10
Top Tips To Selling Successfully On
eBay
As
a successful powerseller on eBay I often get turned
to for advice. Since I registered on eBay,
I've ran thousands of profitable auctions which I follow
these guidelines. Most importantly always try to be
fair with other users who deal with you and never be
intimidated by any competition. eBays big enough for
us all, and currently there is 1 seller registered
to 78 buyers.
1) Low starting Price
Before
you list your auction, ask yourself what's the lowest
amount you'd be prepared to accept for your
item. A low starting price will attract more bids and
at a quicker pace - usually within the first day of
the listings. Research shows that a .99c starting price
will get you bidders within a few hours. Many vehicles
and high value items are sold with a low starting price
especially by established powersellers - because unless
it's an extremely poor week the item will normally
end up with hundreds of bids & at a cost that's
acceptable to the seller.
Additionally
users are more likely to view auctions which already
have a successful bid as it generates
interest in your item. It's like if you see a market
stall with hundreds of people standing around it -
your curiosity would tell you to stop & see what's
generating all the interest. Use human curiosity to
your advantage.
2) No Reserve
Many
sellers still place reserve prices on their item.
A reserve price is one which unless it is met by your
sellers you are not obliged to sell the item. An example
would be if you have an reserve of $10, and your item
sells for $9.00 you do not have to complete the sale & release
the item. Reserve items, although very occasionally
may be necessary in the case of extremely high value
items or businesses for sale are off putting to bidders.
Why would you bid on an item with a reserve price on,
unless you already knew were aware of what the reserve
was. Personally I'd look for alternative items without
a reserve price.
eBay has already removed the Reserve Price option
from some of it's site in a move that is largely welcome
by the majority of users. It could be a sign that this
policy change will be extended to all of it's sites.
3) Images
An
Image is worth a thousand words. Take photos of your
item to clearly show the condition of it, and
any damage or unusual aspects of it. eBay allows you
to include one photo free of charge & if you use
your own image hosting service you can easily include
as many photos as necessary to show your item in a
detailed manner. Many powersellers use up to 20 photos
for one single item. Ask yourself how many are necessary
for your item. & also consider using the gallery
option so the image will appear within the search listings.
4) Cross-Promotion
You've
worked hard to get users to view your listing, so
while their viewing it also include a link to any
other items you've available. This is allowed in addition
to the already provided link to "View other sellers
items". You can use commercial services (such
as Anadale) to include images & descriptions of
your other items.
5) About Me Page
Sell
yourself on your About Me Page. This is your chance
to establish some credibility for yourself.
The biggest reason people will not buy from you online
is because you have failed to establish any credibility
for yourself. So include details about you & your
business. Where are you suituated?, how long have you
been registered on eBay?, What do you specialise in?
If your a high volume seller you may also want to include
a photo of yourself. Have a look at other About Me
pages to see what works and what doesn't.
6) Return Policy
Nothing gives buyers greater confidence than knowing
that they can return the product if it's not for them.
So consider drafting yourself a returns policy.
Will you accept returns?
What if the item arrives faulty?
How long is the policy valid for?
It
may seem like a big risk to offer such a policy knowing
that you'll have to incur a cost relisting & reshipping
items but only a very small amount of users will return
the items.
7) Feedback
Leave feedback for the winning bidder as soon as the
item is paid for. Some sellers like to protect themselves
by only returning feedback when it is left for you.
I consider this unprofessional and your bidders will
most likely think the same too. Don't be scared of
getting a negative or neutral comment on your feedback
record. The majority of users will consider all of
you feedback before bidding, not just looking at one
or two comments.
Additionally if you deserve any feedback left for
you such as if you were late shipping, accept it was
you fault. Don't be too worried about admitting it
with an apology in response to your feedback. You may
also want to compensate your winning bidder with reduced
postage or a bonus item to show it was a genuine error
on your part.
If
you know the there is going to be a delay in completing
any transaction, email the bidder and inform them.
Apologize with a comment such as "This is a rare
incident that's completely out of my control. I hope
by looking at my feedback record you will see this
is an completely isolated incident". Always try
to keep on good terms with all your buyers.
8) Instant attention
Give
immediate attention to your bidders & prospective
bidders. Don't leave a delay of days before responding
to any emails or phone calls. And following a successful
transaction you may want to email your bidder to tell
them when the items been shipped and when it will be
expected to arrive.
I know many sellers, some of them powersellers who
takes days to respond to a simple email. If you don't
have time to respond immediately consider delegating
the responsibility to someone else who can respond
on your behalf. Never give any bidder reason to doubt
whether your a genuine seller or not.
9) eBay Store
Opening
an eBay Store is a necessary step for anyone medium
sized seller. Not only do you benefit from cheaper & longer
listings within your shop, but you can also cross-promote
your products easily, send out newsletters and establish
a trusted brand for your listings easier. Also you'll
gain more coverage (& hopefully bids) for your
listings by appearing in the eBay store directory.
10) Shipping
Don't
be tempted to over price your shipping costs and
try to make a small profit on this. Firstly you
can be found out to easily, & it's one of the most
unforgiving things for a seller to do. More importantly
over pricing your shipping costs is against eBay policy.
If your offering digital goods such as an eBook or
special report, you may consider a small handling fee
to cover your time and administration costs. If you
do make sure it's fair and clearly highlighted within
the item listing. The last thing a bidder wants to
do is find out there are unexpected costs associated
with a purchase they've made.
Good luck with your eBay selling activity.
About
the author:
Jason
James is an eBay Power Seller and Webmaster of
http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com where
you can get professional eBay seller advice.
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