Top 10 Free Ebay Tips

The following are my Top 10 Free Ebay Tips, given in no particular order. They will save and make you some money, as well as give ideas about Ebay marketing and advertising. Enjoy.

Tip #1
Never list an item and set the minimum bid as $10. You will save ten to twenty cents each listing if you make it $9.99.

Tip #2
When you leave feedback, as a bidder or as a seller, always mention specifically what item was exchanged (not the item number, something like "...the great Lady Diana magazine"). That way, people viewing feedback will see what item you just acquired that they might like to own. And if you have sold an item, maybe they will think you have one more that they can purchase. And while the link to the item expires after some 30 days, your mention of the item will remain forever.

Tip #3
Make an "About Me" Ebay page and set a link to your auctions and your webpage. It's like free advertising, because Ebay users are curious, and they will check out your stuff.

Tip #4
Sellers - specialize! Devote most of your activity to one or two categories. After a while, you will have expert knowledge of your field(s). Who gets the most repeat customers? Those who specialize.

Tip #5
When typing the item description, use numerals instead of spelling out numbers; for instance, type "16" instead of "sixteen." Many potential bidders do searches for single items from a set, like card 16 from a set of 250 trading cards. People looking up items having nothing to do with what you're selling might have their eye caught, just because they have numerals in common. The idea is to get as many eyeballs on your listing as possible.

Tip #6
Keywords (the words you put in your item description) are everything. I list a lot of celebrity items; here's how I work in keywords for a Frank Sinatra item: "The pride of Hoboken, New Jersey, Frank Sinatra became a big . . ." See how I squeezed in his hometown and state, both words that might be searched for by collectors.

Tip #7
Buy in lots (more than one item per auction, say, 25 baseball cards at once) and sell individually (one card/item at a time). My experience is that I get more money that way.

Tip #8
Cutting down on the number of items returned to you is easy. You need only be thoroughly descriptive in your item descriptions, pointing out every little ding and imperfection. Reading a longer description is much better than a bidder having to repackage the item you sent and send it back to you.

Tip #9
Sign up with Paypal and state in your auction listing how the winning bidder saves the price of a stamp each time she uses Paypal.

Tip #10
Accrue free money as an Ebay affiliate. It can really add up over a year's time!

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Do drop in at the author's homepage just to say hello.

I'm an online entrepreneur. I love reading, writing, travel (particularly in Paris, throughout England, Amsterdam), gardening (which mostly amounts to weeding), karate, Ebay, Internet, Asian philosophies and religions, marketing, and much more.

Profitable eBay Tips And Traits Of Successful eBay Sellers

Make no mistake about it. Selling on eBay is simple, and you can learn how to do that by just browsing the site. But if you are serious about your business, then the point of selling on eBay is to make profit.

The biggest advantage of online auctions is that they expand a seller's market from a relatively small group to essentially anyone with a computer and access to the Internet.

What this means for you as an eBay seller is that you've stepped onto a level playing field that's populated with sellers that range from small part-timers who may not post even an auction a month - to huge multinational corporations with hundreds of items up for sale at any given time.

And get this: Your chances of profits and success are just as good as theirs.

Astonishing, isn't it?

If you want to sell merchandise to consumers, eBay is a great way to do that without having to deal with the overhead expense of having a retail store.

Now, on the other hand, if you already have a retail operation, eBay opens up a tremendous market for you at virtually no additional cost.

The simple fact of the matter is that millions of dollars are spent and EARNED on eBay every single day. If you want to sell merchandise or services of any kind, you can't afford to overlook this lucrative sales channel.

By now, you are probably wondering how to get started building your own profitable eBay business. But before I jump into the details, let me give you some quick and useful tips for running your own auction on eBay.

Tip # 1: Always provide an accurate description of the item you are selling, including all terms of the sale and who will pay shipping costs.

Tips # 2: You should always respond quickly to any questions bidders may raise during the auction. Make it a point to contact the high bidder as soon as possible after the auction closes to confirm the details of the sale.

Tip # 3: Ship the merchandise as soon as you receive payment.

As you can see, the key ingredient to a successful auction is communication.

Now at this point, you must understand that your success on eBay will not be due to any one thing, but rather a combination of various factors.

With that in mind, here are 5 traits that successful eBay sellers have in common:

Trait # 1: They are in the habit of treating their eBay activities like a tried and true business.

