Feedback on eBay

Okay, today I'm going to talk a little bit about feedback on eBay.

Feedback is your most valuable asset on eBay. Good feedback lets people know that you're a trusted and valuable member of the ebay community. It comforts buyers and lets them know that you aren't going to take their money and run. What you don't want to do is screw things up and get a bad feedback score or have somebody leave you negative feedback. Negative feedback can really hurt your eBay sales.

If you want positive feedback, make sure you are doing these things:


FREE SHIPPING. The first thing that you want to make sure that you're doing is offering free shipping on every item you sell. I talked a lot about free shipping in my past posts. Free shipping is one of those things that allows you to get a perfect score each time in the shipping category when a customer leaves feedback. Offering free shipping is a psychological thing that when people see, they want to buy your product over a competitors. Even though the prices might be exactly the same with combined price + shipping, they'll still want to buy the item that says "Free Shipping."


SHIP QUICKLY. The second thing that you want to do is make sure that you ship the item within 24 hours of purchase. This can be difficult for some, but in order to become a top rated seller on ebay, you need to be shipping items out within 24 hours of receiving an order. Make sure that you get the tracking number of the package up on ebay within 24 hours.


PACKAGE WELL. The way you package your item makes a huge impression on how you run your business. Don't package your items in the oldest shoe boxes you can find at your house. Nobody likes to receive an item that they just purchased in a nasty, old box. Free boxes are always available at your local post office, or find some boxes at a local store. Make your packages and packaging look professional, or at least the best that you can. Click here to find free supplies.


RETURN POLICY. People like to buy from people who offer a return policy. A 14 day return policy is typical and will help you sell many more items. I've been selling on ebay for years with a 14 day return policy on every single item listed. 99.9% of the time you'll never have anyone ask to return an item. Even if you do, the sales you will be making through offering the return option will far outweigh any costs of an actual returned item.

LEAVE FEEDBACK. As a seller you will have the option to leave feedback for your buyers as soon as they have paid for the items. I usually leave a buyer positive feedback after they have paid, I have shipped the item, and I know that the item has been delivered. Don't be too quick to leave positive feedback, you never know who may want to cancel an order. If I haven't received feedback from a buyer within one week of delivery, I send them a gentle reminder message that looks something like this:

"Hello _______,
I just want to make sure that you received the item you ordered and that your experience with me has been a positive one. If it has been, please leave positive feedback when you have a chance. If for any reason the experience has not been positive, please let me know so I can find a solution. I have left positive feedback for you. Thank you! "


In the end, just make sure that you are doing everything within your power to offer excellent customer service. People are generally good hearted and willing to work through any situation that arises. Make sure that you are willing to go above and beyond in your transactions, and you'll always have happy buyers.

here are a few books that will be helpful to anyone looking to make it big on ebay:

The Standards of Shipping on Ebay

The Basic Standards of Shipping Online

Shipping is one of the biggest keys to a successful online business.  I have been shipping and receiving packages for years, and I can tell you that shipping can really help or really hurt your ebay and online businesses.  Many options are available to make shipping fast, simple, and professional; let's take a look at a few of them.

• Free Shipping

• Free Supplies

• Free Pickup

• Print labels at home

FREE SHIPPING:  When online buyers are looking at what to buy and where to buy it, price + shipping is the most important factor.  Buyers absolutely love free shipping. Honestly, many buyers will only purchase an item if it comes with free shipping. In fact, it doesn't matter if your item costs $15.00 + $5.00 shipping, buyers would rather purchase the same item for $20.00 with free shipping, it's psychological.
By offering free shipping, you'll get:

• listings that will rank higher in ebay search results

• Five star feedback for shipping, always

• More buyers looking at and buying your items

• Lower final value fees charged by ebay

FREE SUPPLIES. Shipping supplies are a very important part of any ebay business.  I'm sure that you have seen items that you have purchased, show up in less than mediocre packaging;  this type of packaging is unnacceptable in any business that wants to be successful.

