Got it and don't need it? Flog it! Yet to really get the eBay cash rolling in, you neeed to know the etiquette and shortcuts.
This is a crash course on boosting your eBay sales. It includes how to cut fees, add extra pics free with photo hosting tools, profiting from bizarre items you never thought you'd sell, and more.
40+ eBay selling tricks
01
WHERE TO START
As well as bringing in extra cash,
eBay* can help declutter your home and is environmentally friendly too. After all, people are re-using your goods, rather than flinging them into the tip, so everyone gains.
Most people don't realise their home has hidden value tucked away in it, and there's serious money to be had. This isn't just from the first flushes of a major declutter either – continuing to get rid of things you no longer use can provide ready money.
For those who've got the eBay bug, it's addictive watching the bids flow in. The pounds can quickly add up, especially as you're profiting from stuff that was just picking up dust.
Committed MoneySavers on this site's
eBay board can make £100s a year upwards, though, of course, this depends on whether you're just flogging a few cast-offs or trading full-time. For more ways to bring in extra loot, read the
Boost Your Income guide.
02
NOT USED IT FOR A YEAR? FLOG IT
The first task is to sort through those bulging drawers and messy cupboards, finding stuff to flog. Get a big eBay box to stash your wares in, and systematically clear out wardrobes, DVD and CD piles, the loft and garage.
Use the easy 12-month rule of thumb to help you decide what to offload: Haven't used it for a year? Flog it.
Here's what sells best. Of course, if doesn't fit into these categories, the pounds will still add up, and you'll benefit from a more ordered home.
- New items. Cellophane-wrapped DVDs and frocks with tags fetch a higher price.
Branded goods. People are more likely to trust a 'Black & Decker drill', rather than just a 'drill'.
Items with keywords. One question to ask is “will someone search for this?” People are more likely to seach for a Ted Baker shirt than just a shirt.
Rare commodities. Rare or difficult to get hold of sell well. The petrol cap on a 1974 special version Beetle may take time to sell, but someone who wants it should be willing to pay. Set start prices higher for items a few specialist buyers may be interested in.
Job lots. If you've little time and heaps of similar small items, consider selling them as a bundle. This works especially well with baby clothes. Yet sell expensive branded goods individually – don't bung Prada in with Primark.
03
FREE BULK LISTING TOOL
Usually there's no way to save draft listings without actually starting the auction. Free bulk listing tool
Turbo Lister lets you create auctions in advance. You can save and edit at leisure. You could write the description now, then upload pictures the next week.
The tool is eBay's own software, which you download to your computer. It creates auctions offline, and offers templates for slicker-looking auctions. To make auctions live, simply click 'upload'.
This does mean that to upload auctions at a specific time, you need to be around then to click the upload button. It's still possible to upload in advance and schedule listings, but eBay charges 6p for the privilege.
The catch is Turbo Lister doesn't work with eBay free listing days or other free listing promotions. If you want to take advange of these, consider just preparing descriptions in a Word document and keeping photos in a special eBay folder.
04
DON'T BIN IT, 'BAY IT
Don't be quick to cry "that's rubbish". Sell everything. When it comes to eBay, one man's junk is another's dream, and it's astounding what people will fight for. Faulty electrical items, for example, shift well, as clever bods fix or use them for spares. Of course, always be upfront about an item's condition.
MoneySavers have made a quick buck selling used carrier bags, magazine cosmetic samples and even a broken Game Boy that had fallen down the toilet. For more bonkers sales, read the forum's brilliant
Things you never thought you could sell thread.
05
BUY TO BUILD YOUR PROFILE
Before flogging cast-offs on eBay, buy a few small items you need. You can buy everything from tights and toothpaste on eBay, and may well save cash to boot (see the
eBay Buying guide).
This gives you an insight into how the site works and builds up your feedback rating. Few buyers will do business with zero feedback sellers, and even if they do, your item is unlikely to fetch true market value.
The worst mistake you can make is logging on for the first time to sell a pricey item, such as an iPhone, when you've no feedback.
06
FOR BUYERS... SUPER-CHEAP LOCAL BARGAINS
Whether they're designer sofas, dishwashers, Wiis or children's books, sellers on eBay often specify items must be collected in person. As this often means fewer bids, there are bargains to be had.
Our free tool locates them for you. Tell the
Local eBay Deals Mapper your postcode, how far you're prepared to schlep, and it maps the gems nearby.
07
SPY ON WHAT OTHERS HAVE DONE
The joy of eBay is you can see exactly how much other items have sold for, and how other sellers have described their wares. Just fill in the search box and tick 'completed items' on the left hand grey bar.
