AUCTIONS OR BUY IT NOW

Buy it Now will always get you more profit. Auctions will sell an item fast but unless your item is extremely hot (Superbowl tickets, an autograph of a recently deceased celebrity , a hot toy in short supply , an extremely rare collectible). Decide which one to use by how much inventory you are able to acquire. If you do not find good items very often then only use Buy it Now and let it sit until you get the price you want. If you buy items quickly in bulk at estate sales or storage auctions ect.. then you will need to move items faster and auctions will be the better option especially if you have limited storage space.

WHAT IS THE STRANGEST ITEM YOU EVER SOLD ON EBAY?

Have you ever sold something that really surprised you. There is a buyer for almost everything. Have you ever sold something that by far exceeded your expected sell price? Have you ever bought something that others might think strange? Sometimes I just browse eBay looking at all the unique items that no one would ever buy. The thing is some of these items actually have bids. Isn't American diversity wonderful....

OVER COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR BUYERS

A buyer wants to feel safe and well cared for during the buying experience. This will increase their confidence in you and promote repeat business. Answer all questions about your item immediately. If you answer within 15 minutes you can almost guarantee a sale. If you wait too long your customer might loose interest. Always contact your buyer after the auction ends thanking them for their purchase. Make sure they are aware of shipping fees, their total bill, and a reasonable due ate for payment. Tell them when you ship the item with an expected delivery date. Don't forget to leave feedback immediately after payment is made. Follow up with them and make sure they got their item.

SHOULD I OFFER FREE SHIPPING?

You might think that free shipping would matter to buyers but surprisingly it does not! Most bidders view shipping as a separate expense. If you think people will bid more on your item because of free shipping - you are wrong. You would do well to have an accurate shipping cost and a reasonable asking price for your item. I have raised the asking price to include the shipping in the product price and have had little success. Then I changed these same auctions with shipping as a separate fee. Some people just do not pay attention to shipping as long as the item price is good. The only time I offer semi free shipping is when the item will cost $50 or more to ship. I include $25 in the item price and only charge $25 as the shipping fee. This seems to work better than a huge $50 shipping fee.

WHAT WOULD YOU ABSOLUTELY NOT SELL?

I have another blog where I express my views on life at http://saywhatiought.blogspot.com/
I have been thinking lately how ethics fits in with an Ebay business. Is there anything that you would absolutely would not sell to another person no matter what the price. Are there things that are better thrown away. Today I had a chance to get a lot of free books on religious philosophies that I strongly disagree with. They were actually valuable books. I passed on them. In the past I have sold books that I disagree with but these were stronger than usual. I do include a pamphlet on God , Jesus , the Christian faith with every item I sell. When I sold a copy of the Egyptian book of the dead the buyer was presented with a tract as well. Does this justify selling a bad book? Feel free to comment......

BUY ON EBAY FIRST BEFORE YOU SELL

As a consumer think about how you want to be treated. Consider the detail you would expect with the photo and item description. How much care do you want when someone packages an item you spent your hard earned money on? How long are you willing to wait to get your item. How did you go about searching for your item? How important is feedback to you as a buyer? Is making payment an easy process? Consider all these things as you are starting as a seller. Get into the buyers's mind and do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This is good business and the ONLY way to get top rated seller status. It will also help your buyer's confidence to see that you have at least 10 feedback. No one wants to buy from someone with a zero feedback. Browse around for a while you might find something you like!

EBAY

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