50 Tips and Tools for Selling on The New eBay

Free eBay tips and eBay tools and services to help eBay sellers build a profitable eBay business
Whether you're a casual seller, or looking to build an eBay business, you will first need to master the "basics" of successful selling. These tips, techniques, and suggestions are a good start—but it's just the tip of the iceberg of what you can learn to increase your eBay success.

1. Buy on eBay before you sell

I get emails from people all the time wanting to know how to make money selling on eBay. The first question I ask them is if they have bought anything on eBay. Amazingly a lot of them say no.  You really need to buy on eBay to understand how the platform works and what eBay looks like from the buyer's point of view. You will never be successful selling on eBay until you learn to buy.

2. Learn to sell on eBay by selling on eBay

The best way to start selling on eBay is to actually start selling on eBay. Yes, there are some things to learn, but take your time, look at the eBay help files (and these tips) and just start selling. You will make some mistakes—we all do. But don't get frustrated or give up. You will get better with experience.
Also, selling will make you a better buyer. You will understand things from the seller's point of view and learn other ways to spot bargains.

3. The best types of products to sell on eBay

Everyone wants to sell the latest consumer product, but the truth is there is a lot of competition from established sellers and even big online companies that have special deals with eBay. The best item to sell on eBay is something used or a very specialized (niche) product that few others are selling.
You can buy virtually anything used: clothing, books, computers, DVDs, Stereo equipment, and so on. If you are going to sell new goods, make sure you can buy them cheaply enough to sell and make a profit. One source is the closeout and liquidation companies that sell overstocks and seasonal items returned by department stores. Here is a link to a Free Wholesale Search Engine. I also offer an inexpensive product called My Top 99 Wholesale Sources for eBay Sellers. This is a great place to find good wholesale sources that will work with eBay sellers.  These are not perfect or complete resources—they are just a place to start.  Be a little careful with the Wholesale Search Engine. It is a search engine and I can't control what shows up there. So just because a company comes up in a search that doesn't mean I endorse it.
Another great product area is consumables. The idea here is to get repeat business via your website from customers who buy from you on eBay. One of the best selling products from The Auction Seller's Resource is the Wholesale Buying System (WBS). This tells you how, what, and where to buy products to sell on eBay. The WBS comes with access to a members-only website where you can access thousands of wholesale companies directly. The website is updated monthly to add new sources.

4. Master niche marketing and specialize for success

This is home-plate for your success strategy. Find your own niche. Define your market. Then you can know the type of person you're going to be selling to and the types of product you want to sell. You will also have less competition.
Forget trying to sell computers, digital cameras, iPods and plasma TVs. There is no way you can compete with the big guys unless you have tons of money. And those drop ship web sites and programs that claim to have those products are mostly scams. Find a small niche --or several small niches that you can dominate.
Along with being in a superior position to take advantage of repeat business, the benefits from becoming specialized are endless. If you know more about your product area, you will be able to buy at better prices and people who sense you specialize in something will be more comfortable buying from you.

5. Become an expert in your field

Become an authority on what you do in your online auction business. It doesn’t matter if you sell fishing lures, ink cartridges or collectible glass -- you want to be thought of before anyone else.
When you become an authority in your field, a whole new universe of business and opportunity is opened up to you. I buy certain types of things on eBay from the same sellers over and over. I wouldn't dare do business with anyone else, not when they have proven themselves and their product.
You want to earn that same type of position in the minds of eBayer's for your niche. Also continue your auction education. Read books and training manuals, visit the chat and message boards, attend an eBay University when it comes to your town, go to eBay Live, and keep learning all the time.

6. Increase sales by putting audio in your auctions

I began using audio (voice) in my auctions in May of 2004. I saw an immediate increase in sales. For example, I sell expensive fire pit barbeques ($200+). Before using audio, I was selling one or two a week. Once I put audio in my auctions I started selling almost one a day. The same thing happened with my EZ Cube Photo Studios. I was selling about two a week on eBay. When I added audio to my auctions with Seller's Voice, my sales more than doubled. Now I sell at least four and sometimes five or six units a week.
We also sell Starbucks collectibles. I ran a test of identical auctions with and without audio. Every auction with audio got more bidders and sold for a higher price—in some cases as much as 22 percent higher!
I use a company called Seller's Voice for my audio. It is so easy. I just dial an 800 number, record my message and then go to their website and copy a short line of code to paste into my auction. If you launch your auction first, you can also record the message and just type the auction number into the phone and they will paste it in for you.

