Your questions about selling things on ebay

admin answers:

You can sell anything from your outgrown winter coat, your car or even your house. The list is endless.Ebay offers free classes online to new sellers that answer everything you would need to know. If you still have questions, there is a “Help” feature in the upper right corner of the Ebay site. Good Luck!

admin answers:

I’ve been selling on eBay for 6 years. In that time I’ve compiled this list. I hope it helps.

TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL AUCTION

#1: Choose the right category
Putting your item in the right category is crucial. If you’re not sure where to put it do a search of similar items and look at the ones that have the most bids and see where those sellers are listing them.
#2: Make your description easy to read & load
Don’t go crazy with the graphics, CAPS and colors. Keep it simple and only include the info needed for that item. Here are some tips to get you going:
· Use a short opening paragraph.
· Short sentences, don’t ramble on.
· Make your paragraphs less than 3 or 4 lines.
· DO NOT USE ALL CAPS!
· Ask for the bid at the end of the description.
· Use positive language.

#3: Use good keywords
Many people will find your auction through a search engine, so be sure to use good keywords in your headline AND your description.
#4: A GOOD Picture is Worth A Thousand Words
Photos make you and your item credible. And by inserting a photo in your listing you get a ‘Pic’ graphic next to your item description. Bidders look for the ‘Pic’ symbol and will be more inclined to visit. But if you don’t have a good picture of your item don’t bother listing it. Chances are you’ll get no bids unless it’s an item everyone knows, for example 1st season of Friends DVD.
#5: Conservative Pricing Strategy
When playing it safe, set the minimum price for your item just slightly lower than what you think it might be worth. This will encourage opening bids on the item. But don’t start too low; you’re obligated to sell it regardless of whether or not you like the result.
#6: Don’t forget your sales policy
List terms and conditions in EVERY listing you create. Things like shipping terms or any other rules you may have like… do you insure packages? Do you only ship on Tuesdays? Do you only ship to the US? Do you accept returns?. These are all for your protection following the auction.
#7: International Buyers
Be careful when receiving foreign funds. Check with your bank to see if they charge a processing fee for international checks or money orders (my bank charges $5)PayPal is the only way to go here. And remember to pick up some customs forms from the post office in advance to save yourself some time.
#8: Shipping info
ALWAYS include your shipping charges in your listing. Again, if you don’t know what to charge you can always search for similar items and see what they’re charging for shipping. (Then YOU charge a dollar less!) There’s nothing more annoying than an auction with no shipping info. I don’t even look at auctions with no shipping price.
#9: Don’t overcharge on shipping
Only charge what it actually costs you to pack and ship. Most people know or will find out approx how much it is to ship a particular item. And I’ve seen so many people who say they’re charging an extra $1 for packing supplies, gas to the post office, etc. DON’T SAY THAT! If you absolutely MUST charge an extra $1, just ad it to your shipping cost.
#10: Offer delivery confirmation
It only costs an extra 35 cents and it gives the buyer peiece of mind. You can email the tracking number to the customer so they can track the package.
#11: Insure Valuable Items
By law, you are to blame for broken items. Carriers hardly ever accept liability. .
#12: Double check BEFORE you submit
Make sure your item listing has no spelling errors before you submit it. Buyers mainly use a search engine to locate their item of interest. Search engines can pick up items placed in the wrong category, but won’t pick up misspelled words.
#13: Best Times To List For the Best Overall Results…
Of all the times for you to submit your ad, Saturday and Sunday mornings between 6:00 am and 9:00 am PST have been the best for me. But when you end depends on what you sell and the type of auctions you run. Traffic is highest on eBay during weekend mornings. In fact, traffic is particularly heavy throughout the whole weekend. A couple of other things to factor into what time to list:
1. Remember your target audience- homemakers bid during the day. It’s the same with someone who is retired. When you hear about all the different (best) times to list, this is why- different people browse at different times. If you’re ideal customer were an 18 year old interested in comics, maybe you should end your auction at 1 in the morning.
2. Also- if you want your item to show up during primetime, remember there is 2-3 hour posting delay, so post 2-3 hours early. For instance, if you want your auction to end at 10PM EST, then start your auction at 7PM. You’ll also want to watch out for events that affect traffic habits as a whole. Like SuperBowl Sunday. Mother’s Day, etc.
3. Keep in mind that there are up months and down months. August is typically slow for most- the colder months on the other hand… do very well. You definitely want to be selling during those times. And there is no better time to be selling than from about October to April.
#14: Keep Your Auctions Going…
Bidders usually wait until the last minute to bid. I wouldn’t let anyone persuade me to end early unless they made me an insane offer. If you do decide to end an auction early, then you’ll miss having your auctions go through the “going, going, gone” and “ending today” listings-categories that eBayer’s browse heavily.

AFTER YOU’VE SUBMITTED YOUR ACUTION
Create Your About Me Page
Your ‘About Me’ page is very important! Don’t overlook the significance of it- you can use these to give buyer important information and much more… Include your contact info and a well thought out sales message that encourages them to visit your auctions and/or website, wherever you product is being offered. Persuade the reader to scroll down the page (where they will see your feedback and current auctions). You’ll receive a jump in credibility- something you can never have too much of. You also get a little icon beside your user I.D. that bidders will see when they visit your auction. People click these things to find out about YOU. Let me stress: Your “About Me” page is an important sales letter.