Where can I get free shipping supplies?

1. Free Priority and regional boxes from USPS.COM or any Post Office.

1. Local stores have lots of extra boxes, maybe you can find a store that has the right size boxes you'll need.

1. Free printing labels at UPS.com

FREE PICKUP.  In an effort to win your business, many shipping services will actually come to your home or office to pick up items from you.  If you never want to leave the comfort of your own home, you'll never have to; just use a provider like USPS, use expedited shipping, and schedule a pickup.

PRINT LABELS AT HOME.  Standing in line at the Post office or at the UPS store is for the birds.  Nobody wants to stand around and wait to ship an item, it wastes time, and time is money in business.  It's easy to buy shipping labels online through ebay.  When your items sell, print out your own labels and stick them on the box. You're done.  Ebay will put the tracking information up on the website automatically and your buyer will be notified that the item has been shipped.

If you would rather buy materials for shipping, check out:

Amazon.Com's line of shipping supplies, or   Ebay always has a great selection as well.

A short guide to starting and running an online used book business

A short guide to starting and running an online book business, 

by eBay seller, Trent Crane

Used books are probably some of the easiest and most profitable items you can sell online today.  If you would like to work from home and enjoy running your own business, consider a used books business.

In the United States alone, nearly $8 Billion dollars worth of books are sold each year. Nearly $2 Billion dollars worth of those books are sold on eBay.com and Half.com.  Amazon will not release the book figures from its' sales, but it is expected to be over $1 Billion annually.  There is a lot of money being made here, wouldn't you like to be a part of it?

If you are interested in selling books on Amazon.com and eBay.com, there are a few things to know.

One of the easiest businesses that a person can have is selling books online.  Look around, have you noticed how many resellers of books have popped up in strip malls and near college campuses in recent years?  Well....it's because there is so much money to made in the used book industry.  It doesn't take much to get a used book business up and going either.  Normally, you can start for around $20-$100 dollars.  Anybody can do this.

Selling books online is super easy and failure is nearly impossible if you are willing to put in a little effort.

 The only reasons people could fail in this business:

• Not willing to work, laziness.
• They won't learn how it works.

Why should I Sell Used Books Online?

Let's take a look at the advantages:

• Demand. People are always buying books.
• Access. You probably have books lying around the house that you aren't using.
• Books are easy to stack and easy to ship.
• Discount shipping using media mail (specifically for books, and cheap).
• Stores are always having clearance sales on books.
• Where else can you buy an item for $0.25 or $0.75 and sell it for $10, $30, or $60+?
• Putting them online is as easy as scanning a barcode with your smartphone!
• Books don't take up a lot of space.
• IT'S EASY.

Make money your first week

 I talk with people almost every day who are struggling to find the right items to sell online.  They are struggling because there are a lot of sellers who are selling the same items making high profit margins nearly impossible.  Used books may have some competition, but it doesn't matter, you can find used books just as easily as anyone else.  Even if you list the books you buy and you don't sell them for tons of profit, chances are you will at least break even and not lose money.  Try it out, what do you have to lose? Gain? 

Profit margins on used books are like none other

Okay, so you might be thinking, "I know nothing about books or which ones would sell."  Don't worry, I'll help you out below.  I always look up a book online before I buy it.  There are several apps out there for smartphones that have barcode scanners that allow you to see where else they are currently selling online, and for how much.  Also, read my article http://tinyurl.com/9gm927o to get more tips on how to research items and the prices that they have sold for in the past.

 The best books to sell online:

• Cookbooks

• College textbooks

• How To books

• Photography and Art

• Legal books

• Medical books

• Books about cars, trains, trucks, airplanes, etc.

• History books

• Sports books

• Children's books

 Now get out there and try it! Good Luck!

Please comment if you have any questions or need clarification.

Creating an ebay title that sells!

