Step by Step :How to get started selling on eBay

So you are ready to get rid of that members only jacket sitting in your closet since 89? Lucky for you there is some 16 year old in Japan that wants it. In fact there is most likely a buyer for almost everything in your house. Whether you are trying to just get rid of uncle marves old pipe or you want to get into selling on Ebay there some basic steps you must follow. I hope my guide to How to sell on Ebay helps you make money online.

1. Open an Ebay account Click Here For Ebay

2. Open a paypal account Click here for Paypal

3. Find a picture hosting service Click here for my favorite Picture Hoster

4. Find a listing service ( optional) Click here for my favorite Listing Tool

5. Get a digital camera
6. Get a digital scale
7. Get a box to fit your item(s)
8. Research your item
9. Takepictures
10. List your item
11. Sell your item
12. Ship your item

I bought a few Ebooks to learn some tips, one good one was this one

Yeah I know, looks like work, well it is the first several times you do it, but lets take it step by step.

Ebay will walk you through this. You will need a credit card or checking account. Don't bother with any of the extras right now. You don't need an Ebay store or any of the extra subscritions when starting out. Just open a basic account.

Needing Paypal is like needing a colostomy bag, it isn't pleasent but you have to have it. Finding someone who isn't happy with paypal is about as difficult as finding someone who doesn't like tooth pain. Right now Paypal is a must have if you want to sell on Ebay. I will address Paypal pitfalls later but just go open an account. This will take a day or two because they have to verify your bank info. Once this is done you will have to link the two accounts together. Paypal will explain to you how to do this.

You can use ebay to list your items and host the pictures but they will beat you up if you post more than one picture.Okay, they won't really come to your house and beat you, but they will charge you per picture and since people buying items like pictures just as much as divorce lawyers, you are going to need a bunch. A picture host will let you download pictures and link to them from your auction. This will allow you to post pictures much larger than Ebay allows and you can post as many as the site will allow. Many of them offer neat little options sucj as zoom, slideshow and panorama views. Explore different sites and find one that you can work with easily. You don't want one that requires a lot of work since this can slow you down. Many sites offer picture hosting and listing services in one. See below for info on listing services.

A listing service allows you to create a template so that you don't have to enter in the same information over and over on every listing. For example your shipping policy will most likely always be the same much as your payment options, return policy and auction requirements. When using a service you will simply enter in the details of the item and choose a colorful template. In some cases you can add pictures and you will be given a code to enter in the Ebay prompt. You must list with Ebay to get the item up for sale but these services give you a way to stand out and present your item in a way that buyers will appreciate.

You will need a camera. It doesn't have to be able to see Mars or have a lost of gadgets. The only thing I would worry about is the battery life. Digital pictures eat up batteries so do some research and find a camera that is efficent as far as batteries.

Fork out the $15 for a digital scale. When you list on ebay you will have the option of offering flat rate shipping or exact shipping based on weight. Unbless you are selling the same item over and over and you know its weight, you will want to weigh each item and that will require a scale that is accurate. The 1956 bathroom scale that hasn't been calibrated since it came off of the assembly line most likely isn't the device you want to use while developing your ecommerce business.

This may seem a little out of order but I have been bitten several times by not having a box before hand. The USPS offers free boxes for priority mail but these are a limitited size and sometimes are difficult to get. The post office charges extra for parcels they deeem are " nonmachinable" and good luck finding a clear definition of that term. If it is bigger than a breadbox most likely it will carry this charge. If you have the box before hand you can measure it and enter in the dimensions when you list it. This way you won't get caught by any hidden fees whenyou go to ship the item.

Before you list an item, you better know what it is and how much people will pay for it. If you are selling on Ebay all you need to worry about it what it will sell for on Ebay, not what it is worth. I have had books that were listed on Amazon for 100$ sel for 12$ onEbay and have sold what I thought were $30 books for $300 on Ebay. Go to Ebay and type in your item in the search bar. First enter in general terms such as sony walkman. This will bring up a number of listings. Your sony walkman doesn't have a cd player since it is from the 80's so you will enter in sony walkman radio. This will reduce the number of listings by eliminating the items that are television models. Now you will see all the current listings. We don't care about this, we want to see what similar items sold for so we will look all the way to the left in the search options box for the one that says " completed auctions" and click this tab and hit search again. This will bring up all of the completed auctions of sony walkman radios in the last several weeks. Now you have an idea of what these items sell for and you can determine whether it is worth the time and effort to list.

