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Selling on eBay

Lea Moore-Beulah

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Contents

• About eBay• About Auctions on eBay• Selling on eBay step-by-step• eBay Stores• References

Disclaimer: The information and instructions given in this presentation are intended to educate the reader on eBay website terminology and inter-workings at this time. Since the eBay website is continually evolving, format and content changes should be expected.

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About eBay• Why eBay?

– Millions of customers

– Cheap costs to sell

– You can sell “anything”

– Approx. 70% of items sell

– You can have your own store

• To be successful on eBay & to gain a good reputation:

1. Market your merchandise

2. Provide good customer service

3. Fulfill transactions quickly & efficiently

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About Auctions on eBay2 Types of Auctions: Standard and Non-StandardStandard

– Open 3 – 10 days, seller specifies a minimum bid & bidding increments, sale item goes to the high bidder at the time the auction ends,

– Reserve price may or may not be specifiedReserve Price

• A measure of protection that a seller can add to her auction. The reserve price is the lowest price at which a seller is willing to sell an item. Can be kept secret. If not met then seller needn’t sell the item.

Non-Standard– Dutch auction – used to auction multiple, identical

items– Private auction – bidders don’t disclose their email

addresses in public– Featured Auctions

• Additional fee• Appear at the top of main page listings• Category Feature Auctions appear at the top of

category pages• Big Ticket items (rare autos, sports memorabilia,

…• Gift Section where a gift icon appears next to the

item and item is shown on a special page• The Gallery lists your auctions in eBay’s gallery

with a thumbnail of your item shown for shoppers to view

• Club99 Auctions offer 99 cents items on certain days

• Premium Auctions by prestigious auction houses

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Selling on eBayStep-by-Step

Step One: Become a registered eBay user

Step Two: Decide what to sell

Step Three: Set the price

Step Four: Find the right category

Step Five: Fill out the “Create Your Listing” form

Step Six: Write a good description of item

Step Seven: Review & Submit

Step Eight: Process Sales

Step Nine: Pay eBay (fees)

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Step One: Become a registered eBay user1. Go to www.ebay.com2. Click on “Register”3. Fill in your personal information, click

“Submit”4. Wait for an email message from eBay with a

confirmation that you’ve been registered (takes a couple of minutes)

5. Enter the web address from the confirmation email to finish your registration

6. Read the User agreement and click “I Accept”

7. Enter your name, confirmation #, and new password

8. Click “Complete Your Registration”9. You’re Done!

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Step Two: Decide What to Sell• Do some “shopping” to compare what

you’ve got with what’s already being offered

• Decide on a category where you’re likely to find shoppers with an interest in your merchandise

Step Three: Set The Price• You can put “No Reserve” in the listing

and let bidders determine final value• Or set Reserve price either secret or

not• Or set minimum bid at the least amount

you’re willing to take

Step Four: Find The Right Category or Categories• Search for similar items and use their

category listed at the top of their page

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Step Five: Fill out the “Create Your Listing” form

• Click “Sell” link => “Create Your Listing”• Fill in the Title, Category, upload a

picture URL, minimum bid, duration of auction

Step Six: Write a Good Description of Your Item

• Brief but complete• Positive, include desirable features• Honest (mention defects & be specific)

Step Seven: Review & Submit • After reviewing your work click on

“Save and Preview”• Print this page out for your records

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Step Eight: Process Sales

• After your auction starts you might have to field questions from bidders so keep tabs on your listings

• You can change everything in your listing as long as no one has bidded

• If bidding has started then you can only update the description or item’s category at:

(pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/add-to-item.html)

• Contact the winner within 1 day of the end of the auction. Offer your congratulations and give them payment instructions if you did not specify it in your listing.

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Step Eight: Process Sales (cont’d)

• Send email acknowledgment once payment is received

• Tell the buyer exactly when you’re sending out the shipment; preferably the same day the payment clears your bank.

If your item doesn’t sell• You can relist your item. There is a

second insertion fee but it is refunded if the item sells this time.

• To relist return to the Completed Auctions item page and click on “relist”

• You can end your auction early but you still have to pay the insertion fee.

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Step Nine: Pay eBay (fees)

• Insertion fee – based on opening bid or reserved price

(pages.ebay.com/aw/agreement-fees.html)

• Final value fee (commission) – based on the price the item sold for. You only pay this if your item sold or you ended your auction early with bids outstanding.

• eBay members can accumulate up to $10 worth of fees in their account before they have to pay off their bill. You’ll receive an invoice via email. You can pay via credit card, check, or money order

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eBay Stores

• eBay store sellers must have at least 20 feedbacks or be ID verified to open a store

• All items are set at a fixed price and online until cancelled (or listed at least 30 days)

• You have to pay monthly rentFrom $15.95 for basic to $299.95 for an

anchor store(pages.ebay.com/storefronts/seller-

landing.html)

• Click on “Sell” link from the eBay homepage then click “Sell tools & eBay stores”

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References

• Buying and Selling on eBay (Cliff notes) by Greg Holden

• Starting an eBay Business For Dummies by Marsha Collier

• eBay For Dummies by Marsha Collier, Roland Woerner, Stephanie Becker