How To Make Real Money On Ebay

How many times have you heard this line? Unfortunately there are hundreds of people selling the “best” ways to make a ton of money on eBay. The truth is you can make a lot of money on eBay. There is not some secret formula or one way to do it.

In this article I will offer tips that could help your eBay selling. I believe the single most important thing you can do is to sell something you know. If you have a hobby or job that is related to your items, you would be very knowledgeable about your product and reduce research time.

If you do not have a hobby or job that is related to anything you can sell, do a search with the completed auction listings in the categories that are of interest to you and see how these things are doing. You can also check the Hot List on eBay that will give you a break down of the hot selling items.

Research articles on auction forums or auction information websites. There is a wealth of information out there that is free.
Check out the forums that are on eBay. These can give you information just by reading what other sellers are talking about.

If possible, try to find a niche product. An example of this is Ham Radio. I hold an advanced class amateur radio license. The United States Federal Government issues this. I got out of the hobby and decided to sell my radios. I sold every radio with no problems. Amateur Radio Operators (hams) are a specific group, looking for specific items. This makes selling so much easier.

Once you find the item(s) that are right for you concentrate on customer service. Make sure that all the items you ship are properly protected with bubble wrap or styrofoam spacers. I do not like packing peanuts because they are messy for the customer. Do not use newspaper for packing material. It does not work that well and just looks bad.

Once you have your item packed properly make sure you ship it promptly. Customers will appreciate this and remember you. Communication with the customer is very important. As soon as you can contact your paying customer and let them know exactly when you are sending the item (you should indicate this in your auction.) After you send the item contact them again and tell them it is on the way. Little things like this can give you repeat customers.

So where is the real money? The real money is in supply and demand. If you have something that is in demand it will sell. If you don’t it won’t. I know this is basic business, but it seems a lot of people have lost site of this for the quick, easy buck. Long lasting sales don’t happen over night. Market saturation also plays a big role.

The best approach to make “real money” on eBay breaks down like this: Know your product, research it and its sellers on eBay (how many, how much), use the recourses I listed above. There are reels of information on selling and buying on eBay on auction information websites, make your customers happy (good shipping, communication)

Knowledge is power. This is your greatest tool.

Shawn Sellen is the owner of auctionreel. An auction information website with Free Downloads.

5 eBay Selling Tips for Newbies

I’m directing this article to those who are just starting their eBay Selling Venture. Whether you’re selling books, DVDs, CDs, collectibles or clothing, all things (with the exception of eBooks and services) need to be mailed. And it’s the postage, handling fees and mailing that seems to cause a great deal of angst among new sellers.

You’ve heard the advice - don’t overcharge for shipping. That is very good advice, indeed, as nothing turns off potential buyers like sellers who gouge you on the shipping costs. It’s also a practice that can rack up bad feedback.

However, I’m going to play Devil’s Advocate here and suggest that you don’t go overboard and give so much of a break on shipping that you’re chipping away at your profits. It’s good to remember the “hidden costs” of shipping: bubble wrap to secure your breakables, tape, shipping envelopes, boxes, etc. Then there’s the gas you put in your car to take all those trips to the post office.

You might think I’m being cheap, but, if you added up all your eBay expenses for the year (as some did for their recent taxes) you might be shocked to see how all the packing materials and gas for your car added up and took a little chunk out of your eBay profits. And, believe me, they do add up.

Some people are even more surprised to find they underestimated the weight of their packages, causing their profits to shrink even further.

How can you be fair to both you and your buyers?

1. Buy a scale. It may sound simple, but purchasing a scale can save you a bundle in shipping. If you’re just eyeballing the weight of the package, you can often times guess too low, and be in for quite a shock when you go to the post office and see the package is going to cost twice what you thought to ship.

2. Know the dimensions of your packaging before listing the item. Some packages cost more to ship because of their dimensions. Knowing the weight alone isn’t enough.

3. Offer the buyer a variety of shipping methods. Some prefer speedy delivery with Express mailing, while some prefer to save money with parcel post even though the wait is longer. It’s always a good idea when using parcel post or other slower ground shipping to alert the buyer by email that it can take anywhere from 8 to 10 days.

