How to Sell on eBay: What You Need to Know
Do you want to learn how to sell on eBay? The internet has opened up a world of opportunities for entrepreneurs to start their own businesses and make money selling products online.
One of the most popular platforms is eBay, which allows anyone with an eBay account to list items for sale, start an eBay business, and reach millions of potential buyers worldwide.
Selling on eBay can be a great way to make extra cash or launch your full-time eBay business. You can become successful selling online on this platform with dedication, creativity, and hard work. In this guide, we’ll show you how to sell on eBay in no time!
What is eBay?
eBay is a global e-commerce platform that enables people to buy and sell products online. It was founded in 1995 and now boasts millions of active buyers and sellers worldwide. On eBay, you can list almost any item imaginable for sale. From vintage collectibles to modern electronics to handmade crafts – anything goes!
Why Choose to Sell on eBay Than Other Ecommerce Platforms?
There are many reasons to choose eBay as your primary e-commerce platform. For starters, it’s one of the most popular online marketplaces and is trusted by millions of buyers worldwide.
With a powerful search tool and intuitive buying experience, you can easily find eBay buyers for almost any item you list on eBay. Additionally, eBay has low fees and offers several tools to help sellers manage their businesses more efficiently.
The Advantages of Selling on eBay
Selling on eBay offers many advantages for entrepreneurs. Here are just a few:
• Access to Millions of Buyers: With millions of active eBay buyers from around the world, you have the potential to reach a massive audience.
• Low Fees: Compared to other e-commerce platforms, eBay charges relatively low fees. This can help you maximize your profits and reinvest more money into growing your business.
• Easy Selling Tools: eBay offers helpful tools such as product listing templates, automated email reminders about orders and payments, and analytics for tracking eBay sales performance.
Now that you know what eBay is and why it’s an attractive platform for selling items online, it’s time to get started!
Set Up an eBay Account
Register for a Personal or Business eBay Account
To list items for sale on eBay, you first need to register for a personal or business eBay account. The process is simple and takes only a few minutes.
The page automatically registers you for a personal account, which is great if you periodically sell a few small products. However, choose a business account if you intend to sell significant volumes frequently.
Create Your Seller Profile
Once your account is set up, create an appealing profile introducing yourself and your store to potential buyers.
Include information about who you are, what type of products you sell, and any relevant awards or certifications. This will help buyers feel more confident when making purchases from your store.
Select Your Payment Method
Choose the payment method that works best for your business model. PayPal is the most popular option on eBay as it makes it easy for buyers to pay securely with their credit cards or bank accounts. You can select other payment options, such as direct bank transfer or check.
EBay will charge you using this payment method for any expenses associated with your seller activity, such as buyer reimbursements.
Identify Your Product Categories
Choose the categories your products fit into. This will help buyers find your items more quickly, since eBay uses these categories to list products in its search results.
Identify Your Product
Create product listings with clear and informative descriptions, appropriate images, and competitive prices. You may also want to include shipping information and discounts available for bulk orders. Doing so can help attract more buyers to your store.
You can choose between using the advanced listing form or eBay’s quick listing tool to list an item for sale. The quick listing tool might be a wise choice for your first listing because it will advise you on pricing and shipping your item based on prior eBay sales of identical or comparable things.
But, due to its extra capabilities, you might wish to utilize the advanced listing form if you have a lot of inventory or plan to sell on eBay frequently.
Select Between Auction-Style and Fixed-Price Selling
You can choose to list your items in either Auction-Style or Fixed-Price format. With Auction-Style, buyers bid for a set amount of time, and the seller with the highest bid wins.
With Fixed-Price, you set a price, and buyers purchase immediately if they agree with it.
Set the Listing Duration
When creating your item listing, select the duration for how long you want it to be available. You can set the listing length to one, three, five, seven, or ten days.
Price Your Products
When pricing your items, it’s important to consider factors such as the cost of materials and labor, shipping costs, and what similar products are selling for on eBay. This will help you set a competitive starting price to attract customers without sacrificing profits.
Do some market research to determine a competitive price for your goods by looking through completed listings on eBay to see how many comparable items have sold and at what prices.
