Selling on
When selling items on eBay there are a number of factors to bear in mind...
1. Timing is everything - when are potential bidders likely to be online..?
This is very important as most of the bidding on an item usually takes place in the last hour or so before the auction ends. If you start an auction at 3am on Tuesday morning using a 7 day auction then it will end at 3am the following Tuesday when most people are tucked up in bed. Consequently there will be few, if any, last minute bidding wars to push up the final price of the item you're selling. If you must place an auction at 3am on a Tuesday morning, select a scheduled start, and therefore end, time that is more suitable. I have bought items one week for £50 and sold them a week or two later for over £100 simply by choosing an optimal selling time.
Daytime auctions may seem okay as many people have internet access at work but think of the large number of people that don't. You're cutting down your potential market dramatically by having an auction which ends during working hours. And let's face it, who has time to sit in front of a PC between getting out of bed, having a shower, eating breakfast and heading out for the day. Then there's the commute home. If I had a pound for every auction I've seen ending around 5pm I'd make almost as much money as I do on eBay. Weekends are generally the same, as people head out shopping, on day trips, or for sports matches during the day. Finally, assuming that most of the population sleeps between the hours of 11pm and 6am then it seems obvious when the best time to finish your auction is. Obvious, YES..!!! But very few people even think about it when submitting their items for auction and as a result fail to maximise their sale price.
In general between 6pm and 10pm of an evening is usually best. Sundays and Thursdays seem to be the most profitable days. Friday and Saturday evenings are "going-out nights" for many and again you may lose a large section of your potential market. Also, consider what is on TV at the time your auction ends... Eastenders and Coronation Street have some of the highest viewer ratings so whilst people are watching these they are less likely to be bidding on your items. That said, it very much depends on what you are selling and the type of potential buyer. If you are selling a top spec gaming PC you may well ask yourself, "Do computer game geeks even watch Corrie..?".
2. Information - the better the information the greater the interest.
Sounds simple, but how often do you see single line descriptions..? When you read a single line description does it make you want to buy something..? Does it instil confidence in the seller..? If they couldn't be bothered to include a proper description then are they going to be as lazy with the packaging and posting..? Take a bit of time over the "advert" and it will reap dividends. I recently sold a used Nokia mobile for £195 when even brand new examples of the same phone sold for £20-£40 less, minutes before and after my auction. Why..? I believe it was because of the clear, concise and honest description I gave. This theory has been bourn out on many of my auctions.
That said, don't make the opposite mistake of getting drawn in to long-winded flowery descriptions with fancy fonts and colourful backgrounds. It's unnecessary, detracts from the item itself and in the worst case looks like an 5 year old's art class masterpiece. Keep it simple and easy to look at. I prefer a plain background, single font style (change size and colour to highlight important features maybe) and also several pictures of the actual item. I usually following the format:
Title
Subtitle
Picture 1
My Description
Picture 2
Manufacturer Description & Specifications
Picture 3
Terms of Sale, P&P, Extra Auction Info
Photographs of the actual item are essential to get the best price for you item. By using a picture of the actual item you show to the bidder that:
a) You actually have the item
b) The description matches the item
c) You show the condition of the item
This helps to establishing that you are trustworthy and honest and gives the bidder confidence that they are getting what they expect and are not get ripped off. Many people are still paranoid about buying on eBay and the more information you offer, the more their worries are eased and the more likely they are to bid on your item. However, you must ensure that the photos are clear and well lit. Blurred and dim pictures are completely pointless and prove only that you were to lazy to take proper ones. Most people now own digital cameras so there's little excuse. If you are going to be a regular seller on eBay and don't own a digital camera then may I suggest your next eBay purchase should be a cheap 1-2 mega-pixel one for under £20. It will pay for itself in no time.