7. Get a sales tax number

Contact the sales tax authority in your county or state offices to get a sales tax number. This enables you to buy from many wholesale companies that would not deal with you otherwise.
If you are not sure who to contact in your state, just call your local chamber of commerce and they will advise you or give you the phone number or website address to register. If you go to the FREE Articles page on our web site there is an article on state sales taxes with a link to all of the state websites where you can apply on line.

8. Automate your auctions

Automate your auctions with an auction management service. I have tried several companies and have finally settled on Vendio. They provide auction templates where you type in your headlines and text, insert your images, set your price, terms, length of auction, and schedule your auctions to launch at any day or time you specify.
These services also track your inventory and sales, send automated emails to customers, provide a PayPal or credit card gateway, and automatically post feedback once payment is received. People are often hesitant to pay a monthly fee to an auction management company, but believe me, over time they really save you money and they are far better than eBay's tools such as Turbo Lister and Selling Manager.
You should also invest in software to print labels.  The website www.edicia.com is a good resource. You can get a great deal on label printers and scales that integrate right into your computer.

9. Build credibility

Be trustworthy. Remove every doubt about your credibility. You can do this through presenting yourself positively through your feedback, being passionately devoted to your business and by being an expert. Create an About Me Page on eBay. A photo of yourself will humanize the online experience and can bring amazing results. One with your dog or cat in the picture is even better.

10. Your auction headline and item description is where it all begins.

Your headline is your advertising and your item description is your salesperson. On the web, how your potential buyer perceives you and your product is everything.
Be sure to use power words in your auction title (headline). Rare, Unique, Powerful, New, Unusual, Stunning, Top Notch, First Class, etc. Just be sure not to exaggerate. Don't call something "rare" if it is not.
Copy writing is the art of showcasing yourself and what you sell to your buyer in the best possible light. It's the most important thing you have going for you. A carefully crafted sales letter (item description) can increase your results exponentially without having to spend an extra penny.

11. Use keywords in your auction headline (title) and description

Remember that almost all eBay bidders find what they are looking for by using the search function. Be sure to use carefully chosen and accurate keywords in your title and description. eBay gives you 55 characters in your title. Be sure to use all of them. This will help you get hits.  Important keywords include the brand, color, size, and model number.

12. Stand behind your product and service

We offer an unconditional money-back guarantee on everything we sell. This has been our practice since our first day on eBay. Now if you are selling cars or houses or "as-is" used goods that may not be a good idea, but the simple offer of a satisfaction guarantee will dramatically increase your sales.
Even unhappy people rarely go to the trouble of sending something back. The cost of providing the few refunds will be far out weighed by the increased volume of your sales. At the very least offer a guarantee that your items are exactly as described and you will give a full refund if they are not.  You must spell out your return policy clearly at the end of your auction description and/or in the form eBay gives you to do this. Even if your returns policy is "no returns" eBay requires you to include it.

13. Set up an eBay Store

eBay Store listing fees are lower than for non-stores sellers. The inventory shows up in the main search results (just like any other 30 day fixed price listing). There are many extras that eBay Stores sellers receive, but based on price alone, you are probably ready for a Store once you are selling 55 or more items through fixed price listings per month. That is the break-even point between the fees and the Store Basic level subscription.

14. Launch more but shorter auctions

eBay places auctions ending soonest higher in the search results. If you have identical merchandise, run shorter auctions more often.  This way you will show up in the Time Ending Soonest and Best Match search orders more often. You will pay a little more in listing fees, but your should make this up by selling more items.

15. Use an email signature

One great free way to promote your auction business is by using an email signature. Signatures are six to eight line inserts at the end of your email messages. All email programs support them. Your signature should include a description of what you sell and a hyperlink to your eBay store or your about me page. Set it up to automatically put your signature at the end of every email so you don't have to type it each time.

