1. Study the eBay Store Traffic Reports. With this information, you can make educated adjustments to your store that will improve sales.

2. Run low-reserve and 1-cent auctions to drive traffic to your store. Think of these auctions as “advertisements” that will drive shoppers into your store.

3. List your entire inventory in your eBay Store. Shoppers can’t buy what they can’t see.

4. Register and assign a domain name to your eBay Store. You can assign any domain to your eBay Store through your store manager.

5. Accept PayPal as a payment method. Over 80% of eBay users have Paypal, and use it as their preferred method of payment.

6. Do your homework regarding key words. Make sure you are getting the most bang for your buck and using those 55 characters in your title wisely.

7. Use your store categories wisely. eBay allows you to create up to 300 product categories for easy buyer navigation. This category structure not only insures that buyers will be able to find what they are looking for, but it also increases the likelihood that your store will be indexed with Google, Yahoo, and other search engines.

8. Have a fair return policy. Customers may not use it, but they may buy from you over your competition if you have a fair return policy, and the competition doesn’t.

9. Keep your shipping fees fair and competitive. Check on your competition to see what they charge for similar items, and make sure you are in line with the mainstream.

10. Use the promotion boxes provided on MANAGE YOUR STORE. Be creative and add a slide show or featured items.

[Image Source: Flickr]

Post from: EveryJoe

10 Tips for a Successful eBay Store

As an eBay Power Seller since 2003, I have sold over 15,000 items. I have experimented with many, many, different products along the way. Most of my inventory has come from garage sales, thrift stores, and consignment stores. My eBook, “Thrift Store Shopping for eBay,” contains information about how to find items to sell at thrift stores, what sells for the best profit, and how to get additional discounts when purchasing items to resell.

For example, did you know that you can get additional discounts by shopping on certain days of the week, or just buying items with certain color tags? You would be amazed at what the store manager will tell you if you just ask. I go to one thrift store that puts ads in a free newspaper, but the paper isn’t delivered, you have to pick one up at the grocery store. I never even knew about this until I saw other shoppers with coupons and asked where they were getting them. The coupon is for 50% off the entire purchase, with a $200 limit – so it is an incredible deal!

Another tip, certain colors of clothing should be avoided. Learn what they are and why they don’t sell well on eBay. Learn what vintage items to look for, even if they aren’t in stellar condition. Learn about clothing, household items, shoes, collectibles, and toys.

My eBook contains several pages of specific items that you can sell on eBay for profit.

To receive your eBook, just leave a request in the comments section below. Be sure to include your email address in the space provided – I am the only person who will see your email address. I’ll email your eBook to you within 24 hours. What do you have to lose?

[Image Source: Flickr]

Post from: EveryJoe

Free eBook – What to Buy at Thrift Stores to Sell on eBay for Profit

Have you seen the Sharpics 30″ D-Flector Portable Studio Background? This portable studio unfolds into a perfect seamless background for small or medium sized items.

The background itself is made of a silver, white, or black material (your choice) that disappears when you take the photo – so no photo editing software (or skill) is needed! Below is a photo taken by a member at the eBay Coach Forum who told us about this product. She said it “works amazingly” and “is well worth the money.” Works great for items like shoes, clothes, books, toys, jewelry, handbags, kitchen items, ceramics, etc. Thanks for sharing this information with us!

Benefits of the Sharpics 30″ D-Flector Photo Studio include:

Portability – lightweight and easy to transport
Easy storage – folds up like a briefcase
Durability -easy to clean, won’t rip like paper or stain like cloth
Affordability – costs about $100

Image Source: Flickr

Post from: EveryJoe

Portable Studio for Photos of eBay Items

Selling on eBay is more than just filling in spaces on a computer screen. If you are a new seller and aren’t sure how to manage listing an item, these steps will help you.

1) List items in batches of 5-10 items. Batching items is more time efficient than listing one at a time.

2) Prepare the item to be photographed (iron it, remove stains, clean it, etc.).

3) Take pictures. Click here for tips on taking good photos.

4) Edit pictures. If your pictures don’t turn out well, retake them. It is worth the time investment.

