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Your First eBay Auction: 5 Simple Steps
by Jeff Cohen
It’s surprisingly simple to get started posting
your very first auction on eBay. Here’s what you need to do.
Step
1: Open an eBay seller’s account
If you’ve bought things on eBay, then you already have an
account – just log in with it and click ‘Sell’ in the toolbar
at the top of the page, then click ‘Create a seller’s account’.
If you’ve never used eBay before, then you’ll need to open
an account first using the ‘register’ link underneath the toolbar,
and then click ‘Sell’ and ‘Create a seller’s account’. The
eBay site will then guide you through the process. For security,
this may involve giving card details and bank information.
Step
2: Decide what to sell
For your first little experiment with eBay, it doesn’t really
matter what you sell. Take a look around the room you’re in
– I’m sure there’s something in there that you’re not all that
attached to and could put in the post. Small books and CDs
are ideal first items.
Step
3: Submit your item
Click ‘Sell’, and you’re on your way to listing your item.
The first thing you need to do is choose a category – it’s
best to just type in what the item is and let eBay choose for
you. Next, write a title and description. Include key words
you think people will search for in the title box, and all
the information you have about the item in the description
box.
Now set a starting price. $0.01 is the best starting price,
as it draws people in to bid who otherwise wouldn’t, and items
will almost never finish at such a low price. The next thing
to set is the duration of the auction: 3, 5, 7 or 10 days.
This is up to you: longer sales will usually get more bids,
but will also seem to drag on forever. If you’ve taken a picture,
add it now – items with pictures always sell for more. Finally,
tick the payment methods you will accept (just PayPal is best
for now), and where you will post to (limit yourself to your
own country to begin with). Submit and you’re done!
Step
4: Wait for it to sell
This is just a matter of sitting back and letting eBay do
its thing – buyers will find your item and leave bids on it.
Some bidders might email you with questions about the item,
and you should do your best to answer these questions as quickly
as you can.
Remember that if your item doesn’t sell then you can list
it again for free.
Step
5: Collect payment and post it
eBay will sent your buyer emails guiding them through the
process of sending you payment for the item. Make sure you
have the money before you send anything.
Once you’ve got the payment, all you need to do is pack the
item for posting (make sure to use some bubble wrap), take
the buyer’s address from the confirmation email eBay sent you,
and write it on the parcel. Put some stamps on, post it, and
you’re done!
I
hope you enjoyed selling your first item.
# # # # # SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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