If you want a serious eBay operation that will earn you a heck of a lot more than pocket change, you have to start treating it like a business.

What this means is creating a separate business entity with a name, bank account, proper licenses, etc. In addition to that, it means finding suppliers you can rely on and building solid relationships with them. Prepare yourself to ship all items promptly, provide outstanding customer support, and leaving timely, accurate feedback.

Trait # 2: They find a niche and build on their own expertise.

Remember this: You cannot be all things to all people. It is impossible for any single person to be an expert in all the categories of merchandise on eBay. Successful eBay sellers specialize in one or two areas.

They establish themselves as experts. Their knowledge are reflected in how well their listings are written, the information in their About Me page, and how they respond to requests for additional information.

They are generous in how they share what they know, whether it's information on their merchandise or assisting a new eBay buyer with making a purchase.

Trait # 3: They are amazing communicators.

Let me repeat...communication is crucial to your success. You have to know how to write auction listings that accurately describe he product, shipping, payment options, return policy and other details. You have to respond to questions from bidders promptly with complete and courteous answers.

More importantly, you have to be able to communicate with the winning bidders immediately at the close of the auction and maintain the communication until the transaction is complete.

Trait # 4: They are persistent and learn by doing.

Successful eBay sellers don't give up easily. When an auction doesn't go as expected, they figure out what they should do differently next time.

In other words, they learn from their mistakes. And even when things are going well, they are always trying to figure out how to make them better.

Trait # 5: They buy first, and sell later.

A good rule of thumb is to make a few purchases on eBay before you try to sell anything. Shop a little. See what other listings are like. You'll learn a lot just by finding out how the system works. And as if that's not enough, you'll also see firsthand what customers go through.

Now, don't get me wrong, you don't have to spend a lot of money, and the chances are you'll find things that you would find elsewhere anyway.

Here's something else that you might find interesting. Shopping first allows you to build a history under your user ID and earn some positive feedback, so buyers will feel more comfortable with you later on when you start selling.

This is a great way to build trust.

Buy from a lot of experience sellers and see just how they handle things. In my experience, it's smart to copy the good ones and learn from the bad ones.

The bottom line is, selling on eBay is the easiest way to turn your hobby or special interest into a business. Just let this sink in for a moment: Whatever you enjoy doing, you have a degree of expertise and experience in - and you can turn that into fast cash on eBay.

Are you ready to make this business profitable? The ball is in your court.

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eBay - Tips on How to Get Steals on eBay to Resell

The following are tricks and strategies I use to buy items cheap on eBay to later sell on eBay for double, triple, or sometimes even quadruple what I paid for it.

Although I mainly buy and sell sports memorabilia on eBay, I have used these strategies on eBay to buy and sell other things such as gold and silver, tools, and even health products.

So these tips can be used to buy and sell virtually anything on eBay at a profit but these tips work extremely well with collectibles. And by using these strategies I have never failed to at least make a 25% return on investment on any item I've bought on eBay with the purpose of reselling.

But first things first, it would be a very good idea to make a decision about in general what you would like to sell so you can become very familiar with that item or those items on eBay. Why?

For a few reasons: obviously to know what said item(s) sell for on eBay which can be found by looking at completed listings; when you know what the item(s) you are targeting sell for then you know what you can buy them for to make a profit; and last, after looking at listings for said item(s) you will know what to look for in order to pick up deals so you can buy low and sell high.

Tip #1: I'm certain you're familiar with using misspellings in listings' titles to pick up steals; well along the same lines are to use unpopular synonyms or unpopular search terms for the item you are trying to buy at a deal.

For example, when I'm looking for autographed sports memorabilia for a particular player, instead of typing in that player's name and "auto" or "autograph," I'll type in that player's name and "signed" or "autographed." I do this because I've learned that "signed" and "autographed" are not searched for nearly as much as "auto" and 'autographed," as a result less people see these auctions and sometimes I can pick up autographs that sell for $100 for $40 or $50 including shipping.

And this proves the point that it's important to know about the item(s) you want to buy and sell on eBay and how the item(s) sell on eBay.

Tip #2: Look for auctions that end at bad times of the day. For the most part, auctions that end between the hours of 3AM-6AM EST on a weekday are good for picking up steals for 2 reasons: most of the bidding for auctions usually happen in the last hour and between the hours of 3AM-6AM EST people are in bed.