On a search results page, scroll down the left-hand panel until you find the Preferences section to use this search filter. Choose “Completed Items” by checking the box under “Display just.”
eBay Listings with a green price indicate sales, while those with a red price indicate things that didn’t sell.
Examine the selling and resale prices of the products, and speculate on the potential impact that the prices may have had. Were the rejected postings priced unusually higher, or could something else, such as expensive shipping or negative seller feedback, have stopped a sale?
This data can also be used to identify the typical price at which an item is sold as well as whether fixed-price or auction formats were more effective for other eBay sellers.
Set Up Your Shipping Options
Make sure you have a clear shipping policy in place. You need to consider what services you will offer, the estimated delivery times, and whether or not you will cover any shipping costs.
Buyers prefer free shipping and faster delivery times, so ensure your policy meets their expectations.
Once you’ve established your policy, display it clearly on your eBay store listings to avoid confusion when buyers make purchases.
It is strongly advised to use USPS for eBay orders. Due to the partnership between USPS and eBay, you can get a lower shipping cost.
Combining Your Shipping on eBay
Combining shipments can reduce costs as well as time. Let’s say a customer makes numerous eBay transactions from you. You can bundle all these goods into a single box and deliver them to the client in a single day instead of mailing them one item at a time.
Create a shipping label from one of the purchases when the buyer has finished paying, and then add the tracking information for each item in the combined order.
Manage Your Listing
Once you’ve created your listing, keep an eye on it. Monitor its performance and adjust the pricing or add discounts to increase sales. You can also use analytics to track how customers find your listings, which products are the most popular, and other metrics.
Process Orders and Ship Items
When a buyer purchases an item from your store, you should process their order promptly. Once you receive payment for an item, pack it carefully and ship it within the time frame specified in your shipping policy.
This will help ensure that buyers receive their items quickly and have a positive experience with your store.
Provide Good Customer Service
Ensure that all customer queries are handled promptly and politely. You should also provide customers with timely updates about the status of their orders.
The positive feedback you will get will help build trust and loyalty, which can increase your sales in the long run.
Get Positive Feedback
Encourage buyers to leave positive feedback on your store page. This makes it easier for new customers to trust your store when making purchases. If you consistently deliver great customer service, buyers are more likely to leave a favorable review.
Promote Your Listings
Utilize eBay’s promotional tools and other digital marketing strategies to promote your store. This will help you reach more potential buyers and increase sales for your business.
Maintain a High Seller Rating
eBay’s seller rating system helps potential buyers make informed purchasing decisions. When you consistently deliver great service and products, your seller rating increases, which leads to more trust from customers. This system encourages sellers to maintain high customer service standards to ensure repeat business.
You should always strive to meet eBay’s Top Rated seller standards to guarantee that your listing is seen (and that you’re satisfying customers).
Monitor Your Ratings on the Seller Hub Regularly
Go to the Seller Hub regularly to monitor your performance rating and customer feedback. Be sure to respond promptly to any negative reviews and take measures to prevent them. This will help maintain a good seller rating and keep customers returning for more!
The Best Products to Sell on eBay
When selecting the products to sell on eBay, it’s important to consider which items are in demand and has a low supply. Popular categories include electronics, fashion, home goods, toys, vintage collectibles, and antiques.
Consider niche markets such as handmade or designer items if you have the skills or expertise to create these yourself. It’s usually best to start with a few popular items and expand your product range over time.
What to Consider When Looking for Profitable Items on eBay
When looking for items to sell on the platform, eBay sellers should consider factors such as the following:
Profitability
Analyze the item’s current sale prices, how much it costs to acquire or produce, and associated fees such as shipping. Calculate your potential profit before investing in a product.
When a seller first sells an item on eBay, they are paid an insertion fee. They are also charged an insertion fee if they relist the item, duplicate it for auction-style bidding, or list it in a different product category.
Even if the item doesn’t sell, insertion fees are non-refundable, however eBay gives each seller up to 250 free listings each month (or more for sellers running eBay Stores). You will be charged $0.35 per listing for most of the products if you list more than 250.
