A comment about debt
I feel compelled to comment about something I heard on Dave Ramsey’s radio program. A lady for San Antonio called in with $90,000 worth of credit card debt. Just makes my head swim. Now, I know that my blog is primarily dedicated to helping people learn how to be successful on ebay. However, if there ever was somebody who needed to sell something to make money it is that lady. I would love to hear from anyone who has debt and is working their way out of it. More importantly, I am interested to know what you are doing, and if you think ebay can help you.
Step #3.5 The secret called Picture Manager
Before I go further into the do’s and don’ts of picture taking, I first must make sure that all readers are aware of ebay’s picture manager photo hosting subscription service. My personal opinion is that ebay does little to promote this option-they make more money if the average seller pays per photo. By subscribing to the service you pay a flat fee and can put up to 12 photos per auction, instead of the one free photo and paying per each for additional photos.
The basic subscription fee is currently $9.99 per month with 50 MB of storage space. This is more than adequate space for the part time seller. If you determine that you will have at least 10-20 auctions in a given month it will more than pay for itself. You want as many photos as possible in your auction. More photos will earn you more money-people like to see what they are buying.
Step #3 Buying a Digital Camera
My first digital camera cost over $500. I think it had like 1.5 megapixels or something. It was an Olympus and I loved it. Easy to use and nice software. When we moved in our new house a few years ago one of the moving men stole it. I knew it was stolen because I knew exactly where I had packed it. So, it was necessary that I purchase a new one. When we got around to buying our second digital camera I purchased another Olympus, with 3.2 megapixels, and the price had dropped in a few short years to under $100. This is still the camera I use today.
When purchasing a camera to use on ebay, just look for one that is easy to use. I don’t know that brand is even so important anymore. Most cameras today come with way more megapixel capacity than you will need on ebay. Please note that I am no computer guru, but I do know enough to say that ebay will only reproduce your photos at a certain resolution anyway. So, unless it is for personal photo use don’t spend the extra to get the maximum amount of megapixels. Go cheap. This is one area where I personally would not buy used. I have sold a camera before that was broken and the guy flat out told me he fixes them and resells them on ebay. Now, I don’t want any camera sellers getting mad at me, please. I just know that most cameras nowadays are very cheap, and you can get one brand new.
Another thing, most major electronics retailers will match their competitor’s pricing. What I did was google the exact style of camera I was intending to purchase. Once I found a cheaper price, I printed the page and took it into the store-I think it actually saved me about $20 total. Just keep in mind that it must be from an actual brick-and-mortar store, not a web store. We just did the same thing on our new mattress and saved over $300 (!). Pays to do a little research before you get in the car.
Last, utilize the software that comes with your camera. This will help you crop your photos and tweak them a bit. Take some pictures of your family, some close ups of objects and play with them a bit using your software. I like to think that the photo, once someone has found your auction, is more important than your text. We are an impatient society and chances are we look at the photos prior to even reading anything about the item.
Next lesson, taking photos. Hope to have some do’s and don’t examples.
Step #2 What category to use
To proceed with step #2 you first need to register with ebay, if you have not already done so. This is quick and painless process, the hardest of which will be choosing your ebay name. Since ebay has gotten so large it may be a challenge to get the first name that comes in your head, so you might want to have a few backups before you get to this point.
Do you know what category you would like to list your item in? Ebay tries to help you with this, but I would suggest the old tried and true ‘Advanced Search’. Go to ‘Advanced Search’ and type in exactly what you have to sell, but make sure to check the ‘Completed Items’ box before you press enter. Check the items that have received the highest bids and see what category the sellers listed their item. Based on this research you should get a good idea of where you might get the most traffic.
How do I look up an item? Specifically by title. So, as much as ebay wants to sell you on the fact that listing in multiple categories will get you more bidders, I tend to lean towards the more accurate, descriptive type of title. I think it is the rare buyer who goes in and look at a the entire category, hoping to find one size 8 pair of pants. Instead, they would probably search for ‘The Gap Ladies Size 8 Jeans’. Now, the exception to this may be the collector of something, say, the Barbie Doll collector. This person may look for rare items and the only way to find them is to peruse the entire category. Time consuming but necessary for the buyer looking for something rare.
After you have decided on your title it is time to start typing. Ebay has now simplified the ‘Sell Your Item Form’ into a condensed series of steps, which leaves you little room for error. After you press the ‘Sell’ button on the ebay homepage it will take you to a page where you can press a button that says ‘Keep It Simple’. For the ebay rookie this is what you should do. Very simple and takes little time to complete. Tomorrow I will cover digital cameras and taking pictures, the real meat and potatoes of your auction.
