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Selling Please note that the following is just some advice and guidance to help you around eBay. I shall be updating it from time to time so please be sure to come back.
Getting Started
In order to begin selling you must set up a sellers account. If you do not have an eBay account you must first do that. Click here to register on eBay.co.uk. If you already have an eBay account then you just need to click on the "Sell" button and follow the instructions. You shall need to provide credit card details for security reasons. Once your sellers account has been set up you can begin selling but it is important to take into consideration a few other things before you begin. Please be aware that eBay charges not only a listing fee but also a selling fee. I was not aware of that when I first started on eBay. Click here to view all fees. You can calculate how much you shall pay in fees by using the fee calculator found on this page.
Start off by selling something small and inexpensive. This way you shall become more familiar with how eBay works. A video or DVD that you no longer watch, that blouse that you have never worn etc. You first few items do not have to make you a fortune and should be considered more as an experience provider than a money provider. Do a little research on similar items to your own. Search the completed listing to get a better understanding of what kind of price you can expect. You can also form an idea of the kind of description you would like. Make notes of other peoples descriptions when doing your research. That information can be useful when it comes to designing your own listing.
Use your kitchen scales to weigh your item, including the packaging. Then you can quickly check up on the Royal Mail website to see how much postage shall cost. You may want to give your buyers the option of choosing which service they would prefer. However, I would recommend quoting the recorded delivery price so that the item is both traceable and insured. Remember to include the cost of the envelope in with the postage costs. Do not rip people off with excessive postage costs though. It is not nice when it happens to you.
Just to clarify the difference between description and listing. The description is the part that informs potential buyers what it is your selling. The listing includes the description and everything else such as postage costs, terms and conditions, payment methods, refund policy etc. Take your time with the description and make sure it is factual and not miss-leading in anyway. You should state the condition of the item and any flaws or imperfections it may have. There is nothing worst than seeing an item description with lots of spelling mistakes so be sure to use a spell checker - though that may knot always bee enough ;-) In the listing, make sure to include your terms and conditions, postage costs, the postal service you shall use, payment methods and refund policy, if any. You stand a much better chance of selling the item if potential buyers have all the information about it at their fingertips. Don't try to run before you can walk. Take your time to look at all the different options available. You may find some useful pictures to include on your listing here I use Turbo Lister to design my listings. This enables me to work off line and you can use the templates free of charge. Turbo Lister is free of charge so it is well worth trying. I am sure you shall not regret it.
May sound silly but you should plan when you are going to start your listing. Bear in mind that the auction shall finish 3, 5, 7 or 10 days from the time you start it (once you have 10 in positive feedback you can do one day auctions also). I remember reading somewhere that Sunday's are a good day to end a listing. There are a lot of people looking on eBay on Sundays especially a rainy Sunday - not that you shall be able to predict the weather. In saying this, it really all depends on what you are selling. Obviously you want as many people to view your listing as possible so try and avoid starting a listing too late on in the evening. Otherwise, you may not receive so many last minute bids.
I personally start all my listings at 99p. I think that this attracts a lot of early bidders and people tend to add my item to their items watched list. In saying this, I have researched my market area quite well and know roughly how much my items shall sell for and I rarely make a great loss. Researching your market area is very important if you want to become a successful eBayer. When deciding your starting price bear in mind the starting price fees. Not so very important if you are only planning to sell a few items but the pennies soon mount up if you plan to sell your wardrobe or video collection. For example, starting a listing at £4.99 as oppose to £5.00 shall save you 15p. Starting a listing at £14.99 instead of £15.00 shall save you 40p. You can view the starting price fees, and all of eBay's other fees here
Always request that the buyer sends the item number and delivery address when sending payment by post. Paypal - Paypal can be quite expensive but it is both the quickest and most convenient method of payment. Paypal fees for accepting payments are 3.9% + £0.20. In short that is around 50p for every £10 you receive. Add this together with you eBay listing and sellers fees it can soon mount up. It can also take 5-7 working days for the money to transfer from your Paypal account to you bank account. This is quite a long time in my opinion. You can sign up for Paypal here. It is a fast, easy, and secure way to receive payments. Cheque - If you don't mind popping down to the bank everytime you receive a cheque then this is not a bad method. A little bit too cumbersome for my liking though. I like to send the items out ASAP but with a cheque you have to wait around 5 days for it to clear. Postal Orders - Similar to sending a cheque but the seller should send the items as soon as he receives the Postal Order. Bank Transfer - This method, I believe, should be used a lot more. The seller would send the buyer their bank details and the buyer would then transfer the money directly into the seller's bank account. No fees, no foul - as long as both banks are in the UK. Although it can take a couple of days for the funds to show up on the sellers account, it is still quicker and more convenient than sending a cheque or postal order. Cash - I have been told, on great authority, that this payment method is no longer accepted on eBay. You can not request a buyer to send you cash as payment. I presume Cash on Delivery shall still be ok though.
Now that you have sold your item, what next? Well, the first thing to do is to send the buyer an invoice which should confirm the total cost of the transaction including postage. When you have received payment ensure that you send the item in a timely manner. You may wish to email the buyer to inform them when you have sent the goods. Use adequate packaging so that the item does not get damaged.
I personally wait to leave feedback until I have received it from the buyer. This, to me, confirms that the transaction is complete and the buyer is happy. Not everyone thinks like this though and some people think that the seller should leave feedback once payment has been received. This, in my opinion, leaves you open to feedback abuse or buyers not bothering to leave you feedback. There is no right or wrong way though so you should leave feedback when you feel appropriate. Make sure your feedback is factual and truthful.
If after seven days you have yet to receive payment and the buyer has not responded to your invoice and/or subsequent emails then you should "Report an Unpaid Item". This can be found on the sold listing. If the buyer, after 8 days, has still not replied then you can claim the sellers fees back from eBay and cancel the transaction. However, you can not claim your listing fee back. You should not be afraid to leave negative feedback if you feel the buyer has not full filled their side of the transaction. Be warned though, they may leave you negative feedback in return. Often a quicker way to get help, than waiting for an automated email from eBay, is to post a question on the eBay discussion boards. There are usually many helpful experts there that can provide you with advice and guidance. A lot of people use another username to post messages on these boards as there are some funny people out there that get their kicks from sabotaging other peoples auctions. You can Register a new username here Unfortunately, you can not always please all of the people, all of the time. Some buyers expect far too much and react rather oddly and/or abusively if their expectations are not met. Don't take it personally if a buyer f's and blinds at you. Report them to eBay instead
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