Tips for Selling on eBay
An excerpt from the new book
eBay the Smart Way:
Third Edition
by Joseph T. Sinclair
INTRODUCTION
The excerpt below is from the new, third edition of eBay
the Smart Way — AMACOM’s best-selling guide to the
world’s biggest marketplace. The excerpt is geared toward
first-time sellers and occasional sellers looking to grow a
part-time income as an eBay merchant.
eBay has changed a lot in the two years since the second
edition of this book. It has grown to over 70 million
registered users offering 16 million items, making it
harder to stand out. eBay isn’t just bigger — it’s better.
Today, advances in auction management software make it much
easier to maintain customer service standards while
handling anywhere from three to 300 simultaneous auctions.
The excerpt explains how this new software works and how it
can help sellers improve feedback rankings — the key to
getting top dollar selling on eBay auctions.
More information about the book, eBay the Smart Way, and
author Joseph T. Sinclair follows the excerpt. Good luck
with your auctions!
Top 9 Tips for Successfully Auctioning Items on eBay
by Joseph T. Sinclair
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This top 9 list will help you focus on what’s important for |
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Research the Market Value.
This is the first and most important step in selling on eBay. If you set your minimum bid or reserve
too high, no one will bid. If you set it too low, you will
shortchange yourself. Use eBay’s Advanced Search page to
find prices on similar items from auctions that have
recently concluded (”Completed Items”). -
Pile It On.
Put as much information about the item as you can gather in
your auction ad — information, not hype. The Web is an
informational medium, and there is no practical space
limitation. Lack of adequate information is almost certain
to bring lower winning bids and in many cases no bids at
all. -
Always Include a Photograph.
Pictures sell. Good pictures sell even better. There are a
very small percentage of items that don’t need a
photograph. The rest do. Provide multiple photographs for
expensive items (e.g. at least five or six sharp
photographs for a vehicle.)*Sellers Beware* I know of a woman in Sonoma County,
California, who has an interesting strategy for selling on eBay. She buys
items on eBay from auction listings that include poor
photographs. She then takes good photographs of the items,
relists them,selling them on eBay for a profit. Great
moneymaker. -
State Your Requirements.
Clearly state your requirements for sales to inform bidders
of what to expect. Be sure to include everything that will
cost winning bidders money.*Tell Them Before* If you intend not to sell to bidders
with undesirable feedback, state that in your sales
requirements. Then check the feedback on the leading
bidders. If one is undesirable, email him or her before the
auction ends to state that you will not accept the bid and
ask him or her to retract it. -
Carefully Word Your Auction Title.
Craft your auction title to include keywords that buyers
are likely to use when searching for your item. But make
the title readable, not just a string of abbreviations. -
Answer Inquiries Immediately.
Always answer bidder email inquiries immediately. If you
wait, you may lose a bidder. A robust auction ad will help
reduce excessive bidder inquiries. -
Follow Through.
Most winning bidders will expect you to take the initiative
to complete the transaction after the auction ends. Contact
winning bidders by email within a half-day (a half-hour is
better) after the auction ends and restate the details of
your sales requirements. Keep a record of all documents,
including the auction ad and all emails, for reference.
Provide the buyer with a receipt. After the transaction is
complete, don’t forget to submit feedback on the winning
bidder.*eBay Retailers* If you are regularly selling on eBay, you will
need to develop a system for selling on eBay that will
keep you well organized and responsive to buyers. It
doesn’t take more than two or three auctions at the same
time to completely confuse you if you aren’t organized to
handle the action. -
Use an Auction Management Service.
If you are selling on eBay routinely, use an online auction management
service to manage your business. The benefits far
outweigh the cost. -
Provide Good Customer Service.
You are the seller, and the winning bidders is your
customer. The customer is always right. Put customer
service first. Keep a cheerful attitude. It’s your
responsibility to set a cheerful tone for the follow-
through process. When selling on eBay, customer service is the name of
the game.
THE OCCASIONAL SELLER
Put yourself in a buyer’s shoes. You want to make a bid for
$620 on a used telephone system (retails for $1,849) for
your small office. The seller represents the system is in
excellent condition and wants a money order for the final
bid price (no escrow).
You are faced with sending a money order for $620 to
someone you don’t know. You don’t know whether you will
receive anything for your money. If you do receive
something, you don’t know what kind of condition it will be
in. Will you make the bid? Try the following four
scenarios:
-
The seller has no history of selling on eBay (i.e., no sales or purchases).
