Having Other Sellers Selling the Same Things as You Can Actually Help Your Items Sell

I know, I have wished the same thing before. We all have: "Man, I wish I was the only one on ebay selling widgets. That way everyone would have to buy from me, at any price I set my widgets at." Mmmmhmmmm, been there, thought that. But, since that is likely never going to happen, unless you are the one person on the planet able to sell moon rocks, we have to look for silver linings in such cases where there will likely be other sellers selling the same things as me. Silver linings? How can other sellers selling the same things as me possibly have a silver lining?

Can I Opt to Sell Jewelry or Other Popular Items?

Well, you could, but......

Step-By-Step List of Things You Need to Do

I know it's all quite confusing, getting started, so I am going to write a list of things you should be considering, and in what order. You don't need to follow them exactly, of course. The list is meant only to be a guide. While I don't explicitly say so, there are some things that you will inherently need, such as a computer and internet service. I won't go in to such detail to tell you what computer cables you'll need, or what type of internet connection or carrier to use.

How Can I Possibly Fit Ebay in to My Already-Hectic Schedule?

That's a very good question. I know some of you may already have full- or part-time jobs. But, working ebay is STILL possible. Allow me to explain how you can pull this off:

Return Policy

It used to be that ebay sellers did not need to have a return policy. Return policies were for brick-and-mortar stores like Target and WalMart. Stores that are making millions in sales every hour. But, little by little, ebay is trying to get small sellers such as ourselves in to having an iron-clad return policy for the items we sell.

Shipping Items

Shipping your items is the most important process of all. It seems all of the problems, and all of the things that can go wrong in a transaction happen during the shipment process. Sure, things can go wrong at any point, but shipping is where I see most problems occur. Let's discuss what can go wrong, and how to avoid those problems.

Should I Sell Internationally?

Another good question. This is something that will be let up to your own judgement. I will mention some of the pro's and con's here and allow you to decide.

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.

How Can I Determine Markup?

Markup was one method that I used to determine just how well I was profiting from the items I was selling. Markup (or mark-up), is the percentage of profit that you tack on to the price you originally paid for the item. Every store, every factory, every business under the sun operates on some level of markup. It's this markup that translates in to the profits that businesses use to pay employees, pay bills, expand, and buy more inventory.

What if I Don't Want to Stick With Used Vintage Items?

Then don't!!!  LOL

There is no law that requires you to do so. I was just suggesting it as an easy springboard for launching you in to the vast ocean known as ebay. You can sell almost anything on ebay.

How Many Listing Can I Have?

The sky is the limit. I don't think ebay has any set limit. Heck, they want you to run as many as you want. Some store sellers have upwards of 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 15,000+ concurrent listings on ebay. You can have as many as you want.

How Can I Find Out a Ballpark Value for my Item?

Well, places such as kbb.com often seek out what prices were paid for new and used cars recently to determine, in part, the values that they post for every make & model under the sun.

There is a similar method that you can easily perform to get a ballpark idea for the item you have. You can do this for just about any item- not just an item that you'd like to list on ebay.

Listings

All of our preparation up to this point has finally led to this one single moment of truth: the listing. This is where most people have the most trouble, because it is the most intensely-computer involved segment of all.

Picture & Video Taking

OK. By now I presume you've more-or-less gotten most of your ducks in a row. You've gotten registered on ebay and paypal, have a YouTube account, have a 7 or 8 mp digital camera, peeked around on ebay and gotten a little familiar with the site.

You may have even gotten in to your urban tank and hit the yard sales, thrift stores or raided your closets and/ or basement in search of tidbits to start selling on ebay.