Updates Coming to eBay

There are some updates for sellers coming to eBay during late September to early October.

One of those changes is to add a new Power Seller status, called the eBay Top Rated Seller. These sellers will earn 20% fee discounts, promotion in search results for Fixed Price listing, as well as receiving a “top rated seller” badge on their item pages.

Power sellers on all levels can qualify for this status if they have at least 100 transactions and $3,000 in sales for the past year. as well as meeting certain requirements under the Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs).

The program is designed to recognize Power Sellers who provide the best experience to their customers on a consistent basis. Sellers are offered incentives and rewards for providing these great buyer experiences. eBay expects to qualify 150,000 Top Rated Sellers in the U.S. when the program opens up.

Looking for a job? Look no further!

With unemployment at an all time high, people need to search for alternatives to earning money. One such alternative to no one’s surprise is eBay.

Since eBay is the world’s biggest marketplace, just about anything you can think of can be traded there. If you’re looking for something you need, there’s more than likely an abundant supply of that item on eBay for you as a buyer. By the same token, as a seller, you can unload some of your personal belongings and convert those to cash.

The turnaround between listing an item for sale and getting paid for it can be as short as only a few days. As a general rule of thumb, if I have something on hand that I haven’t used in a year or more, then I should get rid of it and sell it. There’s someone out there at any given time that can put your item to use, so why not sell it to them. It’s just a matter of matching buyers and sellers.

If you took a look around the house, there’s probably at least a handful of items that you can sell on eBay. If you’re new at selling, once you try it a few times and get use to the routine, each item you list becomes even easier.

If by chance you should run out of your own things to sell, why not ask a friend if they have anything? You could unload it for them on eBay and pick up a commission on the sale. Between the two of you, there may be lots of things that can be sold.

Get rid of some of those things you’re holding onto and convert them to cash. Turn this unemployment around into gainful employment, at least for the time being, making money on eBay. As the saying goes, one person’s junk is another person’s treasure!

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Ship your items Quickly!

If you’ve ever purchased items on eBay, you know there’s a certain amount of time you’ll wait for your goods to reach you in the mail.

You’ve placed the order and made your payment. Now the wait begins. Your item arrives in the mail anywhere from 2 days to 5 days, or sometimes even longer.

The sooner it comes, the better since you’re anticipating it. Even 2 days can seem like a long time if it’s something you want right away.

So, as a seller, your buyers will surely appreciate it when you can get the shipment to them in record time. Most of what I ship out is done by USPS Priority Mail. It’s usually just about as fast as first class mail, but might beat it by a day if there’s a delay of some kind. I like to get the shipment out as soon as I can for my buyers, just after getting paid by them. Ideally, that package will go out the same day, but depending on the time of payment, this could extend into the next day.

Surprise your buyers and get that package to them sooner than they expect. They’ll appreciate that and let you know in your positive feedback!

Top 5 Tips for Selling on eBay

Here are tips for successfully selling your products on the world’s largest marketplace, eBay:

1) Do some research on the item’s market value.

If you set your minimum bid too high, no one will bid on it. And of course, if you set the bid too low, you may close the sale too low and miss out on a higher market value. This is great for the buyer, but can only hurt you as a seller in the long run.

2) Always include a photograph.

Never sell an item without a picture. Pictures tell 1000 words, good pictures tell it even better. Use several photos for more expensive items and show the various angles.

3) Use good keywords to describe the item in the title.

Your listing has to be searchable for anyone looking for it. The 2 areas you get to work with are the category that you put the item in and the keywords you use. Get the best of both by using the right category and a good description in the title.

4) Include lots of information in the listing.

Describe as much information as you can for your item. Include factual detail, staying away from hype. Try to anticipate any questions you might receive and get those answered up front in the listing.

5) Provide great customer service!

Put customer service first. Answer any questions they may have promptly. Keep the communication going wherever necessary. You should contact the winning bidder soon after the sale. This could be to thank them for a quick payment and notify them of shipping arrangements. It could also be to send them an invoice requesting payment.

Keep these tips in mind for successful selling on eBay.

When to List Your Items for Sale

There are times that are better than others when it comes to listing your items for sale on eBay.

Your auction listing will close at the same time of day that it is being entered. Generally, you’ll list an item for a 7-day period in an auction style format. You can pick a shorter or longer time frame, but 7 days is the standard.

