It’d be hard to mention eBay to almost any resident of the UK, or for that matter most of the western world, without people knowing what you meant. The thriving online market place has everything you could possibly want up for auction, from boats to cars and from celebrity-chewed gum to ‘this pencil that I found last week.’
Anything is for sale, and many people make their livelihood from online stores selling all sorts of products. Most people can easily make a sale, and the step by step guides available make it as user friendly as possible. However, there are a few things that can help you maximise the money you make from your sales that aren’t in the manual.
Fees for All
Part of eBay’s design means paying fees, both on creating a listing for your goods and as a percentage of the overall sale. Given the service and how business works, it’s understandable that the marketplace takes a percentage, but there are wise of reducing the amount you’ll have to pay overall.
First of all, insertion fees. Users pay this to list their item, but there are many ways round it or to reduce it. eBay routinely has ‘free listing’ days, and have recently introduced free and reduced fee listing on certain weekends. If you aren’t supremely desperate to sell our goods, try waiting for one of these days (usually advertised in advance).
Secondly, there are insertion fee bands. You pay a certain amount depending on how much you list your item for; for example, you’d pay 15p for a £4.99 opening sale price, but 25p for £5.00. eBay has a list of its price bands and how much you’ll be charged in its here, so if possible try to start your at the highest part of the band you want to sell in. This might seem like a small saving, but if you plan on selling many different lots it can really add up.
No Frills Way to Help Your Profit
You can also reduce the cost of your listing by not buying so many ‘frills.’ ‘Frills’ inculde all the extra ways of selling eBay offers you. If you feel a desperate need to have a subtitle, a highlighted picture or seventeen pictures of your lot feel free, but you have to pay for the privilege. It’s rare that a subtitle says anything that isn’t in your item description, that people are sucked in by some bold text or that your cube-shaped lot needs a hundred angles to be seen in it’s best light. If someone is interested in your lot, they will click on it from the picture and text. The first picture is free, so if possible include one (as this will help you sell products), but often more than on just costs you.
Keep these things in mind when selling on eBay and you’ll find that your sale yield more overall than before.