So, you want to sell on ebay...

A lot of people see others selling on ebay and decide they want to get in on the action.  Most just jump in and try to figure out how it all works.  But before you jump right into selling, you really need to ask yourself a few questions up front.  Is this going to be a casual thing, a hobby or are you looking to build a full time business out of it?  These really are important questions because if your intention is to go full gusto and start a business, then you really need to be prepared right from the get go.

So, how do you prepare?  Well for starters, before you can become a viable seller on ebay you have to overcome a few hurdles.  Some will take time, others not so much.  Ebay imposes selling limits on new sellers.  The limits depend on the category or categories you will be selling in.  Ebay imposes these limits to ensure you are serious about selling, and are not out to rip people off.   After all, their reputation is at stake with every new seller that comes on board.  These limits will not get raised for at least 90 days.  Ebay wants to see good feedback and good customer service.  Once you get past that, things start to open up.

Next issue is going to be your feedback.  Until you get into the hundreds, or maybe even thousands depending on your category, you will not have a great deal of success selling higher priced items.  Initially, you want to stick with low to mid range priced items.  They are usually quick sellers and can get your feedback up relatively quickly.

Finally, you need to know what you are going to sell.  The majority of sellers started by selling items from their homes.  Think of items you would most likely sell in a yard sale, and that is what you want to list.  This does a couple of things.  First, it allows you to dabble in ebay without any out of pocket expenses.  Secondly, it gives you exposure to several different categories which can help you narrow down what it is you want to sell.

One thing to keep in mind as you go through this process is, do you have access to enough of your product to be able to sustain a business?  It's great if something you own sells for $200, but if you can't find any more of it, or more of it at a decent price, then it's not going to be a good item to try and sell.

Keep these tips in mind and your selling experience on ebay will be a lot less painful than if you were to ignore them.