You’ll Never Repeat Yourself, Ever Again…
Do you ever notice yourself repeating the same answers to the same questions over and over? What if you could press control-q and spit out the answer? Try the program called Shortkeys to type repetitive phrases and sentences. http://www.shortkeys.com It’ll save you loads of time.

Free Advertising For Your Auctions
Use signatures and post to appropriate newsgroups and message boards. Use targeted email, search engines or whatever works. You can promote individual auctions, your about me page, your ebay store or a website that sells your products or directs visitors to your auctions.

Learn How-To Master HTML in 2 Hours
If you’re going to be a great seller, you need to learn html. Every webpage you see is written with it. It just wouldn’t be very effective to have someone else do this for you. You don’t even have to know a lot about it just the bare bones basics. Don’t let it intimidate you… I speak from experience- it’s SO easy. Once you learn it, you’ll have blast using it. Need a tutor? There’s a real good interactive HTML tutorial at: http://www.davesite.com. Another html editor I’ve used is http://www.allaire.com. Learning html needs to be one of your important early goals. Being able to do it will give you great control over how your ad looks.

AFTER YOUR AUCTION ENDS
Send Customers The Auction Number & Stay In Contact
When auction ends, quickly email the buyer with the final price, shipping, total cost, and your address. Place the item number in the subject line so you can easily track emails. Your customer may also be bidding on multiple auctions. Doing this will prevent confusion for you both. If you have time to reassure your customer, email them when you receive their payment. You’ll also score well with the buyer if you send them an email when you ship their goods. Especially if it’s valuable.

Remember To Say Thanks
Send a thank-you note/receipt email to your customer when they pay. Include your eBay user name so they can contact you if they need to. Kindly ask them to leave feedback in your email. Include a convenient link to the feedback forum, and 9 times out of 10 they will drop a good word for you.

Caution When Leaving Negatives
Be careful about leaving negative feedback. Go out of your way to clear things up before you decide to do so. It’s normal for bidders to strike back with their own negative and unfair comments. Always try to find some other solution. Don’t leave negative feedback unless they blatantly defraud you.

Good Packing Material
Newspaper makes good packing material, especially if it’s shredded. It’s cheap, it’s handy and it gets the job done. Save packing material from any other shipments you receive. Bubble wrap is lighter and more professional, but it will cost you more.

Honesty Is The Best Policy
If you’re a little late getting the package in the mail… tell your customer. You’ll always be forgiven and spared the negative feedback if you fess up. They’ll thank you for being straight with them- everyone loves peace of mind… what’s more irritating than not knowing?

RELISTING STRATEGIES
Doing Better Next Time…
Did your auction do a flop on you? No bids, nothing? What went wrong? Was the auction over-priced? Was it in the wrong category? Do I need a better headline? Description? Or was it that no one wanted to buy my old sneakers in the first place. When you relist, change things up a little. Consider changing one or more of the following listing variables:
· What category you choose
· How you word your title
· How you describe your item
· Starting bid price
· Timing
· Photos
· Listing Features like gallery, etc

admin answers:

There are three different selling activities that are possible:

1. Sale of your personal effects.

2. A hobby of selling things you acquired or made, without a profit motive.

3. A for-profit business.

If you are engaged in Activity 1, then you report income only when you sell a personal asset for more than its basis (usually what you paid for it). The gain would be recorded on Schedule D and you will pay capital gains tax.

If you are engaged in Activity 2, then you report all of your sales on Line 21 of From 1040 “Other Income”. You report your expenses not exceeding your revenue as miscellaneous deductions subject to 2% of your AGI on Schedule A.

If you are engaged in Activity 3, then you report your sales and expenses on Schedule C. Your net profit will be subject to income tax as well as Social Security and Medicare taxes.

admin answers:

Yeh, you can use your buyer account. Just make sure you have a paypal account. You’ll have to pay a commission to Ebay when you sell, another small percentage to Paypal to receive payment, and a small amount to list the item. I usually lose about 9%-17% of my total sale. Do not ship until you have received payment. If you have more specific sorts of questions later on (What to do if buyer doesn’t pay, how to add extra charges to invoices, who will Ebay rule in favor of, etc), refer to the Ebay Answer Center, a sort of community equivalent of yahoo answers but for Ebay.

If you want to sell many items in the long run, I’d suggest charging a fair shipping & handling rate, shipping out within 2-3 days, and informing the buyer after you’ve shipped an item (it will make it seem faster, and make them aware you don’t have control over how fast the post office moves the package). It will keep your DSR scores up. Make sure you package items well if fragile, just newspaper won’t do for fragile or glass items, their are many guides on ebay for proper packaging if you want to look them up.

I’d also suggest you search for the items you are going to sell in the completed items search option (will just list completed auctions), this way you’ll know what to expect and how much to list for. Good luck.