What is the best way to combine shipping on ebay How much do I charge?

September 5th, 2010 Rob Posted in eBay buying and selling 1 Comment »

I am wanting to sell my kids clothes. I have tons! Is there any expeirenced ebay sellers out there that can give me advice.

Also what is the cheapest way to buy boxes or those poly bags?

Thanks in advance!
10 points to best answer.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Why You Should at Least Explore Ebay

August 30th, 2010 Rob Posted in eBay buying and selling No Comments »

Why You Should at Least Explore eBay

Are you interested in doing more of your shopping online?  In the past, a large number of consumers were worried about doing so; however, as online security continues to improve, more consumers are finding themselves shopping online.  If you are interested in becoming one of those individuals, you will want to examine eBay.

When it comes to shopping on eBay, there are a number of first time eBay users who are worried about security, among other things.  Of course, there are always internet scams that can be found on eBay, but, for the most part, you should be able shop on eBay without any concerns.  If you are still wondering whether or not eBay is right for you, you may want to think about at least exploring the site.

When it comes to exploring the eBay site, you will want to examine it as a whole.  For instance, if you are wondering about eBay’s security, you may want to visit eBay’s help center.  There you can find information for first time eBay users, just like you.  You can review eBay’s policies, as well as information on how they handle eBay scams, should you end up falling victim to one.  eBay, like many other online websites, has a customer service department.  Should you have any questions that you can’t find answers to on the eBay website, you may want to think about contacting their customer service department.

In addition to safety and security, there are a number of potential eBay users who wonder about what they can buy on eBay. The good news is that you can easily find out what is for sale on eBay, without even having to create an eBay account.  If you are looking for something in particular, you can perform an eBay search with the item of your interest.  If you are just looking to explore the site, you can also browse through the unlimited number of eBay selling categories.  Just a few of these categories include home and garden, baby, clothing, entertainment, and much more. 

Another question commonly asked, by new eBay users, is the methods of accepted payments. As you likely already know, eBay is actually an online auction website.  This online auction website allows other internet users to post items that they have for sale.  For this reason, you will find that different methods of payment are accepted.  In all honesty, it depends on the seller and their own personal preference.  Despite a possible variance among many eBay sellers, PayPal, personal checks, and money orders are often acceptable forms of payment.  To get an idea of the payments available, you are urged to click on active auctions.  Towards the bottom of the auction listing page, you should see the accepted forms of payment outlined, from that particularly seller. 

As it was previously mentioned, you can easily explore eBay without having to register for an account.  If you like what you see and if you want to start shopping on eBay, you will need to register an account with them. As a buyer, your account is free.  Within a few minutes at the most, you could be bidding on the products that you want to own.  You may even be able to find listings that are known as “Buy It Now,” listings. These listings enable to you to make your purchase right at that moment, without competition from other eBay buyers.  To get started today, visit eBay.com.

Simon Fusco

Marketer and Publisher

http://www.newebaywealth.com

http://theebaysuccesspack.blogspot.com

http://ebayvideorevealed.blogspot.com

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

How much does the eBay affiliate program pay per new user sign up?

August 24th, 2010 Rob Posted in eBay buying and selling No Comments »

I plan on teaching classes on how to use eBay, so I can easily get quite a few new members to sign up. If I register for the affiliate plan, how much will eBay pay per new person who signs up and buys something?

I checked the website, but they don’t seem to give a straightforward answer.

10 pts instantly to the first person to give me a clear, detailed answer. Please don’t jut post a link.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

How do I start off selling things on eBay?

August 18th, 2010 Rob Posted in eBay buying and selling 6 Comments »

I don’t mean making a listing, I mean the basic things I need to get started. Such as, do I need a PayPal account? What do I need for this account (a bank account, credit card, etc.)? How will I wire the funds from purchases to this account? Does signing up for eBay and making a listing actually require any money?

