Sell An Item - Getting Started

Whether you just want to make some extra cash or start a business, selling on eBay is the fun way to do it!
Here are the steps:
1. Become a registered eBay seller.
2. Sign up to accept electronic payments.
3. Research your item and the rules of play.
4. Create your listing.
5. Manage your listing.
6. Wrap up with your buyer.

1. Become a registered eBay seller.
To become a seller, you:
Provide us with a valid credit/debit card or bank account information or become ID Verified.
Let us know how you would like to pay your seller fees.
Make sure your Feedback Profile is public.
Find out how.
2. Sign up to accept electronic payments.
All new sellers must offer at least one electronic payment method allowed by eBay as a payment option. PayPal lets you accept credit card and electronic check payments online from your buyers. See Creating a Seller's Account.
Important: Including PayPal in your listing does not register you for PayPal. You need to sign up for PayPal to be registered for PayPal and receive any payments made to you through PayPal.
3. Research your item and the rules of play.
Do some research, especially about setting a starting price, listing format, and category, to list precisely and get the best price for your item. Compare your item with active and completed listings on eBay based on category, format, and selling price. Selecting a Category explains running your search and picking a category. Selecting a Selling Format tells you more about format choices.
Buyers feel more compelled to bid and buy when they know the shipping charges beforehand. Package, weigh, and measure your item so you can use calculated shipping. If this is your first time selling an item, you may be required to specify shipping. Calculating Shipping Costs tells you how to do this. Visit the eBay Shipping Center to see more ways to optimize what you offer for shipping.
Educate yourself on eBay's policies about prohibited and restricted items, as well as what's okay and what's not okay when listing and completing the sale at Knowing the Rules for Sellers.
4. Create your listing.
Depending on your item category and which listing form you use, you'll get a variety of listing options. If you're selling an item associated with a product that's in our catalog, you can add pre-filled item information to your listing description. You can sell your item auction-style or as Buy It Now. Listing upgrades like highlighting, font, and picture enhancements make your item stand out. You can even donate a portion of your sale to a cause that you choose.
To read more about the listing process and options, see Creating a Listing. Or, to get going now, start at Sell.To get there from the top of most eBay pages, click the Sell tab.
Insertion and final value fees apply to certain listings.
5. Manage your listing.
Once you've got your listing up and running, you can check in on it to see how bidding is going. You do this from the Sell section in My eBay, which comes up when you sign into your eBay account. You can also:
Set notification preferences to let eBay know how and when you want to receive alerts or notifications.
Set seller preferences about picture hosting, receiving payments, shipping, and more.
Set member-to-member communication preferences to say how buyers can connect with you.
Set general preferences for searches, My eBay preferences, and more.
If you want to change anything in your listing, see Changing Your Listing.
Be sure to answer any questions you receive about your listing. This will help you sell your item by establishing good rapport with potential buyers. When buyers give you positive Feedback, you become a stronger seller on eBay.
And when your listing ends . . .
6. Wrap up with your buyer.
Here too, how you handle these last steps will go a long way toward your personal satisfaction and getting great feedback from your buyer.
Communicate with your buyer – When you use our Checkout service and your buyer completes checkout, you’ll be notified by email. If you don't specify shipping and payment details in your listing, the buyer can use Checkout to request this information. You can also use Checkout to send the buyer an invoice.
If you didn't use Checkout, contact the buyer directly by email or phone.
Important: Contact your buyer directly if you haven't heard from your buyer or received Checkout or PayPal notification within three days of your listing's end.
Receive payment – If your buyer paid with PayPal, you'll receive an email confirming payment. If you haven't registered for PayPal, you'll be prompted to register so you can accept the payment.
Ship the item to the buyer – Pack it well! Use bubble wrap or crumpled up newspaper to protect the item from shipping damage. Make sure any fragile parts of the item are well padded and located toward the center of the box if possible. Read more tips for packaging your item.
Leave the buyer feedback – Our Feedback system helps create a trustworthy community for everyone. Your feedback about your buyer is important information for other sellers.

Hello everyone :o) Happy "Hump Day"!! Please check out the "Shop4Freebies" button on the left side... Shop4Freebies is legit and everything is 100% FREE... I've been a member on Shop4Freebies for over a year and just became a Moderator there about a month ago. It is the BEST freebie site around... Go check it out and you will see for yourself :o)
K, now back to Ebay...
Send me your questions...I'm here for you...
If you have never sold anything on Ebay before and want to start... Then I'm the person who can help you with any questions...sure you can go on Ebay and they do have a FAQ section and they also have a forum to where you can ask questions... But if you want an answer sooner then I can help you...If I don't know it off-hand then I will look it up for you...
Ebay selling is not as hard as it may seem... It is fairly easy..... If you want to start selling on Ebay, but don't know where to start then I will try and help...

