I have made a lot of money using eBay.
This is a guide to the things you need to know before trying your hand at selling on eBay.
The first thing to know is how eBay works.
eBay is an primarily an auction website where customers can bid on items.
The winner of the bid is the person who bid more than the other bidders before the auction closes.
You the seller can choose to list items for auction for either 3 or 7 days.
eBay charges you a fee to sell your products on their website.
You are not charged an insertion fee (the fee for placing and item on their website) on the first 50 items you list but you are charged a final value fee (a percentage of what your item sold for).
The total of the insertion fee and the final value fee are usually no more than 15% of the total price the item is sold for.
There is a calculator that will help you calculate your fees.
You can also list items as Buy it now.
The Buy it now option lets you set a price for you item and the customer does not have to wait for the auction to end they can just buy the item now and the auction will end.
Another type of buying feature eBay offers is fixed price listing.
A fixed price listing allows you to sell your item for one price and not put it up for auction.
Again, you are charged a fee based on how you list your item but eBay shows you that cost before you list.
The last feature eBay offers is that you can also choose to open a store and set prices for you items.
I have a basic eBay store which only cost me $16 a month and people can click on my store and see lots of products instead of just one.
Also if you build up a rapport with customer they will continue to purchase from your store.
Secondly, you need to know how you are going to get paid.
With eBay you have to have a PayPal account.
You can get a PayPal account for free.
PayPal is a lovely system they set up to work in tandem with eBay.
PayPal also charges you a fee for handling your PayPal account.
When PayPal takes a payment for you they will charge you a fee of about 3.
5%.
There is no charge to transfer this money to your bank account, credit card, debit card, or prepaid debit card.
However, you will have to wait 7 to 15 days until they can be sure the customer has delivered the item.
There is a way to shorten this time.
If you post the tracking information for what you have shipped or what your drop shipper shipped you will get the funds 3 days after it has been delivered to the customer.
So what exactly is drop shipping? Drop shipping is when a company has items in a warehouse and they allow you to sell the product on their behalf at a fraction of the manufacture suggested price.
You are able to sell a product that you do not actually own.
The company will drop the shipment in the mail for you.
The way this works is that the drop ship company will offer you pictures of their products and a description.
The drop ship company will sell the product to you at almost wholesale cost.
You then list the product on eBay at a little under the suggested retail price.
The customer will pay a higher price than the cost that the drop ship company sales the product to you for and you keep the difference between the actual price the customer pays and what the drop ship company charged you.
With that being said if you are using the drop shipping method remember you will not get paid until the customer receives the item so you will need to pay the cost for the item yourself.
Do not pay the cost for the item and have it shipped to the customer until PayPal tells you the payment has cleared.
In the end, the customer will get a discount by purchasing the product lower than the manufactures SRP so they will be happy and you will make a profit from the difference of the amount you sold the product for.
Best practice is to get the customer to pay the shipping charge if one is charged from your drop shipper.
Remember eBay does not pay you upfront the customer has to receive the merchandise first so you pay for the item with your own money which includes any taxes, shipping or other fees charged by your drop shipper.
Okay here comes the BEWARE warning.
Some drop shippers will try to scam you.
Look for eBay approved drop ship programs.
Do your research because some charge large fees just to see their list only to find they do not have any products anyone wants to buy.
Secondly you want to make sure that your customers are going to receive the merchandise.
Although they will be able to get their money back from PayPal, your eBay ratings will go down and you could be suspended as a buyer.
The difference between drop shipping and reselling is that a drop shipper never has possession of the item.
The drop ship company ships directly to your customer.
As a reseller you have to warehouse the items and ship them yourself.
If you are reselling things on eBay, you have an item to list that has been purchased by you to list on eBay to sell.
The cost for listing is the same whether you are a drop shipper or reseller.
Some of the items I have sold as a reseller have been hand me down clothing for children, old games like psp's when a new one was purchased, washer and dryer for local pick up, and other electronics like phones and cameras.
