Auction Power Guide

make sure that the bids dont end on like a friday night or anything, your target buyers will all be out on the pizz!!

make it end like 7 pm early week and make sure you put a reserve on to protect what you want for your goods!
start the bid at 1p that way people will bid, as they love to bid and fight it out!!

good luck!
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Use a good clear picture and have a title that will come up under different searches. think about key words people will search for. Write a good description. Don’t have the auction finishing in the middle of the day or night. between 5pm and 10pm is best – that’s when most people use ebay.
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Start it at a low price and if it doesn’t get anywhere near to what you want get a friend or relative to bid it up for you. If it goes to your Friend or relative then come to a mutual agreement on the ebay site that the transaction didn’t take place and it wont cost you a penny! People think when they see something priced at 99p they are up for a bargain but once they bid they want it and will bid against other bidders! It does work.
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A good photograph of the item and accurate descriptions help a lot and also be prepared to answer questions.
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I agree with the first answer but also ensure you ALWAYS have a photograph of whatever you’re selling. Make sure your listing is spelt correctly as people assume bad spelling and grammar mean you’re not serious. Sunday is a good day to end a listing as people tend to have more spare time to look.

Don’t overprice the product and make sure you research others that are available on the market first so you know you’re competitive.

Edit: Please be aware that what dsidlow is proposing is called shill bidding and is immoral and ILLEGAL!
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Husband and I run a very successful Ebay business.

List it for at least 7 days
Get decent pictures of the Item and a good description
Before you list it search for similar items to see if they sell
Set reasonable postage/Reserves

Probably most important is to build up good feedback by buying a few items first and successful sales.

Good Luck
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i have sold many of things on ebay. you have to sell what people are intrested in, example being is guitar hero or ds lite games..they sell like crazy vs if you sell like a plate or a t-shirt.. depends on what people are really looking for at this time of year. and what stinks if you dont sell anything YOU still have to pay ebay.

what I did what looked at a few items and looked at the bids and see what people are bidding on the most.
like right now if you go to holloween stuff there are bids like crazy..

Also take the best pictures as you poss can. like details on the item..
I hate going on ebay when someone is selling something really cool and there is only one picture of it from far away..
take about 3 or so that will help sell your item.

Good Luck

OH yeah one more thing…Don’t rip people off on shipping..I am honest with my shipping cost.
I hate when you look at an item for .99 cents and the shipping is like 70.00 and your like wtf is that all about..people do that to make sure they get the money they want.
If you do that no one will buy your item..i don’t buy items that are listed like that because to me if there not honest about shipping cost, then to me there not honest about the item and there could be something wrong with it..
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been selling on ebay for 5 years

Be truthful!! If an item you are selling has a mark on it, or is damaged,or faded etc you must put it in the description.Take a couple of good photos and include the the price when bought new.get the postage cost right too-a lot of sellers bump up their sales by adding too much on postage. I always get items properly weighed then add a bit for packing.Make sure you get your spellings right-so many sales are lost because of this cos the ‘search’ doesn’t pick them up.And make people think they are getting a bargain.I personally think that reserve prices put people off-I never bid on anything with one as you can usually find the same item without a reserve price.Be realistic, think about the minimum amount you would let the item sell for then use that as your starting bid.Auctions that start at 1p are great, but there’s always the chance that this could be your only bid and you end up paying out more in fees than what you sold it for.Always put at least one photo on-people won’t buy what they can’t see.Good Luck
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Thre first thing you must know is that right NOW, unlike last year at this time, the economy is in the dumper. Sales are SOFT everywhere and this includes eBay. Many people less fortunate than you and me are struggling to get by and buying only necessities.

Happy days are NOT here again!

But, in answer to your question and despite the economy, here are some guidlelines and tips to help you.

