How To Make Money on eBay
If you are thinking about selling on eBay, chances are you’ve heard about all the success stories defining individual’s who claim to make a killing off eBay.
The scenario is possible, but some scams and other fake testimonials blow the money making way out of proportion. For example, if you see a testimonial that claims an individual became “a millionaire overnight,” on eBay, it’s fake and trying to persuade who into buying something.
eBay is a very profitable way of doing business, but never forget that it is indeed a business. You wouldn’t expect to open up a sporting goods store and make a huge profit the next day would you? So why do you expect the same from eBay.
In fact owning an actual retailer and selling on eBay is nearly the same thing. The only major difference is eBay sellers do not have to worry about owning and operating an actual store. Their store is the profile page that sells the product. But that is the only difference!
If you want to make money on eBay understand and treat it like an actual business. Make sure you are dedicated, driven, and responsible. Understand marketing and promotion. Understand customer service and how to treat the customer right. Keep open communication as much as possible, so you can communicate directly with the buyer through email.
If you want to make money on eBay, start with the product. What are you going to sell and why will it sell? This should be the first question you ask yourself. If you cannot think of a good reason for why it will sell, chances are it won’t. Find products that serve a purpose and are useful. While common, everyday products are usually a guaranteed sell, the profit may remain minimal. Stick with antiques or hard-to-find products. This approach limits the competition and often offers a product that is highly sought after. Also, offer the product at a discount price. The discount price will lure buyers to your product and boost your seller rating and history.
When you start selling on eBay the biggest key to making money is starting with household items. Household items are great because they are often not used much, if at all, and they cost you nothing which means 100% profit. Shuffle through your garage and attic. Are you surprised with all the stuff you can sell? Good, sell it! After you finish cleaning out the house, then think about running an eBay business where you purchase and resell items.
Make the title stick! When selling products on eBay you will create a title that interests buyers into viewing the product’s sale page. Besides the price or opening bid, the title is the only way to gain interest. Some people think of whacky and exotic titles to interest their audience. Bad mistake! When buyers search for items they enter the product, brand, and other information in the search engine. The search engine will find “Nike” but it will not find “original and limited edition” because users simply do not search for that. They are searching for the product and brand name, so include in the title the product and brand name.
Nothing reads “trust” like a high positive feedback rating on eBay. Most customers are hesitant about doing business online and the reason is simple. Buyers simply do not meet face to face with the seller so they do not know if they can trust somebody who lives on the other side of the country. Ease that tension by earning a high feedback rate with very positive reviews. The more products you sell and the more positive feedback you receive equals more trust. Work from the bottom up and improve sales as you gain more experience and feedback.
Last but not least, find other ways to boost page impressions on your product’s page. Always post photos of the product! This is not an option, as buyers want to see what they are buying. Also, consider featuring your product for an additional fee. Featuring a product allows it to stand out from the others in the search engine and boosts additional exposure. The more exposure translates to more bids, which equals a higher buying price.
[photo by d70focus]