16. Automate your shipping and save time and money at the post office

If you don't have much time to spend at the post office, and I'm sure you don't, prepare in advance. You can have all of your mailing supplies sent to you by the USPS and UPS.
Visit http://www.usps.gov and http://ups.com for more details. eBay and PayPal now have an automated shipping system integrated with UPS and USPS right on their site.
If you ship via USPS Priority Mail (a favorite option for eBay sellers) you can use delivery confirmation to track your packages. It is free if you do it on line at http://www.usps.com or it costs 70 cents to do it at the post office window. You can use delivery confirmation for parcel post and first class parcels, but it is not free online, and costs 80 cents at the post office.
PayPal now also offers the ability to pay for your shipping online. Also, you get a better rate through the USPS if you pay either online through its site, or through PayPal.

17. Building a high Feedback Score quickly

Here is a quick way to build good feedback: Sell something at a very low price, such as an inexpensive baseball card for a dollar. Put up a fixed price listing for 50 of the item you are selling. Don't worry about making money; just try to break even. Mail the cards out quickly, post great feedback for each buyer and send each buyer an email politely asking each of them to return the favor. Be sure to include the hyperlink to the feedback post in your email.

18. Where to get free shipping supplies?

If you send your items via USPS priority mail the post office will give you free envelopes, tape, and boxes. Think this through. If you pay the priority mail fee, and get free boxes, that is often close to what UPS charges when you add in the cost of a box.
Another source for free shipping supplies is your local gift shop or kitchen shop. These merchants receive merchandise in good boxes everyday with plenty of bubble-pak and Styrofoam peanuts that they simply throw away or pay to have recycled. Get friendly with your local gift shop and you can have access to tons of free shipping suppliers.

19. Sign Up for BuySafe if you sell expensive products

If you sell expensive goods, BuySAFE is a company that provides fraud insurance to your buyers. It costs a little to sign up, but BuySAFE has plenty of evidence that shows that using BuySAFE in your auctions will increase your bids and final values much more than the cost of their service. Sign up at www.buysafe.com.

20. Sell SquareTrade Warranties

If you sell electronics or cameras, you can make extra money by offering a warranty on your products through SquareTrade at www.squaretrade.com.

21. How to keep your customers happy and generate lots of positive feedback

Customers want three things: (1) instant gratification, (2) clear, fast communications and (3) to get what they were promised.

• Use PayPal to get payment quickly and then ship quickly.
• Answer emails immediately.
• Reveal any flaws or shortcomings your item has.
• Never over-promise or over describe an item.
• Package your items carefully and professionally.
• If you can, toss in something for free. (I recently bought a collectible beer mug and the seller included a few free beer coasters.)

22. Get your news from AuctionBytes.com

www.AuctionBytes.com is a great site with lots of free resources for online sellers. They have an online auction calendar that lists best times to start and end an auction, a free online tutorial on how to take good photos, a daily and a bi-weekly free newsletter, and plenty of additional free resources. Best of all they have a daily news feed of news about eBay and other online venues.

23. Learn how to write great titles and item descriptions

Our premier book, The Complete eBay Marketing System has two chapters on writing auction titles and item descriptions designed to help you increase hits and bids. Poor titles and descriptions are one of the largest reasons eBay sellers get poor auction results.

24. Find Wholesale Products to Sell With Our Free Wholesale Search Engine

If you click on the link to Web Wholesale Search in the navigation at the top of this page it will take you to a wholesale search engine. Now, as with any search engine there are always people who can scam the results, so there are some companies that will come up who are not true wholesalers and you will get results from companies that claim to be dropshippers but are mostly phony middlemen who make their money off of fees they charge you to sign up. But keep looking as there are many true wholesale suppliers and real distributors that will come up in the results.

25. Learn simple HTML commands to spice up your auctions

eBay has an HTML editor but it is limited. Once you start selling, take the time to learn a little HTML. Don't be afraid of HTML. Anyone can do it. For example, you should start all of your eBay auction item descriptions with the command: <font size=+1>. This will make your type larger and easier to read. It helps to break your item description into smaller shorter paragraphs to increase readability. Just use this command to create a new paragraph <P>.
You can make your text bold by typing <B> at the beginning of the bold text and </B> where you want it to end.
Go to: www.davesite.com for a simple and free online tutorial on how to do HTML.