After each transaction, final value fees are assessed. This charge will be deducted from the buyer’s total purchase price, including delivery, plus $0.30 per order.
Demand
Look into what items are currently trending on eBay. You can use keyword research tools to determine which items have high search volumes and low competition.
Consider selling products with a sell-through rate of at least 50% if you want to sell products quickly. Because there isn’t much demand for that product below that, you might have to wait a month or more for your item to sell.
You can see both active and sold listings for each product listed on eBay during the last 90 days.
Competition
Take a look at how many eBay sellers offer similar products. If plenty of competition exists for that particular item, consider another product instead.
Every seller on eBay generates a unique listing for each of their products, complete with a selection of pictures, detailed product descriptions, and shipping choices that set it apart from other sellers’ listings. As a result, an identical product may have thousands of different postings on eBay.
So, it stands to reason that your eBay listing could easily be lost in a sea of search results. Ensure that your listing is optimized with competitive keywords and high-quality photographs to ensure that more potential customers see it.
Where to Find the Best Products to Sell on eBay
You can source products for your eBay store from various sources such as local suppliers, online marketplaces (e.g. Amazon), trade shows and fairs, or even manufacturers directly.
Be sure to do your research before choosing a supplier, as you’ll want to ensure that the product quality is good and that their customer service is reliable. Quality control is especially important if you plan on selling used items.
How to Make Your Product Listing Appealing
Your product listing is the first impression a potential buyer will get when browsing eBay for products. To make sure your items stand out, here are some tips:
Use High-Quality Photos
Adding photos to your listing helps buyers visualize the product and understand its features. Use high-resolution images from multiple angles, as this will give customers a better understanding of what they’re buying.
Write Descriptive Titles and Product Descriptions
Ensure you include relevant keywords in the title and a detailed description of the item. This will help potential buyers find your listing more easily.
To create a list of keywords that customers regularly look for, you may either use the eBay-specific keyword tool Terapeak or a more broad keyword tool like Ahrefs or Google Keyword Planner.
You can also make a list of the keywords that are most frequently used in the top-ranking listings on eBay when you search for products that are identical to and similar to yours. As these listings appear highly in search results, buyers are probably using these terms frequently.
Answer Buyer Questions Quickly and Effectively
Buyers may have questions or inquiries before making their purchase, so make sure you respond promptly to any message or comment left on your product page. Providing helpful information can improve buyer confidence and increase sales conversions.
List with eBay’s Catalog
Using eBay’s catalog to list your items is the best way to ensure that potential buyers can find your products. The catalog contains detailed information about products and their features, which helps customers make informed decisions.
The eBay Catalog allows you to share a listing with other sellers of the same item rather than making your own exclusive one.
eBay chooses the product images from the sellers’ submissions for each catalog listing, and the product information is standardised. The uniform appearance gives eBay catalog listings a professional appearance in the eyes of customers.
Your item must be completely new and identical to another one listed in the eBay catalog in order to be listed there. You can ask eBay to include your product if it isn’t already there.
Make Sure Your Product Listing is Compliant
eBay has specific regulations for the types of products and listings that can be sold on its platform. Ensure your product listings comply with eBay’s policies to avoid violations, penalties, or deactivations.
You must ensure that your listings are in line with the regulations as eBay doesn’t pre-approve them. These legal requirements include, for instance:
- Not copying text or photos without the owner’s consent from other eBay listings
- Making appropriate use of brand names
- Ensuring the listing is correct to prevent issues with intellectual property
For listings that are compliant with the law, see the whole list of rules here. By being aware of these requirements, you can ensure that all of your listings are legitimate, won’t be taken down, and that your customers can continue purchasing.
Let Buyers Counteroffer
You can also let buyers counteroffer your price when they make a purchase. This will encourage customers to buy more items as it allows them to negotiate for a better deal.
This feature is especially helpful when you’re trying to clear stock that hasn’t been selling well. You can set minimum and maximum amounts, giving buyers the chance to get a discount while allowing you to earn some money from the transaction.
Give Discounts or Free Shipping
Offering discounts or free shipping helps increase sales as many customers look for these incentives before making purchases online. Incentives such as these also help attract potential new customers.
