Tips for Successful Ebay Selling

Tips for Successful Selling on Ebay

There has never been a better time to clean the garage or closet, with Ebay providing buyers from around the world, who will buy just about anything! Many people have used Ebay for purchases, but haven't started selling yet. These tips will help the beginning seller get started.

Step One	Establish an Ebay Account. Buyers are skeptical of sellers with little or no feedback, so build up your feedback reputation by making some purchases (and paying promptly). Then begin selling some lower-cost items before selling higher-cost items, to build up your specific seller feedback.
Step Two	Even if you don't plan to sell a lot of items, I recommend using Ebay's free selling tool, Turbo Lister 2. This is a well-developed software program that you download and install on your computer. Click on the file from this link: http://pages.ebay.com/TURBO_LISTER/ and install the software.
Step Three	Begin with one or two items, so you can learn as you go without being overwhelmed. Using a digital camera, take at least three photographs of each item from different angles. Bright shade outdoors provides balanced light without the glare or harsh shadows that a camera flash or direct sunlight might produce. Use a simple, contrasting background (here I just used a jacket on a bench in front of our house). Use close ups to show details of the item(s).
Step Four	If accessories are included, be sure to show them in at least one photograph, Buyers like to know exactly what they are getting in their purchase. I also like to include a statement in the listing, "Photographs show the actual items for sale." This lends credibility to your listings, compared to sellers who use stock photos (showing a new item or one that someone else has sold).
Step Five	If you have Photoshop or another photo editing program, crop away any excess on the edges and resize the photos to a usable size. In Photoshop, I use the Marquis tool to draw a frame around the part of the picture I wish to save, and choose "Image," "Crop" from the menu. Then I make the image size smaller so it will load more quickly over the Internet. I prefer a pixel size of 600 to 800 pixels wide for ebay images, which is higher than many people recommend. But I like larger pictures to provide more detail for potential buyers, and today most users have faster Internet connections so these will still load quickly. In Photoshop, the image size is adjusted with menu item "Image," "Image Size," and I choose 800 pixels for width, and allow Photoshop to adjust the height to keep it proportional. Choose 72 pixels/inch for resolution. The Photoshop "Crop" tool can also be used, but I prefer the Marquis tool to be able to vary the height according to the subject of each photo (just like the images in this table are all 350 pixels wide, but they vary in height, depending on the content of each image).
Step Six	Save the modified photos. I like to name these modified photos with a filename I can recognize, such as microphone1.jpg, microphone2.jpg, etc. The photo numbered 1 should be the picture first displayed, which also shows in the gallery view of ebay search results.
Step Seven	Ebay provides free image hosting for only one image, so I use upload the modified pictures to my 1and1.com web host and display them from there (rather than paying $.15 to ebay for each additional image). I created a folder called "ebay" on my barrylawrensen.com website, and I use an ftp program to upload the images. (The FTP program I use is Core FTP, which is free for personal and educational use.)
Step Eight	Start the program, Turbo Lister, and click the "New" icon in the upper left corner. The "Create New Item" window will open, and begin to fill out the form. Choose the Title carefully, researching similar listings on ebay for ideas. Using Ebay's Advanced Search option, fill in the "Completed Listings" checkbox to find closing prices for your search results from the last 30 days. Researching other listings helps develop ideas on how to make a good ebay listing, best starting prices, best time to end your auction, etc. When writing the Description, click on the "Description Builder" button to allow Turbo Lister to help create html coding for the body of your description. Continue through the various parts of the ebay listing options, including Selling Format, Starting Price, Listing Upgrades (I usually don't use these to save cost), and Shipping Options. While these options take time to setup, using Turbo Lister allows this first listing to become a template to duplicate (and then modify) as the starting point for your next item to be listed.
Step Nine	If hosting pictures on your 1and1.com server as described in Step Seven, type in the complete url for each picture. In the section, "Pictures and Description," click on the first "Click to Insert Picture" box. In my example, my first picture url is: http://www.barrylawrensen.com/ebay/turnermic1.jpg, the second is: http://www.barrylawrensen.com/ebay/turnermic2.jpg, and so forth. Do not click on Optimize for these pictures, or Turbo Lister will reduce their display size. I know 800 pixels may seem large, but I really believe buyers like to see large, detailed pictures.
Step Ten	Save this item listing, and Click on the folder, "My Items" on the left side of the Turbo Lister screen. This will show listings you have saved, which are ready to be uploaded to ebay. One of the advantages of Turbo Lister is being able to completely prepare listings in advance. Then at the desired closing time, it only takes a couple of minutes to upload the item(s) and begin the auction. The best closing time varies with the item and the season of the year, but generally evenings (particularly Sunday evening) are considered the best time for an ebay auction to end to bring the highest price. I have two items shown here, from which I can Ctrl + Select the ones I wish, and then click "Add to Upload." This adds the item(s) to the "Listings Waiting to Upload." As long as listings are saved (like saving any file in a program), you may exit Turbo Lister and resume work at a later time.
Step Eleven	I usually use seven-day listings, so one week before the preferred closing time, I open Turbo Lister (if not already running), click on "Waiting To Upload," click on the item(s) I wish to list, and then click "Upload All." It is possible to calculate and view ebay fees first (click on "Calculate Fees"), or to schedule to have the auction start at a different time (but there is a fee for using the schedule feature). I have just listed the item shown in this example, so it is available for viewing (or bidding!) on ebay.

