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9/15/2016 7 Things You Need to Know Before You Sell on eBay | ToughNickel
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Be cautious when you begin selling on eBay.
"When I started selling on eBay, I spent a lot of time agonizing overthe wrong details while overlooking some of the most crucialpreparation."
Before you start building youreBay empire, there are a fewitems to consider in laying afirm foundation for your futureprofits. Even if you don't planon establishing an actual eBayempire, a little preparation willgo a long way in saving youtime, lowering your stresslevel, and maybe even savingyou money. When I started oneBay, I spent a lot of timeagonizing over the wrongdetails while overlooking someof the most crucial preparation.To help you avoid the painfulmistakes I made, here are mytop tips for you to considerBEFORE you open your eBayaccount.
Personal or BusinessAccount?
Your first decision is whether to set upas a personal or business account.Unless you have already set up a business entity and are ready to start raking in themoney, start simply with a personal account. If business booms, you can upgrade toa business account later without losing any transaction history. If you already have abusiness entity, either a bricksandmortar retail store or online business, then goahead and set up a business account.
If you want to start a new business and open an eBay business account, then firstmake sure your business is set up legally. This includes registering your businessname with your state and following your state's laws regarding sales tax collection.
Some people want to keep the account they use for personal purchases separatefrom their selling account. The advantages are that it can convey a moreprofessional appearance as well as protecting your privacy by not showing buyersyour list of purchased items.
QuickStart Tip #1: Start simply with a personal account.
Choosing an eBay User Name
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7 Things You Need to Know Before You Sell oneBayUpdated on April 21, 2016
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How to choose a good eBay seller name.
Using Paypal when you sell on eBay.
Some user names make peoplewonder, “What were they thinking???”If you don't want to elicit that type ofresponse from potential buyers, thenchoose a name that people will notfind offensive, is not sexuallysuggestive, and doesn't convey anegative connotation or negativeattitude. Check out eBay's guidelinesto learn their criteria of what is andisn't allowed in user names.
A good user name is important, but don't put off opening an account while you dreamup “the perfect name.” The good news is that eBay will let you change it later if youhave a sudden epiphany after setting up your account. You can change your nameas often as every 30 days (although that won't help you “build a brand”) and yourfeedback will still stay with you.
QuickStart Tip #2: Already have an Amazon seller account or other ecommerce business name? Consider using the same seller name oneBay.
Set Up A PayPal Account
You'll need a PayPal account if youwant to get paid. This is the simplestoption for new merchants, althoughthere are a couple other options if youreally hate PayPal. You can use your personal PayPal account or set up anotherPayPal account for your business.PayPal does allow users to have one personal andone business account, so it's completely legit to have two accounts. Each accountmust have a unique email address, bank account, and credit card associated with it.
If you're not setting up as an official business yet, then I'd suggest also holding off onthe business PayPal accountant and you can change over later. Do be aware thatusing your personal account will show buyers your personal name rather than yourbusiness name on the payments they make to you. If that is a big concern to you,then you'll want to set up as a business with Paypal and eBay. That's more than we'llcover in this article.
Buyers don't incur fees when they use PayPal, but as a seller you will be footing thebill. The current fee is 2.9% plus .30 per transaction, with higher rates forinternational sales and discounted rates for merchants and nonprofits. If this seemshigh to you, remember that all the stores we shop at pay to process the credit cardswe love to use. This is part of the cost of running a retail business and you'll need toaccount for it as an expense and be aware of it when calculating your peritem profit.
QuickStart Tip #3: Start out using your personal PayPal account andupgrade later if the need arises.
PayPal Costs
Per Transaction % of Total Sale
Per Transaction % of Total Sale
.30 2.9%
Buyers Will See Your Return Address
Items you ship out will need a return address. If you don't want that to be your homeaddress, then get a PO Box before you list your first item. I cringed when I realizedthat my full name and home address was going out on the shipping labels I hadprinted up through eBay. It surprised me and scared me a bit to lose that privacy.Now you know and won't be surprised!
You can get a post office box at the US post office, a UPS store, or a variety of otherlocations.USPS post office boxes start as low as $14 for sixmonths, but even thatmay be cost prohibitive if you are only listing items occasionally. You can read moreabout options in my hubpage article "Get a Business Address" by clicking here.
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Shipping what you sell on eBay.
QuickStart Tip #4: Use your home address until you start selling on aregular basis.
