EBay Basics

By Shannon Davidson

ABOUT EBAY:

Founded in September 1995, EBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) is The World's Online Marketplace® for the sale of goods and services by a diverse community of individuals and small businesses. Today, the EBay community includes more than a hundred million registered members from around the world. People spend more time on EBay than any other online site, making it the most popular shopping destination on the Internet.

WHY SELL ON EBAY?

Generally people sell on EBay to supplement their income, liquidate an estate, to rid of unwanted items from their collections, or use it in lieu of a yard sale to sell things that they no longer want or need. Becoming even more common are those sellers who purchase new products at wholesale prices and re-sell them on EBay for a profit. You don't have to sell full-time on EBay though. You can sell as many or as few items as you want. It's a great money making hobby. Keep your day job and sell on EBay in the evenings and on the weekends.

The more work that you put into selling on EBay, the more money you are typically going to make. This is very appealing to many sellers. However, selling on EBay, like any other business, can be hard work. A big motivation for those that end up selling on EBay is the desire to own a business; to be their own boss. EBay is perfect for starting a small sales business because of the low initial set-up costs - it's low risk.

REGISTERING ON EBAY:

If you do not already have an account with EBay, you'll have register in order to buy or sell on the EBay auction site. For buyers, all that EBay requires is your name, address, e-mail and telephone number. For sellers, you'll also need to provide credit card information. EBay uses a secure system to receive your credit card number, so there is no risk that anyone can intercept your credit card number. If buying on EBay, there will be no charge. If you sell on EBay, your credit card will be automatically charged on a monthly basis for any listing fees and commissions.

EBAY/AUCTION PRICING:

Most items sold on EBay are sold for between $5 and $50. Partly because there are just more items that happen to fall into that range of values, and partly because most buyers are comfortable spending that amount on an Internet auction.

EBAY/AUCTION DESCRIPTIONS:

Writing a thorough and accurate item description can be a big challenge for sellers, especially new ones, when creating an auction listing. Search other listings similar to yours and create and produce an informative, professional description of the item(s) you are selling.

What is the secret to making money on EBay?

Attract as many bids as possible and bring back repeat customers!

How do you attract bids and bring back repeat customers?

Establish credibility, present your auctions professionally, offer a guarantee, include a photograph of your item, and maintain an exemplary feedback record. Always ensure your customers are happy, and they always will be if you provide an accurate description.

Remember, when an EBay buyer bids on one of your auctions they are not initiating a transaction with a well-established company with a proven track record like an Amazon.com, they are placing their trust in someone who could very easily no longer be in business tomorrow. The only thing that the buyer has available to them to assess the legitimacy of your auction is your EBay feedback record and the quality of your EBay auction listing. The goal of your EBay auction should be to differentiate your auction from the others by convincing bidders that what you're selling is legitimate, and that when paid, you'll quickly deliver the product in excellent condition.

Once you are comfortable with your EBay business, you can incorporate that business with a retail business by starting your own website and web presence.

Shannon Davidson

[http://www.officesetting.com]

Shannon has been performing virtual assistance for over 13 years. She provides administrative and technical services such as transcription, data entry, logo design, web creation, and many other services to businesses and individuals. Shannon is also a freelance writer and provides articles and research information to businesses and individuals.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shannon_Davidson
http://EzineArticles.com/?EBay-Basics&id=69844