Step One

Establish an Ebay Account. Buyers are skeptical of sellers with little or no feedback, so build up your feedback reputation by making some purchases (and paying promptly). Then begin selling some lower-cost items before selling higher-cost items, to build up your specific seller feedback.

Step Two

Even if you don't plan to sell a lot of items, I recommend using Ebay's free selling tool, Turbo Lister 2. This is a well-developed software program that you download and install on your computer. Click on the file from this link: http://pages.ebay.com/TURBO_LISTER/ and install the software.

Step Three

Begin with one or two items, so you can learn as you go without being overwhelmed. Using a digital camera, take at least three photographs of each item from different angles. Bright shade outdoors provides balanced light without the glare or harsh shadows that a camera flash or direct sunlight might produce. Use a simple, contrasting background (here I just used a jacket on a bench in front of our house). Use close ups to show details of the item(s).

Step Four

If accessories are included, be sure to show them in at least one photograph, Buyers like to know exactly what they are getting in their purchase. I also like to include a statement in the listing, "Photographs show the actual items for sale." This lends credibility to your listings, compared to sellers who use stock photos (showing a new item or one that someone else has sold).

Step Five

If you have Photoshop or another photo editing program, crop away any excess on the edges and resize the photos to a usable size. In Photoshop, I use the Marquis tool to draw a frame around the part of the picture I wish to save, and choose "Image," "Crop" from the menu. Then I make the image size smaller so it will load more quickly over the Internet. I prefer a pixel size of 600 to 800 pixels wide for ebay images, which is higher than many people recommend. But I like larger pictures to provide more detail for potential buyers, and today most users have faster Internet connections so these will still load quickly. In Photoshop, the image size is adjusted with menu item "Image," "Image Size," and I choose 800 pixels for width, and allow Photoshop to adjust the height to keep it proportional. Choose 72 pixels/inch for resolution. The Photoshop "Crop" tool can also be used, but I prefer the Marquis tool to be able to vary the height according to the subject of each photo (just like the images in this table are all 350 pixels wide, but they vary in height, depending on the content of each image).

Step Six

Save the modified photos. I like to name these modified photos with a filename I can recognize, such as microphone1.jpg, microphone2.jpg, etc. The photo numbered 1 should be the picture first displayed, which also shows in the gallery view of ebay search results.

Step Seven

Ebay provides free image hosting for only one image, so I use upload the modified pictures to my 1and1.com web host and display them from there (rather than paying $.15 to ebay for each additional image). I created a folder called "ebay" on my barrylawrensen.com website, and I use an ftp program to upload the images. (The FTP program I use is Core FTP, which is free for personal and educational use.)

Step Eight

Start the program, Turbo Lister, and click the "New" icon in the upper left corner. The "Create New Item" window will open, and begin to fill out the form. Choose the Title carefully, researching similar listings on ebay for ideas. Using Ebay's Advanced Search option, fill in the "Completed Listings" checkbox to find closing prices for your search results from the last 30 days. Researching other listings helps develop ideas on how to make a good ebay listing, best starting prices, best time to end your auction, etc.

When writing the Description, click on the "Description Builder" button to allow Turbo Lister to help create html coding for the body of your description.

Continue through the various parts of the ebay listing options, including Selling Format, Starting Price, Listing Upgrades (I usually don't use these to save cost), and Shipping Options. While these options take time to setup, using Turbo Lister allows this first listing to become a template to duplicate (and then modify) as the starting point for your next item to be listed.

Step Nine

If hosting pictures on your 1and1.com server as described in Step Seven, type in the complete url for each picture. In the section, "Pictures and Description," click on the first "Click to Insert Picture" box. In my example, my first picture url is: http://www.barrylawrensen.com/ebay/turnermic1.jpg, the second is:
http://www.barrylawrensen.com/ebay/turnermic2.jpg, and so forth. Do not click on Optimize for these pictures, or Turbo Lister will reduce their display size. I know 800 pixels may seem large, but I really believe buyers like to see large, detailed pictures.

Step Ten

Save this item listing, and Click on the folder, "My Items" on the left side of the Turbo Lister screen. This will show listings you have saved, which are ready to be uploaded to ebay. One of the advantages of Turbo Lister is being able to completely prepare listings in advance. Then at the desired closing time, it only takes a couple of minutes to upload the item(s) and begin the auction. The best closing time varies with the item and the season of the year, but generally evenings (particularly Sunday evening) are considered the best time for an ebay auction to end to bring the highest price.

I have two items shown here, from which I can Ctrl + Select the ones I wish, and then click "Add to Upload." This adds the item(s) to the "Listings Waiting to Upload." As long as listings are saved (like saving any file in a program), you may exit Turbo Lister and resume work at a later time.

Step Eleven

I usually use seven-day listings, so one week before the preferred closing time, I open Turbo Lister (if not already running), click on "Waiting To Upload," click on the item(s) I wish to list, and then click "Upload All." It is possible to calculate and view ebay fees first (click on "Calculate Fees"), or to schedule to have the auction start at a different time (but there is a fee for using the schedule feature).

I have just listed the item shown in this example, so it is available for viewing (or bidding!) on ebay.