Get Shipping Supplies BeforeYou List
When you list an item for sale, you willbe asked to enter the dimensions ofthe box and weight. This means thatyou need to have the item boxed andany cushioning material added beforeyou click to submit the listing. YouMUST weigh & measure thisshipmentready package before youlist the item.
Don't Make My Mistake!
"I was in a hurry and a littleoverwhelmed by the details ofmy first listing on eBay so I just accepted the shipping entries that autopopulated. I was advertising free shipping and figured I could just work outthose pesky little shipping details later. The problem was that the listingautopopulated as "expedited shipping". Shipping that item would havecost me twice the price it sold for! The buyer generously allowed medowngrade to priority mail and receive their item a day later than expectedin return for a small credit for their inconvenience. If the buyer hadn'tagreed to this change, I would have sent the item as promised and sadlyaccepted that large shipping cost as an expensive part of the learningcurve."
Whatever you do – DON'T do what I did! Don't GUESS and don't just accept theoptions that autopopulate based on what other sellers did! This could really mess upyour shipping fees when the item sells. If the buyer is paying, they will expect to paywhat was shown even if the actual cost turns out to be higher. If you are paying, wellyou could end up with a much bigger bill than anticipated! You really can't downgrade the shipping once the item is sold as it isn't fair to a buyer to get an item laterthan they expected.
QuickStart Tip #5: Weigh & measure the shipmentready package beforeyou list the item.
Do You REALLY Want to Sell it For .99?
Think twice before following eBay’s listing advice to start your auction at .99 cents.You'll be safest having the buyer pay shipping costs if you do start with a low bid, sothat a low ending bid doesn't end up costing you shipping and the product cost bothas losses. Bidding wars don't always ensue and as a new seller you don't have theexperience to know which prices are guaranteed to soar and which ones are going tosink you!
If it will break your heart (or your wallet) to sell that low, then you may want set aminimum opening bid. Set it high enough that you will be happy to sell and making aprofit. You don't even have to list your item as an auction. You can use the "Buy itNow" feature, set a price you are comfortable and see what the market says. Thereis also a "Make an Offer" feature you may want to look into using, once you get thehang of the basics.
QuickStart Tip #6: Don't start your auction at .99 cents unless you knowwhat you're doing!
Yup, Ebay Gets Paid, Too
Don't be one of the whiners who say "eBay is a ripoff! I lost money selling my itemson eBay!" Well, if you learn about eBay’s fees before you list your first item, you willknow what to expect!
Understand that the amount an item sells for will not go directly into your pocket asprofit. You will pay eBay for hosting your item, PayPal for processing the payment,
9/15/2016 7 Things You Need to Know Before You Sell on eBay | ToughNickel
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Are you really making money on eBay?
shipping fees to the buyer (if youchoose to pay them), packagingcosts, the cost of the item itself, andany incidentals of business. What'sleft after all that is your profit. Everybusiness has overhead; eCommerceis no different.
eBay charges an “insertion fee” to listthe item and a “final value fee” whenthe sale closes. Those are just thebasic fees and there are additionalfees for other features to help you sellyour items. As of the time of thisarticle and based on auctionstylelistings, the insertion fee was free forup to 20 items per month (with some exclusions) and the final value fee was 10% ofthe total amount of the sale. The “total amount of the sale” is the sales price,shipping, and any other fees you charge the buyer.
Selling on eBay eliminates the need to sit outside at a garage sale all weekend or topay rent and utilities in a standard retail location, but it doesn't guarantee a profitanymore than opening up the doors of a new store in a local mall guarantees a profit.
QuickStart Tip #7: Consider all your expenses when calculating profit.
Insertion Fee Final Value Fee
Insertion Fee Final Value Fee
1st 20 items free each month 10% of total sale
Simple is Good
Although getting started on eBay can seem like a daunting task, you can keep itsimple when starting out and grow your business as you learn. The most importantaspect of selling successfully on eBay is good customer service and positivefeedback, so make that your initial focus of learning. Making money will meannothing if you get poor feedback by disappointing buyers.
For more information, visit eBay's "Learning Center" under the "Customer Service"tab and work your way methodically through the “New to eBay” topics, use their"Search" to find answers to your burning questions and most importantly take a lookat eBay's rules and policies. (A list of links to important eBay seller information isincluded further down the page.)
* This information was updated October 1, 2015.* This information was initiallygathered December, 2012 and is subject to change without notice. All informationshould be verified directly at the eBay site for the most up to date information.
