How To Make Money Selling on Ebay | How To Sell on Ebay

Before you can buy or sell on eBay, you have to register an account with eBay. But BEFORE you set up your eBay member account, here are two things to consider first.

1) What email address you will use; and
2) What is your User ID.

You should avoid using a free email address for your eBay account if at all possible.

The best solution is to use an email address on your own domain.

The second best solution is one with your internet service provider (ISP).

The final and least favorable solution is to use a free email address such as hotmail, yahoo mail, or gmail.

I recommend using separate email addresses on the same domain for your eBay and PayPal accounts (we'll talk about PayPal later). This will help you keep your auction and payment communications separate.

Although this lens primarily focuses on how to sell items on eBay like a pro, you first need to understand the buying process and experience being an eBay buyer first.

Being an eBay buyer first will allow you to become comfortable with using eBay and also knowing how you want and need to be treated as a customer so you can carry that over when you become a professional eBay seller to the online world.

So, to help get you started, the next section will provide you with some quick links, tools and resources to get you started as a successful eBay Buyer!

You are going to want to "brand" yourself in a way that your customers remember and recognize you. Your eBay User ID and, if you decide to use a Domain Name, are both very important elements of the branding process.

You can change your eBay User ID later but it's best to avoid it if possible. Changing your eBay User ID may result in your customers not being able to find your auctions later and customers don't like changes anyway :-)

Here are a few quick tips when choosing your eBay User ID and a domain name:

1) Keep it short & memorable. Try for a domain name that is no longer than 3 to four words long. If you can find one shorter, you've probably found GOLD :-)

2) Try and use keywords that describe what you are selling or the general industry you are selling to. Try not to get too specific unless you never plan on changing what you are selling!

3) Search eBay, Google, Yahoo & MSN and see what others have come up with who are selling in the same industry as you and take notes!

When you are ready to get your own domain name and email accounts, I personally use and highly recommend www.GoDaddy.com.


Now that you have an email address and User ID, you are now ready to become a registered eBay member in order to buy or sell on eBay. Registering on eBay is easy and free!



Click Here to register on eBay.

The most common and effective method of payment used on eBay is through PayPal.com. Before you buy or sell on-line, especially on eBay, you should set up an account at PayPal.com.

The more payment options you offer potential customers, the more sales you will make.

PayPal is the standard method of electronic payment on eBay. If you don't offer PayPal as a payment option, you will never make a sale to these people.

PayPal is also the easiest way for you to accept credit cards and electronic checks as payment for your auctions.

PayPal and eBay have tracking mechanisms that interact with each other in a way that makes managing sales, payments, and shipping a breeze.

You should set up a PayPal account as soon as possible, because the verification process may take a few days.

At a minimum you should offer check, money order, and PayPal as payment options on all of your auctions. (However, you shouldn't accept checks from foreign bidders.)

A word of caution about accepting Checks and Money Orders...be sure the buyer/seller has good feedback before accepting this form of payment. There has been a lot of buyers and sellers who have been taken with bad checks and fake money orders.

When you start selling on eBay, get your account upgraded to the "Business" account which will give you more flexibility and protection with your on-line transactions.

Here are some quick links to help get you started at PayPal:

Pay Online:
* Learn how PayPal works.
* Shop without exposing your financial information.
* Send money to friends and family around the world.

Shop Online:
* Accept payments for your eBay listings.
* Start accepting credit cards on your website.
* See all the ways to get paid online.

>> Join PayPal Today! <<

While the online garage sale approach can be profitable, you are likely to have more success on eBay if you specialize in a particular type of product.

Your customers will learn to associate your specialty with your User ID, and will remember you when they are shopping for those types of products again.

You should start by exploring your areas of personal interest.

* What are you an expert at?
* What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Simply answering those two questions is often enough to identify a niche that could be a goldmine for you.

After answering those questions, you will conduct a search of both active and completed auctions to see what related products are in demand and bringing a price that will adequately pay for your time. (We'll discuss how to do this shortly :)

It is important to note that if a lot of products in your chosen specialty are going unsold, or are selling at well below their value, then you need to find a different specialty.

Spend as much time on this as necessary. Diving into a market blind could result in a big investment with little return and a lot of unsold items collecting dust in your garage.

If you're having trouble identifying a niche, just take a look around your house.

