eBay is a terrific way for consignment store owners (and anyone else) to move some merchandise that might otherwise just sit around. Here’s how to get the most out of your efforts on eBay.
1) Build up your reputation. If you have no feedback ratings, almost no one will buy from you. To get feedback, start buying things on eBay until you have at least ten positive feedbacks. These are not as good as seller feedbacks, but you have to start somewhere.
Once you’ve got 10 positive feedbacks (no negative or neutral ones… clean those up if you have to), start selling a few small items. You are not going to get the best price on these because your feedback is low, but start anyway.
2) Choose the right things to sell. $10 to $20 items are best at this early phase. By the time you pay eBay fees, shipping and packaging, and spend your time listing, answering questions and shipping, your margins will be pretty small. But again, you have to start somewhere.
Do some research on what is selling and how much it is selling for before you list anything. This may mean having to do your research a week before you list something. You will want to “watch” related items so you can still find them and read their descriptions and stats after the listing has ended.
3) Describe your items in detail. If you are selling used CDs, this is not so important, but with clothing, sporting goods, antiques… anything in any way unique, you need to go into detail.
Use your research knowledge to describe your items so people can find them — brand names and model numbers are the basics, but if your item might have more than one word to describe it, use both words in the title (like “blazer” and “jacket”). I have been shopping for ultralight tents for months, and it is amazing how many people list their tent with the brand name and model, but never include “ultralight” or even “tent” in the title.
Take at least three pictures of your items, and more if you think it is warranted. You should include one picture that shows the whole item, one picture that shows the best detail shot, and one picture for the tag, or the model sticker or any other identifying marks.
If there is even a little damage to the item, take a picture of that. In fact, if there is any even tiny damage or wear to the item, be totally upfront about it. Go into detail about how the damage happened (if you know) or what the condition of the item is. People want to know details — is there rust? Do the parts move? Is the lining intact? Are there scratches anywhere?
If you are selling a $5 item, obviously you can’t write a book and still make enough money to keep doing your eBay business. My rule is at least one sentence per $10 expected sale price. Sometimes it ends up being a lot more. When I sold a Chanel suit for $890, I wrote over 700 words and took eight different pictures. When I sold a craft business for $5000, I went on for eight pages and had 20 photos.
4) List it the right way. Have your listings end at a time when people can bid on them. Around 9pm eastern time Sunday night is best, but Wednesdays 9pm eastern also work well to.
Its only a guestimate, but I bet you’ll get 30% more for a listing that ends at 9pm EST on a Sunday than you would for a listing that ends at 9:30am EST on a Tuesday. Use the eBay “schedule listing” feature if you want more control when your listings end… it costs a little, but sometimes it is nice to have Sunday evening off.
Pay for bold, and if your item has a starting bid of more than $100, consider buying a “featured” listing, too. Pay for extra photographs.
5) Ship it right. I almost always burn myself on shipping, so hopefully I will follow some of my own advice here. If you really have your act together, you will already have your items boxed (but not taped shut) and at their shipping weight when you list the item. Then you can just weigh the box and use the table on the post office site to make sure you do not underestimate shipping costs.
You can also just use the very handy priority mail boxes (get extras from the post office so you have them on hand) and calculate your shipping that way. You may still have to guess, because many times shipping depends on which zipcode the item is going to, and you won’t know that until its too late.
Also include enough of a charge to at least cover your packing materials. You must package your items so they will not break, and if you are shipping almost anything, there is a risk of this. Even shoes can get scuffed in a box.
On some items I have spent nearly $10 just on packaging to make sure something did not arrive broken. People do not like getting broken items when they paid for something unbroken. At the very, very least, even if you are shipping something that’s still sealed, wrap it in a plastic bag or a kitchen trash bag, just for an extra layer on protection.
6) Communicate. Let people know when their items shipped. Thank them. Consider including a little note in the box that says “thanks for buying from my eBay store. I hope you will leave positive feedback, and I plan to do the same. Please let me know if anything is not to your liking.” This is one of those tell-tale signs of an eBayer who knows what they are doing.
7) Leave feedback that is specific. Be positive. Be fair. Be kind. There are ways to mediate bad experiences on eBay, but they cost money and they take a long time. If you are serious about getting a good rating, be ready to return 100% of a buyer’s costs if they have even a semi-legitimate complaint.
I refunded one buyer’s entire payment because the dress she bought fell on the ground and got a whiff dusty before I put it in the box (I hadn’t noticed, or I would have not mailed it), but she sent photos and it was only a $12 sale. She gave me one of my nicest feedbacks as a result.
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