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

How to Choose My Password for My Ebay Login

August 12th, 2010 Rob Posted in eBay buying and selling No Comments »

A good ebay login password is essential since you are going to be using it often. Most people would breeze through the ebay registration process since ebay makes it so easy to register.

However, you may want to give some thought to your ebay username and password before clicking the sign up button.

Choosing a good ebay password

Let’s look at one of the two components of an ebay login process. An ebay password is utmost important as whoever has your password can take full control of your ebay account. They would be able to bid on any auctions, leave feedback and most dangerous of all, access your private data such as your credit card details, address, phone etc.

By observing a few common sense rules, you provide better protection for your ebay password.

· Do not use your particulars as your password such as such name, birthday etc. The basic idea is not to make your ebay password too easy to remember

· It’s a good idea to change your password every couple of months

· To not give your ebay password to anyone including your family members

· Try to use capital letters and numbers in your password. This makes it difficult for people to guess.

Your ebay User ID

Unfortunately, most of the common ebay usernames have already been taken. Most of the time, you will need to append numbers to your preferred user id. For example john79, charlie024 etc.

Instead of choosing user ID such as john79, you should choose an id that tells other ebayers about yourself, especially if you are selling. Say for example, you plan on selling watches on ebay, then it would be best if you can incorporate watch something in your user id.

I have seen some ebay usernames which are website url. For example **mywebsite.com**. I am not so sure if ebay allows that but it is definitely a good way to promote your own website

If you need to use two words or more in your username, you can use underscore or a hyphen to join them since ebay does not allow empty spaces in username.

You are allowed to change your ebay username once every thirty days so if you do not like your username, you can change it. However I do not advise against it especially for ebay sellers.

You can click the my ebay link. From the my ebay login page, go and click on the preferences tab and click on change my user id link.

The reason is quite simple. After you have been selling on ebay for a while, your customers would recognize you by your ebay id, if you change it, your customers may not trust you or may not know your ebay id has changed.

So you see, before clicking on the signup button, take a while to consider your ebay login password and ID.

Ricky Lim is an ebay powerseller who runs an ebay selling tips site. Visit his site for more selling tips on ebay dropshipping and ebay bid snipers

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Dropshipping Will not Make you Money on Ebay

August 6th, 2010 Rob Posted in eBay buying and selling No Comments »

If you are considering using dropshipping to supply your eBay auctions with products then this article might change your mind and send you in the right direction…

Dropshipping is terrible for eBay businesses!

What is dropshipping? Dropshipping is a method of buying-and-selling that requires very little money upfront and very little effort. In theory.

Here is how dropshipping works on eBay.

You look through a dropshipper’s catalog to find products you want to sell on eBay. Then, you post the products as auctions or buy it now listings on eBay. If the product sells, you collect the payment from the buyer and forward the order on to the dropshipper, using your eBay customer’s payment to fund the transaction. The dropshipper then send the product directly to your eBay customer.

The money you have left is your profit.

The profit is the difference in price between what you pay the dropshipper and what you sell the product for on eBay. So if your dropshipper sells the Nintendo Wii for $230 and you sell it on eBay for $250 have $20 in profit. However, to determine your actual profit you need to include and deduct your eBay fees, PayPal fees, etc. So your final profit is under $20 using the example given.

Why is dropshipping bad for my eBay business? Let me start by saying “bad” is an understatement. Dropshipping is not bad, it is deadly. Dropshipping makes no sense in the eBay marketplace… Just think about it!

Dropshipping is based on the concept that you can get just one of an item and pay near wholesale price. But if you just think about it, that doesn’t make any sense. If we look at how the wholesale industry works it will be obvious.

