There are a lot of people who consider buying and selling on eBay as a way to make money. However, before you start purchasing anything you see on eBay, you need to know some tips that can help you. Selling is also not something that you can easily become a master of and there are many tips that you need to know about.
Be Aware Of Counterfeit Goods
When you are buying on eBay to resell, you need to be careful of counterfeit goods. As you are not able to see the goods in person before you buy, there is a chance that you are not getting what you actually see. You are also going to be looking for a deal, so you can make money when you sell the item and this will increase the chances of encountering counterfeit goods.
If you find an item that you want to buy, but feel that the price is extremely low, you need to be careful. You only have the description and supplied images to go on and this can be deceiving. If you have any questions about the item, you should contact the seller via their listing on the site.
Always Verify
Linked to the fact that there are counterfeit goods on eBay, you need to verify everything and not trust what the seller is saying. The best way to verify that the seller is trustworthy is to look at their profile and the reviews they have received. A good rule of thumb for this will be to avoid items that seem too good to be true or that sell for a much higher retail price.
When looking at the reviews the seller has, you should look at the most recent first. You need to carefully read the good and the bad reviews to see what people have to say. If the seller is selling multiple units of the item you want, you should look at reviews for that product to verify that everything is good.
Do Your Research
If you are looking to buy and sell items that you do not know very well, you have to do your research. If you want to buy a particular vintage item, you need to check what the going rates are. You also need to look for anything that can be used to verify that the item is what the seller describes. Vintage and antique items will often have insignia that you should look for and if there is no image of this on the listing you should ask the seller for this.
If you are looking at vintage items, there are a lot of reproductions on the market as well. You need to know how to tell a reproduction from the real item and this can only be done with research. If you are ever unsure about the item, you should not buy it instead of buying something that you cannot sell.
Invest In A Digital Camera
When it comes to selling, you need to invest in a good quality digital camera. The images that you provide of the item are all that the buyer has to go on and you want them to be the best possible. You do not have to spend a lot of money on the camera, but you should also avoid getting the cheapest one that you can find.
After you have the camera, you should take some time to learn how to use it correctly. Take pictures of different items in different lighting conditions to see how the camera handles this. This is important because you do not want to post grainy and out of focus images on your eBay listing.
Do Not Sell Big Dollar Items Immediately
If you have bought an item that you can sell for a high price, the temptation will be to list it as soon as possible. However, you actually need to avoid this because your account will not have any ratings. Seller accounts that do not have ratings will not be trusted by buyers and they will be less likely to buy these high priced items from you.
To improve your chances of selling, you need to take the time to build up your ratings. You can do this by selling some low-value items to start with. Buyers are more willing to risk a small amount of money on a seller with no rating and this is an easy way to get some positive reviews on your seller account. Buying and selling low-value items will build up your account and make it look more legitimate.
Research The Competition
Once you have double-digit positive ratings on your account, you can start looking at selling some higher priced items. However, before you create your listing, you need to check out your competition such as http://stores.ebay.com/carpartdirectcpd. You should search for the item you want to sell on eBay and see what keywords other people are using.
When you research your competition, you will also see if there is a market for the item you want to sell. You should save the competition listings on your account, so you can see what the final prices are. This will save you a lot of money because you do not want to place your item up when there are 500 others one on with no bids. When you do this, you will be paying listing fees and never making the money back.
Do Not Try To Make Money With Shipping
A lot of new sellers think that they can hook the buyer in with a low sale price but make their money on the shipping. This is not only underhanded, it will make buyers less likely to purchase your listing. If a buyer is concerned with the cost of the item, they will generally filter their searches by price and this will include the postage.
Selling an item for $25, but charge $40 for shipping will create a total of $65. When money-conscious buyers look for the item, eBay will not place your item with the other $25 free shipping ones, but lower down with the more expensive listings.