26. Create attractive backgrounds for your auctions

Go to: www.grsites.com/textures to get free background textures for your auction item descriptions. Over 6000 backgrounds are available at no cost.

27. If you are going to be in this business, you need to know the vocabulary

Net Lingo at www.netlingo.com is a free site that teaches you all the terms and lingo of the world wide web and various online services.

28. Get a professional auction education

• Attend eBay Live
• Attend the online eBay workshops (Look on the announcement board for the schedules)
• Use the various eBay online tutorials
• Bookmark the eBay help files and print out the ones you access very frequently for easy reference
• Print this document out (77 tips) and put it in the same notebook
• Buy some of the great eBay training books from The Auction Seller's Resource Bookshop

29. Incorporate to protect yourself from liability

Not many people get sued selling stuff on eBay, but it can happen. If you incorporate, the corporation can shield you from most lawsuits. In fact once a lawyer learns that you are incorporated and you don't keep assets in the corporation, a lot of times they will not bother suing because they know your assets are protected. There are also lots of tax benefits to incorporating even if your eBay income is fairly small.
I used a company called My Corporation.  They did an excellent job—very personal service and very quick. Best of all they did it right. Some of the online incorporating services are really shoddy and they don't tailor the corporation to what you are doing. (I know a lot of folks like Legal Zoom. I used to recommend them but then I had a bad experience with them, so I now use and recommend My Corporation).

30. Learn how to buy at government auctions

You don't have to pay for this information. Here is a link to our site where everything you need to bid on government auctions is free: www.skipmcgrath.com/auction_sr/gvnmtauctions.shtml.
Government auctions can be a great place to find bargains, but proceed with caution. Make sure you thoroughly inspect anything before you buy it.

31. Package your eBay shipments professionally

No one likes to receive his or her "treasure" in a battered shoe box or an old cereal box. Take the time to pack your sales carefully. Invest in bubble pak, peanuts, tissue paper, and so on. Many of these supplies can be sourced from local gift shops who would have to recycle them. Alternatively, you can find great prices for shipping supplies on eBay.

32. Know your fees before you sell

Here is a great little free tool for eBay sellers. It is an online calculator that calculates eBay and PayPal fees to help you decide the best price and format to list an item on eBay.  If you are running an eBay business this is a great little tool to help you figure out the best price to start an item and the most efficient selling format. There are two free calculators that I like:   www.newlifeauctions.com/calc.html and www.ebcalc.com.

33. Sell Liquidation Closeouts

Clothing, accessories, electronics, household goods, toys and sporting goods are some of the hottest sellers on eBay. It can be very hard to source these products new from the distributors. But many eBay sellers make excellent profits buying these products from Liquidation and Surplus Dealers. One of the largest and easiest to deal with is Liquidation.com. They use an auction format similar to eBay. One word of caution, check the shipping before bidding.  Click here to see the wholesale auctions at Liquidation.com.

34. Set your starting bid low to attract hits

Do you have a good item that you KNOW will sell well? Start it off at a very low price. This will get you healthy early bidding. You want a large group around the item; some will be competitive bidders—people who will pay extra just for the thrill of winning.
You'll usually get more for your item than someone who priced their item higher, because your auction has more bidders watching.
Plus, your first 100 auctions listed with a starting price under $1 do not have a listing fee. So you have no cost until it actually sells.

35. Write complete item descriptions

Make your item description as complete as possible. Include all relevant details: condition, size, weight, age, collectability, any short-comings or defects, etc.
Something you think isn't important could actually be very important to someone else. Describe your item's condition, talk about its benefits and uses and keep writing until you run out of something to say.

36. Use Item Specifics

The item specifics are drop-down menus shown near the top of the Sell Your Item form. They are category specific and include things like brand, color, size, style, etc. If you are offered Item Specifics, use them fully. Buyers narrow down their results using these options. If you didn't use them, your item goes into the "not specified" group. Very few buyers ever look in there. Also, if you didn't put a keyword in your title, but the item would match based on your item specifics selections, your item will still show up in the search results. So, if you forgot to add that it was red in your title, but in the "color" item specifics menu you selected red, it will still show up if the buyer includes "red" as a search term.

