How Much Money Do You Make on eBay?

Are you trying to make extra money or start a new business? EBay is the place to meet both needs. Some have become rich but that’s not the norm for everyone. If you are ridding to work hard, your success is assured.

Keep reading for more tips (or grab your Make Money on eBay Guide to cut your learning curve. 

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Selling on eBay

If you look under Seller Resources, you will find a list of prohibited items. It is easy to make an honest mistake but knowing what is on the list will keep you in the clear.

What is your selling price? First, check to see what is already being sold. A saturated market is not going to handle a high price even when the items are worth it. If you’ve seen one antique doll then you’ve seen them all. The price you would get for them wouldn’t justify the fees you are going to pay.

Learn what fees eBay charges for listing and for holding auctions. Fees vary depending on the size and type of item.

Shipping is the last thing you do but needs to be one of the first things that you consider. Compensate for the high cost of shipping with a higher bidding price. Or, you can add a shipping calculator to the listing for bidders to use.

Choose between selling at a fixed price and holding an auction. Popular items will do better at auction because demand can drive the price higher than you imagined. Items that will sell but aren’t being fought over can net a profit being sold at a fixed price.

Start a Bidding War

A picture is worth a thousand words. In the case of eBay, it could be worth a thousand dollars. Upload photos of your item from as many different angles as you can. Zoom in on important features so that the bidders can see them with no trouble.

Besides the picture, your description is a way to drive up the price. Use key words that say a lot without being too wordy. Here is an example:

What is softer than Egyptian cotton sheets? For a taste of the good life try quality Egyptian 400 thread count cotton bedding.

Who doesn’t want a taste of the good life? This description makes the bidder feel like they are missing out on something if they pass up these sheets.

EBay provides sellers with a variety of resources to make the experience profitable and easy. If you are willing to put in the time and effort, your earning potential is limitless.
EBay Tools for the Seller

If your auctions are a success then the eBay marketplace is a success also. Sellers are given a variety of tools both free and for a fee to help you manage your listed items and the auctions.

Free Tools

Everyone wants something for free. At eBay, the free stuff is worth its weight in gold. Before moving up to the more advanced tools, take advantage of the free ones first.

Turbo Lister – this free selling tool is downloadable to your PC. Take all the time you need to create your listings on your desktop and then upload them to the eBay site when you are satisfied with them. Do one at a time or all at once. Now, you can get your auctions up and running with ease.

File Exchange – you have to be a qualified seller to access this one. This is where your positive feedback can help. With a high number of feedback points, you can gain access to File Exchange. Use it when you log on to My eBay. Besides uploading listings in bulk, download reports and listings for managing auction items.

Tools with a Monthly Fee

EBay always offers tools for a low monthly fee. Each one has a 30-day free trial along with it so you can try it out for fee essentially.

Selling Manager – you can look at your listing at any point in the process. New and old active listings can be viewed with this tool. To send email messages to your buyers, use templates provided with Selling Manager. Also print package labels and invoices. Access this feature through My eBay for $4.99 per month.

Selling Manager Pro – use this tool if you are a medium or high volume seller. In addition to the features of the original Selling Manager, you can now schedule listings for auction, print bulk mailing labels, manage feedback and create reports. The fee per month is $15.99.

Blackthorne Basic – use this tool offline if you so choose. After you are done you can upload it to eBay. The price is $9.99 per month.

Blackthorne Pro – high volume sellers will like this one. You can do all of the things that you can do with the other three listed here plus receiving monthly statements to track the success of your business. For a seller of that caliber, you can’t go wrong with this tool for only $24.99 per month.

As an eBay seller, use all of the resources available to you. they can help you avoid rookie mistakes and also increase your profits.

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