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Selling Dos and Don'ts:
What to Keep in Mind as You Sell on eBay
Knowing basic selling techniques on eBay is enough to get you started, but to really make the most of your eBay seller account, it's important to have a handle on the tools that make successful sellers successful and on the pitfalls that can lead to poor selling results. Here are a number of dos and don'ts to keep in mind as you sell on eBay.
Get the Title Right
Sellers often spent time optimizing their eBay action listings, but sometimes the focus of their attention should also be on their listing titles, since it is titles that generate search results and titles that influence users to click on them.
What Not to Sell on eBay
Though eBay is the ideal marketplace for selling a wide variety of goods, both secondhand and new, there are some types of items that you probably don't want to sell on eBay. Read on to find out what they are.
Use Disclaimers for Smooth Transactions
While disclaimers often get a bad rap for being a way to avoid responsibility, they actually help buyers and sellers to know exactly what to expect in a transaction.
Control Your eBay Fees
Even in the best of times it makes no sense to pay more than you have to for a service, and this truism applies to selling on eBay as well. If you're a seller of any volume at all, you owe it to yourself to take a moment and see whether you could bring your eBay fees under better control.
Maximize Bids by Timing Your Listings
How to improve the number of bids your auctions receive and the total sale value that you achieve, simply by adjusting your timing.
Create an eBay Home Office
If you're serious about the eBay business you're starting, you'll want to establish an office or workspace for your eBaying early on. These ten steps help you to do this at home.
Don't Create Drab, Boring Listings
No buyer is going to remember, much less try to return to a bid on, an uninformative, unenlightened listing.
Don't Add More Features Than Your Item's Worth
Promotional features are powerful tools, but there is a definite limit to the kind of return that they can provide.
Don't Compete Against Your Own Auctions
eBay may reach a global audience of buyers, but it's also an auction format sales site with a lot of sellers. List too many items at once and you could drive down the price of your own goods.
Don't Price Yourself Out of the Market
By selling too high, you might earn no sale at all, while by selling too low you chould cheat yourself.
Don't Use Risky "No Overhead" Techniques
Drop shipping and other types of "no overhead" selling can be tempting for sellers, but for sellers who don't take them seriously enough, such techniques are like playing with fire. Be sure that as a seller, you don't burn your buyers or yourself in the process.
Don't Steal Photos From Other eBayers
Photos used to sell goods on ebay, like photos in any other industry, are copyrighted works belonging to the photographer that took them.
Don't Start a Business Without a License
eBay makes it so easy to sell that it can also be easy to accidentally transition from casual seller of used personal items to professional seller for profit. Don't do this without first registering yourself as a business.
Don't Quietly Sell Defective Items
Sellers who knowingly sell defective items but mention only that they are "AS-IS" or "condition unknown" are risking negative feedback and worse.
Don't Keyword SPAM or Miscategorize
eBay buyers rely on categories and keywords when they search for items to buy. When you miscategorize or use unrelated keywords, you don't make friends with buyers and you make eBay harder to use.
Item Didn't Sell? Relist It!
Did you know that when you list an item for sale on eBay and it doesn't sell the first time around, you can relist it for free?
More Drop Shipping Tips for eBay Sellers
Because interest in drop-shipping as a business model on eBay remains high year after year, here are five more tips to give you the best chance for success with this business model.
Don't Limit Yourself to eBay Selling
eBay is still one of the best online platforms for sellers, but if you're serious about your business, don't limit yourself to eBay selling if you're leaving money on the table by doing so.
Top Ten Mistakes by Beginning eBay Sellers
Lots of people decide to seek their fortune on eBay, but lots of people also fall prey to a number of beginning mistakes that cost sales and profits. Here are the top ten and how to avoid them.
Sell Your Device, Not Your Data, on eBay
Computing and electronics devices, mobile phones, tablets, video game systems, e-readers, gps systems, and other gadgets are amongst the most popular things resold on eBay. Just be sure that if you're selling one, you're not selling your personal data, or the sensitive data of your family and friends, along with it.
Top Ten Risks eBay Sellers Face
There are lots of "do" and "don't" lists out there for eBay sellers, but few that actually go over what the risks involved are. Here are ten of the top issues that all of those "do" and "don't" lists are trying to help you to cope with and/or avoid as an eBay seller.
Build Your eBay Emergency Kit
It's not pleasant to think about, but things can and do go wrong in the world. If you're relying on your eBay selling to pay the bills, make sure to be prepared enough than when things do go wrong, they don't take your business with them.
Recognize Common eBay Scams Against Sellers
eBay scams aren't as common as some imagine, but they are out there. Learn to recognize the signs and avoid them by running in the other direction when you see them.
Rules and Fees for eBay Photos
Pictures are a reality of life for all eBay sellers. Here are eBay's rules and best practices for seller photos, as well as how much it's going to cost you to follow them.