You can go to ebay for a tutorial on how to be a seller:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/newtoebay/getting-started.html#learnsell

The basics in getting started can be found via online tutorials and books. But to get to the nitty-gritty:

Be honest and accurate in your descriptions – One-sentence descriptions are for lazy sellers. One paragraph should be sufficient for most items. My general guideline is the more expensive (read higher priced) an item, the more you should ‘talk it up.’ It won’t be time wasted. Use lots of adjectives in your descriptions. Adjectives make prose and your items come alive. Without them, prose is dull and your items less appealing. Just add a little ‘sizzle’ and even have a little fun with it. In short, make your descriptions stand out above the crowd.

Be professional – use good English with no spelling errors

PICTURES:

ALWAYS include at least one picture, more pictures for higher priced items. Make sure your pictures are clear. There are far too many pictures on ebay that are dark. If prospective buyers can’t see your items clearly, your items, more than likely, will not fetch the closing prices they deserve. To remove darkness, use any photo editor to add some brightness and a wee bit of contrast.

Eliminate clutter. Prospective bidders don’t want to know what kind of cereal you eat or what kind of kitchen table or bedspread you have. Use a SOLID backdrop when taking your pictures as you want to focus all of the attention on your item. In short, the one and only thing you want in your picture is the item being sold. A SOLID white or light blue backdrop is best. However, there are certainly items that won’t show well on a light backdrop. In these cases, use a darker backdrop. And for gosh sake, don’t even think of using a plaid blanket as a backdrop for your pictures as I once saw on ebay. You should also crop the photos in your photo editor. Good pictures can add 5% to 10% to final closing prices.

GOOD DESCRIPTIONS + GOOD PICTURES = GOOD PRESENTATION. This is what you should strive for.

COMMUNICATION:

GOOD Communication is a must – Always notify buyers when you mail their items. It is not only a courtesy you would want and expect as a buyer but it is also both good customer service and good business practice. After all, you are the ‘President & CEO’ of your ‘company’ running your business but using ebay as your selling medium. In short, conduct your business so that it reflects well on you as a person. Treat everyone as a human being, not a living being and this includes people who have inquiries about your items, not just your buyers.

TIPS TO MAXIMIZE PROFITS:

Do not limit your auctions to one country. SELL WORLDWIDE. The reason is elementary. You now have access to the largest market ebay has to offer. Limiting your auctions to only one country also limits your potential profits. A basic business tenet is, ‘the greater the potential market, the greater the potential to maximize profits.’ But do note in your listing that PayPal is the only form of payment you will accept from overseas bidders/buyers. Through experience, you will learn that there are certain problem countries. Italy seems to be one of them. Mail sent to buyers in Italy very often ‘mysteriously disappears.’ If this is the case, just note in your listing you sell to all countries EXCEPT (name(s) here).

However, if you decide to limit sales to only one country, such as the USA, never say NO when you receive an email asking if you would ship to Taiwan, Germany, Australia or wherever. The reason is that you have a ‘FISH ON THE HOOK!’ This person will bid! When he or she does, this may force a previous bidder to enter another, higher bid or force later, first time bidders to come in with higher bids. So always say YES to these emails if you want to maximize your profits. But do say that PayPal is the only form of payment you will accept from these overseas bidders

Do not limit your payment options – Offer all of them. Sellers who offer only PayPal or only money orders or money orders and checks are further limiting their potential market and, in turn, reducing their potential to maximize profits. Some people will not bid on items that do not have PayPal as a payment option. Then you have a smaller percentage that refuse to use PayPal and prefer to pay by check only or money order only.

Avoid selling ‘nickel and dime’ items. People who list and sell a steady stream of items that close for $5 or less are wasting their time. Less expensive, similar items ($5 or less) are best sold as a group to save time. If you have a large number of these cheaper, similar items, divide them up into sub lots of three, four or five.

More expensive (higher priced), similar items are best sold individually to maximize profits. There are ebay ‘vultures’ who just love to swoop down on similarly grouped items in one listing. When they win these auctions, they turn around and sell the items individually and, in most cases, get one and a half to 2 times and sometimes three times what they paid for them on an average item basis. I know this works. When I had more time (read unemployed), I was one of these ‘vultures.’ This is one of those situations where the parts are worth more than the whole.

