Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Sell on eBay Marketplace
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eBay is one of the biggest marketplaces today and any seller aspiring to make a mark in the world of e-commerce wants to feature its product on such marketplaces. However, it is quite often that the sellers sometimes find it along, a complexed task to sell on eBay or such formidable marketplaces.
To remove such hassles, we bring this guide on how to start selling on eBay the easiest way. Before knowing how to start selling on eBay or what is eBay seller fees or how to create eBay seller account, let us take you through this American e-commerce giant to make you more familiar with its presence in the e-commerce world.
eBay – A Brief Introduction
- Headquartered in San Jose, California, eBay is a multinational e-commerce giant that facilitates C2C and B2C sales.
- It is a multibillion-dollar organization that operates in about 30 countries (as of 2011).
- As per the reports of Statista, eBay had 171 million active users in the Q1 of 2018, surpassing itself for the record of 170 million active users in the previous quarter.
(A-Z) Guide for you to Sell on eBay
Coming to the most important part, let us see how a seller can start selling on eBay.
Step 1: Create eBay Seller Account
The very first step to start selling on eBay is to create an eBay seller account. It is from this eBay account that a seller starts selling on eBay.
To create the eBay seller account:
Navigate to the eBay site on which you want to register (see list of eBay sites below)
- Go to the Registration page.
- Select Personal account or Business account.
- Enter the required details and select Register OR Create Account.
- Now, once you are done with the account creation, click Sell at the top of any eBay page.
- Doing so will step you through all the steps required to list a product, including the initial seller registration.
Step 2: Product Listing
Once the eBay seller account has been created, a seller can start creating the product listing which is the next step that a seller needs to take while selling on eBay.
Now there are pointers to keep in mind while creating the product listing on eBay as the correct product listing can create a buzz for your products on eBay while inappropriate listing can make customers ignore your product on eBay.
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Glance over the points:
- Optimize the product title: Always write the product title as you as a buyer would want to read it OR write it from the buyers’ point of view. The reason behind it is to make the title easy to understand and readable for users. Few keywords – 1 to 3 – should be present in the title so that the product can rank well in the eBay search ranking.
- You can use the product name smartly in the title. If it has a stand-out feature that you want to highlight, give it the priority. Also, you may use elements such as season, festival, or event.
For example, Halloween Costume OR Prom Night Lucky Necklace.
- Optimize the product description: This is the section which can either tend the buyer to buy or to leave your product. Same as the product detail, the description should be having the details. In a few words, you need to explain the product as perfectly and smartly as you can. Include all the most important details and features of your product in the description and insert the keywords at the beginning and end of the product description to make it more customer-friendly. Style, material, color, flavor, type, size, etc should all be there in the description ideally.
- Choose the Right Category: To make your product more searchable, list your product in the most appropriate category. The product can also be listed in more than one category for an extra fee. You can do this optionally if you want the exposure for your product to be more.
- Use Eye-Catchy, Attractive, and Clear Image: For any product, an image plays a very important role as no buyer likes to read about the product which can’t be seen. At the same time, if a product is having a clear image with an attractive look, buyers would stop to look at the product and it increases the chances for the product to be sold.
Step 3: Calculate and Fix the Price
Do not forget to calculate and fix the price of the product in accordance with the total cost that you may have to bear. It means that the inclusion of the eBay Seller Fees and Shipping Cost is a must in the total price of the product so that you don’t fall short of profits while selling on eBay.
As far as charges of shipping are concerned, you may choose the free shipping for the products that are not too far or expensive for you to reach. For areas that are easily accessible and can be reached without much costing, you may offer free shipping.
- Choose the price model:
Fixed Price Model: Set a particular fixed price for your product and wait for your customers to buy your product.
Product Auction: As eBay is an auction platform as well, you may fix the minimum bidding cost for your product and invite the bidders to initiate the bidding. In this case, the ultimate bidder with the highest bidding gets the product.
Step 4: Fix the Policy, Terms and Condition, Guarantee and Warranty
To avoid any misunderstanding and the resultant negative feedback by the buyers, clearly mention the product policies like those of refunds and returns from your eBay seller account. Also, don’t forget to mention the terms and conditions for the same.
As far as guarantee or warranty is concerned, buyers should know about them and hence they should be mentioned.
Step 5: Listing Schedule!
For a better sales graph and more attention for your products, you may schedule the listing for your products for the time at which you think it will be high in demand and will garner more purchasing, from your eBay seller account.
In case of bidding, your customers will get to know of your listing and will tend to buy the products. For example, at Christmas, you may start the listing before some weeks before and get the desired result as buyers will purchase the products relevant to Christmas before few weeks only and not the whole year.
Step 6: Publish your product and start creating the buzz
Check all the details once again on your eBay seller account and publish your product on eBay. Once you have published the product on eBay for selling, start creating buzz for products by advertising and marketing. This includes the below-mentioned points:
- Tell the buyers why your product stands out.
- Minimal bidding cost to attract the bidders.
- Create specialty, sell a product that your customers find unique, or create a unique feature to it.