The wholesale industry works on quantity. Wholesale is all about bulk. When a huge company, such as Wal*Mart, places an order it is in huge quantity (to fill all of their stores). I’ll make you an example using dvd players…

Wal*Mart wants to order 5000 ZIP-ZAM DVD PLAYERS which retail for $105 each. Wal*Mart plans to sell them for a little under retail at $98 each. So, they contact their wholesale distributor who offers them a price of $86 each. Wal*Mart places the order and everyone is happy. But…

Using dropshipping you cannot expect to get that DVD player for anywhere near $86. The distributor offered Wal*Mart the $86 price because of the quantity they were agreeing to purchase. At the $86 price the distributor is only profiting $5 per DVD player. But that is ok. One sale of 5000 units to Wal*Mart is $25,000 in profit. But you want just one, and a $5 profit sale is not going to do.

You have to look at it from the dropshipper’s perspective. If a dropshipper had a really hot product — why would they sell it to some small businesses for very little profit? Anyone using dropshipping is not going to sell huge quantities (or they would use wholesale)… So what is in it for the dropship company? The dropshipper could even sell direct to the public and do much better. They could charge a higher price and probably sell more units. Wholesalers could do this too, but remember, they do not sell one item at a time. They have a completely different business model.

So, when you think about it even a little bit – WHY would any company sell you just one of an item for very little profit? WHAT would be the advantage?

The answer is simple. They do not. The exception to this would be companies that sell large items that most stores do not keep in stock but will special order or very unique specialty items. But in the real world; in the EBAY world, dropshipping will cost you much more than wholesale price. Since eBay is a low-price marketplace, this means that often the dropshipping price is MORE than the eBay price.

eBay is a very competitive marketplace and the profit margins with dropshipping are just too thin to allow anyone to actually make a good living with this method of product sourcing.

But even if you could find a good product with a high profit margin, you cannot use dropshipping’s main advantage. You can no longer sell the item on eBay and then use that money to buy the item from the dropshipper.

You see, dropshipping is about getting paid first and then using that money to buy the product and have it shipped directly to your eBay buyer. So, you list an item on eBay then someone buys it. Then you use the money they paid you (though PayPal) to buy the item, which the drop shipper then ships directly to the buyer.

YOU LIST THE ITEM

YOU SELL THE ITEM

BUYER PAYS YOU FOR THE ITEM

YOU USE BUYER’S PAYMENT TO BUY THE ITEM FROM THE DROP SHIPPER

THE DROP SHIPPER SENDS THE ITEM DIRECTLY TO YOUR EBAY CUSTOMER

eBay’s recent policy changes will make it nearly impossible to start with dropshipping. One of the major benefits of dropshipping has been obliterated by eBay. You can no longer use the buyer’s money to pay for the product you are selling on eBay.

eBay has an new policy in place where they will start HOLDING FUNDS FOR 21 DAYS or UNTIL POSITIVE FEEDBACK IS LEFT! This applies to small sellers, new sellers, and sellers with less than stellar feedback.

Here are the details direct from eBay’s website…

FROM EBAY’S POLICY CHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT:

Occasional holds on payment

27. Which sellers will have their payments held?

In a small percentage of cases where it has been determined the risk of dissatisfied buyers is higher, PayPal may delay release of the payment funds to the seller until the buyer has left a positive feedback or 21 days have passed without a dispute, claim, chargeback or reversal filed on that transaction.

To determine if a transaction may have a higher risk of dissatisfied buyers, eBay reports to PayPal a number of factors, including but not limited to:

Seller’s % Positive Feedback in the last 30 days

Seller’s Detailed Seller Ratings in the last 30 days

Final price for the item

Shipping & handling fee

Seller’s eBay tenure as an eBay member

Seller’s total number of Feedback

29. When will PayPal release the eBay item hold?

PayPal will release the hold when the earliest of the following occurs:

the buyer leaves positive feedback,

3 days after confirmed item delivery* or

21 days without a dispute, claim, chargeback, or reversal filed on that transaction.

* This applies to US domestic transactions that are shipped by USPS or FedEx and either (i) use PayPal shipping labels to ship items or (ii) upload tracking information to PayPal via the transaction details page.