If you have found that your item is drawing some bids, you need to learn as much as you can about it. Look at all of the other listings. Note why one may have sold for more, or any options that one may have had that the other didn't. Take notes about your item so when you list it you'll be prepared.

Now you will want to take pictures of the item. Set up a clean uncluttered picture area. You can put down a white sheet or white cardboard to make it museum quality. Try to illuminate the area so you don't have to rely on the flash which can cause white spots on the picture. Try to capture the item from all angles and have some close ups of markings, names and or defects. Remember a picture is worth a thousand words and in this case may be worth several dollars more. Pointing out any defects both in words and pictures will save you headaches later with unsatisfied buyers. If you are unsure about how to take pictures look around on the web for some tips.

Okay, youve added the pictures to your computer, researched the item, foud the perfect box, kicked the dog ans yelled at the kids. Now it is time to list.

Remember the completed items? Go back and get that screen up. Now find the top selling items that are similar to yours. Click on each one and look alllllllllll the way at the top of the page for the category it was sold under. It will look like this:

Collectibles > Cultures, Ethnicities > Hawaiiana > Tikis

if all of the top selling items used this category then you should also. If you want to search around for other categories go right ahead but for the sake of time I would just copy what others do for now.

While you have the main page of a sold item open you will see a tab marked " sell a similar item" , click this

now you are on a listing screen!

From here you will want to enter a title. Be specific and avoid general terms.

Good example: 1934 ticket Ny Yankees Red Socks Baseball

Bad example: old ticket to ny yankees baseball game

The first example is specific to two teams, a sport, and an era

remember people put in search terms and I doubt too may are putting in " old" since it is non specific.

Some people browse a whole category while others look for individual items, you want to appeal to both.

Don't bother with a subtitle unless you really think you need to show more infor. Subtitle do not show up in search engines so I never use them

The next box may ask you for specifics such as year, make, model ect, enter them if you know them

Next you will add a picture. This will be the picture people will see when they are searching through the listings. It is called the gallery picture. Click on add a picture and attatch one, (1), uno picture. By this point you should have found a picture host/lister to use so you will add additional pictures in a bit. For now just put in the picture you want showing in the listings. Under that screen you will see a box for gallery picture, click this.

next you will see a box for the items description. There are two options : Standard and Html. Standard is where you will type a descrition, html is code that wou will enter if you used a picture server or photo host.

Your lister/photo site should tell you how to enter the data here. Check their help section . They are all different so I can't go into specifics here.

Once this is done, do not click Listing Desinger

Next you will enter a starting price, fixed price. Starting price is for auctions, fixed is for a fixed price ( duh). I only use a fixed price if the item seems to always sell for the same price. If you are selling Oyster blenders and 45 have sold in the last week for about the same price you can be pretty sure that a potential buyer is aware of the going rate and will but it at that price. I rarely use this ioption. People like the auction style. So lets use that.

Since you are just starting out you won't have any other sales for people to refer to so you may not get as many bids as someone who has a higher amount of sales. This is important to consider when setting your starting price. Ebay charges a fee according to your starting price. :

eBay.com Fees

View Fees for: eBay.com | eBay Motors | eBay Stores | Classified Ad | Real Estate | PayPal

After you have set the price the next box you want is the payment options

enter in your new paypay address which will most likely be your email address. Make sure this is correct!

Do not click require payment since this is going to be an auction. You can choose money order/check if you want

next is shipping options. Once again this is your preference , so look through the options and research any questions you have.

You are near the end!, If you used a listing service you most likely have already entered in additional notes or return policies and they will be inluded in your description. If you did not do this there you must enter any info you want in there boxes.

Hit continue

On the next page all you need to be concerned about is making sure the gallery box is checked, if not click it.

Scroll to the bottom and click "List your item"

Don't get nervous if there are no bids. Many buyers wait until the last day, hour or even minute to bid. Some people say Ebay is 6 days of preview with 3 minutes of auction. Get a few sales under your belt and then you can explore other listing options

Once you have been notified the item is paid or youget a check or money order, get that item out. THis is where I would run into trouble. I fell behind on my shipping many times and this caused my feedback rating to plumet.

Have fun!