Selling on eBay and want to get a little edge over your competitors? This article is a roundup from some of the most seasoned eBay sellers, giving you their top 10 eBay seller tips to scale your store and explode your sales.
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1. Become an expert in your field
Tip one is coming straight from Skip McGrath from skipmcgrath.com
“Become an authority on what you do in your online auction business. It doesn’t matter if you sell fishing lures, ink cartridges or collectible glass — you want to be thought of before anyone else. Lynn Dralle sells flatware and dinnerware that she sources from garage sales and thrift shops. She has over 2000 listings in her eBay store. When someone wants to replace a missing fork or plate from their set, they go to Lynn first and because she has so many listings, when you search for something she is selling her listings always come up at the top of the search. The fact that Lynn can answer almost any question about the flatware often gets her the sale that another seller would miss.
When you become an authority in your field, a whole new universe of business and opportunity is opened up to you. I buy certain types of things on eBay from the same sellers over and over. I wouldn’t dare do business with anyone else, not when they have proven themselves and their product.
You want to earn that same type of position in the minds of eBayer’s for your niche. Also continue your auction education. Read books and training manuals, visit the chat and message boards, attend an eBay University when it comes to your town, go to eBay On Location, and keep learning all the time.”
Skip no longer sells on eBay and has since begun to focus his efforts on Amazon. You can read his expert tips about this on his site.
2. Price competitively on eBay
Next, we have insights from Chris Dunne, the Marketing executiveat RepricerExpress an eBay repricing software.
“You can price your listings manually or automatically using an eBay repricer like RepricerExpress. Check the last price the item was purchased for and price in line with this. Examine what price other sellers have listed it for and if your profit margin allows, price it slightly lower using the “Buy it Now” price.”
Hot Tip: Make sure you take into consideration your final value fees when calculating your profits!
3. Step out of your comfort zone
Tip 3 is straight fire from Jason Butler at My Money Chronicles
“Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone when it comes to selling items. I started off only selling sports-related items because they were things that I knew about. I started testing out different things such as running shoes and toys. A few months ago, I found a Barbie Doll in the thrift store for $5. I was able to flip it for $100. That would have never happened if I didn’t get out of my comfort zone and decide to list different items. Doing that will allow you to make more money.”
4. Smell what sells
Do you smell what Tim Dey from Dey Tips is cooking?
“Selling successfully on eBay starts way before you actually list your products on the platform. It is vitally important for you to do your preparatory research and find out what items are being watched, what items are generating a lot of sales and what listings are performing best. Once you have a good understanding of what is already in demand on eBay you can make an informed decision as to what items you then want to start selling on the platform. If you choose the right products, they will more or less sell themselves without too much marketing.”
Not sure how to do your research? Thats where ZIK Analytics comes in! Don’t worry, we have your back with a 7 day trail
5. Take great pictures
They say a picture says 1000 words, and Nathan Clarke from Millionaire Dojo agrees!
“Take great pictures. Many times, a buyer will decide whether or not they want to buy your item based on the pictures you use. Take clear photos with good lighting and make sure nothing is in the background. Preferably, use a white background for your photos if possible. If you haven’t been taking high-quality photos, you should see an increase in sales once you improve your photo taking process.”
6. Pay attention to and manage your shipping costs
Daniella Flores from Thrift Store Flipping wants you to make sure you consider your shipping costs!
“One of the things I ended up losing money on when first starting to sell on eBay was shipping. Since we sell a lot of guitars on our eBay, shipping dimensions and weight can get pricey. Then I found out you can do the print and ship option for PayPal that sometimes will come out to be as much as 30% cheaper than USPS and way cheaper than UPS. Also, remember to look at their dimensional weight rates and if yours is higher than the actual weight, the carrier will charge you the higher of the two. So the heavier and weirder sized objects you ship, your shipping costs could go up. I suggest weighing and sizing it yourself and doing print and ship either through eBay or PayPal.”
Take note Zikkers and first time eBay sellers, this is especially important if you offer free shipping on your eBay store. Saving 30% on your shipping cost can make quite an impact on bottom line, allowing you to make the most profit possible.
7. Optimize your listing process
Randa Kriss from Fundera is here to tell you how to optimize your eBay listings to help you explode your eBay sales.
“One of my top tips for selling on eBay is to really take time to optimize your listings and perfect your listing process. When selling on eBay, there are two types of optimization to consider: first, optimizing for Google SEO, and second, optimizing for eBay’s Best Match algorithm. This algorithm, just as Google filters results, filters which eBay products appear first when you search for a particular term. Therefore, I think it’s of the utmost importance to make sure your listings are as complete, detailed, and clear as they can be. Make sure you fill in all of the fields for your listings as best as you possibly can and try to include clear, high-resolution images. A good strategy for both Google and the eBay Best Match is to research items similar to yours and see what listings are ranking the highest. You can use these examples as a starting point for what your listing should look like.”
8. Don’t be stingy with return policies
If you listen to anything from Jordan Mailk from jordanmalik.net, listen to his “Don’t be stingy” policy on return policies!
“Sure, there is an occasional surly customer who wants to abuse the eBay 30-day return policy, but offering said return policy is almost better than offering none at all. Buyers want to feel confident they can return something for a good reason. My exception – where I offer no return policy – is some high-ticket items or collectibles where there can be “buyer remorse” and/or I risk a fragile item getting damaged in shipping when the customer returns it. Most importantly, you gain a healthier sell-through rate (and higher selling price) when you offer no-hassle 30 day returns to the customer.”
An awesome tip to help you appear more prominently when potential eBay buyers search eBay for your products and your eBay shop.
9. Invest in Guaranteed Delivery
Jon Knott from ShipBob wants you to invest in Guaranteed Delivery, and we agree!
“Offering Guaranteed Delivery or investing in a fulfillment provider that is able to meet the Guaranteed Delivery SLAs is critical for brands to convert when fighting against the competition. While optimizing keywords on your listings is a great first step and can dramatically increase your top of funnel, having the Guaranteed Delivery badge can ensure you convert the sale. To offer Guaranteed Delivery on eBay, you must meet eBay’s eligibility standards for this, which include having a minimum of 100 transactions per year and having a late shipment rate of under 5%. If both of these are true for your business, you can opt-in here.”
If you are trying to appear higher in eBays search results, and want to sell items more often – don’t sleep on this tip!
10. Focus on your eBay Feedback Score
Jitendra Vaswani from Bloggers Ideas has an important tip on eBay feedback!
“Every member of eBay has a feedback score based on their shopping experience. It is based on a combination of both buying and selling transactions. Trust me, if you have more feedback, the more credible and authentic you appear as a community member. It is very difficult to get sales with a low feedback score. I will never personally purchase any products from a seller account with a low feedback score.”
Listen to what he has to say Zikkers, avoiding negative feedback and focusing on positive feedback is imperative to being successful on eBay!
Summing it all up!
Okay Zikkers, we hope you found this informative. If you are a new eBay seller, or a veteran alike – we are sure that there is something in there for you.