Step #1 What to title your auction
The second step in listing an item is perhaps one of the most important in the whole process…your auction title. If your buyers can’t find your item, you won’t get bids. Period.
Over time your auction titles will come as second nature, specifically if you stick to a few categories on ebay as opposed to selling many types of items. But just beginning, this is one area where it will pay to take your time and do it right. I usually sell designer handbags. A handbag can be called many things: purse, pocketbook, bag, tote, clutch, duffle…you get the picture. If I title my auction this way:
Great Coach Handbag!
Only those looking for a Coach Handbag will pull it up. Those, like myself, who call it a Coach purse will not see your listing. What if I titled the auction this way:
Great Coach Handbag Purse Pocketbook Bag Clutch Tote
This title might cover all your bases but frankly, it looks kind of stupid. Also, tells me little about the purse. What would entice someone to look at a handbag purse pocketbook bag clutch tote? The word great maybe? No thanks, I will pass on this if I am looking. My goal is to give as much correct, non editorial information as possible in the title. Many bidders, will look specifically for one item. In which case, if you are maybe one of three sellers who listed your item exactly how they looked it up, you will really narrow your field of competition. For example:
COACH Legacy Thompson Top Handle Purse NWOT
Now, this title will get me many lookers. It will reel in first those looking for a Coach purse. It will also reel in those looking for a Coach Legacy bag, as there are many styles. It will also find the bidder looking for a Coach Legacy Thompson Top Handle Bag, which will be few but will probably really want this bag. And lastly, it will also attract the bidders who are looking for a like new purse (NWOT means New Without Tags) but hope to get it a bit cheaper than in the store.
To end, I would avoid putting words in your title that your bidders have to decipher. Such as:
GR8 Coach Purse GOT 2C!!!
Huh? If I have to work to read it, I am passing and going on to the next seller. One way to cheat on a title is to once again go to the Advanced Search section of ebay and pull up completed listings for like items as what you are selling. Pick the top three that have received bids and see how they titled their auction. Again, this is a great resource of what has a proven track record of working. Take your time (at first) on this step of auction entry and you will be paid for you efforts.
Finally, you can contemplate a subtitle. For beginner purposes, I would say it is not necessary at first. I will discuss this in depth in a later post.
What keeps people from selling on ebay
Tricia, who writes a great blog on conquering her mountain of debt, wrote that she would like to sell on ebay but is frankly scared of it. I understand why she may feel that way, and many others have the same trepidation. To this group I would like to encourage you to sell one thing. Just one. Not multiple items, just one. And you can pick it from your house.
To start, as I have mentioned before, take a good look at what is surrounding you, perhaps right by your computer. Do you have an old fax machine that you no longer use? An old rotary telephone from your remodel years ago? Or perhaps in your closet-how about that designer handbag (I love this one) you no longer use that is collecting dust? Pick one item, one that you know you paid more than $50 for originally, and get started.
Once you have decided on your item, take it with you and go to the post office and see if you can get a free Priority Mail box. If your item is too big for one of the Priority Mail sizes, try and find another one, hopefully for free. Have the post office weigh your box and have them measure the dimensions for you. Once you have this information, you are ready to get started.
If it is at this point that you start to experience ebay lethargy, push through it. You are only steps from making money. This is all I will write for now, but will continue on with step two tomorrow. If you have a question to this point please email me. I will try to address it before I go on to the next steps.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
If you are just starting on ebay as a seller, I would like to recommend that you visit the auctions of several sellers who are selling items that are similar to what you are hoping to sell. Look at their auctions and check the following:
- How they title their auctions, keywords, capitalization, do they use words like NR, NWT, NIB, etc.?
- What kind of layout do they use to present their auctions? Plain or customized?
- What is the opening bid price? How quickly do they get bids? Do they sell with reserves, BIN or Best Offer?
- Do they have a return policy?
- What is their feedback? How do they respond to feedback left for them?
- How long have they been selling on ebay? Do they buy also?
- Regarding their completed items, are they actually getting bids on all that they sell?
- How do their photos look? How many photos do they post in their auctions?
- Would you feel comfortable doing business with this seller?
- Go to the Advanced Search button on the ebay homepage and add up their completed transactions for the past 30 days. Is that and amount that you would be pleased with making every month?
- Last, would you consider this person a successful ebay seller?
After you have visited the auctions of several sellers, pick one that you like the most. Then in a word, copy what they do. You need not copy their text verbatim, but you can certainly model what you say after them. When I started I watched a seller named ‘tawny’. She very kindly answered some questions for me early on, and I have since referred buyers to her. On occasion I will still ask her a question. I don’t think she is aware of me but I have watched her business and have followed her lead on how she presents her auctions. There is a reason why some sellers are more successful than others, and the key oftentimes is right there on your computer screen.