The worst timing would be to list your item late at night, and then a week later, have it close at the same time of night. You want it to close when it can get the most traffic from your buyers. If most people are asleep, there’s a good chance that a bid placed 2 hours earlier will be the winning one when it closes.

Have you ever watched your item for sale close in the last few minutes. Depending on what it is, and when it closes, last-minute bidders will swoop in and drive the price up as you refresh your screen and watch the action unfold!

There’s a nice timing option eBay gives sellers when listing their items. For only 10 cents per listing, you can schedule a time for the auction to start. Of course this means that it will also end at the same time. Chances are, this 10-cent investment will more than pay for itself when your item gets more bids before it closes.

There are not only better times, but better days of the week as well. I find that Monday and Tuesday nights get a lot of traffic. Good times to close are in the evening and should allow for the 3-hour difference between east and west coast times. 6:30 pm Pacific time is a good frame of reference, allowing those on the east coast to bid before it’s too late.

Now get those items listed on eBay!

Listing items for sale on eBay

How do you get your listing, or information on your item for sale, into eBay?

If there’s a large quantity to put up for sale, then it’s a good idea to use something like Turbo Lister. This is a free software program provided by eBay designed for medium to high-volume sellers.

Another option for a small number of items is just to fill out the template as you go along. A long time ago, I filled in the listing then navigated away to a help page and lost everything.

The way I do it now, which seems to work well for me when listing a few items at a time, is to create my listing in a Word document. I’ll put in all the particulars, including any html markup with the information on the item. I start off with a copy of a prior listing. All of the html code I like to use is already in place at this point. I’ll just replace the old information with the new. Once this is done, then I’ll go to eBay’s listing page and do a copy and paste routine from my Word document.

This works pretty well and keeps a backup of my listing in a separate Word file.

Get Started Selling on eBay

Are you new to eBay as a seller? The best way to learn the ropes on selling is just to jump in and start doing it. Surely you can come up with something right now that you can list for sale. Just follow along on the form eBay provides and get that first item on there.

Sure, there are other enhancements along the way, but those will come in time. Don’t try to learn everything ahead of just getting something listed for the first time. You’ll pick up some tips and ideas of your own as you move through the process. There are also plenty of help menus along the way if you need more assistance.

Here are a few things you’ll need for a listing:

• A digital camera to get a few good pictures of the item
• A description of the item for sale with good keywords
• An idea of what the item is worth

You can do a listing without a picture, but you’ll certainly get less traffic so it’s best to include at least one.

Buyers will find your item based on the description you use. It’s important to use relevant keywords and phrases in the title description, spelled correctly. The rest of the description should contain as much detail as necessary, so the buyer has no surprises when receiving it. The item can be used, or even broken as long as it is accurately described.

Once you have something up for sale, it makes it easier to add additional items, now that you have an idea of the process. You can make changes along the way as you continue to experiment with your listings. You’ll get ideas from other sellers and their layouts that you can incorporate into your listings.

Catch their Attention on your eBay Listings

Your listing is important information for your prospective buyers. What you say and how it’s laid out will determine how long a shopper will stay on your page.

At first glance, if the information is all clustered together in one big paragraph, most readers will skim this quickly or skip it entirely. The first couple of seconds spent on your page listing will either send the shopper off to another listing, or hopefully, staying to bid on the item. You need to grab the interest of the reader and make a connection with them.

Put the best information of the product on the top in a couple of sentences. Follow this up with bullet points, which are much easier to read.

Everything in your listing should be based on some research of the product, even if only a small amount. A little research goes a long way to accurately describe the product as well as pointing out the benefits to the buyer of the product.

Some things to stay away from:

• bright colors and animations
• text that is difficult to read
• fonts that are too small or too large
• light text on a dark background

Now connect with your buyers and sell more products!

PayPal Security

Did you know you can add an extra layer of security to your PayPal account?

As a seller, or a buyer, you may accumulate a substantial balance in your PayPal account. Regardless of how much is sitting in there, you don’t want to lose any of it to someone that knows the user ID (email address) and password to your account. Some time ago, PayPal added another level of security as an option to account holders. It’s the PayPal Security Key, which is really a digital token that fits on your keychain. The token generates a security code every 30 seconds which is tied to your account. The 6-digit number on the token is entered into the logon screen, together with the usual user ID and password. So, needless to say, you need to have the token with you when you log on, but it surely provides some peace of mind from anyone accessing your PayPay account funds.