EBAY SELLING 101 (PART 2)

Hello again, I'm back to try and finish off the basics of how to sell on Ebay.

I left off about the description and copy & pasting any shipping or detailed information at the end of all your descriptions.

• K, now after you figure out what you want to copy & paste at the bottom of your auctions. Such as "USA bidders only" or that you ship International, ect. then it's time to decide what you want to start your auction at. Also spell check is a good idea which is located at the top of the description box.
• I start all my auctions off at .99 there are many reasons such as the insertion fee is lower if it's .99 or lower, you get more potential buyers looking and bidding on it. I figure if I keep with my rule of thumb which is not to pay over $1. on anything unless I'm sure it will make me money then if it sells for .99 then I didn't lose that much and if your item is just as described then you have a possible positive feedback. Just remember that you can't please everyone even if it is just as described. I have ran into a few and it's not a pleasant experience, but just be as nice as you can even though you would like to tell them off and please never call anyone names in e-mails or feedback. It's very bad taste and will make potential buyers that see the feedback you leave want to leave also. If you plan on doing this as a business then treat it as one and one happy customer could mean 5 potential customers. I have had alot of my repeat buyers tell others and now I sell to their best friend, daughter and son's teacher, ect. I'm sure you get my point.
• The next thing is to decide weather you want to set off your auction right after you are done writting it up or if you want to schedule it for a later time.... What I do is schedule my auctions for a week ahead of time, but I set them off manually at the time I think is best for my auctions to end. So when it's time to set off and for me it's about 9 p.m. my time on Sunday night then I edit my auctions and change the from the scheduled start time to "Start Listing Immediately" and do that with the rest of my auctions and that way you don't have to pay the .10 I think it is for each auction to have Ebay set them off for you. It's really quick and painless after you have set off your auctions a time or two.
• The next step is to decide what type of payments do you want to receive. I accept Paypal, Money Orders/Cashiers Checks and Personal Checks. Personal checks you should wait for them to clear your bank first. Usually 10 days tops. Me personally if it's for under $10. and they have good feedback then I won't wait the 10 days, but also if they have purchased from me before and have been a good paying customer then I won't wait either. It all depends on the amount and their feedback weather I will wait till it clears or not. In the 5+ years I have only had 1 check returned and it was an error on their part and they happily sent me a money order.
• The next part is if you want a Shipping & Handling calculator on the bottom of your page so people will know exactly what they will be paying to have the item shipped to them. You don't have to put in the weight, but it will again save alot of time answering questions on shipping and handling costs and you won't lose potential buyers.
• Now you have an option to put in the weight and how you will ship their package in the next section. Before I use to box up everything so I could get the exact weight, but you don't know how much wasted time and wasted tape and then unboxing the items that don't sell I did. I now have a good sense of what to add on to each item for the box and packing materials. I weigh everything on a postal scale that I purchased off Ebay for $20. and then after I weigh them I add whatever I think is appropriate for the box and packing material. For small items such as small figurines, trinket box, ect. I usually add 7 0z. onto the weight of the item. For bigger items such as wall mirrors, pictures, ect. I add anywhere from 1-2 lbs. Medium items it's usually around 10 oz. That is what works for me and it all depends on the size of the item also. If you decide to do it this way then you will get better at the guestamations in time. It's alot better then boxing up items and saves alot of time.
• Next you want to decide how you would like to ship your item. I like to ship USPS because I find it to be a cheaper way to ship and they will come pick up your packages from your home for free as long as you have a printed prepaid label on them and you must have at least 1 Priority box for them to pick them up for free. It works great for me because my auctions end on Sunday night, I box them up Monday morning then I print off the labels Monday evening and tape them on the boxes and put in a 'Carrier Request' through USPS for the next morning. I live out in the country so it's nice. Our Post Man picks up the bulk of my packages on Tues. morning then I ship off any straglers after that whenever I am in town. Here are the shipping methods I use...
• First Class Mail - This is only good for packages 13 oz. or under.
• Priority Mail - I use this for anything 14 oz. - 1lb. 4 oz. and you can get free Priority boxes from the Post Office or order them for free on http://www.usps.com/ and they are shipped to you for free also.
• Parcel Post Mail - I use this for anything over 1 lb. 4 oz. or bigger items.
• Media Mail - This is the method I use to ship books, DVDs, VHS tapes, CDs, magazines, ect. There are specifics of what you can ship Media Mail. This is a very cheap way to ship those heavy cook books, Lot of magazines, ect. But please only use this method for how it's intended. You don't want to risk getting your package shipped back to you and then you must reship it on your dime. They will not reimburse you for the shipping charges you lost because you didn't follow the rules.
• Then there are First Class International and Priority Mail International which are for shipping packages to other countries. If you are not going to ship International then you don't have to worry about these 2 methods, but I recommend becoming familiar with these shipping methods because chances are you will get questions about people that want you to ship International and you might want to do it from time to time. I recommend eventually shipping International when you are more familiar with it to help your sales and to open up to a wide variety of potential buyers. One of my greatest friends who I met through Ebay and buys from me quite abit is from Canada and I would have never met her if I didn't ship International and I'm so glad I do now.
• Now the next step after you put in your weights and how it's going to be shipped is to decide if you want to charge a handling fee and if so then how much? Handling charges cover tape, Fragile stickers, packing material, gas, time, ect. I charge $1. handling for each auction. I see other sellers charge WAY too much in my opinion. But you decide what is best for you. I am fortunate to have access to some packing material and boxes. But you decide how much handling is right for you, but remember that most Ebay buyers especially if they have been buying on Ebay for awhile pretty much have an idea of how much it will cost to ship that item to them and if they see that you are for example charging $15. for S/H on an item that will only cost $6.20 then you might lose potential buyers that don't like the high handling charge.
• Now the next part is if you are going to ship International or not. If you don't plan on it then you don't need to read this part, but if you are then please read. First Class International is a cheaper alternative to International shipping. The transit time "varies" but it doesn't take any more then 3 weeks normally this way, but it can take as long as 3 months as I have had this happen to me a time or two. Priority Mail International costs more, but takes a shorter time in transit. There are specifics for it to be shipped First Class International such as the package has to be under 4 lbs. and the package has to be under a certain dimention. So please goto http://www.usps.com/ again to become familiar with the size requirements and weights for packages.
• Then that is pretty much the basics....I think? I have been doing this for so long that I don't even think when I list so I am probably missing quite a bit.
• Please, Please, Please....Ask any and all questions...No questions is stupid or goofy, just the unasked questions. Chances are if you have a question in your head that you think is goofy then I probably had that same question once upon a time and others have that question now and are wondering which poster is going to ask it so they don't have to embarrass themselves and do it...lol...
• If this helps at least 1 person fullfill their dreams then my job is done. Please remember this is only my advise and this is what works for me, I'm sure you will find better ways that work for you or might get advise from others. I just wish I could have read something like this or had someone I could have asked any questions to when I first started selling... It would have saved me alot of stress and grey hairs...lol...
• Thanks so much for checking me out and Happy Ebayin' :o)