Buy It Now Pricing
A few years ago ebay added the feature ‘Buy It Now’. This stemmed from what I guess was ebay’s realization that they were losing tons in revenue buy people ending their auctions early and selling the item outright to someone who originally saw it on ebay, and then conducted the transaction via email. Thus, ebay was taken completely out of the loop.
There are occasions when I will utilize this feature. Most often it is when I have what I would consider a hot item. This would be one that I know will generate a lot of buzz from either collectors or avid fans. My buy it now price (or bin as some ebayers like to abbreviate) is for the most part computed in this way: I look at the completed listings for a similar item (if you don’t know how to do that send me an email). Then, I view each thumbnail and try and find the items that are as close to mine in condition as I can, and then compute an average ending sale price for them. This should give you a reasonable sale price to list as a buy it now. Make sure you only use the figures of items that actually sold (the prices are in green, not red).
Many times, usually at the beginning of an auction, I will get emails inquiring about my buy it now price. This happens often because the majority of my auctions start at $9.99. I will always consider a buy it now price, but it is rare that I will accept one. Usually a bidder is looking for a cheap, quick deal (can you blame ‘em?) so you must not get excited and take it without first doing your homework. Utilize the completed auctions method mentioned above and make sure that you are not shortchanging yourself.
One final note: not too long ago I had what I thought was a nice purse listed that I thought would have an ending bid of around $35. Early in the auction a lady emailed me asking me if I would accept a buy it now offer and what would that be. I responded with $35, thinking that I would be pleased with that amount. She never responded to my email, and I thought perhaps she got mildly offended and thought $35 too high. As it turned out, the purse sold for $125. Go figure!!
Questions by Email
How often, have you emailed an ebay seller with a question, and don’t get a response? How often, have you emailed an ebay seller, and you get a five or six word response, that is in all lower case letters? This drives me nuts. If you aren’t scared of this seller after that, you should be. I have many friends who have purchased items on ebay never to hear from the seller, even after they have paid with Paypal. They pay for their item and then fall into the ebay black hole of hope that they will eventually get what they bid on. Most times they do, but sometimes they don’t.
As a seller, I feel that customer service is what sets you apart from you competition. You need to put yourself in the shoes of your buyers–would you feel comfortable paying several hundreds of dollars to someone you don’t know, that won’t return your email? Sounds like a no-brainer, but I am always amazed when I fail to receive a response from a seller.
Perhaps this shows how much I am in the stone age, but I don’t send or receive text messages on my cell phone. As a result, I tend to write in complete sentences, using proper spelling (I hope) and punctuation (I hope even more). In addition, I try to type with proper capitalization, i.e., not in all lower case letters. So, when responding to an interested bidder’s question, remember it may be me, and my brain does not understand, “r u interested?”. Wait, interested my be too big of a word.
Last, as a seller you need to comtemplate a return policy. For now that is all I will say, just know that if you are currently bidding on an item of mine trust that your satisfaction is my number one priority.
“Learn How eBay Sellers are Making $120,000 a Year!”
Boy, I wish I could tell you how they do it. Because I cannot, I feel compelled to comment on this statement. This morning my husband pointed out this very phrase that appeared in a paid advertisement in our local paper. You can call and reserve a free seat to learn the secrets of some seasoned ebay pros in a short two hours. Wow…sign me up! Only two hours? But don’t some people endure eight years of college and still don’t make $120,000 a year? The bottom line is of course you won’t make $120,000 a year on ebay, at least not at first. Is it possible? Yes, but likely not to happen after a short two hour seminar. I have signed up for the course, and am now awaiting my “kit” that the operator assured me would answer all my questions. So, once I get the kit, I will give you my thoughts.
The fact is that if it were that easy to make $120,000 per year on ebay the entire economy of the United States would crumble because so many people would be bailing on their regular jobs to sell full-time on ebay. Yes, there are people who make $120,000 and then some on ebay. But, they are not as plentiful as this advertisement leads you to believe. Is it possible to make a very respectable amount on ebay? You bet. Enough to send your family on a nice vacation every year? You bet. Could you buy a car with what you make on ebay? You bet. Pay your child’s college tuition? Yes, if you work hard enough. Can you make $250 this month on ebay? Absolutely, this is an attainable goal. What you need to know is that ebay is indeed work, and you must be dedicated in order to succeed. My guess is that this “kit” of ebay nuggets will without a doubt mention drop shipping goods and where you never have to store, handle or even touch any of the items that you sell. Very risky, and you should proceed with caution prior to getting into something like this. There are reputable suppliers out there that you can find with internet research. But, that is not the only way to get items to sell. As mentioned before, your own home is a wealth of supply. You just gotta look. Have questions on what will sell? Send me an email.
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