Top Tips For Selling Your Stuff On Ebay

Published on October 8, 2019 By Jason Albert

Have you got boxes of items stashed away in a closet waiting for the day they become profitable? Well, now is your chance to see how much this stuff is actually worth and the best ways to sell it on Ebay.

Instead of spending hours trying to sell these items on different websites and maybe even in a garage sale, these top tips will make it hassle-free, all while getting you the greatest profits possible. So if you want to turn your storage into cash, get clued up on our tools of how to make it happen.

Give lots of detail

If you’re buying something on the Internet, most of the time you don’t really know what your dealing with in terms of condition and the state of the item.

By giving specific details about the product, items are more likely to sell as the customer can gain a deeper understanding of what they’re actually buying and if it is something that actually appeals to them. The more details you give, the more interest you’re going to generate.

You never know what people are looking for

If you have hoarded boxes full of stuff for years on end and are finally ready to give it all up, take a minute to think about it. You must be open-minded about what you’re selling and really have no idea what people on Ebay are looking for.

The reason that you bought this item in the first place might be similar to the reason another person wants to buy it many years later. Someone else will find value in things that you don’t value anymore.

Don’t mess around with time

When you see something that you think may have potential on Ebay, don’t wait around to post it and get back to it weeks later. There is no time like the present and you should just go for it.

If you can see stuff that you haven’t used or touched, but think that maybe, one rainy day you might use it, sell it. You don’t need to hang on to things that are collecting dust in your closet when you could turn it into money in no time.

How to price your items

It’s always tricky deciding how much to put your items on Ebay for as you want to get a competitive price. If you search Ebay for the item you’re selling by UPC code, ISBN number, or its name, you should be able to find past listings for it and gage a price you should sell it for.

From this, you can also see how much items have sold for in the “completed listings” section. Try to sell at a price similar to one that the item sold for previously.

Save time with a premade template

Selling stuff online has never been easier with the help of Ebay’s templates. Instead of trying to navigate creating a listing from scratch, the Ebay catalog can search for the item and remake an existing template for the same item.

The only thing you have to do is enter the UPC code, ISBN number or other number in the listings page and after the site creates a prefilled page, you can fill in the blanks for your own item.

Wait for free listings to reduce costs

You obviously want to get the most profit possible with your items, so by taking advantage of Ebay’s free listings, you won’t incur extra costs. Typically, Ebay allows 50 free listings per month and if you don’t make add ons to the items, like a reserve price, you won’t get charged at all.

If you have more than 50 items to sell, wait it out as Ebay regularly puts out promotions for free listings over a certain period of time.

If the first attempt to sell didn’t work, try again

Just because it didn’t sell the first time, doesn’t mean it wouldn’t the second. Instead of just relisting the item at a lower price, you can try other ways to sell it like switching to Buy It Now instead of an auction.

You can give free shipping to make it more enticing and play around with the number of days the listing will go on. Typically, the longer it lists, the more likely it won’t sell.

Check your shipping costs

It’s all very well making money for an item, but you could end up losing more dollars when it comes to shipping costs. Be aware that boxes and wrapping can add to the shipping weight so make sure when you weigh your item, you do it all wrapped up.

Ebay’s shipping calculator can help you determine the cost and you can find the link to “calculate shipping” in the domestic shipping section of the shipping details.

Allow for counter offers in your listing

If you are selling an item via Buy It Now, your odds of a sale will go up if you accept counter offers. There is a checkbox under Buy It Now that says “Let buyers make offers. Being flexible with your price may help your item sell faster.”

By checking yes to this box, your buyers can see you’re willing to accept a lesser offer. To save time on the website, you can automatically accept counter offers and choose the amount you will accept or decline in advance.

Reduce the price before the end of a listing

It’s better to sell an item for a reduced price than hanging on to it, hoping for a larger amount that may never come. If your item isn’t attracting watchers, bidders or buyers, lower the asking price just before the listing ends and see the offers coming in.

People are attracted to a bargain and if they can see the price has gone down they will be more inclined to buy. Make sure to reduce the price at least one day before the listing ends.

Timing is everything

Things like time of day when listing an item on Ebay is actually a crucial factor in a sale. If you set up a listing that ends in the middle of the day, chances are most people are out or at work and won’t have time to bid.

As a general rule, a Sunday evening is a great time to end a listing as people are usually at home and will have the time to become involved in a bidding war. Weekday evenings including Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday tend to work too while Friday and Saturday evening is a no go.

Local pickup is an alternative to shipping

If some of your items are just too large to send via domestic shipping, you can add the option of local pickup to your listing. In this circumstance, your audience will be dramatically reduced to those who are in driving distance from you, but it also means you won’t incur any further costs.

For things like furniture, antiques or even fragile items, this is an easy and effective way to get them to sell.

Gaining trust from buyers is so important

Ratings on Ebay are really important and before you get a potential buyer, they will take a look at your ratings and reviews to see if you are trustworthy. By accurately describing your items and giving total transparency of condition to buyers will make you a top seller and trusted.

Communication with buyers will also help your reputation and shipping right after you have sold an item is important. Other Ebay users will be more attracted to your page if they can see you’re legitimate.

Keep an eye on your watchers

Before deciding to submit a bid, many Ebay members might watch your items to see if they attract any other interest and what the price is fluctuating at. Although it’s frustrating to get a lot of watchers but no actual bidders or buyers, it is important to understand the interest in your item.

If your listing is hot with watchers, it is progress in selling because eventually watchers turn into buyers whether it is for this item or the next.

Headlines are important

Just like when a newspaper article headline catches your eye, the same goes for Ebay listings. Headlines are extremely important when selling and keywords like “rare” “authentic” and “bespoke” can make people click into the listing.

With millions of listings on the site, you need to stand out from the others and have something that entices a buyer. You are only given 80 characters for your listing title so make each word count and give the most important information.

Low starting bids are attractive

If potential buyers click on your listing and see a number with zeros on the end of it, chances are they are going to click out just as quickly. The most attractive listings are the ones that start with a few cents or a dollar and then the price will start creeping up as more people become aware of it.

The only flaw in this is if the item only attracts one or two bids then your item will sell for nothing so make sure you are confident in the item and check similar past listings.

Reserve prices will give you some insurance

You might not want to sell the item if it goes for less than you intended so by adding a reserve price you are not obliged to sell the item. Reserves are only available for auction listings and you can always change the reserve price depending on the success or failure of the listing as it goes on.

For expensive and rare items, adding a reserve price will stop you from having to give it away for nothing.

Preview all of your listings

Just like you would an email that other people see, check and double check your listing by previewing them before they go live. See how the listing looks, if it is attractive and make any changes accordingly.

By doing this, you are avoiding any potential buyers seeing errors that may affect the sale. You can save your listing as a draft if you aren’t ready for it to go live and want to come back to it at a later date.

Keep your customers updated

Customer service is crucial whenever making a purchasing decision and this is no different on Ebay. In order to make the process as pleasant as possible for your buyers and to ensure positive feedback there are certain things you must do.

Make sure the customer is kept in the loop on the delivery process immediately after purchase and providing package tracking information. Follow up with an email a few days after the package was sent and when the package arrives check that everything was to their liking.