How To Start Your Own eBay Business

Two events pushed me into the seller’s mode at eBay. The first was reading an article by John Colanzi called "How to Raise Operating Capital." The second was realizing there was a lot of extra "stuff" just lying around after I moved.

At first, I felt overwhelmed with the eBay site. There's so much information there and so many options, it's easy to become lost. That's why the focus here is to guide you quickly into making some extra money without having to wade through everything at the site.

If you have a retail business, selling your goods at eBay may be an excellent way to pick up new customers. You should, at the very least, give it a try. Visit eBay (http://www.ebay.com) now. Although the site requests that you register immediately, look around first, see what’s there, and find out about eBay. Then register.

Once at the site, you'll probably see many ads for eBay training material, but don't waste your money. Everything you need is offered free on the site, and this article will help you find it.

First, though, you’ll need to get a general feel for what's for sale, how it's presented, and what it costs. Spend a lot of time in the Categories section, which you can access on the left sidebar. You won’t believe some of the things people buy.

Afterwards, you can really begin your education (http://pages.ebay.com/education/options/how). Scroll down to the How Can I Sell Things On eBay? section and click every link.

In this section you will be invited to open an eBay Store with your own Website. You'll probably want to hold off on this until you become familiar and proficient with the rest of eBay. Then, before you jump in, see if you can determine how successful others have been with their own eBay stores. At the time of this writing, some securities analysts believe the eBay Store concept has not performed as well as expected. Just be cautious; you’ve got enough to do for now.

The Selling Tools (http://pages.ebay.com/education/tutorial/course2/index.html) tutorial is a must read for anyone thinking of selling items on eBay. And the online seminars (http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/workshopevents/) page has new information added daily, so be sure to visit frequently.

You'll also want to check out the Buying and Selling Tools (http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/) page. About half way down, you'll find several links under the Manage Your Items For Sale heading. Study everything here so you will begin to get a feel of the selling process and how to use eBay’s great selling tools.

In addition, be sure to take eBay's audio tour of selling (http://ebay.datango.com/navigator/?tour=300048). This talks you through the entire process of joining and using eBay and points to some links you should follow. There’s a lot in this little series, so you may want to go through it several times.

The last part of your initial training begins at the eBay home page (http://www.ebay.com). Click the Sell button at the top. This will take you to the Sell Your Item--Sign In page. At this point, do not register or try to sign in. Just click the Learn How To Sell link.

A pop-up box will appear with the information and links to just about everything you need to know. You’ve already been to items 1, 2, and 3, so just skip them for now. Be sure to read everything else and click every single link in the pop-up window.

Next, on the Sell Your Item--Sign In page, click the Learn About Selling Fees option. This will give you a good idea of what your costs will be for selling items on eBay. Learn the parts that may apply to you.

Although you've already looked at some of eBay's categories, do so again now. It's vital that you realize how important choosing the proper spot within eBay's categories will be for your selling success. You’ll see that eBay makes it fairly easy to get the right category, but you first need an idea of where to start.

Afterwards, navigate over to eBay's Site Map (http://pages.ebay.com/sitemap.html). Scroll down to the Help section on the left side of the page and click the Seller Guide link. You may have already read some of the information listed here. Read the items that you haven't read yet and review those that you have.

In the Seller Guide, Under the Listing Your Item category, you'll see a Writing A Title And Description section. Access the HTML page listed here and print it out for a handy list of basic commands to make your listing look professional. Use them!

Once you've reviewed the information mentioned in this article, you're finally ready to register with eBay. From the Site Map page under the Help heading, click Seller Guide. Under Topics, click Registration Guide link. Then, simply follow the instructions to register.

Now, all that's left are a couple items you can use to improve your selling ability.

First, since you're brand new to selling items on eBay, you haven’t accumulated any eBay "feedback points." These are ratings from buyers attesting to a seller's reputability, service, speediness, and other factors. Accumulating a good amount of positive feedback points takes time and can help attract buyers. However, there are two things you can do to establish trust right away.

You can opt for eBay's ID Verify (http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/idverify-login.html) service. This establishes your proof of identity and costs only $5. It tells a buyer that you are who you say you are. You must also complete this procedure to use eBay's Buy It Now feature with your listing.

Another method of establishing trust is to become a Square Trade (http://www.squaretrade.com/cnt/jsp/sap/ overview_seal.jsp?mp=ebay&campaign=eby_ps_SL1) member. This is a listing of eBay's most trusted sellers. After joining, you'll see a logo on each of your ads stating that Square Trade has checked you out and that you are committed to ethical selling practices. You can use the Square Trade symbol on your other Websites as well. This service will run you only $7.50/month, and you can cancel your membership at any time.

If you're serious about selling products on eBay, you'll need both of these options.

eBay has also recently acquired PayPal, and it is now the company's main payment method. Because PayPal makes it very easy for you to get paid, you may want to consider signing up for an account. It’s free, and you can use it on your other Internet sites.

eBay has several other tools you can use to enhance your listings and improve your chances of completing a sale. Go to Seller Services (http://pages.ebay.com/services/sellerservices.html) and check them out.

You'll also want to consider purchasing a digital camera and taking pictures of the items you're selling. Although accompanying digital images aren't necessary to sell items on eBay, it can really help. Go to the ShortCourses Website http://www.shortcourses.com/ to learn more about digital photography.

After completing your sale, be sure to give feedback on your buyer. Most feedback will probably be positive. But if it isn't, you can help other sellers avoid bad experiences with difficult customers.

Now, for the big question: Where can you get items to sell? The answer might be easier than you think.

Start with cleaning out an old storage room or visiting yard sales. Many people have a collecting hobby they love, but have accumulated so much that they don’t know what to do with it all. If you don’t have such a hobby, ask your friends. They may be willing to unload some things cheaply or, at least pay you a commission to sell the stuff for them.

Local craftspeople are good sources, too. And you can always keep an eye out along beaches, roadways, thrift stores, and even trash facilities. Who knows what you will find?