Selling on eBay

Paul Gadd

After a summer break the local FSB committee organised what turned out to be yet another excellent new members evening with a talk on how to sell on eBay given by Paul Gadd.
 
He began by giving some interesting facts about eBay such as being the number one e-commerce site in the UK, and only 3rd in size after US and Germany.  He also pointed out that it is low cost to get started.
 
He then went on to outline a simple set of steps :
do your research
- look at similar products by going in eBay ‘advanced search’
- look on pulse.ebay.co.uk for popular & current buys
- check out your competitors
- take a look at the US site : ebay.com

eBay Audience

open a sellers account in eBay
- click on the Sell link, then Create a Seller’s Account link
TOP TIP set up About Me page
prepare the items to sell
- choose category
- give item description in full :
   BE HONEST!
- use pictures if possible
- state payment & postage details
- decide on ‘buy now’ or ‘auction’
- work out starting price & final sales price, bearing in mind that total fees will amount to about 15% of the total sale
TOP TIP some products sell better by auction, others through Buy It Now so try some out using different ways of selling, and other variables such as categories, durations, days etc
work out your pricing & payment method
- be realistic eg if by auction try a low price & no reserve
- decide whether to accept cheque, credit card, Paypal etc
- include postage & packing
- include a Returns Policy
manage & complete your sales
- track activity
- contact buyer to collect payment then send item
- leave feedback and ask buyer for theirs
 
Paul also suggested that some members may wish to consider opening an e-bay shop.  Whilst this incurs a monthly fee there can be certain advantages – search engine spiders regularly trawl them, can be more cost effective, and listings area displayed.  He finished off this very useful talk by assuring all present that the site is a safe & secure place to do business.