appears to locate and select the photo of your item that you've stored on your computer. It's almost essential that you also check the "Gallery Picture" box (B) since this will cause the photo of your item to appear in buyers' searches-also a major ingredient in successful selling. (Note that the gallery picture feature does add $0.35 to your listing insertion fee.) Finally, if you'd like to add more photos, use the other "Add a photo" buttons (C) to add more photos in the same way that you added the first one.
So far, so good!
Believe it or not, you're already halfway through the listing process when using the simplified form-a far cry from the days when the only way to list an item for sale on eBay was to trudge through a ponderously long, many-paged form. Catch your breath, take a small break, then continue to the next page, where you'll finish your item listing.
Next page > Complete Your Item Listing > Page 1, 2
