For some of you, you may have been lead here because you have read one of my other guides, perhaps the 5 Ways to Make Money with eBay or maybe you have found your way here because you are interested in selling on eBay. If you are just starting out, I would recommend giving this ebook a quick read!
What is eBay?
eBay, it is as old as the internet itself. For those who don't know what eBay is, you may have been living under a rock for the last 20 years!
Starting in 1995 as an online auction site back in the day, eBay has grown to an $8.7billion internet platform that encompasses the whole eCommerce sphere.
As of 9/5/2017 - There are 1billion products on eBay with 85% of them being sold as new - It is no longer for selling your old junk found within your attic (though you can still do that!)
These days eBay is situated in 30 countries and has multiple versions of the eBay website operating and is listed as the 9th largest internet company by revenue these days.
As you can see, eBay is no longer the auction site that it once was, and can is now one of the leading places for YOU to start selling your items.
Is eBay right for me?
Ok, so you now have a little bit of eBay history, great. But is it the platform for you? If you are serious about getting into selling online, then I would say that eBay is one of the many weapons you should have in your arsenal and will start helping you make money while at Uni.
eBay currently has 30+ versions and is the 9th largest company on the internet! That means eBay is the perfect place for you to buy and sell goods! People are quite literally surfing that site 24/7 looking for items to buy, it's a marketing dream, only trumped (though some argue not) by Amazon!
If you want to do a little research into what you can sell on eBay or what is selling best I would recommend checking this little tool out!
The following information is used with the assumption that you have already decided what you want to sell on eBay. If you haven't decided or you are still looking for wholesalers, I would recommend reading our Salehoo review and see why people are earning good money with the 8,000 legitimate suppliers that they work with!
I want in, get me started!
Firstly, you need to head on over to eBay.co.uk (or your regional equivalent) and make an account.
You will need to decide if you are going to sign up for a Personal account, or a Business Account. For a more in-depth look at the two types - Check this out
If you are going to be selling lots of items and want to be able to claim VAT, and want to get access to eBays power sell tools etc, go for the business account. It may require you registering a Ltd or similar, but it will cover you for selling items on eBay.
I’m in, time to start selling on eBay
Selling on eBay is quite easy and only takes about 5 - 10mins to set up a new listing. I would highly recommend downloading the eBay app if you have the ability as well, especially if you want to list/sell items on the go or be kept up to date with how your items are selling!
Create your first listing, by selecting the create listing button found under the listing subheading.
Tip. If you are going to be creating a lot of listings, I would recommend checking out Crazy Lister for quick and easy listing templates!
You will then need to choose the category that you are selling in, or allow eBay to try and guess by typing in the product you are selling.
eBay will send you straight to their new listing tool. You will then be shown a lot of fields that are required if you want to start selling on eBay. Fields include;
Title - Used to describe the item you are selling. Be as descriptive as possible, without overcomplicating it or stuffing it full of words.
Subtitles (fees will be applied) - Used to add even more useful descriptions if you feel it will add to your listing.
Category (in case you want to change it) - Where your item will appear when it is listed on eBay. Correctly applying the category means people will more likely find it if they are searching for specific categories.
Secondary Category (fees may be applied) - Can be really useful if you want to list across multiple categories, for example, using both Garlic Pressers & Kitchen Gadgets.
Variations - If you sell multiple versions of your product, such as different colours, patterns or you sell a product that can fit different types of cars or phones - Add them here!
EAN (Internal Article Number)- Useful if you are selling your own item or an item that actually has an EAN - I.e the barcode number.
Condition - Try to be as accurate as possible here, if it's not 100% brand new, don't use the new option. You will get penalised... If you are unsure, use the New (other) and add extra information such as New (but slightly damaged box)
Photos - eBay allows you to add up to 12 photos for free, and I would recommend using the largest, clearest photos that you can. To ensure people can see exactly what you are selling. You can upgrade your photos, by using the Gallery Plus option (allows for large photos in search results). You will get charged for this privilege.
