Your credibility as a seller on eBay all boils down to one thing; your feedback rating. In fact, this is true of buyers too. Our feedback rating is the only visible way our prospective buyers can gauge our professionalism and reliability. Not only that, but you can't even list a "Buy It Now" item until you have a feedback rating of 10.
Basically, your feedback is one of the most important factors of your eBay business. And, it's one of the hardest things for a new eBay seller to overcome.
However, there are ways to build your feedback quickly so that prospective buyers feel comfortable bidding on your items.
Buy things from eBay yourself.
Now hold on. I hear you, "Buy things? I'm on eBay to make money, not spend it!" But, hear me out.
You may not realize it, but there are literally millions of things for sale on eBay. And not just collectibles and electronics. Did you know that you can buy shampoo on eBay? Certain foods? Cleaning products? And that you'll usually pay less for them than you would at Wal Mart, including shipping?
So, grab your grocery store list and do some searches on eBay.
Another method to build feedback is to purchase penny items. Many eBay sellers sell an ebook, or article of some sort, or even software programs for a penny. They do this to build their feedback. So, by purchasing from them, you both benefit. You can literally buy 100 penny items in a couple of days and have a very respectable feedback rating quickly for a buck. And remember, there are no shipping charges for these penny items because they're delivered digitally. Okay, you've heard all the chatter, listened to the hype and you're excited. You're ready to get a piece of all those fortunes being made on eBay.
But that's as far as you get. You're at a complete loss when it comes to getting started.
The first thing you need is an eBay seller account. Setting one up is free, quick, and an easy way to get your feet wet on the eBay site.
The eBay site is very user friendly. What I mean by that is, they make it easy for even the newest of newbies to use. This is for their benefit as well as yours. The more money you make, the more money eBay makes. Simple as that.
Have you ever bought anything on eBay? If so, you're halfway to a sellers account. Simply go to eBay's main page and log in to your buyer account. You'll see a link that states "Create A Seller's Account." Click on it and fill in the blanks.
If you don't have an eBay buyer account set up, simply go to eBay's main page and click on the "Register" link. Then, click on the "Sell" link. The last link will be "Create A Seller's Account." Click on it and let eBay guide you through the easy process.
That's it. You're done. You are now an eBay seller.
Now you're ready to start selling on eBay. And, to keep your feedback rating high, simply give your customers what you promise them. If there is a flaw in an item, list it. If you're not going to ship the item until 5 days after the auction ends, tell them. If you say you're going to ship an item via priority mail, don't send it parcel post. It really is as easy as that.
At this point eBay is a phenomenon of our generation and I am not going to introduce eBay to you. However, I will try to explain why eBay became a phenomenon. It is simpler than you think of, because: - The Founders of eBay (Pierre Omidyar, Jeff Skoll) from the start had a couple of excellent ideas. - The hard work of the eBay team. - The hard work of the eBay community: sellers, buyers.
First Idea: eBay facilitates a direct conversation between Sellers and Buyers, eliminating the middlemen. eBay does not position itself as a middleman between Sellers and Buyers. eBay is nothing more than an on-line application which facilitates the direct conversation between people who have something to sell and people who need a specific item and are willing to buy it! You will pay a fee for eBay services, but eBay will never interfere between Sellers' and Buyers' decisions. eBay used to treat Sellers and Buyers equally (at list the founders did!) Now there is a slight tendency to favor the buyers. I personally do notlike; I think eBay will only continue to be prosperous with Happy Sellers and Happy Buyers.
Second Idea: The Founders have created a powerful element of trust, much needed in the on-line environment. This is the feedback system. The feedback you have is your reputation, and it is very effective and necessary. I used to tell my eBay students, do not sell your grandmother jewelry until you have a minimum of 100 positive feedbacks.
Third Idea: The eBay Application was created with specific rules that we have to follow. Some people might consider the rules too restrictive, others argue that rules mean discipline and principles; there is nothing wrong with them. The years 2007 and 2008 will remain in history as the years of changes on the eBay Market. Now eBay has the tendency to be more flexible and we will see soon if this is a good or bad idea.
Fourth Idea: eBay is a Company that listens to its base of Sellers and Buyers (for me, this is a sign of respect for the base). It looks trivial but it is not. 90% of the enhancements eBay implemented over the years were done because they listened to our concerns, needs, and ideas. eBay filtered them with an open mind and made things happen. I worked for many years as Programmer, System Analyst, and IT Consultant. If I have to make a list of most receptive Companies, eBay will be on the top of my list.
All these ideas plus the hard work of the eBay Community have made eBay what it is today, a revolutionary new way to buy and sell, the Worlds online Marketplace.
My success on eBay is based on the creation of multiple streams if income. The first idea of diversification of your portfolio is to have the following 3 levels of business: - eBay live Auctions. - an eBay Store. - an on-line Store outside of eBay. and having them all run at the same time.
1) eBay live Auctions are the beginning and you can start doing them without prerequisites or qualifications. Running live Auctions on eBay: - Will make you overcome the learning curve of the auction business. - You will discover which niche is working for you, if any. - You will collect feedback, at some point you will be confident and in a position to be recognized and wanted and the buyers will come back to you and generate more business for you. - You will learn the limitations using just live Auctions.
2) Create an eBay Store. If you run eBay Auctions you already know that some items are selling, some are not. You cannot re-list unsold items forever because it will cost you too many eBay fees. The general wisdom is you list an item only 2 times, if you cannot sell it then you put the item in your eBay Store and you keep the item in the Store 30 days or until you cancel it. In order to have an eBay Store you have to qualify: - Have an eBay seller account with your credit card placed on file. - Have a feedback score of at least 20, or be ID Verified. - Have a PayPal account in good standing. You also must pay a monthly fee for your eBay Store. I advise you to choose the smallest configuration for the beginning, you can upgrade later if you need to.
3) An online Store on the Internet, independent of eBay is necessary when you are doing well with live Auctions and your eBay Store. At this point you need to expand your business with an online Store, for the following reasons: - Probably you already discovered a profitable niche that is working for you and want to establish yourself as an expert in that niche - You want high volume sales - You now can go with higher prices because you have the necessary recognition As you can see there is no contradiction between these 3 levels of business, actually they complement each other, and they will be your first step towards a successful business.
Selling on eBay and teaching people how to do it is a wanderful experience which change my life for the better.
Both Manita Pd & Michaela Cernescu are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.