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How do I start an Ebay business?

December 18th, 2012 Leave a comment Go to comments

I have baby items to sell, mostly designer clothes. What do I need to do? What are the costs involved? Do things like baby clothes sell quickly usually? I appreciate any tips and advice. Thanks!

As an eBay seller for 11yrs here is some advice as to what you do

To sign up for an eBay seller account you must list a credit card and/or bank info . Register also for Paypal
Most buyers pay through paypal and you would want to offer that on your auction.
Accept credit card payments, echeck payments through paypal with a CONFIRMED ADDRESS ONLY and ship only to that confirmed address or you might get taken by shady buyers .

Do not ship your item until all payments clear.

ebay charges a listing fee,designer fee, final value fee
Paypal charges a % of the sale . All in all your total out of pocket will come to approximately 6% -10 % of your auction

Generally shipping is paid by the buyer and you can use the ebay shipping calculators for estimates.

You can also include shipping in your sale too.

You need to have an opening minimum bid listed

You can list your auction with a reserve or not
a reserve is the absolute lowest amount you will take for the item but is not outwardly made available to the potential buyers – you as the seller will be charged a fee by ebay to list with a reserve

You can also list a BUY IT NOW price ( ebay charges you a fee for this) This is an outward purchase by the buyer.

Most people list for 3-5-7 days.
Hint : most auctions end on Sunday evenings

http://cgi5.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?SellHub3Visitor&_trksid=m37

http://www.ebayuniversity.com/gotraining/How_To_Sell_Audio_Tour

https://www.paypal.com/

http://www.auctiva.com/

Good luck in your endeavors ..Welcome to eBay !

  1. D&ECouture
    December 18th, 2012 at 14:50 | #1

    ya they sell quickly but you won’t make any profit most people who make profit on ebay sell through distributors or where former buyer and sellers and have connection to get items at wholesale or less prices… good luck though
    References :

  2. Scotty K
    December 18th, 2012 at 15:19 | #2

    Take a read here..

    http://www.entrepreneur.com/ebusiness/ebaycenter/gettingstarted/article72820.html

    A paypal account is a good thing to have… http://www.paypal.com, Ebay usually charges a insertion fee and a final sale fee which is a percentage of what the item brought at auction. Alot of people have great luck with ebay as the market for pretty much anything is unlimited. I would assume baby clothes would sell just as good as anything else.
    References :

  3. mR. CA$H
    December 18th, 2012 at 15:47 | #3

    starting selling things, go on ebay.com they will explain it all, the costs are about 8% of what ever you get, baby clothes selling, i dont know do research look up items that u have and See whether the sell or not, eventually by the time you get past fees its not worth it try to sell them @ a trift store
    References :

  4. brouz
    December 18th, 2012 at 16:37 | #4

    because people trust the top sellers with good ratings the MOST, it will take a very long time before you have a lot of sales "quick"

    you better have something very unique and already-desired -or- you’ll just need a lot of patience.

    Don’t spend money on "tools" that "help" you build an ebay business.
    References :

  5. Kali I
    December 18th, 2012 at 17:22 | #5
  6. That_ blue_ eyed_ Irish_ lass
    December 18th, 2012 at 17:55 | #6

    As an eBay seller for 11yrs here is some advice as to what you do

    To sign up for an eBay seller account you must list a credit card and/or bank info . Register also for Paypal
    Most buyers pay through paypal and you would want to offer that on your auction.
    Accept credit card payments, echeck payments through paypal with a CONFIRMED ADDRESS ONLY and ship only to that confirmed address or you might get taken by shady buyers .

    Do not ship your item until all payments clear.

    ebay charges a listing fee,designer fee, final value fee
    Paypal charges a % of the sale . All in all your total out of pocket will come to approximately 6% -10 % of your auction

    Generally shipping is paid by the buyer and you can use the ebay shipping calculators for estimates.

    You can also include shipping in your sale too.

    You need to have an opening minimum bid listed

    You can list your auction with a reserve or not
    a reserve is the absolute lowest amount you will take for the item but is not outwardly made available to the potential buyers – you as the seller will be charged a fee by ebay to list with a reserve

    You can also list a BUY IT NOW price ( ebay charges you a fee for this) This is an outward purchase by the buyer.

    Most people list for 3-5-7 days.
    Hint : most auctions end on Sunday evenings

    http://cgi5.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?SellHub3Visitor&_trksid=m37

    http://www.ebayuniversity.com/gotraining/How_To_Sell_Audio_Tour

    https://www.paypal.com/

    http://www.auctiva.com/

    Good luck in your endeavors ..Welcome to eBay !
    References :

  7. oldfatcowboy
    December 18th, 2012 at 18:19 | #7

    EBay Sucks! I used to buy and sell quite a bit on Ebay, then they raised their rates and screwed all the users.

    Now if I have something to sell, I just place it on craigslist.

    Ebay has become a place for people who run a business online. If you want to just sell stuff now and then just post it on craigslist or some other social website.

    There are several alternatives to Ebay, do a Google search to find other online auctions. Ebay used to be a great thing, but they got greedy and screwed the users.

    I’d suggest you do a Yahoo search but they suck too. I hope the sucky executives from Ebay read this and get a clue!
    References :

  8. Joe
    December 18th, 2012 at 18:49 | #8

    Hello,

    It’s best to start off doing it slowly, as a hobby. This will minimize what you lose on mistakes.

    In my opinion, clothing is difficult to sell on eBay because of strong competition, and baby cloths are the hardest. I think they are only profitable if you get them practically free and sell in bulk. But you may find it different.

    As for the costs, aside from your product costs, you will have to:
    1. Pay a "listing fee" to eBay to list the item. This depends on how much your starting price is.
    2. Pay a "closing fee" IF it sells. This is depends on the item’s sale price.
    3. Pay a "Paypal Fee" IF you use Paypal.
    4. Pay for shipping insurance, maybe. You’re not allowed to self-insure so, if you charge insurance, you must be able to show a receipt from the insurer (i.e. the Post Office) on demand. However, I think this rule is often ignored by sellers.
    5. Taxes. Selling on eBay is a business, and businesses have to pay taxes. I do know that eBay reports to the IRS (since 2005 or so) so I recommend that you find out what the tax system is now, before your "hobby" becomes a "home-based business". I think the difference is how much money you make in a year.
    6. You will also have to work your packaging costs into the final price. Most sellers put this into their shipping costs in order to safely reduce their starting price. However, high shipping costs can scare buyers away.

    You must also take into account indirect costs, such as the amount that you will spend on gas driving to garage sales etc.

    Tips:

    I suggest that you go to my website. It has several useful tools for eBay sellers, including a calculator for figuring out eBay’s and Paypal’s fees, postage fees, and good keywords. It also has tools for building a webpage to advertise your auctions on.
    http://joescuriosityshoppe.com

    I also suggest that you join these email groups:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eBay_Establishings
    http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/eBay
    and maybe
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eBay-Sellers

    I am not affiliated with any of these groups, aside from being a member.

    Good luck!
    References :
    http://joescuriosityshoppe.com
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eBay_Establishings
    http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/eBay
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eBay-Sellers

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