So, now assuming you are a newer eBay seller (and if you’re established why on earth would you be considering dropshipping) you can not use the money they pay you to complete the transaction as it will be held.

You must use your own money to complete the drop ship order as the funds will not be released for 21 days. Seeing as this “pay only after you sell” feature was one of the best things about the dropshipping method of product sourcing there is really no reason whatsoever to use dropshipping any more.

While this might have you upset. I think it is a blessing in disguise. This will undoubtedly put a dent in the business of the handful of dropship sourcing companies that have made a fortune preying on eBay business hopefuls.

Dropshipping doesn’t work on eBay. It didn’t before and it definitely will not now!

If you are interested in buying products in a method similar to dropshipping (but that actually can help you profit) please visit my anti-dropshipping website at http://www.DropShippingSucks.com

Good luck and no matter what you try remember… If it sounds too good to be true, it is!

Christopher Bernard is an eBay Power Seller and Expert Wholesale & Drop Ship Product Sourcing Specialist with Over 9 Years Experience.


Christopher Currently Operates the Anti-Drop Shipping Website at DropShippingSucks.Com.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Avoid Spoof Emails for Ebay Ebook Success

August 4th, 2010 Rob Posted in eBay buying and selling No Comments »

One of the things I have noticed as I have increased my sales volume on eBay is the increased volume of spoof emails I have received claiming to be eBay or PayPal. They do this to try and gain access to your eBay or PayPal account, and sometimes even to try and get your bank details. I therefore felt that my next article should be on spotting and avoiding spoof email as it will surely be a problem that all you ebook sellers are going to have to deal with too.

Spotting spoof email can initially be quite tricky. After all the address appears to be a PayPal or eBay one and the often use eBay and PayPal graphics to make the emails look even more authentic. However, once you have had a reasonable amount of spoof email come your way, you soon realise that they all generally stick to the same format. Below are some of the most common spoof emails.

1) Ebay / PayPal Account Suspension:- These claim that your account will be suspended by a certain date if you do not take action. Some look more genuine than others. They ask you to click a link which directs you to a false eBay login screen where the spoof company then tries to steal your eBay Username and Password. These are relatively easy to spot because you are unlikely to receive an email on this subject from eBay or PayPal unless you have committed a serious violation of policy. Even if you believe you have been suspended it’s always best to be safe and logon to eBay manually through your internet browser.

2) Ebay / PayPal Unauthorised Access:- These claim that someone has been making attempts to access your account from another IP address. Some even give false IP addresses and locations from where your eBay account was apparently accessed. These are obvious spoof emails because the fact that you have accessed your account from a different IP address does not constitute someone else trying to access your account. It could simply be you accessing your account from a different computer.

3) Unpaid Item Reminder:- These send you an unpaid item reminder for an item you haven’t even purchased. For example a few days ago I received one for a $2000 camera. Surely I wouldn’t forget if I had purchased an item like that. If you click on the links in this email you are directed to a false eBay page which tries to steal your eBay Username and Password.

4) Question about Ebay Item:- These are one of the trickier spoof emails as it is likely that you do receive questions about the item. Some even have an eBay ID link embedded in the email so that they look more authentic. However, most of the spoof emails do not state which eBay item the query concerns. Furthermore, the questions often do not make much sense and include phrases such as “How much is your last item?” The best way to make sure you do not get caught out is to log into eBay manually and then answer the question through my messages.

5) PayPal payment Sent:- These spoof emails again look a little more genuine. They claim that an unauthorised PayPal attempt has been sent. I received one today saying that I had sent $400 without my knowledge. They then have a link saying if you did not authorise this payment “Click Here” which then leads you to a spoof PayPal page where they try to get your User ID and Password. However, when you make a genuine PayPal payment they do not usually mention anything about it being unauthorised. If they did suspect it to be unauthorised they would probably just hold the payment.