However, if you yourself are in bed during that time the only way to take advantage of these types of auctions is to either place your highest bid as late as possible before you go to bed and hope that you don't get outbid, or to get sniper software that does it for you.

Sometimes auctions that end in the afternoon on a weekday can afford you the opportunity to pick up some great deals on eBay as well.

Tip #3: Newly listed items with a low buy-it-now. With this strategy you really have to know how much you can spend on the item and still make a good profit because this strategy requires you to snap up a good deal the minute you see it.

For example, a few days ago I saw a newly listed item with a buy-it-now of $24.99 plus $2.99 shipping on a baseball card I knew I could at least get $60 for but someone snapped it up before I could hit the buy-it-now.

This strategy works very well but is very time consuming as it requires quite a bit of vigilance on eBay, and it requires split second decisions, so again you have to know what the item sells for which will determine if you should hit the buy-it-now on a newly listed item.

Tip #4: Unsold items in completed listings. This one works occasionally but not often. However, I have picked up some really amazing deals when it has.

For example, there was a woman on eBay who was selling a collection of silver bars with the faces of presidents on them and the edges of the bars were 24kt gold, and those bars came in a very nice case.

To make a long story short her item was listed as an auction with a starting bid of $999 and it never got the minimum bid; after batting around a few messages I was able to get her to set up an auction for me with a buy-it-now of $849.99 with $30 shipping including insurance.

After waiting for the auction to clear out of completed listings, I was able to sell that collection of silver bars for almost $1500. I attribute being able to do this for 3 reasons: I know quite a bit about silver, quick online research of that particular set online just to be sure prior to contacting the seller, and doing a way better job of listing the item on eBay than the original owner.

Hope you found these tips helpful in getting steals on eBay.

Ana has been writing articles for nearly 1 year. Come visit her latest website about a pimple remover and other information on how to remove pimples.

A Beginner's Guide to the Different eBay Auction Types

Over the years, eBay has introduced all sorts of different auction types, in an effort to give people more options when they buy and sell their things on eBay.

For every seller who doesn't like the idea that their item might sell for a far lower price than they intend, there's another who wants to shift hundreds of the same item quickly. eBay tries to cater to all tastes. This email gives you an overview of the different kinds of auctions and their advantages for you.

Normal Auctions.
These are the bread-and-butter of eBay, the auctions everyone knows: buyers bid, others outbid them, they bid again, and the winner gets the item. Simple.

Reserve Auctions.
Reserve auctions are for sellers who don't want their items to sell for less than a certain price - a concept you'll know about if you're familiar with real auctions. They work just like normal auctions on eBay, except that the buyer will be told if their bid does not meet the reserve price you set, and they'll need to bid again if they want the item. If no-one is willing to meet your price, then the auction is cancelled, and you keep the item.

Fixed Price ('Buy it Now') Auctions.
Buy it Now auctions can work in one of two ways. You can add a Buy it Now button to a normal auction, meaning that buyers can choose either to bid normally or to simply pay the asking price and avoid the whole bidding process. Some sellers, though, now cut out the auction process altogether and simply list all their items at fixed price. This lets you avoid all the complications of the auction format and simply list your items for how much you want them to sell for.

Recently, eBay added a twist to fixed price auctions: the 'best offer'. This means that buyers can contact you to negotiate a price, which could be a good way to get sell some extra stock at a small discount. The only downside to reserve and fixed price auctions is that you pay a small extra fee to use these formats. In general, it is more worth using reserve auctions for higher-priced items and fixed price auctions for lower-priced ones - but remember that you can combine the two formats.

Multiple Item ('Dutch') Auctions.
These are auctions where you can sell more than one of a certain item. Dutch auctions can be done by bidding. Buyers bid a price and say how many items they want, and then everyone pays the lowest price that was bid by one of the winning bidders. If you have trouble getting your head around that, then don't worry - everyone else does too! These auctions are very rare.

What is more common is when a seller has a lot of one item, and lists it using a combination of two auction types: a multiple-item fixed price auction. This just means that you can just say how many of the item you they have, and offer them at a fixed price per unit. Buyers can enter how many they want and then just click Buy it Now to get them.

Now that you know about the different types of auctions, you should make sure that the items you plan to sell don't violate eBay's listing policies. The next email will let you know what's allowed and what is a big no-no.

