How To Sell On eBay

Want to sell on ebay to make money or declutter? Selling on eBay is easy, if I can do it, you can do it. One of my friends makes a living on buying antiques and collectibles at yard sales and selling on eBay, and I've learned how to use eBay from them. We've talked about selling on ebay on this GF Radio episode, and the realities of what your stuff is worth here.

I use eBay to get rid of stuff I don't need. I'm big into decluttering now, and have instituted the One Year Rule: If I haven't used the item in the last year, out it goes.

I either sell on eBay, or use our block association email list to give things away, or I just put it on the sidewalk outside our house. Stuff disappears! And the declutter process makes you feel great.

We just moved into a row house, and in the basement we found a metal and porcelain chandelier. Someone at one time really liked this style of lamp, but it wasn't something we were going to use. But I was thinking it must be a style that some people like.

I went to eBay.com and typed into the search "metal hanging chandelier" and scrolling through the search results, I found several lamps that looked like ours. They all used several key words to describe the lamp style:

Tole, Italian, Shabby Chic, Vintage

How To Sell on eBay

Here's my steps to selling on ebay.

1. Take good photos. Your cell phone takes good photos, you can use a fancy camera too. I've found the best photos are with daylight coming through a window, and the sale item on a white background. We have a white tile table that I photograph items on. Cluttered backgrounds make for bad photos and are a turn-off for buyers - clean white background = good sales.

2. Write a good description and BE HONEST. If the item has scratches on it, you have to state this in the description. Take a photo of the scratches - you can load 8-12 photos per listing for free on eBay. Use the keywords you found in similar listings in your title and description.

3. Don't use exclamation points and bold type and ALL CAPS. Shouting doesn't work when trying to sell on ebay. It makes you look like a 9 year old.

4. Be personal. In the description of the lamp we posted for sale, I wrote about how we found it in the basement of our new home, and how it would look nice in a shabby chic decor home.

5. Research what similar items are selling for. Have an idea of its worth, but pay attention to what's not selling as well.

6. Start the bid at .99 . This might seem counter-intuitive, but it works most of the time. You will get a lot more interested buyers, and the market will prevail on pricing. There will be those buyers that want the item and are ready to pay  a market price for it. Your auction price will rise close to what the market is paying right now.

7. Be explicit in payment requirements and shipping. I always use PayPal for payment, unless the person wants to come pick it up in person, and then they can pay in cash.

8. State your return policy. If you are selling a camera or computer, you might offer a refund if the item is DOA ( dead on arrival ) because of a shipping problem. For items like antiques I don't offer a returns, I sell them as-is.

9. Ship the item promptly. State in your auction how many days it will take to package the item and ship after the end of the ebay auction. Contact the buyer through ebay and send them a tracking number.

10. After the buyer receives the item, ask them to leave positive feedback, and do so as well for the buyer. Remember, Karma is Boomerang.

The auction for the ceiling light ended and we were stunned to see it sell for over $200! I messaged the buyer and they explained a bit about Tole lamps. They lived in California and it fit their house decor well. Good for them.

What are your how to sell on ebay techniques? Let us know below: