When you first start using eBay, you might be wondering how to make money as a beginner. calm down there are just a few ways to make money on eBay which we have discussed on this page, but the easiest way is to sell items that you no longer need or use. Here are a few tips on how to sell on eBay:
Selling on eBay is a fantastic way to make some extra money, whether you’re starting an internet business or just looking to get rid of some clutter. You can also explore the use of Clickbank to make money online using our guide.
But before you start selling on eBay, it is advisable to get the lowdown on the site’s ins and outs so you can be sure you aren’t missing a thing and are aware of all the site’s expenses.
We’ve stuffed as much knowledge as we can into this article, so by the time you’re done reading it, you’ll have all the advice you need to start making money on eBay even though you are a beginner.
How to make money on eBay as a beginner
To help you make the most money possible from your eBay sales, we’ve compiled a list of the 17 most effective strategies to make money on eBay.
1. Find out what to sell on eBay.
Before posting something on eBay, whether it’s used textbooks or your Pokémon card collection, it’s important to give some thought to the item’s condition.
You might be keen to start generating money on whatever you can get your hands on. But, if you make the mistake of selling items that aren’t in good shape or missing critical pieces, you could get unfavorable ratings, making it tougher to sell more things on eBay.
Use the “Marketplace Research” feature to discover the most popular items currently being sold on eBay.
Examine which things have the most viewers and which typically receive the most bids. You can learn about popular items by doing this.
You may want to consider the time of year when selling an item; for example, sunglasses may not fetch many bids in the dead of winter, so you may want to stow them away until the weather warms up.
You can probably make a lot more money off of them if you hold off till they are in higher demand.
2. Buy cheap products to sell for more money.
There are several places to get items for low prices, such as thrift stores, garage sales, and eBay.
If you’re not familiar with the going rate for a given good on eBay, you run the risk of losing money if you try to sell it.
If you believe the item’s value is higher than the seller is asking, you can buy it, resell it for the correct price, and (hopefully) make a profit.
Follow the example of this student who found success at a car boot sale by flipping the items she purchased there on eBay for ten times their original cost.
3. Make a solid online presence by creating a polished eBay account.
Becoming a buyer on eBay is the greatest way to get started selling there. Others will be able to see your positive feedback and transaction history on eBay.
You can create a strong reputation as a reliable buyer on eBay even if you just buy a few cheap goods by always paying on time and leaving detailed, positive feedback after each transaction.
Choosing a username is a crucial next step. Keep in mind that this is going to be the name of your micro business, so something like “franklizardxxx” would not exactly inspire trust in your target market.
We’d recommend either going for something straightforward and professional, like a variant of your name, or a name related that’s to the kind of products you want to be selling (this might make you easier to find in eBay searches too).
4. Examine the costs associated with using eBay.
The first step in making money on eBay is to determine the item’s fair market value and the selling price.
The goal, of course, is to make a profit, but there are several hidden fees associated with eBay sales that might eat into your earnings.
Ecal is a nifty tool that estimates how much you’ll be paid for each sale, based on what you offer it for and how much it actually sells for.
Try running your thing through this to see what sort of profit you’ll make.
Costs on eBay, what are they?
- There is no charge for the first 1,000 goods you list each month, and only 35p per item after that.
- Add-ons to your entry, such as subtitles and more category listings, cost money.
- eBay takes 12.8% of the first £2,500 of any order, plus $0.30 per order, plus any shipping costs.
- If you make a significant amount of money off of eBay, you may be required to make a tax payment.
- If you earn money and fit any of HMRC’s trade badges, you may be subject to taxation.
Just a few of the potential charges for your eBay store are listed above. You may get more information about eBay’s fees, which change depending on the items you’re selling, on this website page.
If you’re concerned about the fees associated with selling on eBay, you may want to read our article on how to make money on Amazon instead.
5. Maintain a keen eye out for eBay seller discounts.
If you’re a private seller on eBay, you should keep an eye out for the promotional offers eBay sends out via email.
If you’re able to wait until these bids come around to sell your higher-priced products, you could save a substantial amount of money on seller fees.
The offerings can involve paying lower costs (often as little as £1 per listing!).
You can access the deals by going to your eBay seller account page and clicking the “Promotions” tab.