What You Need to Know BEFORE You Get Started on eBay.

So you've decided that you want to get started as a seller on eBay. There are a few things that you really need to know before you go and throw yourself in at the deep end.
What to Sell.
First off, you need to know what it is you're going to sell: what's your speciality? You'll do far better on eBay if you become a great source for certain kind of products, as people who are interested in those products will come back to you again and again. You won't get any loyalty or real reputation if you just sell rubbish at random.
When you think about what to sell, there are a few things to consider. The most important of these is to always sell what you know. If you try to sell something that you just don't know anything about then you'll never write a good description and sell it for a good price.
You might think you're not especially interested in anything, but if you think about what kind of things you usually buy and which websites you go to most often, I'm sure you'll discover some kind of interest. If all else fails mention it to your friends and family: they'll almost certainly say "Oh, well why don't you sell…", and you'll slap your forehead.
Out of the things you know enough about, you should then consider which things you could actually get for a good enough price to resell, and how suitable they would be for posting. If you can think of something of that you're knowledgeable about and it's small and light enough for postage to be relatively cheap, then that's great!
Don't worry if you think the thing you're selling is too obscure - it isn't. There's a market for almost everything on eBay, even things that wouldn't sell once in a year if you stocked them in a shop. You'll probably do even better if you fill a niche than if you sell something common.
Tax and Legal Matters.
If you earn enough money, you should be aware that you're going to have to start paying tax - this won't be done for you. If you decide to sell on eBay on a full-time basis, you should probably register as a business.
Prepare Yourself.
There are going to be ups and downs when you sell on eBay. Don't pack it in if something goes a little wrong in your first few sales: the sellers who are successful on eBay are the ones who enjoy it, and stick at it whatever happens.
Anyone can sell on eBay, if they believe in themselves - and if you do decide it's not for you, then the start-up costs are so low that you won't really have lost anything.
If you're ready to start selling, then the next thing you need to know is the different auction types, so you can decide which ones you will use to sell your items. Our next email will give you a guide.

EBay Income Possibilities.

If you've ever read an article about eBay, you will have seen the kinds of incomes people make - it isn't unusual to hear of people making thousands of dollars per month on eBay.
Next time you're on eBay, take a look at how many PowerSellers there are: you'll find quite a few. Now consider that every single one of one of them must be making at least $1,000 per month, as that's eBay's requirement for becoming a PowerSeller. Silver PowerSellers make at least $3,000 each month, while Gold PowerSellers make more than $10,000, and the Platinum level is $25,000. The top ranking is Titanium PowerSeller, and to qualify you must make at least $150,000 in sales every month!
The fact that these people exist gives you come idea of the income possibilities here. Most of them never set out to even set up a business on eBay - they simply started selling a few things, and then kept going. There are plenty of people whose full-time job is selling things on eBay, and some of them have been doing it for years now. Can you imagine that? Once they've bought the stock, everything else is pretty much pure profit for these people - they don't need to pay for any business premises, staff, or anything else. There are multi-million pound businesses making less in actual profit than eBay PowerSellers do.
Even if you don't want to quit your job and really go for it, you can still use eBay to make a significant second income. You can pack up orders during the week and take them down to the post office for delivery each Saturday. There are few other things you could be doing with your spare time that have anywhere near that kind of earning potential.
What's more, eBay doesn't care who you are, where you live, or what you look like: some PowerSellers are very old, or very young. Some live out in the middle of nowhere where selling on eBay is one of the few alternatives to farming or being very poor. eBay tears down the barriers to earning that the real world constantly puts up. There's no job interview and no commuting involved - if you can post things, you can do it.
Put it this way: if you know where to get something reasonably cheaply that you could sell, then you can sell it on eBay - and since you can always get discounts for bulk at wholesale, that's not exactly difficult. Buy a job lot of something in-demand cheaply, sell it on eBay, and you're making money already, with no set-up costs.
If you want to dip your toe in the water before you commit to actually buying anything, then you can just sell things that you've got lying around in the house. Search through that cupboard of stuff you never use, and you'll probably find you've got a few hundred dollars' worth of stuff lying around in there! This is the power of eBay: there is always someone who wants what you're selling, whatever it might be, and since they've come looking for you, you don't even need to do anything to get them to buy it.
So you want to get started on eBay? Well, that's great! There are only a few little things you need to learn to get started. Our next email will give you the lowdown.