6) Ebay PowerSeller Confirmation:- I received a couple of these before I actually was made a PowerSeller. They do look genuine but instead of directing you to eBay to enter your Username and Password you are directed to a spoof website. The best way to make sure the email is genuine is to go to the eBay PowerSeller page and login at http://pages.ebay.co.uk/services/buyandsell/powersellers.html. If the email is genuine you will be recognised as a PowerSeller here. If you are not then you know the email is spoof.

Beware that this is only some of the spoof email subjects you may receive. The people who write them will always be thinking of new ways to steal your ID and Password and as a result new spoof emails are surfacing all the time. Below is a list of the common things to look for in emails to identify them as spoof.

1) Ebay ID / PayPal Name:- If the email addresses your either by your eBay User ID or your actual name it is much more likely to be genuine. Most spoof emails simply address you as the email address to which the email has been sent. For example a genuine email from eBay is likely to say “Congratulations ebookcavern…” whereas a spoof email is likely to say “Congratulations sales@theebookcavern.co.uk…”

2) From Email Address:- Although this is not a dead certain way of identifying spoof email on some it is noticeable. The spoof emails will claim to be from eBay or PayPal and in a large majority of them when you check this out the email address looks genuine. However, some of the from email addresses do not look so genuine. For example I recently received a spoof email claiming to be from the PayPal address: service@paypal.comservicepaypal.com which made it pretty clear that this email was spoof.

3) Excessive use of eBay / PayPal images:- Many of the spoof emails in an attempt to look genuine use eBay or PayPal images in the email. However, some use excessive amounts of these and when compared to a normal email from eBay or PayPal and so can be easily identified by this.

4) The Hyperlink:- This is the link that the email is trying to get you to click on. It is also the best way of identifying whether the email is spoof or not. If you scroll over the link or right-click and view the properties you should find out what the actual link is. If this link is not part of a PayPal or eBay domain then you can be sure it is spoof.

If you identify an email as spoof using the above criteria then you must not click on any of the links inside it. If it is an eBay spoof email forward it to spoof@ebay.co.uk and if it is a PayPal spoof email forward it to spoof@paypal.com and then delete it. Remember it is always better to be safe then sorry so take precautions such as logging into eBay and PayPal manually through your internet browser and regularly changing your password. You can also read eBay’s guide to spoof email at http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/confidence/isgw-account-theft-spoof.html. Stay safe and Good Luck!!!

About The Author:-

For more useful tips & links, please browse for more information at our website

www.auction-entrepreneur-kit.com

www.auction.infozabout.com

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

How does ebay keep sellers from bidding on there own items?

July 31st, 2010 Rob Posted in eBay buying and selling 1 Comment »

I think that sometimes when I am bidding the seller is the one trying to out bid me. Does ebay have a way to trace this?

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Increase Sales By Letting eBay Shoppers See Your Whole Store

July 25th, 2010 Rob Posted in eBay buying and selling No Comments »

Many people on eBay run online eBay stores. This is a unique option that allows people who sell multiple items on eBay to put them all together into a “store” concept. There are many eBay auction tools available to help people create a professional and user friendly eBay store, where they can effectively display their merchandise and increase their traffic and sales.


There are several online eBay auction tools available that increase your sales by letting eBay shoppers see your entire store from many different angles. Some of these tools include an auction spell checker, an auction ad creator, an eBay Smart Shopping tool, auction stores, and image hosting.


The auction spell checker is a useful eBay auction tool for any eBay auction store. This tool will check through your listing’s description and catch any spelling and grammar mistakes that are present. You can make your eBay store look more professional by not having any typos or spelling mistakes. This is a very useful eBay auction tool.