• First let's see what you have that you want to sell...Go through those boxes in your garage, basement, storage rooms, or even some great name brand clothes that don't fit anymore..
• Go on Ebay and do a little research on the items you want to sell...Go by the "Completed Items" which after you search for what you are looking for then click on the "Completed" which is on the left side.... This is just to give you an idea of if it's even worth listing it or to find out more about it that you maybe didn't know...
• If you don't have a digital camera then maybe a friend might have one that they would let you borrow for the day or week... Please make sure all clothes are freshly washed and I like to try and wash most of my items before I take a picture of it... The only huge exception is on silver or brass...I will not shine it up because there are quite a few people who like the old tarnish look...If they want to shine it up then I leave that up to the buyer... There are also some matte finish figurines that I won't touch because there is a special way to clean these and I don't want to risk ruining them...
• Load the pictures onto your computer and hopefully you have a good photo software that you can use to crop, brighten, darken or frame your pictures... I have been using PhotoImpact 8 for about 2 yrs. now and love it...
• After that the listing part is pretty easy... The part that might take awhile is the researching or taking a good picture... unless you are a picture pro then you should have no problems... I still have problems with taking a clear enough pictures every now and then...

I can elaborate more on each section of selling on Ebay such as...

• International Selling & Shipping
• Printing off Labels via Paypal
• How to know what to put in as weight without boxing up the item first
• How to combine S&H on multiple wins
• How to decide what to charge for Handling if any
• Where to find items to sell
• How to box your item to insure that it arrives safely
• How to deal with an Ebayer who is trying to "Blackmail" you with negative feedback
• How to deal with Negative feedback
• What to do if the buyer has not sent payment and does not respond to e-mails
• How to deal with insured items that arrive broken or is lost in transit
• What to do if someone tries to chargeback on their Paypal payment
• How to spot fake Ebay & Paypal e-mails

There are so much more that I can help with... These are some of the main questions that I hear people asking alot...

No Question is a Stupid Question...

I have let this blog go for way too long and with the help of my brother I have rearranged this blog a little and will try to keep up with it... As you might already know... I have been selling on Ebay since 2003 and have been a member of Ebay since 1999. So I was a buyer before I was a seller...Darn Beanie Babies...lol...
So please if anyone has any questions weather it's about Ebay or even any vintage, collectible or unusual items that you have and you want to know more about them then please ask away... That is what I am here for is to help anyone with any Ebay, collectibles, vintage items, markings, figurines, unusual items, ect. questions you may have... I have found alot of unusual things in my findings and had to do alot of research on most of them to figure out what they are and who made them... If you have a question about an item and are able to send me a picture then that would be helpful. If you are to send a picture I will post the picture on here, so if you have any objection to that then please let me know when you send me the picture...
I hope to become more helpful to all as I continue to keep this blog up. So remember that no question is a stupid question... Give me something to blog about and ask away :o)

Ebay Tips and Tricks for the New Ebayer

This guide is meant for anyone that buys anything on Ebay - especially those of you who are new to Ebay. Some of the things I will try to help you with is how to avoid making a bad purchase on Ebay. Also how to keep from getting outbid on the things you want, especially at the last minute. There are numerous guides on how to use Ebay, but I've never seen a quick and easy reference to use that gets right to the point. So here goes.

70 percent or more of bids are placed during the last few minutes of the auction
Place an odd bid amount - Never an even dollar amount
Avoid auctions that offer an item for 99 cents but they say in big bold words to email first
Don't fall for the word RARE on anything
Never buy anything from email offers outside of Ebay
Avoid auctions that ONLY accept payment by wire transfers, Western Union, or cash
Familiarize yourself with all Ebay features before bidding
Always check a users feedback rating
Research the item before you buy it
Be cautious of sellers from other countries
Never click on anything in an email from Ebay or Paypal
What to do if you receive a fake email?
Lastly - if it looks to good to be true, IT IS !!
As I think of more tips, I will update this guide. There's no sure fire way to avoid getting ripped off on Ebay, but hopefully these tips will help you avoid that headache. So here's the details....

