Whether you’re looking to set up your own online business or just want to shift some old belongings, selling on eBay can be a great way to make a bit of extra cash.
But, whatever your intentions, it’s best to learn the ropes on how to sell on eBay before getting started so you can be sure you’re not missing any tricks, and know that you’re on top of all the eBay fees.
Simple Strategies To Catapult Your Ebay Sales
Strategy 1 – Assess Demand
Attempting to sell a product that has no proven demand is a recipe for disaster. A simple search around eBay’s website will tell you exactly what types of products are getting a lot of attention in terms of views, watchers and most importantly, SALES!
You don’t have to do any guess work with your market research when it comes to selling on eBay. Search for listings, products and sellers that are already selling large volumes and try your best to reverse engineer the strategies and techniques that they are implementing to create a buzz for their listings.
If a particular product or niche is working well for someone else on eBay, it is more than likely going to work for you too.
Even our dropshipping software has a listing service; where we can list some good items for you!
Strategy 2 – Optimize your Listing
When you are listing your items, it is important to remember that eBay is a search engine. If you notice that your listing is not attracting a lot of views, watchers and sales, your may not be using keywords in your title that your potential customers are actually typing into the eBay search bar to find your products.
On the other hand, you may be going after a keyword that is way too competitive and your listing is stuck somewhere on page 8 with no visitors. There are two main things that I have done in the past that have really helped my listings stand out from the crowd as far as keywords are concerned:
Listing as an auction – Just before your auction listing expires, eBay will bump your listing near the top of search results to ensure it gets maximum exposure and sells for the most amount possible. This is one of the reasons why you may see a spike in bids during the last few minutes of your auction listings. If you are really struggling to get any views on a particular item on your eBay store when you list it as a buy it now product, try relisting it as an auction to increase exposure.
Test your titles – This is particularly useful if you have an item in bulk and you are looking for the best keywords to use in your title. If you test 2 or 3 different titles, you will notice that 1 will almost always outperform the others in terms of driving views and sales to your listings. You may even be surprised to see that the listing title you thought would do the best actually comes in second or third place.
Strategy 3 – Stay Competitive
Don’t be a blind seller on eBay. Make sure you are aware of your surroundings and you have a good understanding of who your main competitors are and what sets you apart from them. If you don’t know what separates you from your competitors then you will not know how to compete.
Do you have the cheapest price on eBay? Are you selling the better quality products? Do you have a quicker delivery time? All of these factors and more have an impact on your competitiveness and your customers need to know what sets you apart. Find your USP and make sure you make it clear in your product descriptions. It may even be relevant for you to include it as an infographic as the last picture for your listing if you know it’s a real pain point.
A good pricing strategy is very important to be albe to compete against other sellers.
Strategy 4 – Provide a Quality Experience on eBay
Remember to always provide the best possible customer service as possible. Gaining positive feedback reviews to your account is the easiest way to gain the trust of new and potential customers, as well increasing your seller performance as a whole on eBay.
Strategy 5 – Up-sell
If you collect payments through PayPal, make use of the Aweber PayPal integration feature. This way you can build your own database of past clients and re-market to them later on down the line. Also, it’s a good idea to send some promotional materials with the products that you send out. This is a great way to feature some of the other products on your eBay store and generate repeat customers.
Tips For an eBay Quick Sale
Create a Comprehensive Listing
If your product’s listing isn’t sufficiently detailed you risk losing the buyer. Firstly, they might not have the time to ask the questions that they want to about the product. Or, they might not have the patience to wait for your response. Chances are that they will move on to a different seller selling the same or similar item as you.
Price it Right
Ensure that your pricing is in line with other eBay sellers. You do want to make a decent profit, but goods with a starting price that’s too high will attract very few offers. Have a look at completed listings of similar items to get an idea of what eBay buyers are willing to pay.
If you do want to try for a higher fixed price, make use of the Best Offer feature. That way buyers can make offers for you to consider.
Choose the Buy It Now Option
Auction-style listings are a no-no. Most buyers are looking for instant gratification. Choose the Buy It Now option instead of an auction-style listing. This will improve your turn-around time and allow you to have more of your inventory available for sale at a time.
Offer a Variety of Payment Options
Most eBay merchants offer payment via PayPal. PayPal is wonderful because it is a global company. Buyers can also use their credit cards to make purchases through PayPal. Checks and money orders are two other payment alternatives to consider. These can be inconvenient. On the other hand, they can assist in increasing the number of purchasers who submit an offer. You might be able to get a better deal on your goods as well. Avoid being a victim of a check fraud. Include a disclaimer in your offering stating that products will be shipped only after checks have cleared.
Post Your Ads at the Appropriate Time
You’ll want your eBay listings to sell rapidly if you want to make money soon. When you post an item at different times of the day and week, it can affect how quickly it sells. On Sunday evenings, the volume of searches and purchases on eBay is at its peak. Evenings on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are all viable choices.
Final Thoughts
You might not be able to execute all of these methods right away if you’re new to selling on eBay. For example, gathering enough merchandise to make fresh postings daily or even monthly may take some time.
Even if you’re just getting ready to offer your first item for sale, there are a number of measures you can take to ensure you make successful listings, build a positive seller reputation, and begin generating money. After all, if these techniques work for eBay’s best sellers, they’ll almost certainly work for you.