5) Put items that have been photographed in a laundry basket or other plastic container, so that they are protected and neatly out of the way.

6) Sit at your computer and list items. Physically handle the item and examine it while you are typing your description so you can describe it accurately (no need to write it first). If you need help with the description, click here for some tips.

7) Weigh the item as it would be packed as you are listing the item and determine how much to charge for shipping. You can just put the item on the scale with a box and some packing materials if needed to get a pretty close estimate. Learn how to determine what to charge for shipping.

8)After the item is listed, put it away in storage in a certain area so it doesn’t get mixed in with non-listed items and it is ready to be pulled and shipped. Don’t package it until after it has been sold and you have received payment. (Some buyers won’t pay!) Potential buyers may have questions about the item and you might have to pull the item out to get a measurement or look at some other detail. You don’t want to waste time packaging something that might have to be opened and repackaged later.

9) When your item sells, pull it out, package it, and ship it. I print an invoice to include inside the package. Get the customer’s address off the invoice. Just write the address on the package and take it to the PO. If you like, you can try printing your postage online through USPS, Paypal, or Stamps.com.

10) Most sellers ship their items first thing in the morning. You want to take care of the people who have already paid for their items (and are waiting to receive them) before listing new items. Most sellers work on their items during the day, or shop, and do their listing at night.

Post from: EveryJoe

eBay FAQ #8 – What Are the Steps to List and Ship an Item on eBay?

You will have to spend some time researching to determine the value of an item you want to sell on eBay. The fastest and easiest way to determine a fair starting price or buy-it-now price is to study eBay’s completed listings for similar items that have recently sold.

Studying completed listings is one way to gather information about selling price, auction starting price, buy-it-now price, shipping fees, and other criteria to help your item sell. Click here to learn the specific steps involved in searching eBay’s completed listings.

Remember in the real world, an item’s value is determined by how much someone will pay for it, now what you think it is worth. Sentimental value, interesting stories, and an item’s personal history doesn’t make it more valuable to other people. To be successful on eBay, you must have an open mind, be flexible, and constantly do your research.

[Image Source: Flickr]

Post from: EveryJoe

How to Price Items to Sell on eBay

A common question on eBay groups, forums, and blogs is, “How can I get more for what I am selling? Other sellers are getting higher prices than I am getting for the same item.What am I doing wrong?” Maybe nothing. Here are 5 suggestions for strategies for getting higher prices on your eBay listings.

1) Choose the best category for your listing. For example, for years I sold men’s golf shirts. For a while, I listed the shirts in the category SPORTING GOODS/ATHLETIC APPAREL/GOLF. Then I realized that I made more sales by listing the item in CLOTHING/MENS SHIRTS/CASUAL/POLO SHIRTS. It was “eBay legal” to list the item in either category, but from my own research I determined that sales were better in the second category because the items were exposed to more shoppers and were getting more page views in the MENS SHIRTS/CASUAL category,

2) Choose the best listing format for your item. Which works better, store inventory, auction style listings, fixed price listing, buy it now, best offer, or a set price? Experiment with different formats to see what works best. The trend is moving away from auctions, however, many people still enjoy the excitiement of the auction experience.

3) Start a bidding war. Experts agree that the #1 way to generate interest in your listings is to set a low staring price with no reserve. If you are really brave, throw in free shipping. Get people interested in your item with bold moves!

4) Choose listing upgrades to enhance your items. Upgrades like subtitle, bold, and featured listings can enhance the number of views for your item.

5) Keep an eye on the competition, but create your own style and put your own spin on your listings. So many times sellers think, “My competitor is selling XYZ item for this price, and they are making sales, I’ll just do what they are doing.” And they spend their time copying the other sellers’ text, photos, pricing structure, etc. eBay is a place where you can be creative and have unlimited opportunities to experiment. Try something new. Offer free or 99 cent shipping. Offer a different pricing structure. Guarantee fast shipping. Add a video, music, or a voiceover. Do something different and be unique.

[Image Source: Flickr]

Post from: EveryJoe

Top 5 Strategies for Receiving Higher Selling Prices on eBay Items