The Top 53 eBay Selling Tips for 2015

Transcription

www.TheFamilyPickers.com
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By The Family Pickers
Copyright © 2015 by The Family Pickers
This eBook may be freely distributed with the understanding that you do not have the right to alter or
change the look, feel or content of this ebook in any shape, form or fashion. You may not change the
copyright or attempt to take credit for the creation of this book.
All content contained within "The Top 53 eBay Selling Tips" is Copyright © 2015, The Family Pickers. All
rights reserved. Unauthorized resale or copying of this material is unlawful. No portion of this book may
be reproduced, copied, or resold without the written permission of the author. www.TheFamilyPickers.com
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Table of Contents
Preface ..........................................................................................................
6
Getting Started
Be a Buyer AND a Seller ................................................................................ 7
Just Get Started .............................................................................................
8
Find a Niche Item That Sells ..........................................................................
9
Get a Sales Tax Number ................................................................................ 10
Be Credible & Look Professional ................................................................... 11
Know Your Selling Fees ................................................................................. 12
Listing & Selling
Use eBay's Bulk Listing Tools ........................................................................ 13
Select the Correct Category for Your Item ..................................................... 14
Create Eye Catching Item Titles ..................................................................... 15
Create Simple Item Descriptions .................................................................... 16
Optimize Titles & Descriptions for SEO .......................................................... 17
Use Video in Your Listings .............................................................................. 18
Use All of eBay's Item Specifics ..................................................................... 19
Use Multi-Quantity Listings ............................................................................ 20
Use Multi-Variation Listings ............................................................................ 21
Set Up Return & Refund Policy ...................................................................... 22
Use the Scheduled Listing Feature ................................................................ 23
Over Communicate With Your Buyers ............................................................ 24
Experiment ..................................................................................................... 25
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Taking Pictures
Take Clear, Up Close Pictures ........................................................................ 26
Use a Plain Background ................................................................................. 27
Photograph All Flaws ...................................................................................... 28
Auctions
Try Short Term Auctions .................................................................................. 29
Start Auctions with Low Starting Price ............................................................ 30
How to Deal with Non-Paying Bidders ............................................................ 31
Utilize Second Chance Offers ......................................................................... 32
When to Use Auction or Fixed Price ............................................................... 33
Shipping
Order FREE Shipping Supplies ...................................................................... 34
Make Priority Boxes Bigger ............................................................................. 35
Know Your Packaging Before Listing .............................................................. 36
Keep Shipping Supplies on Hand ................................................................... 37
Give Buyers Free Shipping ............................................................................. 38
Don't Overcharge on Shipping ........................................................................ 39
Purchase Postage Online ............................................................................... 40
Think About Package Presentation ................................................................ 41
Use Packing Slips or Business Cards ............................................................. 42
Ship Internationally ......................................................................................... 43
Ship on Saturdays ........................................................................................... 44
Ship Priority, Not Parcel ................................................................................. 45
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Sourcing & Inventory
Try Retail Arbitrage ........................................................................................ 46
Sell Items from Liquidation.com ..................................................................... 47
Sell for Friends & Family ................................................................................ 48
Keep an Eye Out for BOLO Items .................................................................. 49
Keep Track of Inventory ................................................................................. 50
Get Rid of Items That Aren't Selling ............................................................... 51
Marketing
Open an eBay Store ...................................................................................... 52
Buy a Domain for Your eBay Store ................................................................ 53
Set Up a Website for Your Business .............................................................. 54
Facebook Page for Promoting Items ............................................................. 55
Join eBay Groups on Facebook ..................................................................... 56
Subscribe to eBay Sellers on YouTube .......................................................... 57
Write eBay Guides ......................................................................................... 58
Most Importantly
Stay Motivated & Have Fun ........................................................................... 59
BONUS MATERIAL
Tool and Resource Guide ............................................................................ 60
About The Authors ...................................................................................... 64
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Preface
This book is written for the beginner, intermediate, and advanced eBay seller.
We've been selling on eBay for over 10 years and there is always something new
to learn or something to be reminded of that we have forgotten. That is why we
have chosen to share these 53 eBay selling tips with you. These are all things
that we have learned throughout the years of selling online.
We are often asked about how we do it all.
"Where do you find stuff to sell?"
"How do you keep track of all those items?"
"What is your process from purchasing to shipping?"
