Want to sell online auctions?

It’s easy – and fast – to set up an account at the grand-daddy of all online auction sites – eBay.

And the great thing about eBay is that it attracts millions of visitors wanting to buy.

So – how are you going to sell?

How to start an online auction business on eBay

Become a buyer first
If you’re serious about wanting to sell online auctions at eBay, it’s crucial that you start to use the site as a buyer.

This way you will learn exactly what buyers are looking for. And you’ll be much more aware of what’s important to buyers once you come to sell.

And once you feel at home using the site, selling won’t seem quite such a daunting task.

The selling process is quite simple
You

• decide what to sell
• prepare the information you need to give about the item
• prepare a graphic or photo of your item
• decide on a price
• list your item…
• … and complete the sale

Decide what to sell

Look carefully through the category listings
Online auctions cover a huge range of goods and services. If you’ve no idea what you could sell on eBay, take a look through the category listings.

The major categories cover everything from antiques, cameras and crafts through to sporting goods, toys and hobbies, and video games.

Each category section breaks down into smaller topics. For example, the dolls and bears category is split into listings for

• bear making supplies
• bears
• dolls
• dollhouse miniatures
• paper dolls
• wholesale lots

- and if you click to see all the dolls and bears categories, you’ll see hundreds more.

It’s worth browsing around the categories to see what’s going on.

What’s for sale? How much is it?

Check out the Completed Listings
The Completed Listings show you what’s sold recently and how much it sold for within your categories of interest. For anyone wanting to sell online auctions, this provides you with invaluable research material.

Prepare your product listings

eBay provides a host of seller resources
There’s a Seller’s Checklist which tells you how to inspect your item, take pictures of it, and write a title and description for your listing. You’re also advised to package and weigh the item so that eBay can calculate shipping costs.

There is plenty of information in the Seller Tips guide – and you can also check out Seller’s Central, a complete section just for sellers, as well as eBay University, discussion boards, Seller Tools and so on.

Consider the cost to you

eBay’s fees – and your costs
eBay will charge you a fee for listing an item – the Insertion Fee – as well as a Final Value Fee if your item sells. If you don’t sell, you don’t pay the Final Value Fee.

You pay more for your listing if you want to set the Buy It Now option, or if you want to enhance the format of your listing, for example.

You will also have to pay

• shipping costs
• handling costs – such as packaging, office supplies or storage, for example
• and insurance costs

eBay gives you the option to use their Shipping Calculator which will show buyers interested in your item the total shipping cost, bundling both shipping and handling into one charge.

And again, there are tips in the eBay shipping help pages telling you how to go about packaging, shipping and insuring each item.

More tips on how to sell online auctions

Learn how to succeed with online auctions with this free ebook
Online auctions are an exciting, modern version of an ancient method of buying and selling.

You can theoretically sign up and start selling within minutes. And eBay also provides you with the opportunity to have your own store – a very tempting prospect to many.

But do remember:

“Llike anything in life, you must master the basics and understand what you are doing. This is true if you are picking up trash or creating secret weapons for the Pentagon. No successful business, online or offline, happens by accident.”
Sydney Johnston aka “The Auctions Queen”

If you’d like to

• master the basics…
• …and understand exactly what you’re doing

why not download Sydney Johnston’s free ebook Make Your Net Auction Sell -
How to Succeed at the Net Auction Game Simply answer the question below, click “Submit” and you will be taken to the download page.