4. Save yourself money whenever possible by using boxes that have been used. Most stores are more than happy to let you rummage through their old boxes and take some home with you. But, do remember to choose boxes that are presentable, secure and strong enough for your items. And, if you have breakables, don’t skimp on the bubble wrap.

5. Give yourself a small handling fee that will cover your expenses. Some sellers add on an additional $1 or $2 to the shipping fees for their handling fees (depending on the cost of the item and how much packaging you have to use). I really advocate doing this because your expenses will add up if you do a lot of selling on eBay. Be sure to be upfront with your buyers that you have a small handling fee so they can’t complain about it later.

Being fair to both yourself and your buyer will keep you both happy, and keep more of your profit in your pocket.

Shari Hearn is a writer and owner of http://www.ebaysellingideas.com.

Make Money on eBay - By Saving on eBay Fees

This is such an important topic and the majority of sellers don’t control their ebay fees. Are you completely aware about the costs involved when you are selling on eBay?

Have a look at John:

John has bought a nice antique vase on a garage sale for $55 US. What a bargain, since he knows that on eBay he could sell it for a big profit. He makes 3 beautiful photos and John wants to use one of photos as a gallery picture, because he knows that without a gallery photo it is hard to sell your items.

So, he starts to create his auction listings.

The auction starting price should be $55, to break even. John also ads a ‘Buy it Now’ price for $110 and an additional subtitle. As John is not satisfied with the first look he decides to add the ‘bold’ feature as well and finally he submits his auction. This auction looks perfect now, but does John really know how much he paid on eBay fees just for this listing.

Let’s do the math:

Insertion fee: $2.40
Buy Now Price: $0.25
Subtitle: $0.50
Bold: $1.00
Gallery Photo: $0.35
2 Extra Pictures: $0.30

John finally sells his vase for $98 as the highest bidder so John pays additionally:

Final value Fee: $1.31 (5.25% for the first $25)
and: $2.19 (3% of $50 ($75-25$) 

= $8.30 just on eBay fees!

But this ‘fee journey’ is not over yet…John receives payment from the bidder of $108 ($98 for the item and $10 for shipping) The bidders pays via PayPal and John has to pay PayPal fees of 2.9% + $0.30 US = $3.13 +$0.30 = $3.43.

In total John has paid $11.73 just on fees. He has already paid $55 for the vase plus the $11.73 in total for listing = $66.73. And almost forgot! Yes, John needs to pay the $10 for shipping. Therefore, total costs are:

Buy merchandise: $ 55.00
eBay fees: $ 8.30
Paypal Fees: $ 3.43
Shipping: $ 10.00

Total Costs: $ 76.73
Received: $108.00
Profit: $ 31.27

Well, John has made a profit. That’s pretty good anyway, but I think John could save massively on his ebay fees. Here some tips how to save on eBay fees:

John could easily host his own pictures through his internet service provider, through some online pictures services. In fact he could add unlimited ebay pictures as he wants without paying additional cents. John would have saved $0.30 on this additional picture hosting feature. Then, John could have easily removed some special features like ‘bold’ and ’subtitle’. John could have come up with a more descriptive and detailed main title with some snappy keywords to attract more buyers. John could have also started with a lower price to decrease the insertion fees, yes even a a starting price of $1 No reserve’. The positive effect with these $1 starting auction is two fold; Firstly, you save on insertion fee and secondly more buyers place a bid if the starting bid is low. This increases dramatically the number of bids and this attracts even more buyers because they think ‘When so many people place a bid, then this item must be really cool’ and they bid as well.

In summary: Keep your eBay fees in mind and don’t guess how much your listing will cost. Sit down and do the math before you launch your auction listing. It’s worth and maybe saves some surprises at the end of the month when the monthly bill from eBay is waiting in your mailbox.

T. Haselhorst is CEO of Monster Internet Empire and webmaster of
http://www.auction-design-for-free.com,
http://www.powerseller-articles.auction-design-for-free.com,
and http://www.submit-articles.biz