How to become an eBay Powerseller

When writing the articles for this site and especially the free email course I have put together, I have been pushing people to become eBay Power Sellers or making them believe that they must make a fortune on eBay - but I have been contacted by a few people who simply want to be better eBayers and not make eBay a primary business.

So I decided to write the 7 Habits of Highly Effective eBayers - a free small guide devised to show everyone the common traits that some of the very best eBay sellers have.

What I will say is that after reading this and taking my free Advanced eBay Course - you will have the tools to easy become a Power Seller.

For more click here: http://rc-for-less.110mb.com/new/7habits.php

There as many pricing strategies in the world as there are buyers? On eBay, pricing can be critical.

The 'Few Dollars More' Strategy.

If you set your auction's starting price to what you would usually charge for Buy it Now, while setting the Buy it Now price a few dollars above, you can make a profit by setting off an interesting psychological reaction in the buyer's mind.

Here's what they'll think. They want the item, but why should they bother bidding for it? After all, they could use Buy it Now for just a few dollars more, and be sure of getting it!

The 'One Dollar Less' Strategy.

This is simple, but requires you to keep an eagle eye on your competition. As soon as they start a Buy it Now auction for an item you stock, start an auction for one of those items yourself. Match the title closely, but price your item one dollar less than theirs. This will mean that your auctions will sit together in the search results, and who's going to see both and go for the one that's a dollar more expensive?

The 'Free Shipping' Strategy.

Buyers really hate paying for shipping. With Buy it Now, you might find it easier to incorporate the shipping cost into the main price of the item, and then write "free shipping" in the auction's title. You'd be surprised how many buyers would prefer to pay one price including shipping for the auction, instead of having shipping added on at the checkout. Again, this is psychological: they pay the same at the end, but it doesn't feel like they've paid an unnecessary 'extra' cost for Internet shopping.

The 'Go for It' Strategy.

If you'd like a slightly more risky strategy, try this. List your item for the maximum duration (ten days), starting the listing on a Thursday so it goes across two weekends and finishes on a Sunday. Set the starting price to the minimum (one cent).

What you're trying to do here is give bidders as long as possible to discover your auction, so that they push the price up themselves. Pay for a few upgrades like bold and highlight, to give them a helping hand. If you do this right, you can make a much bigger profit than you would have with any Buy it Now price, especially with a medium or high value item.

Since running your auction for longer means that more people see it, you should always take the longest duration of ten days, right? Not always. In the next email, we'll talk about how long your eBay auction should run for.

A great and profitable item to sell on eBay are informational products, things like eBooks ... I have made a good living selling eBooks on eBay, the great thing about them is that they are cheap to purchase and most come with RESELL rights, so you can buy them and make your money back by selling them on to others!

Fantastic revenue generator.

THESE ARE THE BEST VALUE EBOOKS AVAILABLE ON EBAY RIGHT NOW

PowerSellers are eBay top sellers who sustain a consistent high volume of monthly sales and a high level of total Feedback - with 98% or better positive rating by other eBay users.

To qualify as a PowerSeller, members must:

> Have been an active member for 90 days
> Average a minimum of $1000 (or in the UK £750 or 100 items per month) in sales per month, for three consecutive months
> Achieve an overall Feedback rating of 100, of which 98% or more is positive
> Have an account in good financial standing

And I can get you there :-)

1. Inundate your potential buyers with details. It is much better to provide a lot rather than a little information and this will also be a great opportunity for you to pepper your listing description with keywords.
Do be sure, however, that your auction listing is informative and not filled with hype. Give your readers details as appropriate such as models number, item condition, color, size, etc.

2. The title may not seem like a vital part of the equation, but it really is of great importance. It is the first thing people see when browsing through the auctions, so it has to not only grab their attention, but also entice them to click. Do not enter you title in ALL CAPS. This will only make you look like an amateur. Include as applicable; keywords, model numbers, seating information, brand names, item size, color, etc.

3. A picture is worth a thousand bids. Okay, well maybe not a thousand, but it will certainly help your item sell. Think about it; would you buy something sight unseen? Of course not and neither will the majority of buyers on eBay. Be sure to take care when photographing your item. Lesser quality photos are just as bad as no pictures at all. Also, the more expensive the items; the more photos you should provide.

4. State all of your requirements upfront. Be Open and Honest.
Tell potential bidders how much you intend to charge for shipping, to which countries you are willing to ship, if you will accept returns, or anything else that you might wish to specify. You really can't make things up as you go along. You have to get all requirements out there at the beginning.

5. If a potential buyer contacts you with a question then be sure to promptly respond. If you wait you may lose a much needed bidder. Also, be sure to be polite in your response as no question is too stupid to warrant anything other than but a courteous reply. Even if that person doesn't bid on your item they will certainly remember your pleasant attitude and that could mean a future sale. Great customer service in this way is the best way to GREAT feedback - the lifeblood of your eBay business

6. The majority of buyers on eBay prefer to pay for their purchase via PayPal. That is why it is vital for you to accept this method of payment. It is also beneficial to you as it eliminates the potential for bad checks or money orders.