In this ebook, we share all these tips and more. A lot of people think it's hard to
do, when actually, it's very easy.
These tips will show you that YOU CAN do this. eBay is perfect for single
parents, stay at home moms, college students... absolutely anyone can do it!
We hope you find these tips helpful and that you'll find success selling on eBay! www.TheFamilyPickers.com
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Getting Started
Be a Buyer AND a Seller
There are three reasons why you should be a buyer on eBay if you want
to be a seller.
First, when going into business, you should know every aspect of the
business. The best way to understand your buyers is to be a buyer yourself.
Consider buying a few things on eBay so that you can get to know the process
that each buyer goes through when they make a purchase.
Second, this is also a great way to get in some research and development. Make
purchases from a variety of different sellers, some who have thousands of items
and those who have much fewer. Purchase from high feedback sellers and low
feedback sellers. Use what you learn from other sellers to determine how you do
or do not want to run your eBay business. Here are a few things to take note of
when purchasing from other sellers:
•
•
•
•
•
How do they describe the item with their titles & description?
How do they photograph each item?
Inspect their packaging when you receive the item.
Do they include a packing slip or business card in the package?
How was their customer service?
Third, being a buyer before becoming a seller allows you to grow your feedback.
This is important because when you start selling, you will be judged by your
feedback score. Any number greater than zero will be a benefit to you.
Consider buying some low dollar items. If it's near Christmas or a birthday,
purchase your gifts through eBay.
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Just Get Started
Experience is the best teacher, so just get started selling on eBay. Jump
in with both feet and go! You'll find no matter how much you try to
"prepare" before you start selling, you're eventually going to make
changes to your business either because of a changing marketplace or learning
from mistakes. Obviously you don't want to loose money, so you need to know
your fees and item cost upfront so that you can calculate profit. Don't get down
on yourself when you make mistakes, it happens to the best sellers! Learn from
where you went wrong and continue to improve your selling practices.
We tend to hold ourselves back because of fear of the unknown. The best thing
you can do for yourself and your business is to put that fear aside and just do it!
You'll learn as you go and find out that it probably wasn't as bad as you made it
out to be in your mind.
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Find a Niche Item That Sells
A niche is simply defined as a specialized market. Many sellers have
found success selling niche (or specialized) items. If you have a
specific area of expertise or know an area where you can be an
authority in those types of items, that would be a good indication of niche that
you should get in to.
Some niche ideas are:
• Crafts & Needlepoints
• Trading Cards
• Clothing
• Shoes
• Books
• etc.
If you think you've found a niche item that you can make money on, don't go out
and buy a thousand pieces of that item. Start with a small quantity, test the
market, and if it proves to sell as well as you thought, then buy more.
Consider finding a niche that isn't seasonal or part of a fad. If you can find a
niche that does well year round and isn't a passing trend, you have the potential
of making consistent money all year. Not to say that you should stay away from
seasonal or fad items, it's important to keep up with what's trending at the time.
Can you say $300 boxes of Twinkies? www.TheFamilyPickers.com
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Get a Sales Tax Number
It is required by law that we charge sales tax for any items that we sell
to buyers who live in the same state we do. (We charge sales tax only
to residents of Iowa, because that is where we are located).
It is very easy to acquire a sales tax number. Many states allow you to do this
online. Simply Google about getting a sales tax number for your state and find
your state's government website.
Please consult an accountant to find out more about how much sales tax to
charge and what you need to do with sales tax earnings for your state.
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Be Credible & Look Professional
Frankly, it's easy to tell a fly-by-night company from a professionally
branded company who is serious about making money.
Come up with a bio for your eBay listings and Store (if you have one) that
describes who you are, what you sell, and why people should buy from you.
However, beware of too much self promotion. Keep it personal and informative,
but not pushy with too much sales talk. Don't be afraid to put a nice picture of
yourself out there as well. This makes the buying experience personal and puts a
face to your business.
Another way to give a professional feel to your business is with an official logo.
You can use Canva.com to create a nice logo for your eBay business. Canva
makes it very easy to create something that looks professional with their preset
options as well as custom colors and shapes. You could also consider hiring a
freelancer from a place like Fiverr.com.
Another way to look credible is to create a business card that includes your logo,
a link back to your Store or website, and a "Thank You".