What Should You Sell?
The Free eBay Products Worth Thousands that You CanSell Today: Jumpstart Your Online Selling Career withthe Surprisingly Valuable Merchandise Lying AroundYour Home
I own quite a few of Jordan Malik's books and havelearned a lot from them. They are easy to understand,quick reading, and great references to look back on forreview. He is a trusted source of information for eBay andAmazon sellers.
Buy Now
eBay Tips and Tricks
How To Make Money online by Selling on ebay: Steps to List and Sell YourItems from around the House
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Oy! How do I do it???
Step by Step instructions on howto list and sell on ebay. Includesphoto tutorial!
Choosing a user IDeBay's guidelines for choosing auser id.
eBay: Learning CenterDetailed, stepbystep informationon selling, buying, & increasingsales
Getting started on eBayNew eBay account holdersshould start learning here
Rules & policieseBay's rules and policies for buyers and sellers.
PayPalPayPal is the faster, safer way to send money, make an online payment, receivemoney or set up a merchant account.
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Have you ever sold anything on eBay?
Never and don't want to.
Never and might try
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Yes! I have sold a thing or two (or more!)
Gotta love it! I am an eBay pro!
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Comment on "What You Need to Know BEFORE You Sell oneBay: 7 QuickStart Tips" 10 comments
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Vickiw 3 years ago
Very interesting Hub. I have sold a couple of things, but have come to theconclusion that it is not worth it, as Canada is such a huge country, and ourmailing costs are equally huge! Wish we could sell only in two provinces, asanything beyond that is prohibitive. There must be a secret, but I don't knowit. I do know that if I order used books from my favourite place in ourprovince, they take them to the US, and mail them back from there!
Amanda J Rose 3 years ago from Florida's West Coast
Thanks for commenting, Vickiw. It is nice to know someone is reading! Isthere no way to write in the listing that you will only ship to those 2
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provinces? Any other sellers do that? Many of ours in US say only ship tocontinental United States as our Alaska and Hawaii get price.
Nadia Soto 16 months ago
Very helpful hub page. I am still an individual seller and yes I made about 5shipping mistakes in perhaps 200 or more transactions. I took the loses tomaintain a good reputation, but now I've learned. For example, I made alisting of a furniture item weighing more than 70 lbs. For that, I used the Ebayshipping calculator but it never mentioned that the USPS does not senditems weighing that much. I've had to cancel the transaction because thecustomer was unwilling to pay the real price for shipping it to his place whichis across the nation through a viable service like UPS Ground. Point is, I 'vetaken some hits but my drive to deliver good customer service through fastshipping, proper packaging and knowing all my fees and shipping detailshave all made my business grow. I also sell on swap meets used andworking items, not worth that much but the ones that are of excellent qualityor very specialized, I always sell online. There is always a need of sorts forsomething.
Amanda J Rose 16 months ago from Florida's West Coast
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Nadia! Oy! We learn a lot aboutshipping/mailing items out of painful necessity, eh? May you have continuedecommerce success!
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point2make 15 months ago
This is a good hub. It would be very helpful to anyone wanting to try the eBayway. Most people, I believe, do not take the time to prepare for selling oneBay and get a little overwhelmed and discouraged very quickly. As they say" A little knowledge can go a long way". Well done!
Amanda J Rose 15 months ago from Florida's West Coast
Thank you point2make, I'm glad you found it interesting.
Author
Adrian jones 13 months ago from South Wales
Hi Amanda
A really nice hub filled with great advice. The 99 cent auction is always fatalin the end. I had a really bad experience with trying this and it cost me quite abit of money. Luckily I didn't dwell on it. I've been selling on eBay U.K forabout 15 years and I'm still totally addicted. Keep up the great work!
karlcei 9 months ago from Leesburg, Virginia, USA
This is really a nice story! Though the steps you have described are not hard,but most of the people (who never tried before) don't know the tricks.I amgonna sell something..
Amanda J Rose 9 months ago from Florida's West Coast
You're right, Karlcei, those steps aren't hard. They're just good things somepeople (uhmmm....me!) don't think of before listing on ebay! Have fun andmake some money with your selling!
Author
Daljeet Kaur 5 months ago from India
Nice write up. Thanks for sharing!! These things are actually helpful andneed to keep in mind while selling on ebay and any other online store. Thereare many other people who might be selling the same product as of yours ,so its you who need to be proactively smart to know and plan things.
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