Creating an effective and keyword rich title can be a challenge at times.  Throughout this post, I will give examples of good titles, explain the benefits, and help you understand how to create listing titles that bring more sales and how to sell on e-bay.

Understanding.  First of all, you need to know that a listing title is where ebay will search for words, commonly known as keywords, to select the items that will show up in the search results. (i.e., put the words that you think buyers will type in and search for, when looking for your exact item.)
   
Ranking.  The reason that selecting the right keywords for your ebay listing is important, is because your items will show up closer to the top of the search results and first pages of ebay results; resulting in more views, more clicks, and ultimately more sales. The title of your listing should attract buyers to look at your item. If you can't get people to look at your item, then they sure aren't going to buy it.

Experience. Find out what the experienced and top sellers are doing; try to create your listings similarly.  Don't copy word for word; that can get you in trouble.  An easy way to find out what's working, is to type in the name of the item you are selling and search throughout the completed listings.  Set the "sort by" drop down box to "price + shipping: highest first."  This will then show you the most successful listings, that sold for the highest prices.  Bingo!


Don't put symbols or parenthesis in your listing titles, and use close to the full amount of characters allowed by ebay.

UPDATE: The BayEstimator Tool was discontinued by Ebay.  The second best thing to do is to look at the Terapeak Keyword Tool http://applications.ebay.com/selling?ViewEAppDetails&appType=1&appId=titlebuilder.terapeak.com

A great tool that you may want to use is called "BayEstimator" you can find it here at http://labs.ebay.com/erl/demoto/to?.  This tool allows you to find keywords that you can use to build your listing title.  I personally use this tool and find it to be very beneficial.  Make sure that you read the instructions and the FAQ. This will teach you how to sell on e-bay.  Also, if you are interested in making money without having to invest much to begin with, check out my article on Selling Used Books.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Click here for a list of ebay and paypal fees. Click here for more tips on getting started.

eBay and Paypal Fees

This information comes straight from ebay.com, so it is the most up-to-date information available.

One of the best ways to find out what your margins and profit will be is to use www.Salecalc.com, it's free and will help you determine whether or not you will turn a profit.

The basic cost of selling an item is the insertion fee plus the final value fee, plus fees for any optional features and services you may use:

• When you list an item on eBay, you're charged an insertion fee.
• If the item sells, you're also charged a final value fee. Final value fees are calculated based on the total amount of the sale.*
• You may also be charged fees for any optional features or services you may use.
• PayPal fees may also apply.

*The total amount of the sale equals the cost of the item, shipping charges, and any other amounts you may charge the buyer. Sales tax is not included in the total amount of the sale.

Insertion and final value fees vary based on the category and listing format you use, either auction-style or fixed price.

All fees are in US dollars.

Insertion fees for auction-style format listings

Auction-style format listings Starting or reserve price Insertion fee $0.01–$0.99 Free for 50 listings per month * (exclusions apply) $0.10 $1.00–$9.99 $0.25 $10.00–$24.99 $0.50 $25.00–$49.99 $0.75 $50.00–$199.99 $1.00 $200.00 or more $2.00

Final value fees for auction-style format listings

Auction-style format listings Total amount of the sale(less any sales tax) Final value fee (Based on the total amount of the sale ) Item not sold No fee $0.01 or more 9.0% of the total amount of the sale with a maximum charge of $250.00.

To learn more and see an example of a final value fee calculation, visit ourfinal value fees page.

Insertion fee for fixed price format listings

Buy It Now price	Insertion fee
$0.99 or more	$0.50

Note: The insertion fee applies to each listing, regardless of the quantity of items in the listing.
To learn more, visit our insertion fees page.