If you can buy a large lot of similar merchandise for $100 to $200 and turn it around for $300 to $600, it works out very nicely, indeed! Most buyers of these large lots will be vultures as well so you could be ‘butting bids.’ Keep in mind that the higher the closing price at ebay, the less your profit on the turnaround. It’s not an exact science and it does take a little experience to really know what you’re doing but you can’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.

When I see an auction of grouped items it tells me loud and clear that the seller is far more interested in getting rid of their stuff the quickest, easiest way possible and ‘be done with it’ rather than in making a decent profit or profit at all. However, do be cautious if you venture into this arena. You have to know your merchandise. Stay with items/ merchandise with which you are familiar. You can’t jump in blindly to any and every auction that has grouped items.

Short of items to sell and where to find items to sell? Garage and yard sales, church bazaars, flea markets are obvious as are ‘junktique’ shops. If you want to let your fingers do the walking, you too can be crafty ‘vulture’ like a select group of other ebay sellers. Become a member of several smaller auction sites and search for bargains there. But as before, ‘stick with what you know.’ These smaller auction sites are great for buyers for the same reason they are bad for sellers:

Far fewer potential bidders = less competition = lower closing prices

Once you have your bargains, turn around and sell them at ebay. Ebay has the largest membership of any auction site. There isn’t another auction site that is remotely close and I do mean remotely close to having the number of members that ebay has. Here is the ebay formula:

Largest, by far, of any auction site = MAXIMUM competition = HIGHER closing prices,

Don’t let anyone discourage you from selling at ebay and using PayPal because of its higher feeds. Hogwash! There will always be a cost of doing business. Would you rather sell an item at a smaller auction site for $10 and pay no or low fees or sell it at ebay for $20 to $30 and pay a few bucks in fees? Sellers who sell at these smaller auction sites perfectly illustrate the old adages, ‘stepping over a dollar to pick up a penny’ and being ‘penny wise and pound-foolish.’

If you want to do your listings OFFLINE, download the TURBO LISTER program free from ebay. Once you have finished with your listings, you can upload them anytime or schedule a date and time when you want your auctions to start.

Lastly, keep in mind that experience is the best teacher. Start off slowly listing only two or three items and see how that goes for you. Once you get your feet wet and gain confidence, start listing more items on a weekly basis. You will soon learn the ins and outs and the dos and don’ts in short order and ultimately settle on a system that works best for you. The more items you list, the more items you will sell, the more $$ you will make and the harder you will work. Nothing in life comes easy and that includes becoming a successful seller at ebay. Good luck & happy selling!
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Hi Kiki,

I have a few great videos for you to watch and I guess after those you’ll have a much better idea about what works on eBay and what you should change.

The first video is about the usual eBay Mistakes many of us, eBay sellers, are making.

The second is about choosing the best listing titles – it’s an important point, too.

The third is about optimizing your listing pictures. You sure know that shoppers buy with their eyes, don’t you?

The fourth – how to format the very listing.

The last one – advanced strategies.

Oh yes, by the way, if you need some good ideas on what to sell on eBay – check the very last website, loads of advice, too! Just scroll down to ‘Products To Sell on eBay’ – and you’ll find many other useful videos about what to sell on eBay and how to do it best.

Hope this will help you,

Rgds,

Robby

References :
http://www.spicyauctiontemplates.com/lessonone.php
http://www.spicyauctiontemplates.com/lessontwo.php
http://www.spicyauctiontemplates.com/lessonthree.php
http://www.spicyauctiontemplates.com/lessonfour.php
http://www.spicyauctiontemplates.com/lessonfive.php
http://ukauctionmaster.com/

The best way to successfully sell items on eBay is to sell product that are very popular with eBay buyers. These are the hot niches, and that’s where the real money is. Do some research and find the popular products in hot, lucrative niches, and concentrate on selling those.
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http://ezinearticles.com/?eBay-Selling-Tip—Sell-Popular-Products-in-Hot-Niches&id=1445334