Advice for eBay Beginners
by Staff EditorSelling on eBay is a very simple learning curve. You register using a credit card, debit card or your checking account. If paying with a credit or debit card, the fees accumulate during the month and are debited monthly around the 18th. If using a checking account, you're limited to $25 in fees per month (listing and percentage of sales).
Once your registration is complete, you click on the "Sell Your Item" link (which is at the top of every page) and the eBay links will walk you through the process of pictures, listing how-tos, and even a bit of HTML to spice up your listing. (Don't pay for highlighting, double categories. bold print title, etc. They're annoying!) Folks will find you by typing in a keyword, such as "cookie cutters", "sterling silver beads”, "art primitives," etc., and once you've created a presence there, they will bookmark you to see what you have to offer on a regular basis. Do add your item to the "gallery" images to boost exposure.
Listing a Product
The eBay Web site has a "Community Area" that includes tips and hints on how to list a product. To increase sales, include good descriptive copy. If there is a story behind your item (its age, the fact that it belonged to Uncle Frederick during the Civil War, etc.) tell the story. For example, I sell old cookie cutters that belonged to my grandmother and came from the old Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. When I was listing them, I told the story of how my mom and grandmom took us to the farmers' market to shop and how they always bought more cookie cutters while there. As a result, some of those 59-cent cutters sold on eBay for $12 each! (I even printed the story. with dates of the terminal market and original use, and packed it with the cutters.)
Illustrating Your Products
No one wants to buy something that isn't illustrated, so provide as many pictures as possible. But don't buy an expensive digital camera-invest in a scanner instead. For around $100, you can get a basic scanner that will give you good pictures. Buy one with a lid that unhinges so you can lay three dimensional objects on the glass. I didn't like the software that came with my scanner, so I went to a free software site and downloaded PhotoSuite, a graphics program I like, (Even shareware. which offers a thirty-day trial period. will work until you start making money.)
