If you have an item you want to auction off on eBay, enter it in the search box on the eBay Canada website at ebay.ca and see what comes up. Are many other sellers auctioning the same or similar item? If so, how much are they selling for and most importantly, how many bids are there? Does it look like it is a popular item?

Ideally, before you list your item, log on to the eBay Canada site and watch the identical or similar item being auctioned. It costs you nothing to watch the auction and you can see if the item sells, and if so for how much. This will give you an estimate of whether you want to sell it or not.

Charge Higher Shipping

Many eBay pros list their item for 1 cent or 99 cents and make up for the money by charging a higher shipping fee. The benefits are two pronged: one, a new unsuspecting buyer may be enticed to bid on something for as low as 1 cent, and two eBay Canada and other eBay sites charge a percentage commission on the list price and the final value price. They do not get a cut from the shipping and handling charges, so you can pay them a fraction of the 99 cents and keep the buffer in your shipping charges for yourself.

Offer to Ship to the US

Even though eBay Canada is a very popular site as are many other eBay sister sites, the original, ebay.com, the American website is the mother ship and hence if you offer to ship the item to anywhere in the US, you will have a higher number of people interested in bidding for your item.

Always offer more than one way to ship your item, be it domestic or international. You can scroll down on the shipping tab on eBay Canada when you list your item and offer three rates to your prospective customers; the fastest, the cheapest and something in between. You can also provide optional insurance which is a good idea especially if it is crossing the border because sometimes international regulations and customs can delay or damage your item.

When you do register at eBay Canada you will be surprised to see how many of the auctions are listed by people living in the US. Therefore these shipping options will yield results. However, always be careful about currency equivalents. A Canadian dollar is not equal to the US Dollar and such confusions may make or break a deal.