As a reseller anytime you make a sell you will need to ship it.
Now let's get your item shipped.
When you list an item eBay ask you how you want to ship it.
When you put in the item details and how you plan to ship it eBay will calculate the shipping for you.
Unless you are getting your items at a really good deal I suggest charging the shipping to the customer but you have the option to ship the item for free.
If you are drop shipping, the drop shipper will let you know the amount you need to pay for shipping.
When the item sells eBay the shipping amount will be adjusted if it cost more to ship to the buyer.
If you are a reseller you can pay the shipping fees from eBay and have the shipping fee paid before your item is even in the box.
You can use many different shipping methods.
I prefer USPS with delivery confirmation.
It's the cheapest but you can choose UPS or Fedex.
You can set up pick-ups for USPS, UPS, and Feded from your home or office location, just check with the shippers on how to set that up.
Your shipping method will largely depend on whether you are a drop shipper or reseller and the size and type of item.
7 Good Practice tips for a successful eBay business -Use a reputable drop ship company that will provide you with tracking information.
-Beware of drop ship companies that you do not have a contact phone number for you to speak to someone directly.
-Make sure to list tracking numbers in eBay or PayPal so that you can get your payment as soon as possible.
-Do not ship anything until eBay and PayPal show they have the funds for the items.
-Always try to give feedback even if your customer does not.
Just mention that the transaction went smooth or the buyer's funds were received in a timely manner.
This will help the buyers rating and they will be more likely to buy from you again.
Some buyers are only occasional or new shoppers on eBay so they may not leave a comment.
That's okay you should still make it a habit to comment.
-Remember you don't want to lose any credibility as a seller so make sure that when your customer receives their products they are in good condition and in working order unless you specifically state not working for parts only.
-Even if you are working with a drop shipper, if your customer received an item that is not in working order work hard to correct the problem.
Even if you have to pay out of pocket your credibility as a seller is what will keep your eBay business thriving.
This is a guide to the things you need to know before trying your hand at selling on eBay.
The first thing to know is how eBay works.
eBay is an primarily an auction website where customers can bid on items.
The winner of the bid is the person who bid more than the other bidders before the auction closes.
You the seller can choose to list items for auction for either 3 or 7 days.
eBay charges you a fee to sell your products on their website.
You are not charged an insertion fee (the fee for placing and item on their website) on the first 50 items you list but you are charged a final value fee (a percentage of what your item sold for).
The total of the insertion fee and the final value fee are usually no more than 15% of the total price the item is sold for.
There is a calculator that will help you calculate your fees.
You can also list items as Buy it now.
The Buy it now option lets you set a price for you item and the customer does not have to wait for the auction to end they can just buy the item now and the auction will end.
Another type of buying feature eBay offers is fixed price listing.
A fixed price listing allows you to sell your item for one price and not put it up for auction.
Again, you are charged a fee based on how you list your item but eBay shows you that cost before you list.
The last feature eBay offers is that you can also choose to open a store and set prices for you items.
I have a basic eBay store which only cost me $16 a month and people can click on my store and see lots of products instead of just one.
Also if you build up a rapport with customer they will continue to purchase from your store.
Secondly, you need to know how you are going to get paid.
With eBay you have to have a PayPal account.
You can get a PayPal account for free.
PayPal is a lovely system they set up to work in tandem with eBay.
PayPal also charges you a fee for handling your PayPal account.
When PayPal takes a payment for you they will charge you a fee of about 3.
5%.
There is no charge to transfer this money to your bank account, credit card, debit card, or prepaid debit card.
However, you will have to wait 7 to 15 days until they can be sure the customer has delivered the item.
There is a way to shorten this time.
If you post the tracking information for what you have shipped or what your drop shipper shipped you will get the funds 3 days after it has been delivered to the customer.
