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Top_Ebay_Selling_Tips
| Top Ebay Selling Tips
Hey kids - EbaySteve here again! I just want to share with you
guys'n'gals a few little tip-ettes and tricks that I personally
have always found to be Steve-tasticly good for pulling in the
greenbacks with the help of the mighty Ebay. Number one on
EbaySteve's list - know your market!. Check Ebay for similar
items BEFORE you start knocking up yours - a title search is the
best way to do this - you want to find completed items sorted by
price. These are the ones that actually sold - i.e. the seller
got it right!
EbaySteve would never even CONSIDER an auction without checking
out the competition first! Oh yeah! This gets us to ebaySteve's
next super tip - decide on your price now. As you kiddies will
know, you can set a 'Buy it Now' price on your auctions - this
is generally what you think an item is actually worth (at least
to you - ebaySteve often wastes a happy Friday afternoon
searching the 'Bay for "domain" auctions - some of these wutangs
think a 90-letter domain in greek is worth millions! Hah! call
the dumbo police!).
Remember, ebaySteve says that your opening bid (the price you
want to start the auction off at) should be MUCH lower, or
everyone will think you are Pennywise the Clown. Don't ever
forget, once an auction gets going, it can take on a life of its
own, and setting a low start price is the easiest way to
stimulate that initial excitement, especially on an item in
mucho grande demand (like ebaySteve's used socks, for example!).
While we are on this one, don't bother with secret 'reserve'
prices. If you don't know what your item is worth, you shouldn't
be selling it!
EbaySteve's next tip? How are your potential buyers gonna find
your auction? They will search for it. That means you have to
get your keywords into your auction title! No point having a
title that bangs on about 'great opportunity, never to be
repeated bargain' etc etc if yo forget to say '1967 Ford
Mustang' too! EbaySteve super-tip - don't bother with
punctuation, or silly characters - if you waste your title with
that stuff, they'll never find you in the first place! Only
mis-spell if it is likely to be searched for, because Ebay
search finds exact matches. If you need more space, use a
subtitle. These cost a cool 50 cents, so ebaySteve says use 'em
on items below about $25.
When they find it, will it scare them away? There are,
unfortunately, a number of auctions on the mighty Bay that scare
ebaySteve! Choose your colors and font sizes carefully - the one
thing you do NOT want is for everyone else to think you are a
fruitcake. Even though ebaySteve likes fruit, and cake, he
doesn't like 'em together. OK? Oh yeah! You will also need at
least 1 good quality photo of your item. Try and make it a
little 'different' from similar auctions - if everyone chooses
the 'stock' photo, how do potential buyers differentiate between
you? BUT, make sure it ain't bigger than 40 or 50k - plenty of
people are still on dialup, and they won't bother with you if
the page takes more than 10 seconds to load. And fer crying out
loud, make SURE you allow payment via Paypal - it is Ebay's very
own payment method, and by far the best. They charge only a TINY
commission on your sales, and you will find buyers take you MUCH
more seriously if you do. No harm in other payment options too,
just start off with Paypal! (Super extra important tip - only
allow Paypal payments from members with a CONFIRMED address.
Helps to cut down on fraud and refund requests).
Payment tip - ebaySteve has in the past had problems with spam
filters - there's nothing more annoying than to get an offer but
miss it because your darn email system 'binned' the mail! Have a
special email account for auctions (if you start getting too
much spam, open up a new one). It's also worth mentioning in the
text of your auction that potential buyers should 'whitelist'
your email address. In the worst case, you can always contact
other ebayers with the Contact Member form.
Auction timings - choose to start and end an auction during
daylight hours (for your target audience!). These auctions
statistically generate higher prices because bidding continues
right up to the final bell. Use
http://pages.ebay.com/turbo_lister to list your items quicker -
it costs, but only a tad, and will help you get the whole
process moving fast. That's about it fer now, Bayers! Keep it
real!
About the author:
Ebay Steve owns the way cool site www.ebaySteve.com the super
site for free advice on making money with ebay, the world's
greatest auction house.
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