Final value fees for fixed price format listings

Fixed price final value fees (Based on the total amount of the sale )
Total amount of the sale	Electronics*	Clothing, Shoes and Accessories	Books, DVDs & Movies, Music, Video Games	All other categories
Item not sold	No fee	No fee	No fee	No fee
$0.99– $50.00	7.0% of the total amount of the sale	10.0% of the total amount of the sale	13.0% of the total amount of the sale	11.0% of the total amount of the sale
$50.01–$1000.00	7.0% of the initial $50.00, plus 5.0% of the remaining balance ($50.01–$1,000.00) of the total amount of the sale	10.0% of the initial $50.00, plus 8.0% of the remaining balance ($50.01–$1,000.00) of the total amount of the sale	13.0% of the initial $50.00, plus 5.0% of the remaining balance ($50.01–$1,000.00) of the total amount of the sale	11.0% of the initial $50.00, plus 6.0% of the remaining balance ($50.01–$1,000.00) of the total amount of the sale
$1000.01 or more	7.0% of the initial $50.00, plus 5.0% of the next $50.01–$1,000.00, plus 2.0% of the remaining balance ($1,000.01–total cost to buyer) of the total amount of the sale	10.0% of the initial $50.00, plus 8.0% of the next $50.01–$1,000.00, plus 2.0% of the remaining balance ($1,000.01–total cost to buyer) of the total amount of the sale	13.0% of the initial $50.00, plus 5.0% of the next $50.01–$1,000.00, plus 2.0% of the remaining balance ($1,000.01–total cost to buyer) of the total amount of the sale	11.0% of the initial $50.00, plus 6.0% of the next $50.01–$1,000.00, plus 2.0% of the remaining balance ($1,000.01–total cost to buyer) of the total amount of the sale

*Includes the following categories and subcategories:

• Cameras & Photo
• Computers/Tablets & Networking
• Consumer Electronics
• Cell Phones & Accessories > Cell Phones & Smartphones
• eBay Motors > Parts & Accessories > Car Electronics
• Musical Instruments & Gear > Pro Audio Equipment
• Specialty Services > Web & Computer Services > Domain Names
• Video Games & Consoles > Video Game Consoles

When a category and subcategory are listed, the fee amount only applies to the subcategory.

Good 'Til Cancelled listings renew automatically every 30 days unless all of the items sell, you end the listing, or the listing violates an eBay policy. Insertion fees and optional feature fees are charged every 30-day period. Fee amounts are based on the terms in effect when the listing goes live, and when it renews.

How to sell on eBay! A few tips on starting your eBay business!

          Selling on eBay is not rocket science, anyone who invests a little bit of time can do it. It will help to be a little savvy in your approach before you quit your day job to sell on eBay full-time. eBay charges you a small fee just to list your item and then a percentage of the final sale price of your item. You will want to look into the ebay fees by clicking here to determine whether or not it will be worth your time to even sell your item. Remember that profits are better than wages. You should be able to start selling on eBay with little or no capital at all. Maybe you have a few old items lying around the house or garage that you don't want anymore. One man's junk is another man's treasure, this holds true on eBay. If you don't have anything to start selling, this is where our next paragraph comes in to play. You can start your eBay business with less than $100 in capital.

First of all, you need to decide what it is that you are wanting to sell. You may want to start by searching some of the items already listed for sell on eBay to get an idea of the prices and margins of the items that will sell. You can use listings and prices that you find as a guide to what you are planning to sell. You can “watch” the items that other eBay members have listed by putting a watch on their items. You will be able to monitor the progress and see what the selling prices usually end up being. Look closely at how the item is described and make sure that when you describe your item, it is done in a way that is professional and clean. It needs to be written in a way that makes you want to buy the item/s. If you specialize in a certain area, you can really start to make a lot of money. Find what works and then stick with it. For example: If you know old paintings, sell old paintings. If you know golf clubs, sell golf clubs, etc. You get the picture- the great thing is that you can learn and grow while making money!

