I’ve sold on Ebay for the past year bringing in some “fun” money. Selling online started as a way for me to simply clear out my closet full of used books without having to drop them off at my thrift store. I thought, if I could sell a few of these books that’s better than dropping them off for someone else to make money off them. If the past year has taught me anything it’s that anything I own can make me money! Here are a few tips and tricks for those just starting to sell on Ebay.
Sell Light Items, Not Heavy
Selling books was a no brainer since I have tons of books I’ve collected over the years and even more from my late father’s collection. Books are easy to sell because they’re light and not such a pain in the ass to carry to the postal office. It helps to sell items that are not too heavy in the beginning because you also need to calculate shipping right. If you start by selling your microwave but end up charging too little for shipping, you may end up losing cash. I actually lost money on my first sale of a textbook. It was heavy and dummy me priced it too low!
Use USPS to ship
In my experience, the United States Postal Service has mostly delivered on time and been a reliable shipping service for me. I did have a problem a few weeks ago when they lost a package. Fret not, because it miraculously made its way back to the buyer a few days later. I’ve also sent packages with UPS before and never had a problem but they are too expensive if you’re selling on a small-scale.
Photos Count
When I say photos count I’m not kidding. This is probably the most important thing to remember when you are putting your item up for sale. You don’t need a fancy camera and you can even use your cell phone for this. I love to use natural lighting to take photos of the books I sell. I open up the curtains in the living room and place the books on top of a flat surface. Here are some sample photos I recently took.
List the price you want to get it for
There are two ways to sell on Ebay: auctions and fixed prices. If you choose to sell a product as an auction start the bidding at a number you wouldn’t mind selling it for. Don’t price too low hoping a bidding war will ensue because sometimes that just doesn’t happen. If you know exactly what you want to get for it, choose a fixed price. Keep in mind Ebay will take a percentage for listing fees and you’ll also have to spend money on shipping. As you gain more experience selling you’ll start to learn how to price competitively but don’t stress yourself too much out in the beginning. List the item at the amount you want to get for it.
Just get started
Choose some items, take a few photos, and just list it on Ebay. A lot of my items didn’t sell at first but I kept listing a few things every month. You’ll learn with experience what sells but these tips will get you started. I wish you luck and just get started!
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