Ebay selling tips

[horseboy]

I have never sold anything on Ebay before, so I don't know any of the tricks. Is there a preferable time of day to have an auction begin or end? A preferable day of the week for an auction to begin or end on? Any other tips that might be helpful?

[FND]

I have never sold anything on Ebay before, so I don't know any of the tricks. Is there a preferable time of day to have an auction begin or end? A preferable day of the week for an auction to begin or end on? Any other tips that might be helpful?

 

Remember the time difference, most video game buyers will wait to the last second do bid so being on the west coast I try to list

between 6 and 7 PM my time that way auctions are ending on the east coast between 9 and 10 PM, not everyone can access the internet

during working hours so ending auctions after they have time to get home will increase your chance of bidders being available to bid

 

FND

[horseboy]

Good tip. Any particular day off the week better than the others? Weekdays vs weekends?

Edited August 25, 2010 by horseboy

[FND]

Good tip. Any particular day off the week better than the others? Weekdays vs weekends?

 

Not sure but I try not to end my auctions on fridays or weekends as I just figure most are out doing

something and may not be able to be home or just forget. Weekdays other then Friday are my preference

but have not done any type of test to see which are best, also check ahead for holidays that may be

coming up and try not to end on those days or even during big sports games that may have peoples attention

 

FND

[Zwackery]

I tend to shoot for between 10pm and 11pm (midnight at the latest) EST, so that way people on the West Coast will hopefully be available. If I open an auction to international bidders I might go a bit later so that everyone in North & South America is still (or could be) awake and people with 6 hours difference might be waking up (or willing to wake up a smidge early). +/- 12 hour difference is easy for those bidders.

 

As for days of the week, I avoid weekends. I generally pick Tuesday - back to work on Monday, what a drag; Wednesday is hump day, here comes the weekend; Thirsty Thursday and people are getting started on the weekend.

[Madaracs]

I have never sold anything on Ebay before, so I don't know any of the tricks. Is there a preferable time of day to have an auction begin or end? A preferable day of the week for an auction to begin or end on? Any other tips that might be helpful?

 

This seems to work well for me: (Take it with a grain of salt, but I've never been disappointed.)

 

• Start the auction in the evening if at all possible. For 7 Day auctions it's a good idea to start on a Saturday or Sunday and have them end around 9-10pm CST. In theory, this gives the majority of persons in U.S. time zones ample time to finish the sale when they're not at work. My best results have been 5 or 7 day auctions that end on the weekend. 3 Day auctions have not been really great for me--not enough exposure to the item by the eBay community in that short time.
   
  
• Always try to have at least one photo. (I like 3-4)
   
  
• Use the feature that's available to show the item as a thumbnail in a search. (In a search shows a small photo)
   
  
• Take advantage of the second description line. It draws attention to the auction when people are browsing.
   
  
• Don't bother with a bunch of add-ons to sell your item such as a fancy theme, bolded text or other items that will cost you a lot to list the item.
   
  
• Use the same listing etiquette as you would posting here: AVOID ALL CAP LISTINGS, be descriptive and clear about the item you're listing.
   
  
• When listing an item it's often good to search for the item yourself to see which keywords you want in your listing title.
   
  
• Be sure to be clear about your terms. When you expect payment, what will happen if they don't pay. Forms of payment, etc.
   
  
• Start all items at $.99 or $1.00. (If it's truly to be an auction) This does two things:
  
  1. Encourages bidding. Creates a sense of competition. It might look like you're not getting much initially, but it's been my experience that the last few hours are what really counts.
     
  2. Guaranties you a fair market value. (assuming of course you listed your item in a proper category and it was easily found in a search--see above)
     

  [*] As a general rule I never list a reserve. If I expect to get an item for a certain price, I will not run it as an auction and I'll slap it up for what I must have for it bottom line.

   

  [*] I find that having a postage scale is handy. I got one at Office Depot. I like to weigh my items to offer exact shipping. Often times, I will offer a flat, discounted rate for shipping. For instance, I know it will cost me $10.70 to send a Medium Flat-Rate Priority Mail box via USPS to pretty much anywhere in the U.S. In those cases where I know I'll be using that service, I'll drop the shipping to a flat rate and let the bidders make up the difference. Sometimes, if I feel like it I just tack on FREE SHIPPING to encourage the bidders to bid more money. I know that when I'm buying I always take shipping into account before making my final bid.

   

  [*] Post about it here for a little more exposure!

   

  [*] Be honest.

 

I'm sure I haven't covered it all here and this advice of course depends on the perceived value the item has to you and whether or not you're actually going to list an auction or do a "buy it now." It's all a bit of a scary gamble when you first list. But the bottom line is that if you're as honest as possible and work with your customer, you'll do well.

[A.J. Franzman]

When listing an item it's often good to search for the item yourself to see which keywords you want in your listing title.

Adding to that idea: Most people searching for items search by title alone, so don't waste your very limited title space on words that people won't be searching for. Avoid garbage such as "LOOK!" (or the puketastic "LQQK!"), excessive punctuation 'ASCII Art' ( <(O-O)> ), "RARE!", etc. Stick to the facts; don't put misleading keywords in just to get more search hits. Falsely luring in people who are looking for something else doesn't help you. Make sure all the keywords in the title are spelled correctly. If there are alternate versions of some keywords and you have room to fit them in, go ahead, but don't worry about punctuation; "key word" and "key-word" are exactly the same as far as searching, but "keyword", "key words" and "keywords" are different.

Edited August 25, 2010 by A.J. Franzman

[bradjewell]

I think this is good idea for a thread and might be of some help to people...

 

I tend to agree with Madaracs post, as he makes a lot of good points, and are things that

I try to personally do when listing items.

 

Things I would reiterate are:

 

Starting the listing at .99 cents. It gives you lower starting fees, and encourages bidders. It also gives more of

chance for the bidding to play out and give you a fair value.

 

7 Days auctions are what I typically use since they give you the highest amount of time for people to see them.

 

I usually don't do reserve auctions.

 

It's not listed in the auction, but I package my sales like the post office is the enemy and it must get through the battlezone.

As long as you are fair, honest, and do a good job packaging and shipping you're doing all you can do.

.. of course you can always run into wieners... as is evidenced by the myriad posts we get here bitching about 'em...

 

I basically just try to list auctions in a manner that puts something out there that I would bid on.

I would want the auction to be honest, accurate, have some pictures, start low, and have easy to understand terms.

 

oh.. and good luck on your auctions..

have fun and make some money

...end ramble...

 

Regards,

Brad

Edited August 26, 2010 by bradjewell

[pangasinan]

I disagree with starting an auction at 99 cents,i opens the door for your item being sold for less than what you want for it.

What you should do is start the auction at the price you are happy with if it is sold.

If it sells at that price or more then great you have done well.

If it does not sell then no big deal you just pay a couple of dollars for fees,which is what you would do anyway if you put it in the newspaper to sell.

Seven day auctions are best unless you have a BIN on it,then 10 days is the way to go.

Also dont listen to nay sayers,there are plenty here who always bag ebay,even though it does have its faults and is not perfect,it is a good system for buying and selling.

[Austin]

Great tips overall. I haven't sold on eBay in a while, but when I did, my habits were mostly of what has been posted here.

 

Regarding starting auctions at .99 cents, I feel it depends on the product you are listing. Doing this on common, cheap games, you are probably better off listing them closer to the general market value, otherwise you may find yourself giving away many of your games at a loss. On the other hand, if you are selling something rare and expensive, starting your auction low is a way to one-up other similar auctions with higher starting prices. More people are likely to watch your listing and/or place bids early, something that can sometimes lead to bidding wars.