70 percent or more of bids are placed during the last few minutes of the auction
TRUE - You're probably wondering how someone outbid you at the last second on an auction you bid on 3 days ago. To be like most people and place a last second bid, the best trick to use is go to the auction item. Then click on the web page address, highlight the whole address, then right click and select copy. Now open a new browser window and paste the address (right click and paste) and hit enter. Now you have two web pages open, both to the same auction.

Now here's the trick...In the second webpage, go ahead and enter your bid and click on the place bid button. If you go to a page that asks for your user name and password, go ahead and enter it and click submit. Now you should go to CONFIRMATION page. This is the final step before you actually place your bid. DO NOT CLICK SUBMIT just yet. You can leave this page open for as long as you want too. Now, go back to the other webpage you have opened - the first one. On this webpage, you can keep refreshing the webpage and watch the timer count down. Once the auction gets down under 30 seconds, rush back to the second webpage and click SUBMIT. You just placed a last second bid called a snipe bid.

Once under 30 seconds, you decide on when to hit the submit button on the second webpage. Depending on how daring you are, you can wait until the very last second. BUT, keep in mind that it takes about 3 - 5 seconds for Ebay to confirm your bid. So if you wait a little too long, you could still lose out and your bid not be accepted.

Place an odd bid amount - Never an even dollar amount
Never place an even bid such as $3.00 or $10.00. The trick use to be was to place your bid for one penny more. This way you would win over someone that placed an even dollar bid. But, most people have caught on to that trick. Now you have to bid an odd amount. If you're going to bid on something for $5, place an odd bid for $5.05 or $5.12 or something similar. You will have a better chance of winning the auction. The only people that place even dollar bids are people who are new to Ebay.

Avoid auctions that offer an item for 99 cents but they say in big bold words to email first
This is normally a scam. Look at the sellers other items by clicking on View Seller's Other Items. If all or most of their auctions have this same text, avoid this seller like the plague. It may say you have to be pre-approved before purchasing this auction. The auction may even contain text telling that they are selling you the purchase info only, not the actual item being sold. The only pre-approval needed for ebay auctions are normally in the Ebay Live auctions or in the Ebay vehicles categories.

Don't fall for the word RARE on anything
Very few things on Ebay are actually rare. It's all a marketing scheme. Words like rare, one of a kind, unique, the only one I've seen, etc... are all marketing words to pull you in and help cross that line of to buy or not to buy. I've written another guide specifically about this problem. But, the basics are, research what you're interested in. Email the seller. WHY is it rare? If they give you a vague answer, run. If they give you a specific answer and can even tell you a little bit of history on the item, then it probably is rare. Is everything the seller has listed marked as rare? Search Ebay and the internet. If you find more of the same item listed on Ebay, chances are it's not rare. Just put the word rare in the search engine on ebay and see how many listings come up. You should see at least 200,000 listings. Can there really be that many rare items for sale on Ebay?

Never buy anything from email offers outside of Ebay
If you bid on an auction and lost, you might receive an email from the seller offering a second item at the same winning bid. DO NOT go for this unless you know and have dealt with this buyer before. Ebay says to NEVER accept offers like this. This is one of the main reasons Ebay has offered a new service for sellers called Second Chance Offers. You can get a second chance email from the seller, but it will be for the highest bid you placed. Not for the highest bid in the auction. As long as you make a purchase through an Ebay auction, you have a very good chance of not getting ripped off.

Avoid auctions that ONLY accept payment by wire transfers, Western Union, or cash
If the seller only accepts these payment methods, run! You have a very good chance of getting ripped off. You can not get your money back by any of these payment methods. Once you send the money, it's gone. If you don't receive the auction item, there is nothing you can do to get your money back. The best way to protect yourself is use Paypal. There are no fees for sending money. All fees are charged to the seller. Most sellers on Ebay are legitimate and accept Paypal. If you've been ripped of and did make a payment this way, you can report the crime to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. Just look them up in any search engine and it will take you to their webpage. The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C).

Familiarize yourself with all Ebay features before bidding
Ebay has lots and lots of features that can help you with your buying experience. Everything from searching to discussion boards. For searching, make sure and use the Advanced Search feature. You would be surprised at the number of auctions you could miss by just using the normal search. Once you go to the advanced search feature, always put a check mark in Search Title and Description. This will make a huge difference. You can also search better by using a plus or minus sign in front of keywords. A plus sign means it MUST have that word. A minus sign means you're not interested in auctions that have that keyword. You can also search for phrases by using quotes. If you search for caterpillar model truck, it will bring up all auctions that have any one of those keywords in it. Such as automotive auctions for any kind of truck. But, if put the three words inside quotes it will ONLY bring up auctions that have this phrase in the auction.