-
The seller has a history of 5 transactions, all rated
neutral. -
The seller has a history of 7 transactions, all rated
positive. -
The seller has a history of 153 transactions, 2 rated
negative and the remainder positive.
How are you going to vote with your $620? Chances are
you’ll pass on number one, too much of an unknown. Number
two looks as though he or she will be trouble of some sort;
that’s a pass. Number three looks like a reasonable risk.
Number four looks like a low risk.
The first three sellers, above, will lose a certain
percentage of the potential market. Number one might get
some bidders, but because of the high price, many potential
bidders will pass because the risk of dealing with a first-
time seller is high. Few potential bidders will think it’s
worth the time and trouble to deal with number two, who
obviously isn’t making anyone happy. Although number three
looks good, the feedback is a little thin, and some
potential bidders will pass. Virtually all potential
bidders will feel comfortable with number four; they’ve
probably got more favorable information on number four than
they do on many retailers in their own communities.
The point here is that your reputation is important selling on eBay, and your reputation depends on your customer
service. It doesn’t matter whether you sell occasionally
or are selling on eBay regularly. Make your customers happy, and you’ll
build a good reputation. A good reputation will bring more
bids. More bids will bring a higher price.
Now, as the seller, what can you do to improve customer
service for the auction of the used telephone system? Here
are four options:
-
Accept a credit card (or PayPal).
-
Offer to put the transaction in escrow.
-
Provide a warranty.
-
Throw in a gift certificate for a book at Amazon on how
to install and operate a small office telephone system.
About 90 percent of buyers on eBay use credit cards where
sellers accept them. Perhaps the best, but most common,
customer service you can provide is accepting credit cards.
There are dozens more ways to get merchant accounts for Web
ecommerce in 2004 than there were a few years ago. Get
yourself a merchant account, and start accepting credit
cards.
What can you do generally when occasionally selling on eBay to
increase customer service? Respond to communications (e.g.,
email) promptly. Be prepared to promptly ship the item you
sell. Think of yourself as a seller, and exercise common
sense. Follow some of the suggestions in eBay the Smart
Way in regard to providing convenience for potential
bidders.
THE PART-TIME EBAY BUSINESS
If you have a part-time business selling on eBay auctioning
merchandise at retail, pay close attention to customer
service. Some of the things you can do:
-
Follow the guidelines in eBay the Smart Way for running
your auctions and conducting your eBay business. -
Promptly respond to communications from potential bidders
and customers. -
Organize a responsive follow-up system to track your
customers through the transaction process. Read about
auction management services below. -
Run your shipping operation in a professional manner.
-
Accept payment in as many ways as possible.
-
Provide guarantees where practical.
-
Listen to your customers.
If you summarize the above list, it boils down to one idea:
Get organized! Don’t take selling on eBay lightly. Even
selling just a few items a week can get out of control
before you know it, if you’re not prepared. If things do
get out of control, you will have some unhappy high bidders
and other unhappy eBay members; that does not bode well for
success selling on eBay.
You can’t conduct a part-time eBay business haphazardly and
expect it to be as successful as possible. If you take it
seriously and provide good customer service, your business
may grow into something to which you can eventually devote
your full time and energy; then you can quit your job!
If you have a full-time job and you are trying to
supplement your income by selling on eBay, you may find it
difficult to provide the customer service you need to
maximize your success. Hiring employees to do some of the
work is out of the question. Just the paperwork to employ a
person is too demanding. One way to improve your customer
service, when you don’t have the time, is to hire
independent contractors.
Shipping is a good example of something you can outsource
(have done for you by another business). Some small
business specialize in shipping merchandise for customers.
Shipping is a chore. Have a shipping company do it for you.
That will leave you time to spend on other customer service
activities that you can do better, more efficiently, more
quickly, or more easily. Obviously, the shipping company is
an independent contractor.
If you have a part-time retail business selling on eBay, you can’t
wait until the weekend to do your shipping. You have to
ship as soon as payment is secured, or you will have some
irritated customers. If you can’t do shipping every day,
find someone to do it for you.
One clever way to do your fulfillment is drop shipping.
Drop shipping means having your wholesaler ship the
merchandise directly to your customer. Many wholesalers are
set up to do this. Today, to be competitive many
wholesalers give quick shipping service. Hence, drop
shipment can solve your fulfillment problem at the same
time that it eliminates your inventory warehousing problem.
AUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Auction management services help eBay sellers track
multiple auctions without getting lost in a blizzard of e-
mail, bids, and expiration notices. They include an auction
template so you can just fill-in the blanks and never type
a product description twice. They track correspondence and
bids for each auction. Some of them automatically contact
winning bidders and even provide a “checkout” to process
financial transactions. They generate and store all
documentation, including invoices and accounting reports
that can be used for banking and taxes.
Wow! Auction management services do it all for you. It
doesn’t get any better than this. These services take care
of your business. eBay takes care of your marketing. You
can find someone to do your fulfillment. And all you have
to do is find some inventory that you can sell at a profit.
The last two editions of this book took the point of view
that most of the software available for eBay auction
management was inadequate. In fact, the first two editions
offered a database scheme for keeping track of auctions
that served multiple purposes. The auction management
services were just starting to appear at the time the
second edition was written and had not yet reached their
potential.
What a difference today! Auction management services —
software services delivered via the Web — are now quite
robust, and sellers who don’t use them will spend much more
in lost time than they will save money by not subscribing
to them. Even eBay has beefed up its auction management
software imitating the excellent services offered by third-
parties.
I have no reservations today about recommending that you
find an auction management service you like and use it. If
you are selling on eBay occasionally, you can still keep track with
a system on paper. But for routine daily or weekly selling,
an auction management service will be your best friend.
HOW IT WORKS
An auction management service provider delivers its auction
management services to you via the Web. That is, you use
the software in your browser. It’s simple. You go to the
auction management service website and log in. Then you can
use whatever services you have subscribed to. You use the
services through your Web browser. Sure, you have to learn
to use each service, but this is simplified by the fact
that you always work via the familiar interface of your Web
browser.
As long as you remember your login name and password, you
can use these services any time from any computer connected
to the Internet.
Because you don’t necessarily load these services on your
computer in the form of resident programs, you don’t buy
the software. You subscribe to it (i.e., rent it) usually
for a reasonable monthly fee.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES?
We’re all used to buying software and using it as much as
we like for as long as we like one our computer without
further cost. Thus, we need to try and understand the
advantages of using software as a service.
-
You never have to update the software. That is done by
the provider as soon as the improvement is ready to use.
You get the upgrades sooner rather than later. -
With some services you may not even have to store your
data. You can store it on the provider’s computer.
Presumably the provider does daily backups relieving you of
that task and worry. -
You have unlimited use of the service for a flat monthly
fee. -
The fee per month is low considering the value of the
software. When you buy the software, sooner or later it
becomes obsolete and you have to buy an upgrade. When you
subscribe to a software service, it’s like paying for
software in small installments rather than all at once. -
You never have to worry about installing the software on
your computer or upgrading it.
What it amounts to is carefree use of software at a price
that doesn’t take a big investment up front.
WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES?
Software services are not without disadvantages such as:
-
You need broadband to make the most effective and
efficient use of a software service. Most services don’t
work as well with a dial-up Internet connection. -
The monthly fee is an irritant, particularly when it is
more than nominal. Unfortunately, an expensive software
service would also be expensive as a standalone program
(i.e., one to be loaded on your computer), and you would
have to pay the entire cost up front.
AUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES
These are online services that work through your Web
browser. They include:
AuctionHawk, http://www.auctionhawk.com
AuctionHelper, http://www.auctionhelper.com
Auction Works http://auctionworks.com
Auctiva, http://auctiva.com
ChannelAdvisor, http://channeladvisor.com
CollectorOnline, http://www.collectoronline.com
HammerTap Manager, http://www.hammertap.com
ManageAuctions, http://www.manageauctions.com
Meridian, http://www.noblespirit.com
InkFrog, http://www.inkfrog.com
Vendio (previously Auction Watch), http://www.vendio.com
Zoovy, http://zoovy.com
AUCTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS
If you prefer a more traditional software approach, you
might consider buying and installing one of these auction
management software programs. Check out the following:
AuctionMessenger, http://www.auctionmessenger.net
AuctionTamer, http://www.auctiontamer.com
Auction Wizard 2000, http://www.auctionwizard2000.com
Blackmagik utilities (for Mac), http://blackmagik.com
Cricketsniper, http://cricketsniper.com
EZAd, http://etusa.com
EZLister, http://www.ezlister.net
Infopia, http://www.infopia.com
ShootingStar, http://www.foodogsoftware.com
Timber Creek Sold!, http://www.timbercreeksoftware.com
SpoonFeeder, http://spoonfeeder.com
Sundry programs, http://www.hammertap.com
Other Software for Selling on eBay Listed Here
As you have probably discovered in your reading, I don’t
favor traditional software programs for auction management.