This reveals which descriptions or chosen categories get the most bids. If the price is listed in red, it means it did not sell.
Spotted a product identical to yours? Click 'sell one like this' at the top of the listing to automatically fill in most of the details. Never copy descriptions or pictures wholesale, as this infringes other sellers' copyright.
08
DON'T PAY FOR INFO
Some Del Boy types try to sell web addresses as 'exclusive info/tools of great interest'. Yet often they're available free elsewhere.
For example, some sellers sell mobile phone Sim unlocking codes for as much as £9.99, when you can do this for nowt (see
Mobile Phone Unlocking).
To our great distaste, links to this site are constantly sold to the highest bidder. In the past, people have sold bank charge reclaiming template letters and links to the
FlightChecker, as well as other tools from the site.
Use Google to check exactly what you're bidding for. If it's just 'information', you'll usually find the same elsewhere for free.
09
COMPOSE THE PERFECT TITLE
Ensure your item's title is searchable. When buyers search, eBay automatically searches for words in the item's title only, so every word counts. Though buyers can opt to search the title and description.
Imagine what you would search for. Take "stylish plunging neckline plum dress". No one's going to search for "stylish", "plunging" or "plum". Instead, try “new size 10 purple silk Whistles dress”, and you'll cram in tons more search terms.
Alternatively, “driving video game, not had it long” isn't going to come up as often as “New Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (COD) for PS3”.
Got a top eBay buying tip that we haven't listed? Feed back in the
eBay Selling Tips discussion.
10
EBAY JARGON BUSTER
eBay pros use certain initials to get their message across. These are useful for cramming extra info into titles without exceeding the character limit. Don't go overboard though, or newbies won't have the foggiest what you're on about.
Here's the most commonly used eBay jargon. BN: Brand new. BNWT: Brand new with tags. BNIB: Brand new in box. BIN: Buy it now. VGC: Very good condition.
11
DESCRIBE YOUR ITEM - WARTS AND ALL
Now it's time to sell and market your product. To write a good description, think about what you‘d like to know if you were buying the product yourself. Include information such as brand name, condition (new or used), item specifics, model numbers, size, precise dimensions, style and colour.
While you want to big up the product, ensure the description's accurate. It might be tempting to describe a shirt as like new. But if it turns up with kebab stains down the front, the buyer will leave bad feedback. Plus if it's not as described, they may have recourse to action.
Always run your description through a spellchecker. To show how important spelling is, entire sites, such as
Goofbid (formerly Goofbay) and
Fatfingers, are dedicated to profiting from people's slip-ups. Listings with spelling errors, especially in the title, go for lower amounts.
12
UPLOAD YOUR SNAPS
A decent picture's paramount. You might get away with not including a Harry Potter DVD's image, but no one pays good cash for a painting they've never laid eyes on.
eBay lets you upload your first piccie for free, but charges 12p for each extra shot. Later, we'll tell you how to sneakily
upload extra pics for free.
Uploading is easy, just click 'add photo' on the selling page. Most digital cameras these days will take a snap good enough to upload. Ensure there's enough light, and if you're taking outdoor pics - for a car, perhaps - then plan for a sunny day. If it's an expensive item, take shots from different angles, as well as close-ups and distance shots.
Use a plain background. Buyers won't be enticed by a mirror reflecting you in your Y-fronts.
Love your flawsTake close-up photos of slight imperfections – ideally next to a ruler to show size – so buyers can inspect. They might be more likely to buy if the flaw's not as bad as they thought, and may leave you good feedback for honesty.
13
PICK YOUR START PRICE
It's a delicate balance. Set the start price too high and no one will bid, set it low and there's a risk it will sell for the knock-down price.
As described above, searching completed items gives a list of prices similar auctions have already fetched - a useful guide to how much you're likely to make.
Lower your start priceNot only will it slash the initial listing fee, but your listing may attract more attention. Boffins at London University did some research on this topic, and found auctions with modest start prices sparked more bidding and fetched higher final prices. Of course, there is always the risk it will end up selling for the knock-down price.
14
TIME IT RIGHT
Avoid ending auctions at 4am, when nobody's about. Often bidders prefer to swoop in in the last few minutes, hoping others won't fight back.
According to eBaying MoneySavers, the best time to close an auction is between 7pm and 9pm, Sundays to Thursdays.
If listing an expensive item, check TV listings to ensure you don't clash with the
Downton Abbey season finale.
Though remember if you're selling to another country, such as the US, you'll want to tweak your end time accordingly.