Adding discounts or free shipping can be costly, so use it strategically. A good rule of thumb is to offer discounts for multiple purchases or for loyal customers, and use the “Free Shipping” option only when you’re running a campaign.
Tips and Best Practices for Beginners Selling on eBay
If you’re new to selling on eBay, here are some tips and best practices to help ensure success:
Research Your Market
See what other sellers offer, how much they charge for their items, and what their customers think of them. This will give you an idea of the competition in your market.
Be Organized
Organize your inventory and keep detailed records of orders so you don’t get overwhelmed with the business side. You can also use a system such as ShipStation to manage your inventory and order fulfillment process more efficiently.
Provide Quality Customer Service
Make sure each customer is satisfied by providing excellent service before, during, and after a sale.
Set Reasonable Shipping Rates
Be sure to set reasonable shipping rates that cover your cost of packaging and shipping the item without overcharging customers.
Know Your Rights as an eBay Seller
Make sure you understand the rules and regulations for selling on eBay, such as taxes and customer protection policies. This will help ensure that your business complies with all applicable laws.
Shop Garage Sales or Estate Sales
Garage sales or estate sales can be great places for finding unique items at a discounted price. Many of these items may be worth more than the seller initially thought, so it’s worth checking them out.
Advertise Your eBay Store on Social Media
Using social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook to create awareness about your store is also a good way to increase your reach and attract potential customers. Here you can showcase new products, announce promotions, and respond to customer inquiries quickly.
How to Use eBay’s Promoted Listings
eBay’s promoted listings are a great way to increase visibility for your store and attract more buyers. This tool allows you to boost certain listings by placing them higher on search results pages, giving you an advantage over other sellers who aren’t making use of this feature.
You can easily set up promotion campaigns through eBay’s seller platform. You’ll need to specify the listing, the duration of the campaign, and your chosen bid amount (which
Final Thoughts on How To Sell on eBay
Selling on eBay can be a great way to make money online. With a bit of research and dedication, you’ll soon learn the ropes and establish yourself as an eBay seller.
By following these tips, you’ll have a better chance of success when selling items on eBay.
Remember to stay organized, provide quality customer service, optimize your listings for search engines, and take advantage of features like promoted listings that can help you stand out from the competition.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to sell something on eBay?
The cost to sell on eBay varies depending on a few factors, such as the category of your item, whether you’re selling through an auction-style or fixed price listing, and if it’s a Store subscription.
There are also fees associated with optional services such as final value fee discounts, featured gallery listings, and promoted listings.
Can I make money selling on eBay?
Yes! Many people have achieved financial success by selling items on eBay. By doing your research and offering quality products at competitive prices, you can earn money from home while building your business.
Is selling on eBay worth it?
The answer depends on your goals. If you’re looking for a quick way to make money, then selling on eBay can be lucrative. However, if you want to build a long-term business, it may take some time and effort before you start seeing returns.
Do I need to have an eBay Store?
No – while having an eBay store can help increase visibility of your listings and provide discounts on fees, it isn’t necessary in order to sell items on the platform.
Will my product get stolen when I list it on eBay?
No – eBay has strict rules and policies regarding listing prohibited items that are illegal, or counterfeit items. Furthermore, all payments made through the platform are secure and protected.
What happens if an item I sold is returned?
If a customer returns an item they purchased from you, you must issue them a refund within 5 business days of receiving the item. If the item was damaged or not as described, you must cover the return shipping costs. For more information on eBay’s return policy, refer to their help page here.
Can I list multiple products at one time on eBay?
Yes – when listing multiple items for sale, you can use the bulk listing tool which allows you to create listings in advance and then schedule them to be listed at different times. This can save time and effort when creating multiple listings.
Can I list the same product in multiple categories on eBay?
Yes – you can list one item in several different categories. However, make sure that you avoid listing duplicate items as this could violate eBay’s policies and lead to your account being suspended or restricted.
Is it better to sell on eBay or Amazon?
The answer depends on what type of products you plan on selling and which platform has more buyers for those items. Both platforms have their own benefits and drawbacks, so do a bit of research before deciding which is best for you.