Tips for eBay Beginners on How to Make a First Sale

Sign up for eBay and find a product worth selling

Mother and daughter photographing products to sell on eBay
Hero Images/Getty Images  

If you're a brand new eBay user, you've clearly never made a sale on the site, but that doesn't mean it's difficult to start selling. However, because eBay is such a large, sprawling website with features for buyers and sellers, individuals and businesses, it can sometimes be hard to know where to begin.

If all you want to do is make a sale on eBay to earn some extra cash, have no fear. Follow these simple steps to fatten your wallet sooner rather than later.

Sign Up for eBay

The first step is to join eBay and should be obvious. You can't make a sell on eBay if you're not a member. So, join today and find an item that you'd like to sell or you feel is worth selling.

What to Sell

It could be anything you think is valuable. For example, a present that you've never used, an impulse buy that you never returned or any gently used product with few signs of wear or tear. It's possible to sell more worn items as well, but your chances of making a sale are higher if you start off with new or almost-new goods.

How to Sell

Once you've found an object to sell, visit the eBay front page and click "sell" near the top of the page. It will enable you to create an auction listing for your item. Watch your auction listing in my eBay until the listing closes or a sale is made.

Receiving Payment

If you don't immediately receive PayPal payment, use my eBay to send the buyer of your item an invoice. On the invoice form, be sure to send payment instructions to the bidder if necessary.

Wait for payment to arrive, either through PayPal, the most common payment method on eBay or through another method you've specified.

Shipping Your Item

After payment arrives, ship your item to the buyer or winning bidder. Be sure to contact the member and notify them that their item has been shipped. You may also ship and track the item through eBay.​

Leave Feedback

Leave feedback giving your opinion of the transaction. If it went smoothly, you may not have much to say. If aspects of the transaction bothered you, ​make note of what they were. Did the item sell for as much as you'd hoped? If not, what can you do to better meet your goals in the future? Do you need to reevaluate your expectations about how much of a profit you can make on eBay?

If your expectations weren't met, you should consider signing up for another site like eBay to see how much a similar item will fetch you on that site instead. You may decide to use both sites in the future or stick to the site that you believe will earn you the most cash.

Resolve Any Problems

Resolve any disputes that arose during the transaction. Hopefully, during your first sale, you won't have any disputes at all. Should a dispute arise, see if you can take steps to nip it in the bud next time. Did you ship your item too late, for example? Be sure not to make the same mistake in the future.