37. Have a written sales, payment, and delivery policy to protect yourself and avoid misunderstandings

Spell out everything you do. How much do you charge for shipping? How will you ship the item? What is your policy on insurance? Do you use escrow for expensive items? When do you post feedback?
The more information you give a buyer the better the buying and selling experience will be for both parties—but don't forget to make it sound friendly. You don't want your auctions to sound like a bunch of rules written by a high school principal.

38. Don't get greedy and overcharge for shipping

Overcharging for shipping is one of the leading causes of negative feedback. and low DSR scores. You should only charge what it normally costs you to pack and ship. Buyers are sensitive in this area. They know when you are making a profit on shipping. You can charge a small premium to cover your cost of handling and shipping materials, but it should be reasonable. Always offer to combine shipping costs if a person buys more than one item. Explain your shipping policy in the item description.
There is a game some sellers play whereby they list a $5 item for 99-cents but the shipping is $7.99 when it only cost a dollar to ship. eBay will cancel your auction if they catch you doing this as it constitutes fee avoidance.

39. Offer combined shipping to entice buyers to purchase more

Getting a buyer to purchase more than one item from you is called cross-selling. If you specialize in a product niche, this isn't too hard. Offer good combined shipping rates (not just $1 off the second item) to entice buyers to purchase more. It saves you time and money because you only have to ship one parcel, but it also gives you more feedback opportunities. The buyer can leave feedback for every transaction. So if you sell five items to one person, you could increase your feedback score by five just from that one buyer. If you can get the majority of your buyers to purchase more than one item, you will increase your feedback score much quicker. Plus, buyers who purchase more than one item from you are more likely to add you as a favorite seller and come back for more items.

40. Always include the item number in your emails

Always include the item number with the end of auction notice and any request for payment. Place the number in the subject line so you can easily track emails. People often bid on several items and can get confused. eBay automatically sends a "won" item email which usually gets buyers to pay, but you may need to follow up, so keep this number handy.

41. Start and end your auctions at the best times

Do you always start and end your auctions at the best times? Start and end your auctions at peak traffic periods when traffic is the heaviest.
I like my auctions to end on Sunday or Monday evenings between 5 and 7 PM (Pacific Time). Saturday and Sunday mornings are also good times. Believe it or not, Mondays during the lunch hour are very good also. Remember there can sometimes be a posting delay of up to two hours on eBay during the busy times. Also, don't forget that eBay uses Pacific Time.
This is one of the best reasons to use an auction management service such as Vendio. You can create your auction and schedule it to launch at a specific time or day. eBay also has a scheduling utility but they charge you 10¢ every time you use it. Ten cents sounds like a small amount of money but it can add up over time.

42. What to do when you make a mistake in an auction?

You may be able to revise your listing depending on the error you need to fix, how long your listing still has to go, and if you have any bids. If it has more than 12 hours until the end, and you don't have any bids yet, you can change your pictures entirely, reduce the starting price, and change any information in your listing except the format (you can't go from auction to fixed price or vice versa). If you do have bids, you can still revise a lot of the listing (add to the item description, add photos, reduce the reserve price, and so on). The buyer has the right to withdraw his bid if your additions to the item description significantly change the item. For example, you said the iPod was black, but then revise it to say it's actually hot pink.
You can cancel the auction entirely if your error is not fixable or if you have less than 12 hours remaining before you caught the error. If you relist it using the "relist" button on the closed listing page, you are eligible for the relist credit if your item sells when you relist it.

43. Why does eBay end auctions?

eBay will only end your auction if you violate the listing guidelines. Read them carefully. They are written to give eBay wide latitude. eBay rarely discovers a listing violation. They rely mostly on the community to report violations.
The most common violations are listing in the wrong category, keyword spamming, excessive shipping, putting a link to an outside website in your auction description, and not selling a tangible product (such as an eBook download).

