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I haven't seen many articles on using ebay.co.uk, with most
discussion based upon the US Version.
My recommendation is to research the market that you would
like to sell your items. This could be through market trends, news
etc., but most importantly you should find out how the item sells on ebay.
You should have an awareness of what you are selling, best time of the year to
sell and the minumum cost you can buy the item and the maximum cost you can sell
it at.
To find out the minumum and maximum costs, look at the closing
price of the items being sold - write down the lowest price people are buying
the item at and the maximum price buyers are willing to buy. This list of
items with minumum and max costs will prove to be useful when looking for items
to buy as you can price exactly how much items will sell and how much profit you
can make.
What to Buy
I recommend that you invest in the following:
- Scales
- Have good quality but cheap jiffy/envelopes/boxes at your
disposal
- Signup with Paypal
Making Profit
If you are going to be buying and selling the same type of
stock, then you need to be consistantly making profit. I always aim for
50% pure profit on the items I'm selling. Time is money and it takes a
while to find the best items to buy and later sell.
Know your Competition
If you are just starting to sell items in a particular section
on ebay, you could learn alot by just watching the bids by your
competitors. These guys are pretty esay to find as they usually sell their
items one after the other or use Buy It Now extentsively. You could always
"Watch" their lots and find out exactly who bidded for their items and at what
price they sold for.
To keep track of your competition, I recommend to use the Find
Bidder section in the Search Box and check out what they are currently bidding
on.
What to Buy on ebay
You should only buy something which you can easily sell at a
later date and something which you can make profit on. Collectables and
Clothes are quite good areas to explore. You need to sell something small
and with low postage.
Take a look at items labelled with a Hot symbol for lots with
30 bids or more. I would take note of what is being sold, perhaps try to
locate similar items by using a "Search Title and Description" type
search.
Investing in the future is a way of gaining profit in the long
term - for example Natwest Pigs are a hot item, Animation Cels or Signed Items
by Superstars are a surefire hit of gaining profit, as long as they were cheap
to buy.
Also, don't forget www.ebay.com, Yahoo Auctions, Amazon Z
Shops and Pawn Shops as places to find sources of items to
sell.
Selling for Companies
You may find Thomweb a useful site as it lists most companies
in the UK. You can find out how much an item costs and then sell it on
ebay. If the auction is successful, you can get the company to send the
product to the Ebay buyer directly and you keep the rest of the profits.
This works only if you specialise in a certain field, but this technique can't
be written off completely!
Buying in Bulk
This is really the only way you can make profit. The
idea is that you buy bulk items in one lot and then sale each item
individually. This can work most of the time depending on what I covered
under "First Steps".
Buying in bulk should not be confused with the "Wholesale"
section on Ebay. I tend to stay away from that area as many are
professional sellers and tend to price their items are market rate.
However, I'm not trying to discourage you, you may find some profitable lots in
the Wholesale area if you look hard enough,
What to Look for when Buying
The main thing when buying in bulk is the expensive postage,
so I look for lots which have low postage figures. You are more than able
to contact the seller and ask if they can post items by a cheaper means (Royal
Mail Standard Delivery with no insurance etc.,)
Use the advanced Search facility and search for sellers who
live nearby. You may be able to negiotate a cheaper rate or
pickup.
I also recommend looking at the sellers feedback. Not
only to check out was positive comments he/she received but to see how many
items they have sold in the past. It's great to deal with a seller with
alot of experience, but they too know tricks of the trade and therefore will
price their items with low profit margins. I always choose sellers with
low feedback numbers.
Sellers often list items in places you don't expect to find
them. Do a general search on ebay for the item which you are looking to
buy. Also try mis-spelt words also, you may be lucky and find
something!
Contact your Seller
It's always a good idea to contact your seller to find out
about the lot you are bidding on, asking questions such as:
- How much is postage (Give your postcode for an exact
amount)
- What condition is the item in, is it boxed with
instructions?
