Making money on eBay comes with little investment and requires little or no training. The primary step is becoming an eBay seller, buying cheap items, and selling for a higher price. Buying and selling may sound as easy; however, eBay sellers don’t have it that easy.
This post will give you tips to help you make money by reselling on eBay.
According to statistics from Oberloo, 80% of all items sold on eBay are new; hence, you may need to buy new items from cheaper sources to resell. However, to start making money by reselling on eBay, it is advisable, to start with your used items.
For example, Katie, known as Junkin Punkin on YouTube, admitted that her journey on eBay started when she and her grandmother sold an old plastic bag from the post office. Like Katie, many eBay sellers start by selling items they no longer use.
Here are the tips for being a successful eBay seller.
Tips to Become a Successful eBay Reseller
Below are 10 tips to becoming a successful eBay seller
1. Sell Your Stuff
Selling things you no longer need or use can help you get the feel of selling on eBay without pressure. When you get the idea of selling items on eBay, you may be tempted to load up cheap items for sale.
However, if you cannot make sales, you lose money on eBay.
One of the easiest ways to start your journey as an eBay seller is by experimenting with selling your good stuff. You can auction or list the item.
Essentially, this action helps you develop your skills on eBay and enables you to understand eBay buyers.
Apart from making more money, you can use this process to understand what works for you on eBay.
When you repeat this process a few more times, it helps you gain traction on the eBay platform. It also helps determines if you are cut out for selling on eBay.
2. Start Small, Avoid Risk-Taking
Instead of starting big, you can start with cheap items. To consolidate your efforts at understanding the platform, try to buy and resell small items.
If you can make a profit with these items at a good price, you are on your way to a successful eBay business.
3. Find your Niche
Before you start selling on eBay, ensure to find a niche for yourself. Do not try to sell products you are unfamiliar with.
For example, suppose you know how to fix broken electronics or are very handy. In that case, you can buy items during garage sales for reselling on eBay.
Always be an expert on whatever thing you are selling. Some customers may be cunning and try to get a refund, and if you don’t have an expert opinion on the issue, you may give in to them.
When you pick a niche, some of the sources for inventory for your online store are garage sales and thrift stores. You can also buy the items in large quantities from wholesalers.
Essentially, do not try selling items because they are famous or in trend. Some sellers make mistakes trying to hit it fast by selling things with huge sales volume. Be guided by how much knowledge of the item you have.
4. Be Organized from the Get-Go
From the moment you start selling on eBay, ensure to organize every part of your business. Start taking high quality photos of your items, ensure you have the right packaging supplies for your items and have proper storage.
Treat the business like a proper venture, provide customer service, and ensure quality service delivery. Keep track of your finances with a spreadsheet where you record your cost price, selling price, and all other expenses.
Also, ensure to keep a proper record of your inventory and your receipts.
5. Minimize Your Returns
If too many customers return items and are asking for refunds, it leads to additional costs on your end. Take precautionary measures to minimize returns from buyers.
Before you sell, try to remove bubbles from clothes, cut off loose threads, remove stains from items, and repair holes, among other things. Ensure the item is in a near-perfect state, as it would affect your ability to sell high.
When your item is in great shape, you can list it on eBay buy-now at a fixed price instead of selling it at auction for low prices.
6. Develop a Routine
Create a routine for your eBay business. You should choose a consistent source of inventory and a particular timeframe for purchasing resale items. Plan when you will post and list items.
To help you develop a routine, one of the most excellent tools you can use is Zik Analytics. It is an excellent tool for product research, competitor research, and page title builder, among other things.
When selling on eBay, you need accurate information based on efficient research, which Zik Analytics provides.
7. Don’t Rely on One source.
If items are unavailable in a thrift store, you can try a yard sale or a garage sale. Do not restrict yourself to only one source for resale items.
These sources are classified as retail arbitrage, implying buying from one retailer to resell for a profit.
You can even get old stuff from family and friends if you cannot get them on sale.
Other options for getting items for sales include
- Dropshipping implies the manufacturers are shipping directly to their buyers.
- Small local businesses are also a good source for items to sell on eBay.
- eBay and other platforms are great places to source for items to resell. If you can find items at a cheaper cost on Amazon, Buy or Newegg, you can resell them on eBay. Even eBay allows you to resell items gotten on eBay.
- Flea Markets are another excellent source for things to sell on eBay. People trade old, unused items such as collectibles and antiquities in these markets. Some of the items can be sold on eBay for a profit when cleaned or restored.
- Street vendors are another source of cheap items sold for profit on eBay.
- Government auctions are sources of old, unused items which you can sell on eBay.
- Craigslist
- Pawnshops
- Expos and Fairs
- Facebook marketplace is another great source for items to sell on eBay.
Do not limit yourself to only one source for items for reselling on eBay.
8. Set up an eBay Store
One of the ways to sell on eBay is to utilize the store option on the platform.
By setting up a store on eBay, you have access to additional tools for your business and increased privileges on eBay. Some of the benefits include lesser eBay fees, more access to customization, and even reduced competition.
Before you set up your store, there are some basics you need to figure out, such as
- The name of your store
- The products you are selling.
- Setting up your inventory
- There are five types of store subscriptions named Starter, Basic, Premium, Anchor and Enterprise for the store subscription.
To set up your store on eBay, visit this page to complete the process.
Related Guide: How to set up an eBay Account in 2022
9. Carry Out Market Research
One of the most effective tools for market research on eBay is Zik Analytics. The platform offers you access to product research, competition research, category research, title builder and item finders.
Market research is the key to organizing your business on eBay, as it guides you in developing a routine for your business. To make money on eBay, you have to understand how to navigate the market, and market research is one way to do this.
Without eBay searches, you can find out the best selling items every month with Zik Analytics. Information like this can help you develop a routine as it informs your decision about the kind of items you should sell.
Zik Analytics makes the information available on its website easy to understand with infographics. Apart from Zik Analytics, Terapeak, another market research tool, is inbuilt into eBay.
These tools are critical to a seller’s success on eBay.
10. Don’t Try This
In conclusion, as a seller on eBay, there are rules and regulations to follow to avoid getting kicked off the platform. Some of these rules include
- You should not violate a contract: If you sell things through an auction, ensure to deliver the item to the bid winner, the eventual buyer. Any other action may violate eBay’s selling policies. The contract also involves delivering the item as described to the buyer.
- Don’t Try to Sell Restricted Items: Certain items are not allowed for sale on eBay. Items with heavy regulations and restrictions or items that cannot cross state or national borders will make this list. The general rule is that you cannot sell items you cannot find in a regular supermarket on eBay.
- Don’t Try to Reduce or Avoid eBay Fees: Sellers want to make money on eBay; however, don’t do this at customers’ expense. It would be best if you didn’t try to play smart by charging high shipping fees on heavily discounted items.
- Don’t Sell to Yourself or try to Bid during your Auction: It is against eBay policy for sellers to bid on their auction or sell items to themselves. Bidding on your auction breeds will breed distrust from a buyer.
What other tips do you have for people who want to make money on eBay? Apart from Zik Analytics, what other tools do you think who want to make sales on eBay should utilize?