An auction ad creator is one of the most essential eBay auction tools for any online store operator. With this eBay auction tool, you can create professional looking ads in no time. You do not need to know any HTML to create these ads with this tool. With eBay auction tools like the ad creator, you can add a payment link to your site, add pictures quickly, attract new customers, and it will make your eBay store look much more professional. It is easy enough for a new eBayer to use and advanced enough for an experienced eBayer.


eBay Smart Shopping Tool is something every eBay needs. It is the ideal eBay auction tool for the online store owner. This tool will save you a lot of time and money. This tool will help your shoppers with pricing, bidding, banner control and more. Your customers will know how much you care about their shopping experience in your store when they see that you have the eBay Smart Shopping Tool available.


Auction stores is another useful eBay auction tool. This is a directory of all the online eBay auction stores. This is a good tool to have so that you can easily be aware of what your competition is selling on eBay.


Finally, your images are an important part of your eBay store. Having an eBay auction tool to help you create and post high quality images is a very important factor to successful selling. So, you will want to have eBay auction tools that help you create very high quality images. Your first impression is the most important, so you will want to have very clear, crisp pictures.


There are several eBay auction tools available to eBay store owners. Some of the other tools available include checkout services, shipping tools, online auction forums, feedback capabilities, and an eBay calculator. These are just a few of the eBay auction tools that are available and very useful to the online store owner. They will enhance any online store and make it very presentable to all of its customers. It will also attract customers, increase traffic to your eBay auctions and increase your online auction sales.


In conclusion, you can increase sales by using these and other eBay auction tools. Tools such as these actually allow the visitor to see your store as a whole. They allow the customer to view your merchandise in a new light.


When the customer is able to see your merchandise completely, they will learn more about it and in the end will feel more comfortable purchasing from you. eBay auction tools are designed to make your store look very nice and professional.


eBay auctions tools help make your descriptions grammatically correct with no typos, your images clear, bright, and crisp, and allow for first class customer service. These are essential items to running a successful online eBay auction store. Most of these eBay auction tools and more are available in the eBay Solutions Directory.


Some of the tools can also be found online, via their websites or search engines. So, don’t wait any longer. Get those useful auction tools and start increasing your sales by letting eBay shoppers see everything you have to offer.

John Jackson serves as President of CrossPitch, a leading maker of Ebay seller solutions including the state-of-the-art CrossPitch Gallery. Ebay sellers interested in increasing revenues and cross-promoting their items while reducing fees can visit http://www.crosspitch.com

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

17 Tips to Sell Travel on Ebay

July 19th, 2010 Rob Posted in eBay buying and selling No Comments »

Becoming a seller on ebay can be daunting. Becoming a travel seller can be impossible, unless you know the secrets. My tips on selling on eBay can apply to all categories of items, but some steps are unique to selling travel.

The travel industry is highly regulated on EBay, as it should be. High standards keep out disreputable sellers and scam artists, and adds to your own company’s trustworthiness when you are approved by eBay..

1. Before you are even thinking about selling travel on eBay, it is important to get a username and email address just for eBay. Registration is free and only takes a few minutes. Register as a seller and you can use the same username to buy as well. Choose a name that reflects what you sell i.e., “Bermudabound” rather than “sexyblueeyes”. Other eBay members will come to recognize you by your User ID, so it’s a good idea to choose one you’ll want to use for the long term.

2. Your eBay name has sunglasses (i.e., read “shady character”) for the first 30 days, so don’t try to sell anything while you are wearing shades. Use this time to buy on eBay and learn good practices from other sellers.

3. Set up a PayPal account. EBay buyers feel more confident purchasing something from a seller who accepts PayPal. According to PayPal, “Listings that offer PayPal are 6% more likely to sell and experience a 5% average increase in final price.” Go to www. Paypal.com. Get a business account. Registration is free.

4. In the first 30 days, buy small items on EBay, pay for them promptly. I have always found eBay sellers to offer good values, provided that you check their feedback listing first.

5. Pay your seller promptly, because then you will always get positive feedback from your seller. Your feedback profile is the most important aspect of your reputation at eBay. Feedback is extremely important on eBay, as your future buyers can evaluate you at a glance. Even one strike against you counts heavily.