Next to each deal, it will either state ‘Active’, in which case it’s been applied to your account, or you’ll need to click a button to activate it.
Alternatively, keep a watch on our student deals page, where we’ll highlight the promotions if and when they become available.
6. Charge the greatest price for your item
You can utilize the eBay advanced search function to see how much comparable products have been selling recently once you’ve decided on a product to sell.
If you want to see a ton of similar products and their selling prices, you may do a search for whatever it is you want to sell and then click the ‘completed listings’ box.
Get price estimates from various used-goods marketplaces, such as Music Magpie, to see how much your CDs and DVDs are worth.
You can receive a fairly accurate estimate of your item’s value by scanning its barcode; from there, you may add a little to the estimate to determine what you’ll want for it on eBay (unless you get an especially fantastic offer, in which case you might consider selling directly to the site).
7. Make sure the postage is priced accurately, too, or you could lose money.
Royal Mail’s price finder will inform you how much postage will cost, so you can add this to the listing.
But note that you do have to pay an eBay fee on the overall transaction, including postage!
Some sellers may be put off by hefty shipping costs; to attract more customers, consider including shipping costs in the product price.
By doing so, your products will be identified as “Free Postage” in relevant searches. Since customers can hide listings that don’t provide free shipping, more people will be exposed to your products.
8. Get the attention of potential purchasers by starting bids low.
While it’s tempting to set a high opening bid for your listings, starting at 99p (or a similar amount) is more likely to result in a successful sale.
The more interested parties there are in the item, the higher the chance of a competitive bidding war developing in the final hours of the auction when the beginning price is low.
Please note that this advice does not apply to extremely specialized items; if you’re selling something that only a serious collector would be interested in, you shouldn’t start the bidding too low.
You can always add a minimum price (the reserve) if you’re afraid about receiving a tough deal, which implies the item won’t be sold unless it reaches this minimum required amount.
9. Take nice images of the products you’re selling
A photograph of the product you’re selling provides maximum credibility, and an eBay customer is much more inclined to continue bidding if they’re convinced they can see an exact image of what’s on sale.
Don’t forget to include the packaging, manuals, batteries, and any other supplementary materials that come with the device you’re selling.
You don’t need an incredible camera to do a decent job of this, but do make use of the macro setting (if you have one) and employ focusing, both of which will perform well for close-up images.
Natural sunshine is crucial to getting clear, high-quality images. However, if the space you’re in is poorly lit, a little source of supplementary light (such as a desk lamp) might make a world of difference. Basically, stay away from any dark areas. You can choose to add some twist using canva to make it more attractive.
Also, keep in mind that you can add up to 12 images to a listing without incurring any additional fees.
10. Start your auctions at eBay’s busiest times.
Before you rush straight in and post your ad, take some time to think about when you should open the bidding.
A Sunday evening close is ideal for most auctions. It has been established that this is when most window shoppers visit an auction house to look about, so it is also when competition is at its highest.
So, if you want the most exposure possible from potential buyers and are going for the maximum 10-day auction (which is always the best option because it raises the possibility of obtaining more bids), list it on a Thursday evening.
As said earlier, if you’re selling themed or seasonal goods, think about what time of year would be best for it to be put on eBay.
If you sell costumes, for instance, the best time to list them is at the beginning of October, when people are actively looking for them to wear to Halloween parties.
11. Create compelling descriptions of your products.
Now comes the challenging part: actually crafting the product descriptions.
It’s vital that you take your time over this, as a decent description can make or break a deal.
If you’re going to use all 80 characters that eBay allotted you, you might as well make the most of them.
Make sure it’s easy to read, to the point, and filled with relevant keywords to increase the visibility of your product.
How to write eBay product descriptions
- Avoid spelling problems — typos might limit how easy it is to find your listing on eBay searches.
- Write a description that is clear and precise, focusing on the qualities and benefits that will attract potential buyers.
- Use common eBay abbreviations like VGC (very good condition), BN (brand new), BNIB (brand new in box), and BNWT (brand new with tags) (brand new with tags).
- Be honest about all flaws and defects – consumers can leave unfavorable reviews and ask for their money back if the item isn’t in the condition you’d represented.
- If relevant, indicate how often the product’s been used or why you’re selling it.
- If you still have the original packaging, tags, and manuals for your things, you can ask for a considerably higher price.
