So you're ready to take the plunge into selling in eBay land... That's great news! Have you done all your research though? Do you know exactly what you're in for?
In this newsletter we're going to make you an eBay connoisseur in no time by covering the pros and cons of selling on the online marketplace, eBay.com.
The Fabulous News About Selling On eBay
1. eBay is POPULAR
"Well of course it is!" I hear you say. I'm not telling you anything but the obvious - it has been tried, tested, and CONQUERED by thousands before you. That's pretty strong evidence that you can do exactly the same.
There is no reason why you can't blast onto eBay selling items you have always been passionate about, and become the next eBay success story.
According to Alexa.com, eBay.com is one of the most visited sites for internet shopping worldwide - second only to Amazon.com. That means there are plenty of buyers trekking around eBay at any given time, potentially looking to buy YOUR product...
2. eBay gives sellers support
eBay wants you to succeed. They have put many systems and policies in place that protect both buyers and sellers when things go wrong.
At their Resolution Center you can easily find out what to do should something go awry. For example, if you sell an item and the buyer doesn't pay for it, the Security and Resolution Center will help you file an unpaid item case and resolve the situation.
If you have questions, problems, or need advice on something, eBay also has a very strong support system in place. They have a community area where you can chat to like-minded sellers, and a raft of information and resources on hand for you to refer to.
How To Become A Member Of eBay
You can become a member of eBay quickly and easily. You need to do this to be able to buy and sell on eBay. Visit eBay's registration page and follow a few simple steps:
- Enter your contact details and personal information
- Enter your email address - Take care to ensure you enter an email address you use often, as you will need access to this to complete your registration, and other important information from eBay will be communicated to you via email as well.
- Read and accept the User Agreement and Privacy Policy.
- Choose a user ID - Your user ID is an important part of your businesses branding. Your ID is displayed on your listings so make sure it is relevant to what you are selling, e.g. ceramics_direct or babyshoes4U, rather than sexybabe_459. This will help buyers to identify with you and what you are selling.
- Choose a password and secret question - Your secret question helps to identify you in case you forget your password and need to reset it.
- Check your email inbox - You'll receive a registration email from eBay. Follow the instructions in the email to confirm your registration and complete the registration process.
Setting Up An eBay seller's account
In order to sell on eBay you must upgrade your account to a seller's account. It's not hard, you just have to follow these steps:
- Become ID verified
- Specify how to pay your seller fees. It's not set in stone so if you change your mind later, you can use My eBay to change your payment method.
- Select the payment methods you will accept.
- Make your feedback profile public. To do this:
- Click the "site map" link at the top of any eBay page.
- Under the "Feedback" heading in the right-hand column, click the "Make Feedback Public or Private" link. You may be asked to sign in.
- Select "make your feedback profile public" and click the "submit" button.
The Not So Fabulous News About eBay
1. eBay is COMPETITIVE
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- Ensure that you have mustered up plenty of courage and determination to succeed in selling on eBay. And make sure you've set aside some time to invest in your business each week - this is essential.
- Become a member of eBay. Have a look around and see what others are selling and how they are doing it.
- Carry out more research on eBay. Read some reviews, and get to know the ins and outs of eBay.com. As part of your research, it's a very good idea to purchase one or two items to get a feel for things.
- Get listing! Start with a few things from around your home such as clothes you never wear, or old sporting equipment. This will help to get you used to the selling process.
- Loads of traffic! More than 2 million people visit eBay each day, resulting in millions of dollars in sales. eBay bears the full cost of getting people to their site, yet the selling fees you pay are your only contribution.
- Tried and tested formula - Almost everyone knows how to use eBay, so visitors can just arrive and purchase, there is no learning curve nor are there any support issues (and if there are, you don't have to deal with them).
- Safety policies to protect buyers and sellers. People feel safe using eBay because there is a network of established safety policies in place. Whereas, if you set up your own store, then you've got to start building credibility from scratch.
- Different buyers from different places. People visit eBay from everywhere looking for everything. This means there are absolutely tons of interesting product niche opportunities.
- Automation and selling tools: eBay have established a lot of features and tools to help automate the selling process. This saves a lot of time and makes it easier to get to the point where many parts of your business are ticking over on their own - rather than requiring you to oversee every tiny detail.
- Learn from other sellers. Lots of people sell on eBay, and that can be to your advantage. It means there is a huge pool of people with experiences to share, and tips for avoiding newbie mistakes. The SaleHoo forum is one example of a great place to find these people.
While eBay attracts a hive of busy buyers eager to make a purchase, eBay is also a swarm of competitive sellers busting their backsides off to make a sale.
As a newbie on the scene, it can take some pretty hard work to nudge your way carefully and persistently to the top of the search results.
Unfortunately, there isn't a place for everyone in the front row - quite simply, not everyone can successfully sell boy's pajamas, or princess tiaras, for example!
2. eBay can be COSTLY
If you were to compare the cost of setting up a traditional brick and mortar store with the cost of setting up an online eBay store, then the claim that eBay can be costly seems ridiculous.
However, these are very different markets. Generally speaking, the profit margins for retail stores are set much higher than for the same products for sale online. In fact, some products for sale on eBay are even sold at wholesale prices, simply because the competition is so intense.
Not only can your online competition make your profit margins suffer considerably, but so can eBay's selling fees. These fees include an insertion fee, an additional features fee, and a final value fee. The final value fee typically includes a fixed amount plus an additional percentage of the final closing value.
The final value fee is nastier for some products than others. This is especially so for the 'Books, Music, DVDS and Movies, Video Games' section at the moment.
These fees seem to be constantly under reform, you can check out what they are now by visiting: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html.
The Point Of Redemption
While it would be super nice if 'success' just dropped onto our computer screens, unfortunately it just doesn't happen like that.
eBay is not perfect. However, you could say that eBay's success as a worldwide online shopping site is in some ways the reason for its flaws.
If eBay wasn't so popular, then it is very unlikely it would be a competitive place to sell. Likewise for you, as you embark on your selling mission, you are bound to do some things perfectly, but other things not so well.
And don't forget that almost all of the challenges that eBay sellers face can be overcome when you have a few tips and tricks up your sleeve. How else would there be sellers making more than a million dollars a year from eBay sales?
Here's a quick rundown of eBay's benefits, just in case you need a reminder:
So... are you ready to join eBay?
Quick Recap: Action Steps
So, you've heard it all. Now what?
Selling on eBay is achievable for anyone. It is not a matter of whether you are or are not capable of it, but a matter of knuckling down and applying yourself so that you can see it through. You can do it!
In our next newsletter: Does running your own ecommerce site sound pretty fancy to you? Find out all about the pros and cons of selling on your own ecommerce site - and why it's easier than ever to set one up these days.
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