Item Specific - Here you will need to include more details about the item you are selling, such as its colour, if it is a brand (be honest), what material the item is made of, if you are selling a bundle (i.e a lot - Camera + Lens) and how many you are selling per listing (i.e are you selling 1 camera + lens per listing or are you selling 10 camera and lenses).
Item Description - This is where you can become the master salesmen. The item description box is used to include as many details as you want, including more in-depth information about your product, information about your (or your company) and information about shipping or returns. Remeber, you can add HTML here, so you can find ready-made templates to make your listings stand out, or you can use services like Crazy Lister to make descriptions like the one below. Using these services can really help you stand out from the crowd and help make you an eBay powerhouse (always helpful when trying to get into selling on eBay)
Finally, you will need to add details about;
Format & Duration - How long you are listing the item for, and how you are selling it (auction or fixed price)
Offers - If you want to give the ability for people to give you their best offers (you list it for £30, someone offers you £25 do you accept it?). I used to give people the ability to give offers when I was selling the larger wholesale or job lot listings - It saves on trying to haggle with people who just want 'the best deal'. If you set a min/max amount you are willing to take for items then it saves everyone a lot of time.
Quantity - How many you are selling, i.e your iventory or if you are selling a job lot.
Payment - How you want to be paid, you pretty much have to use PayPal these days if you are serious about selling on eBay, but you can also accept payment by cheque and cash (on delivery) if you untick the require immediate payment option.
Delivery, including dispatch time - You will need to include your delivery rates, and how you are sending your items. For most things, I would recommend signing up to the Royal Mail (if you are UK based) or USPS (if you are US based)
Internation Postage - Are you offering people from other countries to buy your product? If so, your listing will be added to eBays other websites and will sometimes increase your listing ranking. You will need to take into account custom charges, local VAT or taxes etc, so think carefully.
Excluding Locations - List if there are any countries you do not want to sell too, as a rule of thumb I generally rule out places such as China and India, mainly due to the large number of fraudulent or troublesome sales I have had to deal with. This is not always the case, but worth keeping an eye out.
Dimensions and Weight - Finally, how much does your item weight and how big is it! People don't want to buy an item that they expected to be the size of a small phone, to then find out it's actually the size of a panda. Be honest and give the sizes!
how much does it cost?
Selling on eBay can come with a number of different costs. In this example, I will take the assumption you have chosen to become a business seller.
If you are a business seller, with no shop, then you will be charged 30p per listing, and then a final value fee (unless your item doesn't sell) based on the category. More can be found here.
With a basic eBay shop, then it will cost you a monthly fee of £25 and give you the ability to list 250 items for free. Great if you have lots of items you want to list and you already have a fair idea of the number listings you have to sell on eBay.
If you are a more established store (i.e you sell elsewhere) and need something bigger, then eBay offers the Featured (£69 per month 1500 listings) and the Anchor (£269 per month and unlimited listing).
As with all of the shop levels, you will be charged a % amount based on the final sale. For example, if you sell an item in the arts category you will be charged 9% final fee.
Learn more about the different eBay selling fees here.
Right, I have sold something, what now?
Once you have sold your items, eBay will notify you of the buyers' information. Including the buyers' address (quite helpful) and the expected delivery date, based on your postage times.
eBay will also request that you provide feedback for the buyer. Feedback is one of the many metrics used to show both buyers and sell how reliable and trustworthy you are. Provide excellent customer service, deliver the products on time and provide adequate information in your listings, and you are more likely to score highly. Do the opposite, and you will more than likely be shown further down in the rankings. It's also true for buyers if you don't have very good buyers feedback score, then eBay may stop you from buying on certain listings.
That's it, you can now start becoming an eBay powerhouse and start your journey towards selling on eBay. No matter what route you take, either Dropping, Private Labelling or Retail Arbitrage you want to ensure that eBay is a must have in your online arsenal.
I started this blog around 2017, after realising that I wanted to let people know about all the different ways someone could make money online. From DropShipping, Affiliate Marketing, Network Marketing and more.
This blog has now grown to review and explain a variety of different tools and platforms, in the bid to help you.
This blog contains affiliate links, and I will get a commission for purchases made through these links. It doesn’t change anything for you and will on occasion save you money! Enjoy, James.