Monday, April 14, 2008

eBay Work From Home - Earned On-line Income Fast

Are you keeping too much stuff in your house? Are you one of those whose closets are so full that you are afraid to open them? Do you have a hard time getting rid of some of that stuff? I know, I know, that stuff still has value, so you can't throw it away. How about selling that stuff on eBay and making a profit out of it? Of the 60 or so items that I listed on eBay, I sold about 40 of them. And, I put about $1500 in my pocket, within two weeks. Along the way I picked up a few tips:

1. To begin, first get familiar with the eBay site. If you have never visited the site, start as a visitor, get familiar with the buttons and how it all works.

  • In the search bar type in the name of an item, for example: "blue dishes". Notice there are about 1700 items listed for "blue dishes". Add the word "glass" to blue dishes. Now there are about 400 items. Add the word "cobalt" to blue glass dishes and now there are about 100 items. It is much easier to search 100 items, then 1700 items. Click on one of the pictures, a new screen will come up for that item. Check all the information there: Current or Starting Bid, Your maximum bid, End time, Shipping Costs, Ships to, Bid History, and High Bidder. Scroll down and read the item description and check out the pictures.

2. Next, set up two email addresses, one to handle eBay transactions, and one to handle PayPal transactions.

3. Register at eBay the website. At the top of the page, next to the eBay logo are the words: Sign In or Register. Click Register, a new screen comes up and asks you for some basic information; name, address, phone number, email address, user name and pass word. Finally, agree to the User Agreement and Privacy Policy, then click Register.

4. Register and create an account at PayPal. PayPal is one of the safest ways to handle cash on-line, you can always opt to accept money orders and/or personal checks, but you need a way to pay your eBay fees, PayPal makes that easy. Order a PayPal debit card, it will come in handy.

5. Confirm your account settings that you have created. At the eBay site, log in, then scroll down to ACCOUNT and click on the links underneath it. Make sure all of the your personal information, addresses and preferences are current, edit where necessary. If you move, change bank accounts, or stop using a particular credit card, it is important to keep both eBay and PayPal informed.

6. Go through your stuff and pick an item to sell. You can sell just about anything, but the easiest items to sell are relatively small, and light weight and not easily damaged. Once I sold a door knocker, I had purchased it for personal use, then didn't use it. It was new, in the original package, small enough for ease in shipping and solid brass, so it wasn't likely to get damaged. How about an old music record?...an LP or 45? Again, a music record is not bulky, doesn't weigh much, and it's fairly easy to protect against damage during the shipping process. How about a gently used pair of name brand shoes? Shoes aren't too big, they don't usually weigh very much and they are easy to ship.

7. Learn to do research. Log into your eBay account, click one the Sell button in the upper right hand corner. Now, Click on the Research eBay's Marketplace button. Go through the tutorials and pay close attention to the Search Completed Listings. Check out the items that sold. Analyze why some items sell and others don't. There are a lot of factors that determine whether or not a product will sell, some obvious, some not.

8. Get your digital camera and take digital pictures of your item and prepare the item description.

9. Get your item listed. Log into eBay and click on sell in the upper right hand corner. From here, if you have done your research, the process is fairly simple.

  • Create a title for the item you are selling. Use descriptive words and phrases that apply to the item you are selling. The better your title, the more traffic to your item posting.
  • Select a category that best describes your item.
  • Add pictures. Its good to have more than one picture. I recommend the Gallery Plus, the large picture option.
  • Describe your item. Here is where research helps, use key phrases and descriptive ideas from other successful on-line auctions and incorporate them into your description.
  • Research shipping costs for your item. Click on the "learn about shipping" link... then click on the "Shipping Calculator" and follow directions. If you intend to charge a flat rate, calculate enough shipping to send your item anywhere in the country.
  • Set your starting bid. A good rule of thumb is to start with a combined cost (price & shipping) that is about 10% lower than what the buyer would pay for the item in a retail store or price the item slightly lower than other 'sold' items listed in the Completed Listings search.
  • Decide how you would like to be paid. I highly recommend PayPal, when your income lands in PayPal, you can pay for and print your shipping label directly from PayPal. You can also pay your eBay fees there, then, all of your costs related to the sale of your item are listed in your PayPal site. Easy to see, easy to track, and easy to use.
  • Finally, click - Save and Preview. In the next screen, scroll down and preview what your listing looks like. Edit, if necessary, then click "List Your Item".

10. Finally, monitor your "My eBay" page. Check your emails daily, there may be questions from potential buyers. Track the progress of your item; how many people are watching your item, how many bids, etc. When the auction is over, "My eBay" tells you when your item is paid for and when it's time to ship.

That is it, mission accomplished! You have just learn how to start an ebay work at home business and earned On-line Income Fast! Happy Selling!

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