More Resources

Top 10 Free Online Wholesale Resources
By the time that a product has made it to your local retail store, it's probably changed at least three people's hands, possibly even more than that. And each one of those people had to mark up the cost of the item to cover their investment and make a profit.
How To Cut Your eBay Fees By More Than 90%
Now, are you ready for the REAL TRUTH about selling on eBay?It's simple; don't list too many items for sale using their auction format. Instead, set up one of their stores.
The 3 Minute Auction and Minute Auction Explained
Am I the only person who doesn't know what a 3 minute auction is? Looking for fresh content for my site, I discover that "minute auction," or even a 5, 10 and 30 minute auction is a popular item. Some auction sites may refer to a minute auction as a "Live Bid.
Is Your Trash Cash? 5 Easy Places to Sell Your Stuff
The old adage that says "one person's trash is another person's treasure" never goes out of date. So when you're looking for some extra spending cash and you want to make some space in your home, combine the two endeavors by selling your stuff instead of donating it or trashing it.
Fed Up With eBay?
For many people, their first experience of working online involves selling products on eBay. This was how I got started back in 1998 and I know countless other people that have done the same.
How To Sell Santa's Slip-Ups
Shoppers spent more than $15.5 billion this Christmas on gifts on the Internet alone.
Killer Tips To Succeed With eBay Auction
For just a moment, try to comprehend the power of the Internet. Every day, there are millions of people from around the globe "surfing the web.
Turn Your eBay Experience Into Even More Profit
Everyone's talking about eBay these days. With the frequency of the TV advertising campaigns increasing, and no sign of any sizable competitors the eBay empire is only going to get bigger.
5 Secrets for Increasing Auction Profits
1. Include your ebay seller name, store, and website information with all items you ship.
Doing It eBay: An eBay Business Means Fun and Profits in a Global Marketplace
In 1995, when Pierre Omidyar introduced an online business venue that was essentially a virtual garage sale with auction pricing, no one knew a retailing revolution was about to occur. That site became known as eBay, and it's hard to find someone today who hasn't at least heard about the popular online auction company.
Louis Vuitton -- Avoiding the Ebay Nightmare Fakes
Without a doubt, eBay was one of the cleverest on-line ideas that anyone has had so far. The idea of creating a site where you can bid on and buy items ranging from an eggcup through to a disused Boeing 747 or a Nuclear Missile Silo was pure genius.
Effective Auction Listings - How To Create Them
Once you've created the best possible title for your item, you will move on to writing your auction description. Here, you have more space to give a detailed description of the item you are selling in the body of your auction.
5 Reasons Why Playing Music On Your Auctions Is A Bummer Of An Idea
There are 147 million registered users on eBay, and tens of millions of those are desperately fighting to make sales on eBay. When trying to make their auction listings as powerful as possible, many sellers use ill-advised tactics.
Affordable Online Car Auctions
Still hunting for the car of your dreams? Public car auctions online are becoming a happy hunting ground for car aficionados for they bring you a huge selection of affordable cars in various models at unbelievable prices.With online car auctions you can buy a new car at prices, which are quite less than the manufacturer's price in the retail showroom.
Online Auctions: How To Generate Fast Traffic From Online Auctions
Have you ever participated in any online auctions?Yes, people are making piles of cash from online auctions.And you can take advantage of this new gold rush to generatea lot of traffic to your own website.
5 Sure-Fire Ways to Make More Money on EBay
Have you ever dealt with a salesperson or a waiter who gave you unbelievably good service? How about someone who didn't seem to care about you one bit?Which of those people would you go back to the next time you needed to make another purchase or eat another meal?I'm willing to bet you would go back to the business or person who gave you great service. Have you ever considered that this same principle applies to your eBay sales?One of the easiest ways to get more sales on eBay is to make every buyer think "Wow, I've never had such a good experience buying on eBay!"Once someone has bought from you and had a good experience, they're much more likely to buy from you again.
An eBay Computer Purchase
An eBay purchase that turned sour.A story of fraud, deceit, and broken promises.
How to Survive the Jungles of Ebay Selling
Come with me, we are going to take a safari into the jungles of eBay selling, sometimes wrought with danger but most often rewarded with treasure.Beware of non-paying bidders, beware of auction snipers waiting to try and steal your eBay auction at a very low bid, but welcome the loot you will receive selling outdated relics in your house for a small kings ransom.
A WIN-WIN Scenario On eBay For Buyer/Sellers: Tips For Hunting Want It Now Postings
"Ask And You Shall Receive" Policy Works!You're one-of-a-kind baby clothes sat for the last month oneBay with no buyer. Why? Perhaps your item is sospecialized that buyers have a hard time finding you.
How To Sell On Ebay: Using Store Policies To Cement Your Credibility
In your quest to build credibility as an Ebay seller, few things are more important than creating and following consistent store policies. Doing so will provide your customers with an attractive buyingatmosphere, where they will feel safe making any transaction.

More Auction Information:

Related Articles

eBay - Tapping Into The Japanese Collector Market
If you owned a skateboard shop in your local mall would you put a big sign in the window saying "No Baggy Pants Allowed"? Of course not. If you did you would be eliminating 50% or more of your most avid potential customers.
Buying & Selling Gently Used Baby Clothing, Strollers, Toys, and Other Baby Items & Products on eBay
Need Extra Money? Buy and Sell Your Gently Used Baby Clothing, Car Seats, Strollers, Toys, Books and Products on eBay!Hi Moms,So, you had your precious baby, and you couldn't resist -- all of those cute and beautiful baby dresses, rompers, suits, jean sets, christening gowns, onesies and unique designer baby clothes (like Tommy Hilfiger) that called to you when you were in the Gap, Old Navy, Osh Kosh or Little Me. Not to mention the countless baby clothes that relatives gave you that weren't quite your style, or too big or too small for your baby and still have the price tags on them, never worn.
Your Auction Headline Or Title - The Most Important Part Of Your Auction
The words you select to describe your item will have a tremendous impact on the final price it receives or if it receives any bids at all. This is because no matter how great the item is you have up at auction, if you use words that don't lead prospective buyers to it, no one will ever see it.
Selling on eBay? Heres a Success Tip for Your Online Auctions
Are you planning to sell on eBay? Or have you tried in the past but not had much success with your online auctions? If so, here's a strategy that has worked very well for me.In my experience, the auction lots where I created a useful collection of related items got more bids and closed at higher prices than auction lots that were all one thing.
7 Steps to Easier EBay Shipping
If you're like me, you probably hate packing and shipping the things you sell on eBay.Don't get me wrong, I love selling on eBay.
Dont Be A Victim Of Online Auction Fraud
The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) reported that last year 7.7 million dollars was lost through online auction scams.
Mail Order: The Original Internet Still Going Strong
While the world continues to go catatonic over the Internet and its endless possibilities, there's another industry quietly going about its business, piling up profitable year after profitable year after profitable year. What industry is that? It's the mail order industry--or as I prefer to call it, "the original Internet!"Yes, long before the birth and explosion of the Internet, mail order shopping was a hugely popular and preferred method of doing business--and still is.
Low Cost, High Profit Dream Products To Sell on eBay and Amazon
Finding quality products to sell is the key to continuing success. Keeping a pipeline of low cost, fast moving items to sell is also a must.
How To Find REAL Wholesale Dropshippers For Almost Any Product
With more and more people getting online, many of them are searching for information on specific products that they are interested in purchasing.Thus one of the best possible ways to turn a profit online is to find wholesale sources that will drop-ship thes products directlyto your customers who come to your website for more informatation.
Selling Effectively on Ebay Motors
Remember back when selling online was a new experience? Dealers tried everything to sell their vehicles online. Today's market has expanded to include several hot online marketplaces but there is the largest online marketplace, Ebay.
Make BIG MONEY on eBay - Your Unlimited Cash Cow
Let me be brutally honest; until recently, I had never bought anything on eBay, I'd never sold anything on eBay, and, dang-nab-it, I disdained auctions. (Bidding wars just weren't my bag.
Increase your eBay Profits the Easy Way
Sometimes the simplest things can boost the number of visitors and bids to your auction listings and increase your eBay profits.Robert G.
Start an Easy Home Business: Become an Ebay Trading Assistant
EBay's online auctions have created business opportunities for thousands of people. Now the Trading Assistant program is making it easier than ever to start a business from home.
How I Was Nearly Conned On Ebay
I am not sure how many people have had bad experiences on Ebay, I hope not too many. I was having a great time on there until some man tried to defraud me out of £170.
Dont Sell Grandmas Jewelry at a Yard Sale...Get More Money
Have some vintage jewelry? There are several ways you can sell collectible or vintage costume jewelry. How much your vintage jewelry is worth depends on several things.
eBay Consignments: The Giant Opportunity Hiding on eBay (Part I)
More and more, people are becoming aware that they have potential cash sitting in their closets, attics, and basements. But not everyone has the time or the know-how to tap into it, so these items remain where they are or are given away.
How To Stop Ebay Buyers From Sniping Your Auction For Less Than Its True Value
There are many savvy eBay buyers who use automated bidding programs, which are referred to as sniping software. Sniping allows the eBay buyer to place an unseen bid in the last seconds of an eBay auction allowing them to win the ebay auction at a very low price if there was no reserve.
eBay Listing Service : Make Managing Your Auctions Easy
Do you want to have a lot of auctions going but don't have time to keep track of them all? Trust me, you're not alone. With more and more people making significant portions - if not all - of their income from their eBay auction websites the need has arisen for many people to have someone manage the listing of their auctions for them.
Better Than Sliced Bread? Drop Shipping, The New Home Business Craze
Many of you will probably remember the days when the only way to start a successful home business was to join some sort of multi-level marketing program or sell makeup at parties. In those days, people would have to buy a membership in the 'program' along with an inventory of sample products that they would then sell to friends and coworkers at 'parties.
Boosting Your EBay Auction Profits: Just Add Audio
According to a recent report, adding audio to your eBay auctions could increase bids by as much as 22% over auctions without audio.A recent trend showing up on a lot of websites is the addition of an audio clip.