- Offer reasonable shipping cost, if any.
Step 7: Get the payment and get in touch with the buyer
Once you receive the order from the buyer for your product, check a few things to become a professional seller who cares for the buyers as well as the sales graph:
- Contact the buyer: Although you’ll be notified by eBay about the orders, contact the sellers in case you don’t hear from them, yourself.
- Confirm the payment: Make sure that you’ve been paid by the seller before you initiate the shipment. For that, check if the payment that has been done electronically by the buyer is valid and the methods such as credit or debit card are functioning properly.
Step 8: Ship the Product
When all the payment related measures have been taken, the shipment needs to be done by the sellers. While doing so keep in mind the following pointers:
- Complete the product packaging safely, pack it in a manner that it doesn’t get damaged while shipping.
- To negate the chances of negative feedback or any hassle for the buyers, ship early and on time.
- Assure that the shipment details are accurate and in case a product is undelivered, make sure you’ve mentioned the return address.
Step 9: Feedback
One of the most important factors you need to know before you start selling on eBay or while selling on eBay is feedback. Feedback by you for buyers helps the other sellers. At the same time ask for the feedback to your buyers so that it can add value to your product page and other potential buyers can get to know how your product exactly is.
Source: Statista
- The annual revenue of eBay as of 2017 was amounted to be US$ 9.7 Billion.
eBay’s annual net revenue from 2013 to 2018 (in million U.S. dollars)
Source: Statista
- The GMV(Gross Merchandise Value) of eBay from 2014 to Q1 of 2018 has been recorded to be US$ 23.59 Billion.
Source: Statista
- The ranking of eBay can be seen here:
Source: Statista
- Worldwide traffic overview of eBay is:
Before you sell on eBay, do consider these points
Before knowing how can you start selling on eBay, you must understand that there are certain products that are prohibited for sellers to sell on eBay. The products that cannot be sold on eBay are listed below:
- Adult Material
- Alcohol
- Animals and Wildlife Products – examples include live animals, mounted specimens, and ivory
- Artifacts
- Beta Software
- Bootleg/Pirated Recordings
- Brand Name Misuse
- Catalog and URL Sales
- Clothing, Used
- Comparison of Policy
- Compilation and Informational Media
- Contact Information
- Contracts
- Copyrights
- Counterfeit Currency and Stamps
- Downloadable Media
- Drugs
- Electronic Surveillance Equipment
- Embargoed Goods and Prohibited Countries
- Event Tickets
- Firearms, Ammunition, Militaria, Weapons, and Knives
- Fireworks, Explosives and Explosive Substances
- Food
- Games Software: Sony, Sega, and Nintendo
- Government IDs and Licenses
- Hazardous, Restricted, and Regulated items
- Human Parts and Remains
- Importation of Goods – examples include CDs that were intended only for distribution in a certain country
- International Trading
- Items Encouraging Illegal Activity – examples include an eBook describing how to create methamphetamine
- Mature Audiences
- Medical Devices – examples include contact lenses, pacemakers, and surgical instruments
- Misleading Titles
- Mod Chips
- Movie Prints
- OEM Software
- Offensive Material – examples include ethnically or racially offensive material
- Police, Army, Navy and Air-force Related Items
- Pre-Sale Listings
- Prohibited Services
- Promotional Items
- Real Estate
- Recordable Media
- Replica and Counterfeit Items
- Ringtones
- Stocks and Other Securities
- Stolen Property
- Surveillance Equipment
- Tobacco
- Trademarks
- Travel
- Weapons & Knives
- Wine (see also Alcohol)
eBay Seller Fees
To start to sell on eBay, you must have thought about knowing the eBay seller fees. eBay charges fees to you for selling on eBay. The eBay Seller Fees depends on the ultimate fees calculated based on the starting price, selling price, selling format, optional listing upgrades, category, and site. The eBay seller fees pages have tables to help you figure out how much it will cost you to sell your item.
Insertion Fee:
Whenever you list your product on eBay, you need to pay the Insertion Fee.
Note: There is no insertion fee for the Books & Magazines, Movies & Music and Video & Computer Games categories.
Final Value Fee:
If your item gets sold on eBay, you will need to pay a Final Value Fee. This Final Value Fee-a part of eBay Seller Fees-is the amount for which the item has been sold and doesn’t include shipping costs.
For example, if you are selling on eBay a product for 1,000.00, then according to the Final Value Fee table, your Final Value Fee will be 10.00 (1% of 1,000.00).
Listing Upgrades:
Apart from the above-mentioned fee, there is a List Upgrading fee as a part of eBay seller fees that a seller selling on eBay needs to pay. It means that whenever you are changing the description of a product or changing the image of the product, you will be charged with the upgrading fee. It is dependent on the category and price format that you have been using for selling on eBay.
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After knowing all the details as to what can you sell on eBay or how to start selling on eBay, now it is easy for you to start your selling journey. In this journey, CedCommerce is always ready to help you with its eBay integration extensions!
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Read more:
10 Pro-tips for new eBay sellers
How much are eBay insertion fees and why you’re charged?