Staff writer shares his eBay expertise

Master buying from eBay... then become a successful seller

January 29, 2007 —

Like most who sell on eBay, my initiation with the site was as a buyer.

Once I had a feel for how things operated, I realized it was the ideal way to achieve my dream of making money without ever having to theoretically put on pants.

Fast-forward five years and selling on eBay has become my primary source of income.

As most full-time students understand, it can be difficult to keep afloat with academics and still scrape up enough cash for bills and extracurricular activities.

While I'm known in my circle of friends as the guy without an alleged real job, eBay has allowed me to bring home enough coin to cover the aforementioned items and flex my hours to fit my schedule for the given day.

Make no mistake, though: turning a respectable profit on a regular basis takes a great deal of effort.

It will also take a period of growing pains, where losing money may not be uncommon.

Like most infomercials, programs that promise you'll become filthy rich selling on eBay with minimal work are misleading.

Their accuracy probably ranks with the infomercials that assure you buckets of money are to be had selling crappy ceramic cats and pottery to your friends and associates.

The learning process for selling on eBay never subsides, but there are a few basic things all sellers should know. The buying end of the eBay spectrum requires less knowledge, but buyers can still benefit from being aware of some key points.

eBay can be a place where great bargains and lost pieces of childhood are found. On the selling end, becoming a millionaire through eBay isn't a few steps away.

But with time, knowledge, and the right product, it can generate as much or more income than the typical job held by the college-aged person. And don't forget about pants being optional, a perk you won't find elsewhere. Unless, of course, you work at Deja Vu.

Beware of knockoffs

It isn't uncommon to find a great bargain on eBay, but like the old adage goes, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. This especially holds true for high-end items like electronics and designer clothing.

Pricey electronics can be a risky purchase because of the amount of scammers using hijacked accounts to peddle products they don't have.

Despite efforts to crack down on counterfeit merchandise, the eBay market is still saturated with such products.

At the risk of dishing out a hearty helping of ethnocentrism, buying from certain countries is rarely a good idea because of the ratio of phony products that typically come out of them.

Before you get too excited about all of those great Lacoste shirts at dirt-cheap prices from that seller in Singapore, realize you probably aren't getting the real thing.

A bid is a contract

The reason for eBay requesting that its users be at least 18 years of age is that a bid is equivalent to a legally-binding contract. When a potential buyer makes a bid, they are agreeing to pay for the item if they should win.

Unfortunately, this is an ancient eBay term that countless buyers fail to understand or respect.

Buyer's remorse may be okay with that DVD you got from Best Buy, since no money is lost on their part. But few things are more frustrating for an eBay seller than having someone win and not pay.

It not only wastes time, but it costs sellers fees that cannot be fully recovered.

So before you place that bid, make sure you are willing to pay. You don't want some seller to snap and track you down.

Different sellers & terms

Because eBay's selling base is comprised primarily of individuals, terms of sale vary. Just because one seller accepts certain forms of payment does not mean they all do. Some sellers are more lax about the window of opportunity to get your payment to them than others are.

Most sellers include their terms in the auction description, so be sure to read it. Some sellers opt to make their policies 27 times longer than the actual description of the item, so in those cases, just try and get the gist of it.

If you get conned

Realistically, you aren't likely to come across a seller who won't ship your item. In the rare instance that it appears the seller has taken your $14 and skipped town, steps can be taken. If using the online site PayPal, the most common form of payment on eBay, you can file a complaint.

PayPal will investigate the matter and if the seller cannot prove they shipped the item, you will likely get your money back.

If paying with check or money order, things can be less promising, with eBay offering a few options, but nothing that is likely to get your money back.

PayPal is probably the most secure way to deal with money on eBay, so try and buy from sellers that accept it.

Read, read, read

Reading isn't one of this country's favorite pastimes, but doing so when buying on eBay can spare you of any nasty surprises. More unscrupulous sellers may try and hide unappealing facts about the item and their selling policies by burying them deep within the description. While it may be a pain to read through everything, it will help you catch sentences like, "Buyer is aware that item was once covered in what appears to be barbeque sauce."

Know the fee structure

A source of chronic aggravation among the site's seasoned sellers, eBay's fee structure is an annually-rising beast that can negate your selling endeavors right out the gate.

Insertion fees, the cost to list each item, can range from 20 cents to $4.80. Added perks are available, but for an additional cost.

Of these add-ons, the photo gallery is the only one worth its price (35 cents). This feature allows a thumbnail of your item to be on the search results page, instantly making it stand out.

If your item sells, eBay will take a cut based on the final price. This starts at a 5.25 percent slice and rises accordingly.

The increasingly higher fees have made it counterproductive to deal with items that bring in already small returns.

Take great pictures

Including pictures with your auction is optional, but vital for success. The auction that includes at least one picture will invariably fetch more bucks than the one without any.

But with competition growing, it isn't enough to just take pictures. You have to take quality pictures.

Nothing damages an item's selling potential like atrocious photos. A potential buyer cannot pick up and study the product, so good photos are a must. Invest in a quality camera and accessories. Use a good amount of lighting and utilize editing programs like Adobe Photoshop to create clean, professional-looking pictures.

Know what sells

Probably the biggest misconception about eBay is that anything will sell for a nice chunk of change.

Success stories have blurred the reality that despite a community of millions, there's a weak market for many categories. Most sports cards and comic books typically generate a small fraction of their price guide value, for instance. I went through a stretch in my early selling days of making almost nothing hocking things that allegedly had value at one time.

So before you drop out of school or quit your job because you have a box of beat-up Silver Surfer comics in your garage you think is going to put you on easy street, know what makes money on eBay.

Communication is key

Face it, the Internet has a rep among many as existing for the purpose of scamming others. But even these people buy on eBay, which does little for their Internet paranoia.

For this and other reasons, it's important as a seller to keep in regular contact with your buyers.

At the very least, an e-mail should be sent when the item has been shipped. And make a habit of responding to e-mails from buyers. The last thing you want is some guy in Baxter, Minnesota convinced you've conned him out of nine bucks because you haven't responded to his e-mails.

Learn shipping rates

Okay, so you've made your first sale. You've finally done this whole selling on eBay thing and you're psyched.

That elation does a disappearing act when you go to the post office and realize you only charged four bucks to ship an item that's going to cost $20 to mail.

You've learned the hard way why it's key to be familiar with the shipping rates. If you plan to sell with any regularity, invest in a postage scale. These allow you to weigh the package and check the post office's Web site for pricing.

Many carry reasonable price tags and will pay for themselves by saving you money you'd be losing by underestimating the cost to ship something.

Once you know the actual shipping cost, tack on a buck or two to cover packing supplies. Be careful not to overcharge, though. Excessive shipping and handling charges violate eBay policy.

Write detailed descriptions

The drawback to online shopping is being unable to physically see and hold the item that draws your interest. Because of this, a detailed description coupled with good pictures will more times than not, boost sales.

When writing the description, put yourself in the buyer's shoes and think what you would want to know about the item.

Where does it come from? What kind of condition is it in? Does it smell like your leaky basement?