3. Enticing them in - starting prices, reserves, categories and keywords.
If you have a good product, it will sell. Starting an item at £50 instead of 50p only increases eBay's profits, not necessarily yours (see eBay's basic fee structure) . Adding a reserve only serves the same purpose*. Look at similar items to what you intend to sell, add them to your watch list and see how much they sell for. This should give you an idea of what you can expect for your item. Follow the advice above and you may well sell or an even higher price. Putting a high start price or reserve on items you know to be popular is throwing money away and may even put off potential bidders. I've seen items with 20 bids reach say £75 with hours to go, where identical items with a £50 start price have received no bids with only minutes to go.
It's all about psychology. Someone sees your item for 50p and adds it to their watch list in hope of a bargain. They may even place an early bid. From then on they seem to enter into some non-existent contract whereby, because of your honest description and clear photos of this bargain item they trust you implicitly. They build up a mental picture of what you are like and how you look after things you own and how you have a "genuine" reason for sale (whatever that means). Believe me, once you have them hooked, chances are they will see the auction through to the end. They also seem to get "bidding fever" whereby two or more bargain hunters are so intent on buying your low priced item that they push the price through the roof. I've even had people bidding well over shop price for some of my items..!!! Figure that one out..?
Listing in more than one category can be a useful tool. It may be that your item may be covered by several categories or that it doesn't really sit comfortably in any single category. Remember, you want to catch as many people as possible. Choose your categories carefully and remember that your insertion fees will be almost double if you choose a second category - another reason to keep your basic insertion fee as low as possible to start with.
Some people will merely browse relevant sections whereas others will search for specific items. Now this is where you can dramatically increase your auctions potential or severely limit it. Your auction title needs to contain ALL the keywords that anyone looking for your item may type into a search.
For instance, a friend of mine recently listed an auction for a Ford Transit Camper Van. The problem was that they failed to include the word "camper" or "Ford" in the main title. Anyone doing a search for transit van would have indeed found the listing but if they were simply looking for a "transit van" then my friends camper van would probably be of little interest to them. If someone typed in "camper van", "transit camper" or "ford camper" then the subsequent listed items would not include my friends van. After three attempts it never sold on eBay and fortunately they got a private sale instead. Needless to say they didn't bother consulting me before submitting the listing.
4. Payment, Packaging and Postage
Also think about payment options and postage methods. More choice = more bidders = higher sale price. Adding several payment and postage options will give buyers more control over their purchase and can only serve to promote the sale.
PayPal is an obvious favourite and offers fast efficient online payment. You get paid faster and the buyer gets the item faster. Everyone is happy..? The downside with PayPal is that they take a percentage of the transferred amount (including P&P) from the seller to pay for the transaction. Some sellers pass this charge on to the buyer (must be clearly stipulated in the auction) but this now seems to becoming rarer. Sellers who still pass on this charge are once again putting themselves at a disadvantage and wary bidders are often put off by such penny pinching. Cheques and postal take longer but neither buyer or seller incurs any direct financial penalty. There are other popular online payment methods worth considering such as Nochex, Fastpay, Eggpay, etc.
Postage is another opportunity for the unscrupulous seller to supplement their profits. It can catch bidders out particularly if they don't pay attention or read the listing details fully. In the most part, smart buyers tend to take into account the P&P when deciding their maximum bid. However, I think we have already established that some buyers don't seem very smart once the bidding wars start. The best bet is to either "guesstimate" the postage from previous experience or better still, weight the item and visit the Royal Mail or Parcel Force website to get a better idea of postage costs. Don't forget you will also need to package the item safely before dispatch. If anything I like to under estimate P&P rather than risk over-charging. Losing £2.50 is no big deal if potential bidders see a lower P&P on the auction. It all comes out in the wash and besides, buyers are more willing to trust a seller who advertises more conservative P&P charges than a seller who is obviously profiteering on postage.
Some items will be too big to post and will have to be sold as "collection only". Remember, when doing this you are limiting your potential sales area but in most cases there is little you can do about it.
* The only time I would advocate the use of high starting prices and/or reserve prices is if you have a rare or less popular item that you are unsure if the potential buyers frequent eBay. And remember, you need at least two competing bidders to push the price up. If your item is of a high value but only likely to attract one or two bidders then adding a reserve may be justified.
4. Customer Service - l
body of TEXT...