Auction management services offer far more. Unfortunately,
not everyone has a broadband connection to the Internet. If
you don’t have a broadband connection, you have a solid
reason for using a traditional program rather than an
online service. Nonetheless, obtaining a broadband
connection should be your goal due to the wider scope of
services it will bring.
About the Author
Joseph T. Sinclair is an expert computer user (not a
computer programmer). He has used multimedia authoring
programs since 1992, has created multimedia products for
business, and is an expert in text-based multimedia
authoring (e.g., Web authoring). He is an experienced
photographer and digital cameras user.
Sinclair is a former member of the Board of Directors of
the North Bay Multimedia Association (San Francisco Bay
Area), Chairman of the Education Committee, and Chairman of
the Multimedia Internet Special Interest Group for the
Association. He also headed their web based training
experiment, which conducted seminars over the Internet.
Sinclair has written numerous articles on computers and
multimedia for professional periodicals and is now a
contributing editor for the Multimedia Reporter, an
industry periodical published both in print and on the
Internet. A former member of the Multimedia Curriculum
Advisory Committee to the College of Marin, he has taught
courses in the College of Marin’s extension multimedia
program and a Web development course at Solano Community
College.
Sinclair has been an expert in HTML authoring since 1994.
In 1994-96, he gave seminars about doing business on the
Internet for the Digital Village, a joint venture between
the Digital Village Foundation and the College of Marin. He
also gave seminars on various topics at digital industry
trade shows. In 1998 he devised a database system to manage
multiple eBay auction listings for one of eBay’s top
sellers.
Sinclair’s previous books include:
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eBay Business the Smart Way, 2003
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Creating Web-Based Training, 2001
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Web Pages the Smart Way, 2000
-
eBay the Smart Way First Edition, 1999
-
Thin Clients Clearly Explained, 1999
-
Typography on the Web, 1998
-
Developing Web Pages with TV HTML, 1998
-
Java Web Magic, 1996
-
Intranet v. Lotus Notes, 1996
-
Creating Cool Web Databases, 1996
-
Real Numbers, 1993
About the Book
EBAY THE SMART WAY: THIRD EDITION
Selling, Buying, and Profiting on the Web’s #1 Auction Site
By Joseph T. Sinclair
Published by Amacom Books
(ISBN 0-8144-7204-4, 526 pages,
paperback, $17.95)
Available wherever books are sold.
“Check out eBay the Smart Way for a wealth of tips on
growing your business.”
– eBay Magazine
“Chock full of information, strategy, and hot tips that are
timely and effective.”
– Small Business Opportunities
If ever a company could be described as the “800-pound
gorilla” of its industry, eBay is just that in the
exploding world of online auctions. But with more than 70
million registered users and almost $15 billion in annual
merchandise sales, the only thing easier than selling on
eBay is getting lumped in with all the other sellers.
People looking to exponentially increase their visibility
and potential profit selling on eBay keep turning to eBay the Smart Way,
the definitive guide to smarter auction tactics. Now in its
third edition, this priceless tool has changed with the
times to cover the latest trends, including:
-
local auctions
-
live auctions
-
fixed-price auctions
-
buying and selling cars on eBay motors
-
enhanced PayPal services
-
using digital photography
-
setting up eBay Stores
-
great inventory sources
-
bulk listings
-
eBay tools
-
and more
Brand new chapters explain how to maximize profits in real
estate sales, work with auction management services, and
negotiate international transactions.
As always, eBay the Smart Way is the go-to resource for
first-timers and veterans alike, with step-by-step
instructions for listing products, creating attention-
grabbing photos and descriptions, offering top-notch
customer service, and maintaining high credibility. eBay
buyers will also benefit from strategies for negotiating
the best deals.
For the most in-depth and accessible information on how to
make the most out of online auctions, “nothing explains it
better than eBay the Smart Way” (The Internet Marketing
Bookshelf).
Copyright ©2004 by Joseph T. Sinclair. All rights reserved.
Printed here with permission of the publisher, AMACOM,
http://www.amacombooks.org.
Click Here for more information about selling on eBay…
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