Selling on Ebay
I started to sell on Ebay, just cleaning out old toys, clothes, shoes and books. Who knew those toys that were collecting dust in the basement for 5 years were worth so much?? EBAY is the prime source for buyers to buy something if it is sold out or no longer in stock at the stores. I was silently kicking myself for loading up box after box to goodwill in the years earlier. Oh Well. To be honest, this was kind of fun as I knew I was cleaning out the house while making some money. So here are the things I wish someone would have told me when I started.
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- If you are a new seller, your money will be in limbo for the first several transactions until you are established. This could take a week or two, but once that process is finished and you have established that you are not a scammer, you are home free. 🙂
2. Invest in a food scale or smaller weight scale and use a yard stick to measure whatever your selling. E-bay will want to know the weight, height, length and width. Don’t just assume that the populated weight and measurements are correct. This will save a ton of money on out of pocket shipping costs.
3. DO some research on what you have. People love old game systems, toys, books, trading cards. You name it, someone is probably looking for it.
4. Take great pictures and give a great explanation to say what makes your item unique. Do you have a signed copy? Is it a specific type of format ?
5. Wait!! Sometimes, the market is just too saturated for what you have to sell. Do a search for the item on e-bay first to get an estimate on your pricing and if there is too much saturation.
6. I always preferred auctions to buy it now, Auctions can run for 7 or 10 days. Make sure you put the lowest possible price you would take as the starting bid just in case someone comes in at the last minute and buys it.
7. Ebay charges fees. Generally it is 10% of the item you sell when it sells. If you decide to take the item down before the auction is over and someone has already bid, you still may have to pay the 10% to EBAY.
8. If an offer is too good to be true, it usually is. An amazing offer generally comes with someone asking you to text them because they have a question. Don’t do it. It is actually against EBAY policy to talk outside of EBAY and they are likely a scam. Immediately block them.
8. If someone has not paid in 2 days, File a Claim. DO NOT WAIT. There are scammers out there. Once you have filed a claim, EBAY gives them another couple of days to pay. If they don’t pay , EBAY will reimburse your fees.
9. Be Patient. Sometimes it takes time for an item to sell. I have had things listed for 6 months and then all of a sudden it is the hottest ticket item around.
10.. Go to USPS.com and order those free Priority Mail Boxes. Yes, they will deliver them right to your house for FREE. The standard brown cardboard boxes are way too heavy to use. Dollar Tree has great deals on Bubble Mailers Anything weighing over 13 ounces has to be sent priority mail.
When your item sells, you can purchase postage directly from ebay at a discount and then schedule a pick up through USPS.com from your mail carrier for the following day. This saved me hours of driving back and forth to the post office. Now, i just go onto USPS the night before, let them know i have a pick up, print the postage and label from EBAY and place it outside. VOILA. DONE.
I am hoping this helps someone from struggling like I did when i first started selling. Good Luck.