- Invite potential purchasers to contact you if they have queries.
- Specify all of the terms and conditions, such as shipping, returns, and payment methods.
- Make your description more presentable by making use of the HTML function (there are free online courses to teach you).
- But if you’re still having trouble, try using bold but easy-to-read fonts and colors (while still keeping it professional, of course).
- Make sure you put your product where it belongs; if it isn’t evident, do a search for it and see where other items like it are displayed.
- When selling many identical things, it is helpful to include a link to the other listings in the description.
- You can learn how to best describe your products by reading how the best sellers explain their high-priced things.
12. Scam bidding on eBay is never acceptable.
Shill bidding occurs when a person places a bid on an item for reasons other than wanting to purchase it, such as to drive up the price, improve the item’s search rating, or make it seem more desired.
No one, not even close relatives, should ever place a bid on one of your auctions since doing so is against the law.
The site is equipped with detection and prevention mechanisms to stop this from happening.
Check out eBay’s shill bidding policy for more information; they provide very specific guidelines on the topic, so any questions you may have will be answered.
13. Increase your eBay selling limitations
When you initially start selling on eBay, you can only list 10 things up to a value of £650.
Before you’re permitted to add more things to your eBay store, you have to establish that you’re a good seller by distributing your items swiftly, connecting with the buyers, and gathering positive comments.
To expand your limitations, you can hit “request selling limit increase” on your profile — eBay will then decide if they want to grant you a few more listings.
But you can only do this once a month, so it can take a time to build up your to a reasonable number of listings.
Especially if you’re selling high-value things, you could approach your limit quite rapidly…
If you wish to speed up the process, you can try emailing the support team.
If you maintain positive feedback and sell products at fair prices, they are likely to boost your account limitations early on.
We’ve done this ourselves and upped our quota to over 1,000 items per month in just a couple of weeks!
14. Maintain communication with purchasers on eBay
As soon as the transaction is finalized (yeah! ), you should send the buyer a confirmation email and an invoice for the total price, including shipping.
You should then send them another email once you’ve received their payment and when you’ve sent the item.
Although this may seem like an excessive amount of correspondence, your customers will appreciate being kept informed, and if you aren’t forthcoming with information, they may become suspicious and file a complaint.
Ship the goods as soon as possible, but don’t over promise on the ‘handling time’ you’ll need to complete the transaction.
You risk a poor review and a possible refund request from the buyer if you say it would take two days to ship the item but wind up taking longer than that.
Don’t forget to send some positive reinforcement to the customer after they’ve got the product.
Just like in real life, what you do on eBay will eventually come back to haunt you.
15. To cut costs, place items in a large envelope.
You can save money on shipping to the winning bidder if the items you’re selling can be sent in envelopes.
As long as the envelope’s within the Post Office’s limits of a large-letter size (35.3cm x 25cm x 2.5cm), you can avoid the increased fees of selling parcels.
Obviously, not everything can be sent in an envelope. However, this might be a huge money saver if you’re selling CDs, jewelry, or thin articles of apparel (which will make your listing look even more appealing to buyers).
16. When selling on eBay, it is imperative that you obtain a receipt as confirmation of mailing.
Send every item you sell by recorded delivery — or at least receive evidence of postage.
Particularly because, sadly, there are eBay buyer scammers out there who cause trouble by reporting to eBay that products haven’t been received, even when they truly have been delivered.
If you find yourself in a situation where you need to argue your position, be prepared with evidence.
17. Include a handwritten letter with your gifts.
Making deliveries with a kind smile can have a huge impact. A handwritten word of thanks to the customer is much more meaningful to them than a faceless eBay username i know you can relate to this.
You may provide some information about the item’s history in the message, such as when you originally purchased it, where you got it, and why you’re selling it if you’re selling something like vintage clothing.
It can be as brief as a handful of phrases (a whole letter would be excessive) and could simply just restate information already provided in the product description.
But, make an effort to show it attractively, and you can be confident that your eBay clients will appreciate it.
It might even encourage customers to buy from you again and give you a good review on eBay.
Conclusion
A detailed 17 tips on how to make money on eBay as a beginner has been served you hot make use of this knowledge to succeed in your eBay online business head over to eBay now to sign up Goodluck.