Prior engagement? eBay lets you list auctions and schedule a start time for 6p. There are tons more tips on this
Best time to close eBay auctions forum thread.
15
SELL IN HIGH SEASON
Think about seasonality. Sell stuff at the right time of year. Few will search for barbecues in December or Christmas crackers in July.
The more precise, the better. If you're flogging an air-conditioning unit, wait for a hot spell to pump up the price.
16
USE EBAY AS A FREE REMOVAL SERVICE
Don't pay the council to collect old sofas or broken washing machines. Just put them on eBay for 1p (or see
Freecycle later) and people will collect them. People with fixing skills often buy broken washing machines and TVs.
17
GO GLOBAL
Selling to overseas bidders boosts the number of potential bidders. When expanding your empire abroad, you have two options: sell to overseas bidders via eBay UK, or listing your auction on that country's eBay site.
If you think an item will be more popular in a specific country, such as the USA, it may be worth listing on that country's eBay site. This way locals take it more seriously, as the item appears in their currency and come higher up in searches.
Whichever you choose, always add a higher postage charge, or the extra cost eats your profits. This isn't worth it for big bulky items, as high postage costs outweigh buyers' gains.
See a full how-to.
18
SMASH EBAY FEES
Auction-style listing insertion fees starting at 99p or under are free for private sellers (you're allowed 100 free listings per month). For other auction-style listings, eBay charges a listing fee of up to £1.30, depending on your start price. Media items cost a flat 10p.
Buy-it-now items cost a flat 40p initial listing charge, except media items, which cost 20p.
There are a few little words every eBayer loves to hear: 'free listing weekend'. On these days, initial listing fees are waved. So list an Xbox 360 with a starting price of £50, and the listing will be free, instead of £1.
These weekends are especially good for items with high start prices, as you'll save more.
Don't forget closing feesIf your item sells, you're charged an additional 'final value' fee, which for auctions is 10% of the final sale price, up to a maximum of £75. For example, start an auction for a dress at £50 and, if it fetches £150, the total fee would be £15.10. See
eBay's fee chart for a full breakdown.
Sadly, there's no way to cut the closing fee, apart from using a different auction website (see
alternative auction sites for more details).
eBay fees can be hard to fathom, but handy eBay fee calculator
Ecal does the maths for you. Just type in a start price and final value and it whizzes back with the costs.
19
USE EBAY SELLING INSTEAD OF RENTING
The economics of trading are fascinating. The fluidity of eBay as a marketplace means stuff often moves quickly and at a reasonable price. This has a bizarre effect on some purchases.
Imagine you're intending to keep something for a limited time. Your flat needs a small TV for a few months or you want a computer game for three weeks. In the past, renting was cheaper than buying. With eBay, buying it in, using it, ensuring it stays in good nick, then flogging it can actually undercut renting.
In fact, more powerfully, buy something for the cheapest possible amount (see the
Cheap Online Shopping and
eBay Buying Secrets guides), then re-flog when you're done. It's perfectly possible to get as much as you paid for it, so the period you're using it doesn't actually cost anything.
20
PAYPAL DOESN'T PAY
The standard way to pay on eBay is using its online payment system
PayPal. This works well for buyers, as it's free and affords extra protection.
When selling, the argument's reversed. PayPal wallops sellers with a fee of 3.4% of the amount paid (slightly less for £1,500+ payments), plus 20p for each transaction. On an £100 sale, you'd pay £3.60. Add this to eBay's other fees, and it's a fair whack.
Unfortunately eBay requires all sellers to offer PayPal as an option, but if anyone does pay you by cheque, you save. If you're selling a bulky item that must be picked up in person, ask to be paid in cash.
21
BE WARY OF PAYPAL FOR PICK-UP ONLY ITEMS
When selling collection-only items, consider asking the buyer to pay with cash, rather than PayPal – especially if it's a big-ticket item like a laptop.
An increasing number of buyers claim they haven't collected an item when they have, then claim the money back.
eBay only protects sellers if they use a postal service that gives online proof of delivery (for items valued over £150, it also requires signature confirmation). If the buyer collects in person, you won't have this, so are at risk of losing your cash AND your item.
Bizarrely, eBay still forces you to list PayPal in your list of accepted payment options (except if it's a car, motorcycle, aircraft, boat, caravan, trailers, truck or property). There's no real way round this, apart from posting high value items, instead of letting people pick them up.
You could write in bold in your listing "Please note I will accept cash on collection only, not Paypal". Yet this is against eBay's policies and could mean your listing's taken down.
