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Section C: List Your Product(s)
2. How To List on EBay
How To List on EBay
1. Choose your marketplace
Choose whether you’d like to go global and use international ebay.com with payments made in USD, or a localized version e.g. ebay.co.uk with payments made in UK pounds. Don’t forget that you’ll have to cover shipping fees as well, so it might be easier to start selling locally at first.
2. Set up your business account
Another step to start selling on eBay is to brainstorm a catchy, easy-to-remember business name. Then include your address details, email and contact phone number. Afterward, add your Paypal account to receive payments.
Get Verified
Complete eBay ID verification process (less than 5 min) to pass through numerous restrictions imposed on new sellers.
The competition is tough and you will need to stand out of the crowd if you want your goods to be found and purchased. eBay allows you to sell something as an individual seller or create a personalized store front. Opt for the latter if you have numerous goods to dispatch and plan to get a lot of business done at once.
Optimize Product Titles
In 80 words you’ll have to explain what exactly are you selling.
Include 1-3 relevant keywords to each product title to make it rank higher in search results.
For example: You are trying to sell an old Minolta film camera.
Bad title: Working Minolta camera for sale
Winning title: Minolta XG-1 35MM SLR Film Camera with 45MM Lens.
Name and model of the camera + keyword 1 (film camera) + keyword 2 (45mm lens).
Bad title: Working Minolta camera for sale
Winning title: Minolta XG-1 35MM SLR Film Camera with 45MM Lens.
Name and model of the camera + keyword 1 (film camera) + keyword 2 (45mm lens).
Writing in capitalized letters also helps to attract users attention. You can play with keywords and change them later on in the title for better performance. For instance, if you are selling jewelry you can add season keywords e.g. Valentine Day Charms or Diamond Christmas Love Lock etc.
Does your item have an unusual feature e.g. rare color? Make sure you mention that in the title too! It will help successfully sell on eBay.
Optimize Product Descriptions
The best practice is to include at least 200 words description for each item on sale with the most important keywords listed at the beginning and in the end.
Fill out every field of your listing, and make sure your text description gives a LOT of information about the item. Again, imagine you are the buyer planning to spend $200 for a vintage plate set. You would like to know each and every tiny detail about the product before giving away the money.
Style the text with headlines and bold fonts to attract more attention and make sure you list all product specifications e.g. size, material, colors etc.
Choose the right category listing
For an extra fee you can choose to list your product in more than one category.
Add Crisp Photos
Images can make or break a sale. A blurry, dark photo won’ t help you win any sales. eBay allows to upload up to 12 pictures for free. Include at least 2-4 where your product’s visible from different angles. Edit your photos with free editors like Canva or PicMonkey to make them irresistibly attractive. Lifehacker offers more tips how you can shoot better photos for things you sell online.
Run a quick Price Research
Type your product keyword to eBay’s search and choose Completed Listings only. Sort the results by “Price + Shipping: Highest First.” And analyze the prices for sold items (marked green) and unsold (red ones). Selling a branded product? Check out the prices on top 5 ecommerce sites selling the same product. You can also grab more information about the item from there to put it into your description and make it look more professional.
Calculate the total price
Don’t forget to include eBay seller’s fees and shipping costs to the total price. Alternatively, you can offer free shipping to selected regions only and add extra shipping fees for sellers based outside your area.
Choose your price model
Here are the two main ways how you can sell something on eBay:
- • Fixed Price Model: Set your price and wait till the buyer makes the purchase. First to come – first to get.
- • Product Auction: Determine the minimal starting price for your product, set the action time, and invite buyers to bid. The last bidder offering the highest price gets the product.
Develop a listing schedule
If you are running an auction, consider the best time for starting and ending it for each particular product. For instance, jewelry and hand-made items sell best before Valentines Day and holidays. In time, you’ll notice the days and times when your products do best and start keeping a listing schedule. Your regular buyers will learn when you post them, and you will start getting better results selling items on eBay.
Double-check everything and press publish button.
Re-read your descriptions once again to avoid any typos or spelling mistakes (editing when the auction already started would be more difficult). Make sure everything looks good and there’s no odd formatting. Share your product on your social media once it’s published as you never know if one of your friends is looking to buy the exact thing you sell.
Start marketing your products
eBay has a huge amount of traffic and a huge amount of listings added daily. Here’s the deal: you can attract thousands of eyeballs to your listing with the next simple hacks most sellers ignore.
Add an About Me page to your store
Include information about yourself, links to your website and social media for extra credibility.
Ideas for winning About Me page on eBay
- • Mention your hobbies and interests. If you are selling vintage items, explain why you love them and how you use them. Potential buyers could emotionally relate to your passion.
- • Include feedback from your previous customers to encourage the new ones.
- Soft sell your products. Mention why they stand up from the crowd.
- Mention if you run eBay business full-time or have another career as well. Let the world know more about you!
Feed the frenzy
David Early, a veteran eBay seller suggests: “You can feed a bidding frenzy on your item by using a low opening bid price and no Reserve, which should attract more bidders at the outset.
The more people bidding on your listing, the more likely that two or more of them will get drawn into a personal bidding war. At that point, winning the item becomes almost as important as the product they want to buy, and these bidders might eventually pay more than they intended to pay”
Develop a specialty
The most profitable eBay sellers usually specialize in a certain group of products. For instance, Jody Rogers and Asad Bangash discovered that ethnic products, Indian henna, bangles and traditional Indian shoes in particular, were not widely sold on eBay. They’ve tapped into the spare niche and now earn around $20.000 per month. The duo had a huge interest in ethic products from the start and were particularly passionate about the subject, learning everything about it and gradually becoming experts in the niche.
In a nutshell: To Create a Massively Popular eBay Business You Need To a) Find the products you are particularly passionate about. b) Research the spare niche you can easily tap into c) Demonstrate your strong expertise to the buyers.
Monitor your competition
If your item’s not selling particularly great, don’t be afraid to put it away till your competitor sells out. Follow top sellers in your niche, monitor their sales and strategies they use to sell things on eBay. If you both have similar items listed, attract buyers with unique feature e.g. free shipping.
5. Master the shipping process
Yay! You’ve just sold your first item on Ebay! Wait no longer, it’s time to pack it and ship it to the new happy owner. Remember, you should dispatch your item as early as possible esp if you are shipping abroad.
Have a regular shipping days on and off
Clearly state those days in your listing, so the buyers knew when they can expect their parcel.
Use in-built postage service from PayPal
You can purchase postage and print labels from both UPS and the USPS directly from your PayPal account. It’s a huge time-saver.
Be reasonable with shipping costs
Baiting buyers with low price and huge shipping fees will only make them choose other listings with more balanced pricing.