7. After the sale most winning bidders will expect the seller to begin the completion of the transaction. Send an email, an invoice,

One thing many eBay sellers neglect is to actually communicate with their buyers - not with some automated 'suggestion' system, but with actual person-to-person contact. If you can be friendly and sound nice, then you can make them think you're doing them a favour while you make a few extra sales.

'I Could Throw In%uFFFD'

When you receive an order for an item that costs a lot for shipping and needs some kind of equipment, this is an ideal opportunity to make a 'friendly' extra sale. For example, if someone has just bought a computer, you could send an email like this:

"I'm just emailing you to ask if you'd like a mouse or a keyboard - since you're buying a computer from me, I can throw in any accessories you want without charging any extra shipping. If you're not interested though, then don't worry about it - it was just a thought."

Note how informal this email has to be. It can't stink of sales, or the whole 'communication' thing will be ruined. Would you rather buy something extra from someone who says "you might as well, since you're paying shipping anyway" or from someone who says something like "our valued customers will also love our GREAT DEALS on mice"? - check it out! - I know what my answer is.

Know Anyone Else?

Here's a simple thing to try: when you thank your buyer, simply say that if they're pleased with you then you'd really appreciate it if they could spread the word. Many eBay buyers feel like they've got a real bargain, and combining this with good customer service could be enough to make your customer go out and start writing down your eBay store's address on pieces of paper for their friends. If you notice a lot of orders coming from the same town, then you'll know that this technique is working.

Any Problems?

If you contact the buyer a few months down the line to ask if their product is still working fine, you might find that they're having a problem you can fix, by sending a spare part or an upgrade. This is another opportunity to make a sale - not to mention helpful for them.

Anything to Sell?

If you've just sold them a brand new item, ask your buyer if they have an old one that they might like to trade in. They will often be delighted to take you up on your offer, since they were wondering how they were going to get rid of their old one anyway. Give them a fair price for it and offer to pay their postage and you won't believe how happy they'll be - and the chances are you can make a good profit on what they send you.

There are a number of ways to grab yourself a bargain on eBay, here is one of the quickest and easiest.

When looking at your search results - most people pay close attention to the item name, "buy it now" price and/or the number of bids an item has received.
But what many buyers fail to see is the "Best Offer" logo (seen along with the "Buy It Now" logo) ... this means that the seller is willing to accept a "Best Offer" - not the asking price, but the best offer that you can make.

Make a best offer on an item, and if accepted you get it for your new price.

I recently wanted some glowstick bracelets for my kids, most sold for approximately £6 ($12) including p&p ... a good price, but I wanted a better deal - so I clicked on Advanced Search and checked the box to return results for only the items that accepted a "Best Offer" - I put my offer in on one of these and brought for a new total price of £4.50 (approx $9) - a saving of 30%.

Now it was a small value item, but larger value items still carry "Best Offer" deals, so there is still lots of money to be saved.

Whilst I am looking at the eBay listings, there is a superb 85 Eldorado Biarritz Cadillac for sale at $6,000 - with 2 minutes to spare, I am sure that someone pressing the "Best Offer" button might stand the chance of a great bargain!

Note: If accepted "Best Offers" are legally binding and you must buy for that price.

Getting the timing right when selling your eBay items can make a lot of difference in how well you sell an item.

TIME OF DAY:
If your item is for the home market, plan to start and end your item in the morning - many household may log onto eBay either before breakfast or after the kids have been dropped off at school - so is an idea time to catch them early.

Starting an auction early also means that you catch other time zones early - in the UK, an early start means that you will hit the US as they start to wake up.
In the US, to hit the Pacific Time Zone at 10am, start your auction at 7am in the Eastern Time Zone. This will reach the other time zones (Central and Mountain) at 8am and 9am.
Keep in mind, all auctions end at the same time they start.

Use the evening hours to list items for the working families and the major ticket items (for those folks who need to make a joint purchase decision of the larger amounts).

DAY OF WEEK:
Which days of the week are the best? Well for my own auctions that hit a varied audience of Home and Work people, then my best days tend to be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I find I get bids earlier and on these days and more of them. Its worth noting that in the Online Retail section - their busiest hour is usually Wednesday at 8-9pm, so my research ties in well with theirs.

So if I want my listing to be available over the weekend %u2026 and it usually a good idea to do so for most of us, then I list a mixture of 3-7 days listings.

MONTH OF YEAR:
If you want to catch the seasonal trends, then September to Mid December are the best months to trade for items that could be "gifts".
Also my sales between January and May always seem to be good - with a natural lull between May and August for the Holiday season %u2026 obviously if your products satisfy this holiday market, then your trends will be different.

An interesting trend is that more and more items are been bought online between Christmas and the New Year - I guess more people have Christmas money to spend - and everyone is at home and using the Internet when they get bored!

SUMMARY:
Well basically chart your own sales days, understand what works best for you - and use it. But as a general rule of thumb - put in extra effort between September and May, between Tuesday and Thursday and in the morning.

Happy eBaying!

These are great for making the most of the opportunity that eBay has to offer.