44. What to do when eBay ends an auction?

If you are guilty as sin—just forget it and get on with your life. It's not the end of the world. If you feel you are wronged, then answer the "auction ended" email with a polite request for an explanation and/or tell your side of the story.
Please understand the eBay enforcement employees receive hundreds of angry emails a day. It is very easy for them to get "pissy" (excuse my language). A polite and sincere inquiry will often uncover valuable information. Your violation may have been a minor technicality, which can be easily corrected. They will rarely tell you this if you send them an angry or rude email.

45. Set up a website and use eBay to drive business to it

Every eBay seller should have a website. Remember sales you make from your website do not incur eBay fees. eBay has cracked down on sellers using auctions to drive hits to their websites, but there are still some loopholes and techniques you can use without running afoul of eBay. These are explained in detail in The Complete eBay Marketing System. (I can't give all my techniques away here!)

46. Learn how to promote your website and/or eBay store

This tip is really an advertisement, but one that I think you can benefit from as I did.
Simply the best website builder system and training on the web is from a company called Site Build It. This company has been around for 12 years and is very highly respected.  Their customers love them so much they are almost cult-like and rave about their service.
People are often frightened by websites because they think they are too technical –but with Site Build It, if you can point, click and type you can build a website and get traffic to it. But most importantly Site Build It comes with tons of free training.

• Getting ranked at the top of search engines
• Web page promotion and design
• Turning leads into lifetime customers with e-mail marketing
• How to get White-listed with major email services such as Yahoo, AOL and MSN so all your email gets through to your customers.
• Building a responsive opt-in email list—FAST
• Exploiting AOL and other online services
• Free and low-cost online classified ads that produce sales
• Dominating your market with affiliate/reseller/associate programs
• Newsgroup promotions
• Snowballing your profits with Auto-responders
• How and when to promote yourself on bulletin boards
• Getting links from high traffic sites
• Sales strategies
• Writing killer ad copy
• Banner ads (tips and tricks)
• Profiting with discussion lists and newsletters
• Completely automating your business
• Getting your own Visa/MasterCard/AmEx account with ZERO COSTS

 ... and this is just the tip of the iceberg! Even if you are a complete newbie or a seasoned Internet marketer, I guarantee you will benefit from the unconventional tips and tricks that Site Build It can teach you.
 I personally used the information I learned with Site Build It to increase traffic and sales from my website by over 400% in less than three months. There are plenty of techniques you can apply to your eBay business and you will learn ways to develop synergy between your eBay business and a website.
So if you are interested in starting a business or just increasing your profits from an existing business, visit Site Build It. They even have a special page for eBay sellers here.

47. Brand your business

If you go on the eBay search engine and type in eBay store design, you will find a number of eBay sellers who will design an eBay store for your with branding and matching auction templates. This will give all of your listings a similar look and feel and help brand your business so people can find you again. If you want a professional company to do this for you, check out www.frooition.com.

48. Over-communicate with your buyers

When an auction ends, send your buyers an immediate email congratulating them and providing clear payment instructions. Send them another email when you ship the item (this really impresses buyers). Send them a follow-up email to see if everything went okay. This email should include the link where they can post feedback.
Make sure you enter the parcel tracking number in My eBay if you didn't purchase the shipping label through PayPal. Buyers look for this to see that the item has actually been shipped. Plus, it can save you from getting a follow up email asking for it. Include the number in your "item shipped" email too and remind them that it is also available in My eBay.

49. Be careful using a Reserve Price Auction (RPA)

No one likes a reserve. Most people understand the necessity for it, but there are a large percentage of users who will simply not bid on RPAs.
If you are selling a very expensive item, certainly place a reserve on it, but let the potential bidders know what the reserve is. It doesn't have to be a secret. The point of a reserve is to protect you against something selling too cheaply. Being open about your reserve can actually help you get bids.

50. Increase bids by making your auctions readable

Use a short opening paragraph that promises something, and then deliver on the promise. Describe the product, but also write about its benefits and/or how it is used. If you have personally used the product, describe your experience.
Short sentences are easier to read than long ones. If you write a long sentence, follow it with a short one. Keep your paragraphs to less than three or four lines. Boldface important words or phrases. Include attention-getters: questions, news items, a guarantee or a promise. Ask for the bid at the end of the description. Use active verbs, write in the 2nd person, and use enthusiastic language.