One Page Primer to eBay

Pre Sale

1. Set up your About me page.
   Try to post (once a day?) on the eBay community boards. Make sure you
   include your “About Me” url in all auctions.
2. Post your auction
   at the right time. List your items in Prime Time (9-11pm Eastern, 6-8pm
   Pacific). If possible, have it end on a Sunday, the day with the most
   traffic. (Note, auction software can list items remotely at any time)
3. Know
   your price. Spend 15 minutes researching what your product sells for in
   the real word, in web stores, AND on eBay. Use the “search completed
   listings” feature. Andale.com has detailed reporting for a monthly
   charge. Hammertap (there is a 30 day free trial,
   http://www.hammertap.com/) is another version.
4. List your item
   in the right section. Before you start creating the auction, decide the
   right category for your sale. The url is
   http://listings.ebay.com/aw/listings/overview.html. The default is
   “show number of items in category”. Use this to figure out what are the
   2-3 most popular categories, less than 200 and its inactive, 10,000+
   are active. THEN change the view to “category number” to see what to
   enter in when you create your auction.
5. Use the right Keywords.
   Auction software helps immensely here. They search for what keywords
   were most effective. At the very least see what other auctions are
   using (completed sales again). At the minimum: a. Use specific
   descriptive words, don’t use words like “awesome” or “@@Look@@” b. Use
   numerals instead of words for numbers c. Include multiple versions of
   same word and abbreviations
6. If you will be selling what you consider to be a quality item, consider using the gallery feature eBay offers
7. Set
   a low starting price. Again, do your research to find final selling
   prices. Start auction as low as you can stomach.
8. Place for 7 days. The longer the more eyeballs
9. DonÂ’t buy extras. The costs mount up. Caveat: bold and highlight are ok if its an expensive item.
10. Use
    a counter. It gives you feedback about your auction if it didnÂ’t sell.
    RESIST gong there yourself, use myeBay page.
11. Use Paypal. Many buyers wonÂ’t even look unless they see the icon.
12. DONÂ’T use a reserve price. DO use a buy it now price
13. Include
    a picture! Make sure it can upload quickly (small file size),
    http://www.spinwave.com/ is a free site where you can do this.
14. Use html in your listing to give your auction a professional feel. A crash course can be found at davesite.com.
15. Offer guarantees, warranties or returns. People will bid if they feel more secure.
16. Check
    your emails every 12-24 hours. If you donÂ’t answer questions you will
    lose customers. Include an email signature that links to your About Me
    page (the one with all your auctions)

Post Sale

1. Respond
   to emails within 24 hours. Build a mailing list of your customers,
   either manually or with an opt-in newsletter. Offer the opt-in
   newsletter in your emails to the buyer. You can use it to announce new
   auctions.
2. Use Paypal and its integrated UPS system to save time.
3. Use
   free shipping supplies if you can find them. Your local liquor store is
   your friend! When you mail, include a receipt. If you are low volume,
   include a hand written thank you note. A good way to get your name/web
   site in front of users is to create a useful insert.
   http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/pages/insert_main
4. Provide
   outstanding customer service. Feedback is your lifeblood. Turn first
   time buyers into regulars (remember the newsletter?)