Description: When you are describing an item, do not make things up! It will help you and the people looking at your item if you represent your items clearly and correctly. Do not over-exaggerate or make false claims about what the item is or can do, as many of your potential buyers probably know more about the item than you do! It is better to plead ignorance than to pretend like you know a lot about an item. Less can sometimes be more when describing an item.

Title: The Title of your listing should attract buyers to look at your item. The Title is the most important thing when it comes to selling an item. If you can't get people to look at your item, then they sure aren't going to buy it. Think about it like this, if your title is just as lame as the next guys', chances are the buyer will buy from him. You want to have something that sticks out and attracts! Key words- think about what the person would type in to search for the item you have and then make sure it's in the title. Don't waste space, use all of the alloted spaces you are given. The title does not have to make grammatical sense. For example, “Tennis Shoes Sneakers Pumas Size Sz 6 Med M.”

Pictures: Pictures can make or break your item. Always make sure that your pictures do the item justice and are not misleading. The last thing that you want is for a buyer to be unhappy and leave you negative feedback because you are posting blurry and misleading pictures of items. Use clean and well lit areas to take pictures if possible and provide multiple pictures. People like to see different angles of the things they buy, you wouldn't buy a pair of jeans without looking at the back of them would you? Well I wouldn't, so just be smart about it. Try to make the pictures look as professional as possible.
Make sure that your item gets placed in the right category. Often people don't put items in the right category and they are never seen. If you are trying to sell a pair of shoes in the candles section, you probably won't have much luck.

Pricing: Here is where your research really comes in to play. If you start an item at lower prices, you will have more people who look at your item, that does not always mean that more will bid on it. When people see that others are bidding on the item, they have a “fear of loss.” This means that they don't want to miss out on the highly wanted item, so they too will watch and bid on the item. Do not put up items with outrageous prices, they will for the most part sit online and never sell. Every now and again you might get lucky! But think about it like this, would you rather sell ten items for $20 profit each throughout the week, or would you rather sell one item for $100 profit throughout a month? You will do better by selling multiple items. NEVER start a listing for less than what you're willing to accept, unless you have a reserve price set (minimum you'd let your item sell for, people may bid on your item, but if it doesn't reach your set reserve amount, it will not be sold). Always calculate all costs: all Paypal/eBay fees, shipping/DC/packaging materials, item cost, minimum profit you'll accept, self insurance if applicable. The combined total is good marker for where you will need your starting/selling price to begin.

Shipping: Okay, so potential bidders will look at what you are charging for shipping and make a split second decision on whether or not you are a fair eBayer. People really get put off by shipping charges that are too high and unfair. Free shipping attracts buyers and you will more than likely be able to get more money for your item , which in turn will cover the original shipping cost you thought would be fair. It pays to do good and to give good deals. Don't try and make excess money by charging more for shipping than necessary, that can really hurt your ratings. Very Important: always pay the tiny bit extra for DELIVERY CONFIRMATION when shipping items. Although we would love to believe everyone is honest, there have been a few times that people will report they never received the item that was shipped. Without the tracking confirmation, you will be out the shipping costs, the item, your money and time. Just trust me on this one, it's worth the extra .80 cents! :) For high priced items over $100, I usually get insurance and a signature of buyer on arrival, also a good way to cover your tail. Some buyers will want their item shipped quicker. By offering quicker shipping and other options, people will like that, especially if they need it ASAP!

Remember that your integrity is very important in your eBay business. You are dealing with real people and real money. Do all you can to make sure that you help others, you respond to their questions in a timely manner, and you provide something of value that they want. By helping enough others get what they want, you will automatically get what you want.

I hope that this will help you in starting your eBay business!

What to sell on ebay

If you are like most people wondering what to sell on ebay, the first place to look is within your own home.  You will find that you probably have unopened gifts from birthdays, or Christmas that are just taking up space.  You may have clothing that you have stopped wearing, or clothes that your family has grown out of.  Old books are also great when you start out selling, in fact, I've dedicated an entire post to used books here: Why you might want to sell used books.


From past experience, these items regularly sell well:

• Used Clothing

•  Baby Products
•  Sports Apparel
•  Movies and Gaming (DVDs, Games, etc.)
•  Vintage Audio Equipment (Old stereos, radio's, amplifiers, etc.)
•  Used Books
•  Electronics of all types
•  Jeep Parts and Vehicle Accessories      

Other Suggested Items to Sell on ebay:

•  Watches and Jewelery
•  Rare Coins
•  Vehicle parts of all kinds
•  Housewares
•  Antique Bottles
•  Military Collectibles
•  Television Series on DVD
•  Musical Instruments
•  Sports Memorabilia (Autographed items, Jerseys, Balls, etc.)
•  New and Unused Linens, Blankets, Comforters, or Mattress Pads.

Research Your Item. When looking through your home or garage to find things to sell, check what the items are currently selling for on ebay by clicking here Set up an ebay account.  You can always do an advanced search (right next to the search button on ebay) and click on the completed listings box to see what past sellers have been able to sell the same item/similar item for.

"Auction" or "Buy it Now." You'll want to make sure that you price your items right to help them sell for more money, more often.  If the item you have is unique and not searched for a ton, you'll want to do a "buy it now" listing for your item.  If the item you are planning to sell is a highly searched and wanted item, you'll probably want to do an "auction" listing. 

Do you have a wanted item? Look at the completed or active listings that are selling or have sold the exact item you are planning on selling.  When searching completed listings, items with green prices have sold, and items with red prices did not sell.  If there are multiple bids on an item like yours, you know that it is a good item to sell in the "auction" format. If you see in the completed listings that items have not sold that are similar to yours, use "Buy it Now."

Now go and find some items to sell!  Remember to look at the cost to ship an item as well. "Establishing Shipping Costs"

Weigh your item and check out shipping prices on USPS.COM to calculate the expected shipping.

How to get started on eBay

           I often speak with individuals who would really like to sell on eBay and make money online.  Typically, I hear the same exact thing again and again, "I don't know how to get started."

          Well here are the very most basic steps of getting started on eBay.  I believe that anybody who has even half a brain can sell on eBay.  If you really want to make great money on eBay it will take some time.  The great thing about selling on eBay is that you can learn how to be successful, it's not a lottery favoring a certain few.

eBay. First of all, click here to Set up an ebay account. At the very top left of the page you'll see where you can Set up an ebay account. It's FREE!

PayPal.  You now need a Paypal account to make sure that you can get paid for items you sell and pay for items you buy.  Sign up for a Paypal account here. It's FREE! After clicking the link, look for the sign up button in the top right corner.

If you haven't set up your eBay account or Paypal account, take the time now to do so before continuing on.

       Now that you have set up your accounts, you are ready for the next steps.

Feedback. Because you are new to eBay, you do not have a reputation of being a good member, yet.  You'll need to get your feedback score up to about 5 or 10 before you start selling any items. A feedback score is basically a score given to an eBay member according to buying and selling transactions that he or she has had with other members on eBay.  When members have good experiences, they leave positive feedback.  When members have bad experiences, they leave negative feedback.  YOU DO NOT WANT NEGATIVE FEEDBACK, it will kill your chances of selling any items on eBay. You can find your feedback score next to your user id when logged in to eBay.


Start Buying. Start buying really inexpensive items on eBay.  Buying items between $.01-$.25 cents total (includes shipping) is the fastest and cheapest way to raise your feedback score. (CLICK here for current inexpensive penny auction items on eBay). 

          After you have received some feedback, you are ready to start listing and selling items.  Read the next blog posts by clicking on them here: "what to sell" and "how to list an item.  

        If you are interested in a book about selling on eBay, I've found this one to be really good "The Official Ebay Guide to Buying, Selling and Collecting Just About Anything By Kaiser, Laura Fisher/ Kaiser Laura Fisher/ Kaiser, Michael B.