eBay Stores

Avoid These eBay Mistakes and Make More Sales by Daniel MacDougall

When Marie and I first started selling on eBay we made some
very common mistakes. Experience has taught us a few things.
Here are some tips that have helped us succeed
in our eBay business.

Many first time sellers have one thing in common – they
often fail. Many of them fail time and time again, never
understanding what is going wrong. They do hours of research
looking for the perfect item to sell, get the auction set up,
and wait for the bidding to begin. Hours go by and no bids
are placed. Days go by, and there are still no bids – or
there are very low bids. Finally the auction ends, and it
turns out to be a total failure. Considering the huge number
of sellers who run eBay auctions, there are specific things
you must do, and specific things you must not do if you are
to be successful.

There are many reasons why auctions fail. The most common
reason is that the item is not in high demand. This problem
can be avoided by doing the necessary research to determine
which items sell well, and which items should be avoided. This
research takes a great deal of time – but in the end, you will
find that it is time well spent.

Another reason for eBay failure is pricing. If you set that
opening bid too high, most people won’t even click the link to
read the description for your item. Another pricing problem is
lack of research. Before you set your reserve price, you must
determine what the item is really worth, and the price similar
items have sold for in past eBay auctions. Avoid using a reserve
price if you can. Reserve pricing can often discourage bidding.

Poorly written descriptions are another cause of failed
auctions. Poor grammar and misspelled words drive people away.
Failing to post a picture of the item will also keep people
from visiting your auction page. Make sure that your description
is well written. This is essentially your ‘sales copy.’ The more
information you can provide, the more comfortable people are in
buying. Tell a story about the item if you can. People like to
be involved and can make an item stand out from the
crowd.

Shipping prices scare people away from auctions if they are too
high. Find the lowest shipping prices that you can find, and
consider paying for the shipping yourself if it won’t cut into
your profits too much. Do not charge handling fees.

Offer great ‘customer service’ for all of your auctions, and
ask your buyers to give you feedback. If the items that you
sell are everything that you said they would be, and you offer
great customer service, you can expect wonderful feedback – and
this feedback will help a great deal in your future auctions.



Daniel MacDougall is an writer, speaker, and artist. He and partner Marie, make their living online. http://earnmoneywithauctions.com . Go to http://attracting-wealth.com and learn more about how you can have all the wealth and abundance you desire in life. Free newsletter available.
View their website at: http://attracting-wealth.com


Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com

posted by Odds & Ends @ 4/18/2006 12:51:00 PM