The discussion boards can be a source of a huge amount of info and help. To get there, just click on the Community button at the top of any ebay webpage. This will take you to a page of different categories for discussion boards. The best one to click on is go to the first one - Discussion Boards. In here you can discussion boards on everything from buyer complaints to category specific questions. You can spend hours reading thorough all the comments. This is a good place to ask questions about anything.

Always check a users feedback rating
If a user has a lot of negative feedbacks recently, avoid this seller. But, you can take it with a grain of salt too. If the seller in question has 500 positives in the last 30 days and only one or two negatives, then that's probably from a few disgruntled buyers. More than likely these are difficult customers and there probably wasn't anything the seller could do to make them happy. Human nature is too ALWAYS try to blame someone else for their mistake. Ask any little kid if they did something wrong even when they did. The usual answer is "I didn't do it". Human nature at it's purest and most honest form.

Research the item before you buy it
If you're not sure what you're buying but it's something you want, research it. You have one of the most powerful research tools right at your fingertips. The INTERNET. Use the many different search engines to research your item. Find out if it's rare or really worth what the seller is asking. Use the internet to help you decide what you would pay for the item. You can also use Ebay as a research tool. It's one of the few places you can search past sales. You can't do that at a brick and mortar type store. Use the Advanced Search feature and put in your keywords for the auction item you’re interested in. Put a check mark in Completed Listings Only. This way you can search completed auctions only and see if this item has been selling and if so, for how much. The bad thing is Ebay only keeps closed auction on the books for 30 days. So you have to remember that you're search is only for the last 30 days. You can also email the seller. Most sellers are knowledgeable about what they are selling. There may even be a unique history behind the item you’re looking at. Just ask...

Be cautious of sellers from other countries
This one is tricky. Make sure and research the seller carefully. Look at his/her feedback rating. Email them any questions you have. Most sellers from other countries are just as honest as any other seller. But, you have to decide if you want to deal with someone in a foreign country. There may be language barriers, customs issues, extra shipping charges, etc. I've bought a lot of things from sellers outside the U.S. I've only been ripped off once. That one was my own fault too. I knew it might be a bad idea, but for the low dollar amount, I took the chance. At least I got the opportunity to leave the appropriate feedback for that seller.

Never click on any links in an email from Ebay or Paypal
There is a new security feature from Ebay now. When you receive an OFFICAL email from Ebay, it will also be sent to My Messages in your My Ebay page. NEVER click on any link in an email from Ebay or Paypal. Neither company with EVER send you a link inside their emails. Even if the link looks legitimate, there's a 100% chance it's not. If you do click on it, it will always take you to a webpage that will look exactly like an official Ebay page. If you think you have an official email or announcement from Ebay, open up a new browser window and type in www.Ebay.com. Then click on MyEbay and sign in. Then down on the left side, click on My Messages. If there is no copy of the same message in there, then the email you received is fake. It's called a spoof email. What the sender is trying to do is get you to go to their webpage and enter in your ebay id, password, credit card info, billing address, ccv # on the credit card, social security number, mothers maiden name, etc... for whatever reason. With this info, they can not only use your Ebay account to rip off other people, they can also steal your identity. With the power of the internet, once you enter this info, the fraudulent charges can start as quickly as within an hour. If I sent you a letter through the mail and asked you fill out all this same info and send it back to me. You would say "HELL NO". So why would you do it from an email? Again, to play it safe on the internet, NEVER EVER open a link in an email unless it's from someone you know such as a relative or friend. Other than that, NEVER click on a link in email. By following this simple rule, you will save yourself a ton of trouble.

What to do if you receive a fake email?
If you think you've received a fake email from either Ebay or Paypal, simply forward it to one of these addresses: For Ebay, forward the message to SPOOF at EBAY dot COM. For Paypal, forward the message to SPOOF at PAYPAL dot COM. (you have to change the words AT and DOT to the appropriate symbols). You should get a reply email usually within minutes telling you if it was a fake email or not.

Lastly - if it looks to good to be true, IT IS !!
This one works every time. There's a reason this saying has been around longer than you or I. It always works.

Hopefully you got at least one good tip out of this guide. If you have any questions, you can email me. I will always try to answer them to the best of my knowledge. Don't forget to vote below if you found this guide helpful of not. Just click on yes or no - that's it.