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Selling Successfully on eBay
- Published: September 12, 2010 by Umma Queenan Comments (0)
Using the most basic selling style on eBay is free if you list items with a start price of 99 cents or less, so it is well worth it – even as a last-ditch attempt to sell before you give items to the charity shop or take them to the dump.
How to get the best price:
1.) Look up what you’re selling to see how much it’s going for and how others describe it; there is nothing to stop you pinching the best bits of their sales blurb.
2.) Choose the right category under which to list your item. Type in what you’re selling and the eBay system automatically suggests the most suitable one. This means your item gets maximum exposure. Otherwise it’s a bit like hiding something at the back of a shelf in a shop; if nobody can find it they won’t buy it.
3.) Remember you’re ‘selling’, so talk up your product. Be honest, but there’s no harm talking about the ‘gorgeous beading’ or saying who the item would be good for.
4.) Take time to write a snappy title with good keywords. Don’t just stick to the make and model; include related keywords to pull in more buyers. So if you’re selling a handbag, put in words like ‘beach’, ‘office’ or ‘wedding’, so if buyers are searching for a bag for a particular occasion, they’ll find yours.
5.) Go for the lowest starting price you can to attract bidders; research has shown a starting price of 99 cents or less attracts third more bids than higher starting prices.
And, perhaps most importantly …
Take good clear photos
Check out some of the photos and you’ll see a mix of some truly appalling photos and some very professional ones. Taking a good photo can make the difference between getting a good price or not selling at all. Bad photos or, worse still, no photo at all will just make buyers suspicious.
Use a digital camera and take time positioning your item. Photograph it against a plain background so nothing detracts from it. Having something in the background, like a reflection, or taking a snap against a patterned carpet, just won’t cut it if you want top price for your item. One eBay insider once told me he always uses a white towel as a background as it photographs well.
Likewise, if you’re selling clothes, don’t take a snap of someone modeling the item but with their head cut off or their legs stuck in a pair of shoes; it just looks naff. Arrange the item of clothing on a mannequin dummy, if you’ve got one; if not, on a plain wooden (not wire) hanger hung against a plain background.
Personally, I always photograph items against the wood floor (unless they’re clothes, in which case, I hang them up), as it gives a clean, light, neutral background. Take snaps with the flash both on and off to see what works best and always takes time to put them on eBay the right way up. You’ll lose buyers if they’ve got to crane their neck sideways to see your picture, and if you don’t use a ‘gallery’ picture (that’s the small thumbnail snap you see beside the headline description of the item).
When to list your items
It is worth thinking about optimum auction ending times before you start. You may find it easier to list your items after lunch on a Monday afternoon, but this might mean that the auction will end at the same time of the day so you could lose lots of last-minute opportunist bidders. You can, however, opt for your listing to go ‘live’ at a fixed time if you’re not around then.
According to eBay, the highest number of users is on Sundays, so if you start a ten-day listing on a Thursday evening this gives you two weekends’ worth of potential trade, ending on a Sunday evening.
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