For years, ebay has become the site of choice for auctions between individuals. A good way to make ends meet is to resell useless things, like that second raclette machine or that guitar amp that clutters up your house and never serves you?
Here are a few tips on how to get the most out of your sales:
- Sell over 10 days, and put up for sale on Fridays: this simple tip allows you to have the combined audience of two weekends, which are very conducive to sales. This way, you ensure that the buyers are in front of their screens on Sunday evening when the sale closes, and optimize the chances that they will outbid you. You can also consider holidays, bridges and vacations as good times.
- Offer Paypal: it’s not complicated, you get your money back without any fees when your account reaches a certain amount, and you can also use it to make purchases, and not only on ebay. More and more buyers are preferring this faster payment method than sending a check.
- Detail the delivery options: shipping costs, type of package, packaging, possibility of hand delivery, … give as many details as possible. Don’t hesitate to weigh your item and to consult the website of La Poste to check the amount of the different options.
- Find a good description of what you are selling: very often the items for sale are simply accompanied by a few words and characteristics. It is very easy to search the net to find an online sale site where you will find a much more detailed and selling description. Give as much detail as possible about the use you have had of it to prove to your buyer that it is not a useless object!
- Write an extended title: you are allowed 80 characters for the title of your ad, I advise you to use it! Give as many details as possible directly in the title. Use homonyms to maximize your chances of being found by the search engine. Rather than using periods or commas, separate your words with underscores (_) that will make the title of your ad bigger and more eye-catching in the list of results.
- Say that you are a non-smoker without a pet: of course, this advice only applies if it’s true and is justified for clothing or sofa sales, for example. This will help you put forward a healthier and odorless object.
- Check the sales of similar objects: you are certainly not the first to want to sell an object of this type. Do a search to see how much the previous ones went for. You may also decide to wait a while for some competing sales to be completed before putting your ad online.
- If the item has a defect, point it out: by being honest about a small scratch or micro-task (attach a photo), not only will you avoid after-sales problems, but you will also give the impression of someone who pays attention to details. It’s a way to say “this is the only flaw in my item”, and you’ll look more humane than other salespeople.
- Avoid most paid options: decorations, bold listings, … all these frills are usually useless and only inflate the price of your ad. Only choose one if you think it has a real interest (a sale with a lot of competition for example). The only one I recommend is the small picture on the left in the listings. And don’t use the reserve price which tends to cool down the bidders.
- Make beautiful pictures of your object: avoid putting it on a crowded table or in the middle of a room. Isolate your object against a solid-colored wall, or place white sheets underneath. Pay attention to the reflections of your flash. Only the first photo is free on ebay, but you can use free services such as imageshack or photobucket that will provide you with the code to insert in your ad to show your images.
- Reread your ad: have someone else read it if necessary to correct the last spelling mistakes and check that you have not been confused in your description.
- Answer questions quickly: do not put your item up for sale just before you are deprived of internet access. You must monitor your emails every day and answer questions immediately. Publish your answers, because other buyers may ask themselves the same question and it allows them to tell themselves that they are not alone in monitoring this sale and may push them to bid.
- Ship your item quickly: don’t wait several days before going to the post office. Put yourself in the shoes of the buyer who hopes he hasn’t been fooled and reassure him as soon as possible. Report that you have sent the item as soon as it is done, if possible with the parcel number. You will have a better comment in your profile and it will improve your reputation.
Get More Money. Get More Sales. All on eBay.
In order to get the most sales and make the most money with eBay, you need to be doing what other sellers aren’t. Stand out from the crowd by implementing these tips and working methods today.