6. Create your “About Me” page on eBay. Use this page to tell other eBay users about yourself and your interests, your experience and your products.

7. While you are waiting the 30 days, also become a) ID verified and b)square trade approved. a) Get ID Verified through eBay as an extra sign of security for buyers. When a member gets ID Verified, a third-party company working with eBay confirms the member’s identity by cross checking their contact information across consumer and business databases. You’ll see the ID Verify icon in verified members’ profiles.

B) The Square Trade Seal is one way for sellers to show bidders that they are committed to high selling standards and have had their identity verified by a third party. You will need a credit card and your IATA, ARC, or seller of travel number. Both are requirements for selling travel, and you must place these numbers as the first lines of your ads on EBay. All members listing airline tickets, cruises, vacation packages, or lodging must be participants in the Seller Verify by SquareTrade Program. This program combines verification of sellers with ongoing monitoring. For instructions on this, go to eBay.com.

8. When you are ready to list your items at auction, sell small stuff first, building customers and credibility. Sell all items with no reserve, at the lowest price you can afford to accept, and fill all orders promptly.

9. Choose carefully what you will sell. You cannot sell some travel certificates, or vouchers and all listing must list the exceptions, blackout dates, and extra taxes and shipping charges. Travel agents, and other businesses selling travel services are regulated in eBay. According to the eBay rules for selling travel, “Businesses and individuals who sell and/or arrange air or sea travel or accommodations (but do not directly provide the travel service themselves) may list air and ship related travel items (i.e. airplane tickets and cruise trips), along with accommodations, on eBay only if they are licensed as sellers of travel lawfully able to do business in all 50 states and they themselves will be booking the travel for the winning bidder. Their listings should clearly set out their California seller of travel license number as well as any other license information required in other states. It is against eBay policy for travel clearinghouse affiliates, that are not actual agents booking the travel themselves, to list travel auctions on the site. Sellers are required to include the following disclaimer in all listings for travel exactly as it appears below and in a text size and color that can easily be seen and read by all bidders:

“By listing this auction I verify that I am the actual travel agent or travel provider and not a third party affiliate. The travel/accommodations in this auction will be booked directly through me and not an outside agency. I also verify that, other than the government taxes and related government fees stated within the listing description itself, there will be absolutely no additional fees, charges or after auction purchases associated with booking the travel within this listing.”

For travel services other than air or sea travel, businesses and individuals may offer gift certificates or coupons that are issued by a specific provider of travel, such as a gift certificate to a particular hotel. They may not, however, offer travel club memberships or “choice travel” certificates.”

10. Setting your price

Selecting your starting price requires balancing between how much money you want for the item, and what buyers will pay for it. As part of your pricing strategy, you can research the ending bids for similar items. You can look at similar item completed eBay listings using the completed listings search.

Be sure to include in your price enough to cover your insertion fees, final value fees, and your paypal fees. Set the LOWEST possible price you can afford to accept, but don’t offer something at a price you really don’t want to accept. Buyers expect bargains on ebay purchases, and you may, in the beginning, only get one bid on your item.

Attractively priced items (such as those priced at 99cents) may receive many bids, but unless it is a really outstanding items, the winning bidder may not have bid anything near your cost.

Setting your price involves not only deciding the starting price of your item, but also selecting pricing options based on which selling format you select.

Pricing for the auction-like listings:

The starting price is the lowest price you are willing to sell your item. Bidding will start at this price. Sellers have found that setting the starting price too high may discourage bidding.

If you do not want to sell your item below a certain price, you can specify a reserve price. A reserve price is an option you can use to stimulate bidding on your listing and reserve the right not to sell below the price you want. I do not recommend this option as it discourages buying.

Pricing for fixed price listings: In my experience, this is not a good way to sell anything, since the ebay method is based mainly on auction items. Enter the price at which you wish to sell your item or items as the Buy It Now price.

