Like many others, I have always been fascinated with the whole eBay experience. So some years back I decided to take the bull by the horns and investigate it a little further. I went from selling a few odds and sods around the house to rare antiques, artworks and cars. Here are some of the things I learned along the way.
What to sell
To start with, I didn't know what to sell. I didn't want to go and spend a fortune on things I may get stuck with. So I decided to go through my cupboards in the hope of finding one or two things I could test the eBay waters with. I was shocked to realise that after an initial scrounge around my house I had managed to scrape up more than some of my local op shops have in total! Have a look, you'll be surprised. It's a great way to start off.
Also, think about the kinds of things you are interested in. There may be a specific area you'd like to get in to. For me, I chose to sell all manner of items. I used to frequent the local op shops, garage sales, friend's cupboards and antique shops.
Starting price
Do I know what my item is worth? If so, should I list it with a Buy it Now price? Should I start the bidding at 99 cents to attract more buyers? What if I don't get buyers and it sells for 99 cents? This is something I experimented with over the years. I purchased multiple identical items then listed one at 99 cents, the other at a higher price to see what worked the best.
In the end I concluded that it is all about being in the right place at the right time with your item. A classic example of this was an item I relisted 3 times without a sale. The asking price was dropped each time. On the fourth listing it sold for over four times the initial asking price! You will do well on some things, and you will lose on some. That's all part of it. As a general rule though (depending on the specific item), I tended to put in a starting price that I would happily accept as a final sale price. Anything above that was a bonus for me.
Pickup or post
Will my precious item be safe in the post? Do I want to race around packaging it up? Do I want people coming to my house to pick it up? Is it less likely to sell if it's pickup only? I live out in the country. It's not an easy place to find even for locals. Yet I still found that some people were willing to drive hours to pick up something they had paid $15 for. At the end of the day, it is down to your personal preference. On the packaging front, I sent out hundreds of delicate items over the years, and all bar 2 or 3 arrived in tact. You want to make sure that you invest in some decent packaging materials though, and package things to the best of your ability.
Reputation
I noticed after time, that I had a number of followers that purchased off me regularly. I think there were a number of reasons for this. I always described my items as accurately as possible. Even if I didn't know that much about the item, I put in as much information up front as I could. Not only does this help to build you a good reputation, it means you will probably have less questions to answer from prospective buyers. Another reason for my eBay following was the variety of items I sold. I listed all manner of things from cars, right down to statues that sold for 99 cents. I had many people over the years asking me where I sourced my wide variety of items from.
Honesty
Some of the items I sold I knew very little about. After all, I was never an antique buff, yet I sold a lot of antiques.Be honest in your listings. People appreciate that. Don't guess things or make things up. Take additional photos of things if you are unsure, especially brandings or distinguishing features. That way experts can possibly determine details from your photos. And do your homework. Look on the internet for information on branding, dates, pricing etc.
My eBay days were a lot of fun, and some of my good friends today are people I sold things to on eBay. I chose to move on. I wanted to learn new things, and I now have my own work from home business, which I love. But my days of eBaying will always be dear to me.
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