eBay: The Missing Manual

Chapter 5. Sell Stuff, Make Money

Where else but eBay can you reach millions of customers, find buyers for everything from those old toys in your closet to brand-new diamond necklaces, and accept payment—all while relaxing in your bunny slippers? Selling stuff on eBay is so easy that regular people—that is, folks without prior retail experience—are doing everything from supplementing their income (and cleaning out their basements to boot) to starting full-fledged home-based businesses. Everybody, it seems, is making money selling on eBay.

There's gold in them thar auctions, all right. And with the tips and tricks you'll find in this chapter, you can join the rush. It includes the lowdown on:

• Finding stuff to sell.

• Registering as a seller.

• Figuring out what it'll cost you.

• Listing an item: the Sell Your Item form in glorious detail.

• Deciding on the best time to end an auction.

• Getting paid.

• Packing and shipping properly to reduce dreaded returns.

• Troubleshooting disputes and other problems.

Get the Lay of the Land

If you're new to eBay, take some time to explore the site and buy a few things (Chapters 1 and 2) before you jump into selling. This feeling-out process helps you in two important ways:

• Buying helps you build the feedback rating you need in order to sell. When you start out on eBay, your feedback rating (Section 2.1) is zip, zilch, zero. And that's how it should be, because feedback ratings describe transactions—and you, as a brand-new eBayer, haven't yet participated in ...