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What is the Best Time of Day to Sell on eBay?

So, What is The Right Time to Sell? Good question!

When it comes to listing on eBay and actually profiting from a sale, it’s actually a great deal more complicated than you’d think. Whilst for many it may seem like a simple point and click operation, the reality is when it comes to listing items for sale on eBay, there are a number of underlying skills required to make sure you get the most out of each listing.

One of the most important things to start with is the marketing of your product. Just like in real business, which focuses on targets, you need to focus on customers. The first thing you should know before you sell is who you’re going to be selling to.

From here, you can take advantage of one of the best marketing techniques. That’s selling when the time is right. Perhaps a weekend sale is perfect for your product? Maybe a three-day listing is the one to go for?

You’ll never know unless you do some market research.

Firstly – take a look at your product and ask yourself three questions, is it a seasonal product? Is it a kid’s product and finally, what’s the competition like?

Why would you ask those questions? It’s a great way to create a quick customer profile, and from here, you can decide as to whether or not now is actually a profitable time to sell your item. eBay is a cutthroat enterprise and if you don’t know what you’re selling, someone else will come along, purchase your item for pennies, and then resell it for profit.

It happens time and time again.

Seasonal Marketing is something that happens every day, and it’s a great tool to use on eBay. The rule is simple. If there is a demand for a product, then it’ll sell. This means out of luck if you’re trying to sell snow shoes in July. But there are exceptions to the rule, and one big exception is Christmas. Christmas is one of those times where people will buy anything if it’s a bargain. But be careful, Christmas is not your golden ticket to success!

Weekday Sales

Did you know that a great deal of eBay browsing actually happens at work? You’d think that people would be too busy working, but the reality is eBay is filled with browsers that simply have too much time on their hands. A weekday listing is a great way to target adults and office workers as well as stay at home moms.

Beat the Competition

When it comes to selling, eBay is so huge, that anyone could be your competitor. As a result, the first thing you should do after establishing a marketing profile is to look at the completed auctions on eBay. Find out how much products in your category have been selling for and more importantly, if they’ve been selling at all.

At the same time, take a look at the current auctions and ask yourself the question, “Is this the right time to sell?” If there is a lot of competition out there at the minute, sometimes the best advice is to simply wait a few days or a week because eBay is a fluid market and everything changes.

Posted in Business, eBay, How To, Selling | No Comments »

How To Avoid Getting Scammed on eBay

eBay has over 200 million users and unfortunately, not all of them are honest. Whilst there is only a small percentage of eBay users out there that are scammers, it is likely during your time browsing eBay you may encounter at least one.

eBay bans hundreds of scammers daily, but sadly they can’t catch them all, and sadly, many people become eBay victims on a daily basis. This is bad for buyers, sellers and also eBay. Luckily however, an eBay scammer is relatively easy to spot.

When looking at any eBay seller, the first thing you should look for is a good feedback rating. Negative feedback can happen unfairly, so if someone doesn’t have 100% positive feedback, read the negative reviews to ensure you don’t judge them too harshly.

The next thing to look at is the country of origin. If the user is from Nigeria and selling Nigerian handicrafts, then maybe it’s a legitimate sale. If they’re selling the latest iPhone, then chances are it’s a hoax.

Payment method

If someone asks you to pay with any form of payment that is not officially supported by eBay such as western union, you can be sure that they are trying to take your money. Don’t expect to get anything in return. PayPal is the preferred payment method because if you have paid via PayPal, and something goes wrong you can appeal for a refund.

Whilst there are many scammers and fraudsters out there, generally as long as you check feedback and try to be careful you will not have a problem. Sometimes the problem however is with counterfeit goods. If you receive what you believe are fake goods, then you have every right to contact the authorities as well as eBay because fake goods are illegal.

eBay scam artists or fraudsters don’t only bother buyers though!

eBay scammers are a problem for many sellers who are kind hearted enough to send goods before a check clears. The golden rule here is, use PayPal to ensure the safety of both parties. PayPal isn’t cheap, but it does guarantee a certain degree of safety.

Above all, most importantly you must look out for deals which appear too good to be true. These days there are a lot of pre-release cell phones out there, and there are many people gullible enough to believe that they are genuine and that once the auction ends they will receive a pre=release.

eBay sounds like a nightmare doesn’t it? In reality though however, problems are rare thanks to the fact many users are able to police eBay for themselves. This makes sure that scammers, fraudsters and cheats are all reported quickly. If you see one on eBay, the least you can do is to report it, keeping you and other people safe.

eBay is a great site to buy almost anything. Don’t be put off by the fact it may seem like a dangerous place to shop because generally it’s not. Have fun, and above all keep vigilant, there are bargains to be had everywhere!

Posted in eBay, How To, PayPal, Selling, Shopping | No Comments »