Selling On eBay – Important Considerations Before Getting Started

eBay has stringent laws in place that must be adhered to. When starting to read up on all of eBay's relevant rules and policies that are applicable to you, it is best practice to dive deep into the section that matter. This ultimately depends on the products you aim to sell.

When you're getting started with eBay, it is essential to consider the products you want to sell and how they can be best described. The more targeted those descriptions are, the better, as buyers will only see listings that match what they searched for.

When we think about eBay sellers, you might imagine someone listing items and then sending them off in the post as soon as they are sold. However, it doesn’t work exactly like that. You need to ensure that everything is packaged well and sent out correctly, or else returns will inevitably happen.

You need to package your products well, and depending on where you're shipping them to, it might be necessary for them to have a customs label. For example, if you're sending something outside of the US, this may be required.

There might also be different rules and regulations if you are dealing with international packages as opposed to domestic ones. If problems arise, many buyers (especially international ones) wouldn’t really want to take the time to send items back, which obviously leads to negative feedback.

Remember that eBay will show a star rating for each seller, reflecting the overall quality of their selling practices. This includes feedback - where buyers can leave comments about how your product was received and whether they were satisfied with it or not.

Sellers want to receive positive feedback as it shows them as trustworthy, so if you satisfy every buyer, this will be an easy thing to achieve over time.

Understanding buyer rights is important when dealing with eBay. For most products, these are the return types that you can set:

You might think that setting your price is a simple process - look at what others are selling something for online or in-store, and then put it on eBay for a similar amount. However, in reality, things are much different. 

There are lots of factors to consider when you are choosing a fixed price for your products. 

Understanding eBay’s final value fee is crucial when pricing your products. Final value fees might vary depending on the product you’re selling so this is definitely an area to consider. Here’s more information about eBay fees to know about.

In addition, some other important points to consider include analyzing demand levels, how highly competitive the market is, whether there are any special offers around right now, or if there's a good reason for someone to choose your product over someone else's (such as if you are offering free shipping).

Also, when it comes to profit margins, make sure that your costs are reasonable which also means that your profit margin makes sense - otherwise, your business will never be financially viable. 

On the flipside, eBay sellers can be tempted to try and make as much profit as possible by setting very high prices. However, this could mean that potential buyers won't even see your fixed price listings because there's too much competition in the market to even get noticed.

Once you've decided on a price and some came up with some great descriptions, then it is time to consider the categories under which your products will go on eBay.

eBay provides some tools to make your listings look more appealing, but it is easy to go overboard. Too much stuff on a listing doesn't usually help people buy what you're selling, so keep things simple by only uploading one or two pictures at most. 

Anyone can take pictures of their products, but you should have some specific shot types in your listing to get the best results. Depending on the type of product you are selling, think about the best angle to take pictures from.

Also, consider any other important information that buyers should see when they are viewing your image.

Using a white background is a good choice if you are selling something online because it makes the main image stand more. However, some things look better on backdrops of different colors, so before adding images to your listing, try out different photos to see what works best.

Keep the focus on the product, and don't clutter things up by adding too much text or space - simplicity is key. If you want to include additional images, that make your listing even better since these images will appear as separate thumbnails. These can be useful if you need to show an item that is particularly long/wide.

This is an excellent opportunity to add some personality, and it can be very effective in encouraging repeat business or even winning over new customers you haven't had before. 

I would strongly recommend making an about me page if you want to stand out from other sellers. You should include anything that’s relevant that people might want to know about your store, including return policies or even the story of how your story came to be.

There are many things you could include on this type of page, and having a look at what your competitors have done is a good idea to model your page on.

Accepting the payment methods offered by eBay is a great way to follow the policies set forth by eBay.

The accepted payment methods include:

Understanding that different people want to buy in a method that’s best for them is key. Even if you don't think that people use such methods, it is worth having a business that caters to customers’ needs. This means that accepting all of the above payment methods as part of your business might be a great idea.

Your eBay profile picture is the primary way that buyers will identify you when they come across your listings. It doesn't have to be a brand logo or even something related to what type of products you specialize in, but it does need to be recognizable so that people can tell who they are dealing with.

There are various ways to get more views on your eBay products - one of the primary ones being putting some time into social media marketing. 

Be active on sites like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, promoting any new listings that you have while also interacting with people who might be interested in what you’re selling. This will get your content to be seen by others, helping improve your online credibility among potential customers.

When you're selling on eBay, it's essential that you learn from your past experiences to help improve things in the future. This is where eBay Analytics comes into play - this lets you analyze how well your business is doing by tracking data such as views, sales, estimated revenue, and even landing page performance.

Having an eBay business means that you can trade all around the year, but for those who find it challenging to keep track of what's going on month by month, a selling calendar is a great thing to consider using.

What does this help you accomplish? This is a simple way to help organize your eBay business and make sure that you stay on top of your listings. You can also announce new products to your eBay buyers since you’ll know exactly what’s going to happen and when. 

This helps build up anticipation and ensures that there is a demand for the products you’re planning on selling.

Offering buyers additional benefits when they buy from you is a great way to market your products and improve customer loyalty, increasing repeat business. 

This can be done by providing perks such as free shipping, discounts on the final price, or anything else that might seem relevant for your product category. It's important to offer things that are easy for you to do but also won't cost you to lose out when selling your products.

You don't always have to go out of your way to add retail value; it could be something as simple as including a simple, free gift with each order as it comes in. This could also be a great way to entice someone to come back and buy something else from you in the near future.

Another great way of promoting your eBay store is through blogging. This can help you reach an even wider audience online, allowing potential customers to connect with you better. 

The key here is not to promote directly within your blog posts but instead put out engaging content that people will want to read about, then mention that you have products for sale on eBay at the end of each post. This has to be done in the most natural way in order for it to work.

By doing this, more and more people will be able to see what you've got for sale and might take an interest in your business.

Additionally, you can also get involved with other forums online where people talk about topics related to your niche or products. You can become a forum member, network with others, and start sharing content while occasionally putting up links to your eBay listings.

This way, you start building a crowd of people who are interested in what you have to say. Some of these people will then take a further interest in what you're doing and will be able to easily surf over to your store to see what's on offer.

Social proof is something that you should take advantage of as much as possible. Many people who use the eBay marketplace want reassurance that they're making the right choice when it comes to their buying decisions.

eBay store newsletters are another great way to promote your business. Similar to how email marketing works, you’ll be able to get potential eBay customers that are interested in what you're offering but aren’t quite ready to pull the trigger. 

In this case, they can sign up for regular updates about your business. You will then be able to send them newsletters providing the right value and keeping them informed about the products they can buy from your store.

Much like a social media group, an eBay store newsletter can be a great way to stay in touch with your customers and build a relationship with them over time - this is the best way to increase conversions and ensure you have a high rate of returning customers over time.

When marketing your eBay store, you mustn't get disheartened if your eBay business isn't successful from the very beginning. Remember that this is a long-term project, and some people may not make a purchase right away but instead come back to your store later on - once they've done their research. 

It can take time to see a difference in sales and revenue, so be patient and focus on improving one thing at a time until you start getting results.

This means that while your store might have had no transactions during its first few months of being open, it doesn't mean that sales will never come from it - just keep in mind that sales momentum might take a longer / shorter time for everyone involved.