Resources that we recommend for printing business cards:
• Vistaprint.com
• Moo.com
• PsPrint.com
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Know Your Selling Fees
Selling on eBay isn't free (they have to make money too) so it's
important to keep all selling fees in mind when you are pricing your
item. It can be quite a disappointment to put the time and effort into
pictures, listing, and shipping only to find out that you either break even or lose
money because of selling fees. Here is a breakdown of standard selling fees on
eBay.
If you plan to open an eBay Store, the selling fee structure is different. There are
three levels that you have the option to purchase... Basic, Premium, or Anchor.
Here are the fee details.
Not only do we need to take into account our eBay fees, but there is also a 2.9%
plus $.30 per transaction fee for accepting PayPal payments.
As a general rule of thumb, we take 11% (9% average eBay final value fee +
2.9% PayPal fee) plus $.30 off our total asking price (including shipping) to
determine what our fees will be ahead of time.
For Example:
Sale Price + Shipping = $15.00
15 x 11.9% = 1.79 + .30 = $2.09 Total Fees
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Listing & Selling
Use eBay's Bulk Listing Tool
eBay has a great tool for listing and/or editing items quicker and easier.
The bulk listing tool allows you to list or edit multiple of the same or
similar items at once.
If you're items are going to be sold in the same category with a similar description
and price, the bulk listing tool will be a huge benefit to you. We highly suggest
that you use it.
We talk more about using the bulk listing tool on our website:
How to Effectively Use eBay's Bulk Listing Tool
If you're editing active or scheduled listings, the bulk listing tool will allow you to
make these changes much quicker and easier.
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Select the Correct Category For Your Item
Choosing the correct category for your item is very important. This is
how buyers will most likely find your item. They will type in the search
bar what they are looking for and when they get to that page they will
select the category on the top left side of the results to narrow down their
search.
If your item is not listed in the correct category, it won't be seen by your buyer
and this could cost you a sale. If you have some items that have been listed for a
long time and are not selling, consider going back and checking the category to
make sure it's listed correctly. We accidentally had some women's clothing items
listed in a men's category. Once that was corrected, they sold very quickly.
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Create Eye Catching Item Titles
Let's face it, the days of using words like L@@K are over and yelling at
people through ALL CAPS just doesn't work anymore! Studies have
proven that the eye reads better when the first letter of each word is
capitalized, but not the whole text. For example, check out the two titles below
and see which is easier to read:
Nordstrom Neck Tie Navy Blue Gold Bright Weave Plaid 100% Italian Silk
- or NORDSTROM NECK TIE NAVY BLUE GOLD BRIGHT WEAVE PLAID 100% ITALIAN SILK
It's important to give the exact information the buyer needs to make a purchase
in a way that is easy for them to follow and read.
Another great tip for your item titles is to put the most important words at the
beginning of the title. With hundreds, if not thousands, of other items that you are
competing against, you only have seconds to catch your buyer's attention. Don't
give them a bunch of fluff right off the bat (like "Beautiful!" or "Cute"). Get to the
chase and put the most important info right at the beginning.
Avoid using filler words like "and", "the", and "with". There is no need to use up
your limited title characters with these types of words. Save room for the
important ones.
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Create Simple Item Descriptions
Outside of your pictures and item title, you description is the most
important part of your listing. We've found the best way is to keep it
short, simple, and exactly describing the item. Don't write listings in
sentences and paragraphs. Use bullet points to get the main specifics across.
Below is an example from the Nordstrom neck tie used in the previous tip:
•
•
•
•
Nordstrom Neck Tie Navy Blue Gold Bright Weave Plaid 100% Italian Silk
Weaved, Plaid
Navy Blue, Bight Blue, & Gold
100% Silk
Frankly, no one wants to know that this item was owned by your great-greatgrandma and she wore it to her granddaughter's wedding in 1967. Or that has
been stored in a dark closet for 40 years, but you cleaned the dust off it and now
its all ready for a new home. Nope, sorry, the buyer really doesn't care. Just give
them the basic information that they need to know to make an educated
purchase.
Make sure to point out any flaws (which you should have pictures of as well).
Doing this will give little reason for the buyer to accuse you of selling fraudulently.
If you've stated the condition accurately, there is no reason why the buyer should
be surprised when the receive the item.