Sellers sometimes forget to add important details when
describing the lot, only when asking them what's included is when you are able
to find a gold mine if there are many other extras.
I like to contact Buy It Now Sellers if I see a great
bargain. Buy It Now sellers usually want the cash fast and deal with
Paypal. I take advantage of this fact and contact the seller to offer to
buy the product being offered asap but without paying the postage. It may
or may not work for you, but it's worth a try.
Giving Feedback
As a buyer, you have alot of power at your disposal.
When I buy items, I pay straight away just after the auction has ended. I
usually opt for Paypal. After you've paid your job is done and your seller
usually leaves you positive feedback to say you've offered prompt payment.
However, do not leave feedback for the seller until the item has arrived.
This is to make sure that once it does arrive, everything is working correctly
with no breakages and that the postage and packing has been priced
accordingly. If p+p has been overcharged, contact the seller asking what's
going on. You may be able to get some money back.
When you leave feedback about a seller, just be honest.
If your item hasn't arrived and/or the Seller won't give you payment, register
the user via Squaretrade and get a Final Value Fee Refund.
Selling and Pricing
This is a difficult one to cover - price it too high and no
one will bid, price it too low and you stand to make less profit.
I'd price an item as follows, in the following
example:
If you bought an item for 20 pounds, then I'd price it as 18
pounds.
I don't use Reserve Pricing, I think it turns users off to
know that their bid may or may not be excepted.
Promoting your Items
I actually stay away from advanced promotion through ebay as
it lowers profits. I now and then pay extra to use a photo caption, but I
don't make a habit out of it. I title my items accordingly, giving full
titles, explaining if the condition is "New" or "Mint". I use commas, and
hyphens to give my ad extra edge, so it could end up looking like
this:
Batman Beyond - Production Cel/Cell, Mint condition
& Framed
As for what description you need to add to your lot, just be
honest. Describe if it's boxed/unboxed, the condition, what items are
included and what condition they are in. You need to make your description
clear (with no spelling mistakes either!), so that a potential buyer won't have
to email you to find out if there are any extras. Use paragraphs and bold
to effect.
I'd also weigh the item in advance and put down the p+p.
Insurance is marked down as optional and charged at the normal
rate.
When to List
This again depends upon your market, is it aimed at kids
or adults? For kids I'd list the item around 5/6pm for adults around
8/9pm. I think it's worthwhile to take into account what events/tv
programs are happening on the final day of your auction as this is when
most bidding occurs.
Find Buyers
You may consider creating a list of potential
ebay buyers who may be interested in your lot. I've seen some sellers
contact me via email, saying something like this - "I don't
normally do this, but saw you bidder for xx lot and was wondering if
you would be interested in mine". I used to do something like that in
the past to gain notice on my lot, but ebay now frowns upon it and you could get
a mark against yuor name if the person receiving the email makes a
complaint.
I find buyers via Google and Newslist groups, note down
their details and contact them if I'm selling something which may
interest them.
Replying to Buyers
I always make sure my replies to buyers questions are sent
asap, if not I set up a Auto responder which tells them when I will be able to
reply. In any correspdance I send out I always include the URL of the lot
being spoken about and perhaps may mention other items for sale if its relevant
to the buyer. Perhaps setup a standard email template to reply to buyer
questions.
After the auction is completed, you may want to let the buyer
know that it's on the way and perhaps mention any other items which they may be
interested in. I've gotten rid of alot of extra stock this way and it
suits both parties. If you make it clear that the extra items will be x
pounds and will not effect the p+p - you may be onto a winner.
I always contact the buyer to let them know when their payment
arrived and when the item will be sent.
Postage and Packing
I always price my postage and packaging according to the
actual price, I never make any profit. People aren't stupid and will leave
negetive feedback accordingly if you over price p+p. However, if you buy
your stamps and envelopes in bulk you may be able to save a bit of money - but
not alot!
About the Author
Article posted by Giles Dawe, author at Feng Shui Chinese - Providing Tips and Advice on how you can use Feng Shui in your House and Office. |
