When Should I Create & Submit My Listing?

In the real estate business, the old saying "Location, location, location" is paramount. On ebay, it's "Timing, timing, timing."

Things You Need to Do to CYA

As a seller, you will need to continually be one step ahead of your buyers. Did you even wonder why the official rules of any game or contest can cover pretty much half of a bedroom door of tiny print? That's the contest operators' way of CYA. You need to be doing the same thing. Why? Because the minute you let your guard down, there will be someone who will try to take advantage of you.

Who's Responsible?

Many new buyers are confused over ebay policies, and I am here to try to straighten them out for you. One of the biggest areas of confusion lies with just who is responsible for an item once it leaves your possession, and is left in the hands of the post office or UPS for delivery.

Checks, Money Orders, Cash, and Paypal

Ah... the big four means of payment. Which are right for you as an ebay seller? Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Let's review some of them, shall we? I'll start in the same order as the title, then first mention some of the advantages, verses some of the disadvantages.

Fees

Yes, fees. You didn't think you were going to get away with listing and selling on ebay for free, did you? No, nothing in life is free, and ebay is no different.

There are two main types of fees that all sellers see on a regular basis: insertion fees (I'll refer to them as IFs) and final value fees (FVFs). Generally speaking, you'll be paying these every time you list something, as well as every time something sells.

Feedback

Feedback. On ebay, feedback is the way buyers and sellers "rate" one another as participants in the same transaction. It used to be that buyers and sellers could EACH give the other either +FB or -FB. This policy was changed a few years back, resulting in ONLY buyers being able to leave -FB.

OK, I've Made Some Money on Some Sales. Now What?

Well, assuming you've got everything lined up such that you can easily transfer money from your paypal account to your checking or savings account, you can have ready access to your profits in no time at all. Usually it takes 3 - 4 business days for the funds to show up in your bank account once the transfer has been initiated in paypal, but I've seen the funds magically appear in my own personal checking account in as few as two business days.