 

11. Build a store. EBay stores are free for the first 30 days. Afterwards, they are a small fee per month. ($15.95 / month) According to eBay, Store sellers see on average a 25% incremental increase in sales the 3 months after opening their Store.” Here is where you can list all those other items that are higher priced, but good value at a low listing fee – at Insertion Fees of .03-.10 per month – use good til cancelled

Note: The Insertion Fee covers a single listing (with any quantity of items in the listing), whether you list 1 or 1,000 of the same item. Final Value Fees range from 12.00% of the closing price for cheap items to

Over $1,000.01

12.00% of the initial $25.00 ($3.00), plus 8.00% of the initial $25.01 – $100.00 ($6.00), plus 4.00% of the initial $100.01 – $1,000.00 ($36.00), plus 2.00% of the remaining closing value balance ($1,000.01-closing value)

Auction and Fixed Price listings appear in your eBay Store as well as in eBay Search and Listings. The store allows your buyers to peruse your other items in addition to your auction items. Go to: http://pages.eBay.com/storefronts/openbenefits.html

12. Completing a sale: Remember, your reputation is of utmost importance. If your item sells successfully, the sale needs to be completed. This includes contacting your buyer, accepting payment and shipping the item.

13. I also recommend a “buy it now” listing, using the actual price of your item, i.e, what you really want. Using the “best offer” option allows members to make you a lower offer. Tip: Set a limit on “best offer” minimum bids, or you will get absurd offers of 1 cent or more.

14. Don’t use Listing Upgrades when you are new. Use your own hosting for pictures or eBay Picture Hosting.

15. For free templates for use on ebay, I like http://www.template-o-matic.com/

16. Examples of actions that are not allowed on eBay:

Bidding on your own item, or having family members, roommates or employees bid on your item (called shill bidding). For policy and examples, see Shill Bidding.

Interfering with another member’s transaction.

Accepting payment and sending an item that is significantly different from the item described in the item listing. For policy and examples, see Seller Non-performance.

Refusing to accept a buyer’s PayPal payment using a credit card when the seller included the PayPal logo in the listing.

Charging buyers an additional fee for their use of ordinary forms of payment including acceptance of checks, money orders, electronic transfers or credit cards.

If something goes wrong, including having problems with your buyer, there are options to help with your transaction problems.

17. Some ebay fees:

When you list an item on eBay, you’re charged an Insertion Fee. If the item sells, you are also charged a Final Value Fee. The total cost of selling an item is the Insertion Fee plus the Final Value Fee. The minimum insertion fee is 15 cents and goes to $4.00, depending upon the starting price of the auction. Final Value Fees:

Item not sold No Fee

 

$0.01 – $25.00**

8.75% of the closing value

 

$25.01- $1,000.00

8.75% of the initial $25.00 ($2.19), plus 3.50% of the remaining closing value balance ($25.01 to $1,000.00)

 

Equal to or Over $1000.01

8.75% of the initial $25.00 ($2.19), plus 3.50% of the initial $25.01 – $1,000.00 ($34.12), plus 1.50% of the remaining closing value balance ($1000.01 – closing value)

 

 

 

For examples of travel stores on eBay, take a look at: http://stores.ebay.com/Travel-Ireland-and-Britain_W0QQsspagenameZMEQ3aFQ3aSTQQtZkm

 

Ellen Mc Nulty is President of Lynott Tours, specialists in travel to Ireland and Britain.. Lynott Tours has been selling travel for 38 years, and can be found on the Internet at www.lynotttours.com and www.cruisetourplanners.com as well as www.australiatravelmaster.com

Ellen McNulty is President of www.lynotttours.com Visit our sister sites: www.cruisetourplanners.com

www.australiatravelmaster.com
Our blog

- trivia, things to do, travel tips

AddThis Social Bookmark Button