So what exactly is drop shipping? Drop shipping is when a company has items in a warehouse and they allow you to sell the product on their behalf at a fraction of the manufacture suggested price.
You are able to sell a product that you do not actually own.
The company will drop the shipment in the mail for you.
The way this works is that the drop ship company will offer you pictures of their products and a description.
The drop ship company will sell the product to you at almost wholesale cost.
You then list the product on eBay at a little under the suggested retail price.
The customer will pay a higher price than the cost that the drop ship company sales the product to you for and you keep the difference between the actual price the customer pays and what the drop ship company charged you.
With that being said if you are using the drop shipping method remember you will not get paid until the customer receives the item so you will need to pay the cost for the item yourself.
Do not pay the cost for the item and have it shipped to the customer until PayPal tells you the payment has cleared.
In the end, the customer will get a discount by purchasing the product lower than the manufactures SRP so they will be happy and you will make a profit from the difference of the amount you sold the product for.
Best practice is to get the customer to pay the shipping charge if one is charged from your drop shipper.
Remember eBay does not pay you upfront the customer has to receive the merchandise first so you pay for the item with your own money which includes any taxes, shipping or other fees charged by your drop shipper.
Okay here comes the BEWARE warning.
Some drop shippers will try to scam you.
Look for eBay approved drop ship programs.
Do your research because some charge large fees just to see their list only to find they do not have any products anyone wants to buy.
Secondly you want to make sure that your customers are going to receive the merchandise.
Although they will be able to get their money back from PayPal, your eBay ratings will go down and you could be suspended as a buyer.
The difference between drop shipping and reselling is that a drop shipper never has possession of the item.
The drop ship company ships directly to your customer.
As a reseller you have to warehouse the items and ship them yourself.
If you are reselling things on eBay, you have an item to list that has been purchased by you to list on eBay to sell.
The cost for listing is the same whether you are a drop shipper or reseller.
Some of the items I have sold as a reseller have been hand me down clothing for children, old games like psp's when a new one was purchased, washer and dryer for local pick up, and other electronics like phones and cameras.
As a reseller anytime you make a sell you will need to ship it.
Now let's get your item shipped.
When you list an item eBay ask you how you want to ship it.
When you put in the item details and how you plan to ship it eBay will calculate the shipping for you.
Unless you are getting your items at a really good deal I suggest charging the shipping to the customer but you have the option to ship the item for free.
If you are drop shipping, the drop shipper will let you know the amount you need to pay for shipping.
When the item sells eBay the shipping amount will be adjusted if it cost more to ship to the buyer.
If you are a reseller you can pay the shipping fees from eBay and have the shipping fee paid before your item is even in the box.
You can use many different shipping methods.
I prefer USPS with delivery confirmation.
It's the cheapest but you can choose UPS or Fedex.
You can set up pick-ups for USPS, UPS, and Feded from your home or office location, just check with the shippers on how to set that up.
Your shipping method will largely depend on whether you are a drop shipper or reseller and the size and type of item.
7 Good Practice tips for a successful eBay business -Use a reputable drop ship company that will provide you with tracking information.
-Beware of drop ship companies that you do not have a contact phone number for you to speak to someone directly.
-Make sure to list tracking numbers in eBay or PayPal so that you can get your payment as soon as possible.
-Do not ship anything until eBay and PayPal show they have the funds for the items.
-Always try to give feedback even if your customer does not.
Just mention that the transaction went smooth or the buyer's funds were received in a timely manner.
This will help the buyers rating and they will be more likely to buy from you again.
Some buyers are only occasional or new shoppers on eBay so they may not leave a comment.
That's okay you should still make it a habit to comment.
-Remember you don't want to lose any credibility as a seller so make sure that when your customer receives their products they are in good condition and in working order unless you specifically state not working for parts only.
-Even if you are working with a drop shipper, if your customer received an item that is not in working order work hard to correct the problem.
Even if you have to pay out of pocket your credibility as a seller is what will keep your eBay business thriving.