Do you have lots of old books or record albums? Look them up on eBay and see what they're selling for. Go ahead and auction some to test the waters.

Do you have old collectibles, Christmas ornaments, or china boxed up and in storage? Dig it out and research it on eBay.

You may have thousands of dollars in your attic and not even know it.

Exploring what you have in your house could reveal a hot product that you might otherwise not have thought of.

Are there products manufactured in your area that you can buy wholesale and pick up locally? By not having to pay freight, you may be able to undercut competing sellers.

Explore everything you can think of and research it fully against what is selling and what it's selling for before diving in head first. This will save you a lot of money and frustration later.

Ebay makes it very easy to learn how your items should be priced and I am going to reveal some so called PowerSeller secrets here so pay attention :-)

Pricing begins with RESEARCH on eBay.
There is no better way to determine the price of any item than getting the information directly from the eBay community itself.

First, look at current and active eBay listings & Take Notes!
Start a spreadsheet and make notes about active listings, including:
* What category the item is listed in
* Title being used
* Auction Type (is it a Buy-It-Now with a fixed price, is it a Store item or is it an auction style listing)
* Price of the Item
* Pictures of the Item (are they good, bad, how many included, none included, etc.)
* How long is the listing running for (one, three, five, seven or ten days?)
* Shipping: type of shipping offered, price of shipping, etc.
* Return Policies
* Seller Feedback

Second, look at completed eBay listings & Take More Notes!
* Pay close attention to which items sold and in what price range.
* Also look at the ones that did not sell to see if you can determine why (i.e., listing was poor, poor category choice, title was poor, no pictures, etc.)
* Pay particular attention to those that did sell and determine why they sold (i.e., title, layout, pricing, shipping, pictures, category, return policy, etc.)
* Make sure you are comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges!

Not sure how to search for completed items? Well here ya go :-)


1) Login to your eBay Account (this information is only available to registered eBay users)

2) Click on the "Advanced Search" link at the top right of most eBay pages.

3) Type your keywords for the item in the search box form.

4) Select the "Completed Listings Only" box in the "Advanced Search" form.

5) Select any other criteria you would like and Click the "Search" button.

Here is where I will have some great FREE resources for Buyers & Sellers. Keep an eye on this section as I'll continue adding great resources for Buyers and Sellers to get started! Leah :-)

eBay's Official Buying Guide: Buying on eBay couldn't be easier. Just follow these 4 steps - Register, Browse or Search, Bid or Buy, and Pay - then you're ready to go. Visit now...

eBay's Official Selling Guide: Learn how to sell on eBay. Visit now...

1. EDUCATION SPECIALIST PROGRAM: If you like helping others learn how to eBay and supplement your own income, you may want to consider eBay's Education Specialist Program. This is a self paced online training course that will show you how to become an independent trainer to be able to teach others how to buy and sell on eBay. This course will provide you with the same materials used at eBay University. Click Here to Learn More at http://www.ebay.com/esp

2. TRADING ASSISTANT PROGRAM: Many small businesses can benefit from selling their wares on eBay but simply don't have the time or resources to do it themselves. Trading Assistants are experienced eBay sellers who handle every aspect of selling items on eBay for others. Click Here to Learn More at http://pages.ebay.com/tahub/index.html

3. CERTIFIED PROVIDER PROGRAM: eBay offers two types of certified providers: (1) Certified Service Providers; and (2) Certified Solutions Providers. Service Providers give nontechnical services such as helping with listings, providing recommendations on the best ways to sell items on eBay, designing templates, etc. Solution providers help with technical issues, such as custom software development that integrates with eBay's development platform. Click Here to Learn More at http://developer.ebay.com/programs/certifiedprovider/

4. HOW TO MAKE A FULL-TIME LIVING FROM ONLINE AUCTIONS: Sky High Auctions is an educational program intended for new eBay sellers who are interested in receiving step-by-step instructions on how to set up and run a profitable eBay business the right way. The course is given by 15 Ebay PowerSellers and they reveal how they raked in over $11,726,200. This is an extremely comprehensive training course and the only one like it currently available online that teaches you step-by-step how to make a full-time living from online auction sites. You also learn how to use the web's most powerful software for automating important aspects of your business. If you are truly interested in starting and growing a solid business with online auctions, I highly recommend checking out Sky High Auctions. Click Here to Learn More at http://SkyHighAuctions.com



My Favorite Is Sky High Auctions