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Optimize Titles & Descriptions for SEO
In a sense, eBay is just like Google where people enter search queries
in a search bar and a series of results show up that are relevant to their
search terms. This is why we need to think about SEO, or Search
Engine Optimization, in our eBay listings. As we're writing our titles and
descriptions, we need to be thinking about the different words that a buyer might
type into the search bar to find your item. With the example of our Nordstrom tie,
some words that a buyer might type in are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Nordstrom neck tie
silk nordstrom tie
blue tie
gold tie
silk neck tie
italian silk tie
Put the most important words at the beginning of your title so they are the first
words that a potential buyer sees. Don't make your title a sentence with filler
words like 'and', 'the', 'with', etc. These words are not necessary. Use as many of
your keywords as possible. Be sure to repeat these keywords in your description
as bullet points.
To learn more about using SEO in your eBay listings, please see our website:
• SEO for eBay: Item Listing Titles
• SEO for eBay: Listing Descriptions
• SEO for eBay Stores: Name, Description, & Categories www.TheFamilyPickers.com
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Use Video in Your Listings
Using video is a great way to get a step above your competition. We
use video on all of the electronic items that we sell. It helps prove to the
buyer that the item works properly. Especially with electronics, we tend
to have more than 12 pictures (which is the max amount that you can have on
each eBay listing) so the video helps give more of a visual to describing the item.
It is our experience that we've been able to sell our items with video for a little bit
higher because the buyer can have more trust that our item functions better than
the competitor's item at a lower price.
In addition to embedding the video in eBay listings, you may also want to include
"SEE VIDEO" or "SEE VIDEO PROOF" at the end of your listing title. Yes, this
goes against the tip earlier that says not to use all caps and only include the most
important keywords. However, since most of your competition is probably not
using video, you can immediately stand out to the buyer that you are different.
You can view an example of listings with video by visiting our eBay Store. www.TheFamilyPickers.com
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Use all of eBay's Item Specifics
It's very important to use eBay's Item Specifics, and use as many of
them as you can. When a buyer is searching for items, they will often
break down the search results by making different selections from the
left hand side of their screen (on desktop computers) or through the drop down
selections on their mobile device. How you select the item specifics will
determine how you item is found when buyers sort the search results.
eBay will let you write in your own item specifics if you can't find an exact match
of what your item needs in their selection from the drop down. We try not to do
this if we can help it. Those selections you see in each drop down are there
because that is how eBay is going to allow the buyer to sort the search result
listings. If we type in our own specifics, our item won't be found with all the others
in those selections. Sometimes it's not possible to use one of their selections, but
we do our best to make it work. www.TheFamilyPickers.com
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Use Multi-Quantity Listings
Sometimes we're able to find multiple of the exact same items when
we're thrifting, buying wholesale items, or retail arbitrage. You can save
a lot of time by using multi-quantity listings. There is no need to create
a separate listing for every item you have, just add more to the quantity field to
sell multiple of that item. Not only do you save time in listing, but it also makes for
less pictures that you need to take. When an item from you multi-quantity listing
sells, eBay will automatically update the quantity that is available in the listing.
In addition to making listing quicker and easier for you, it also allows the buyer to
purchase more than one of the same item. This could mean more money for you! www.TheFamilyPickers.com
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Use Multi-Variation Listings
Multi-variation listings are similar to multi-quantity, except this is for
items that you have in multiple colors or sizes. You only need to create
one listing for items that are the same brand and style but you offer it in
different colors, sizes, etc. You can experience the same convenience of listing
multi-quantity by listing similar items with different variations.
This is really great for when purchasing items via wholesale. Often you'll receive
multiple items with varying sizes or color than can be a real hassle if you're trying
to list them individually. www.TheFamilyPickers.com
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Set Up a Friendly Return & Refund Policy
In this day and age you must have a return policy. Almost all brick and
mortar stores have them and we can't be any different online. Your
returns and refunds can be an excellent selling point to your buyers.
We offer 30-day returns, which may seem risky but we have confidence in our
process that our customers will be pleased with the item they receive.
Most of the time the buyer will contact us via eBay messages to say that they
want to return the item. With the convenience of mobile devices, we get a
notification as soon as this message comes in. This allows us to have very quick
response time which goes a long way in pleasing a potentially unhappy
customer. We will immediately send them a refund, before sending a response to
them. Once the refund has been sent, we will send a response message through
eBay messages.
Sometimes we don't agree with the buyer's reason for wanting to return the item
and it's tempting to want to lash back and point the blame on them. (Like the
customers who don't read the description!) However, we have feedback to keep
in mind, so we always "take blame" with an apology to them for not receiving an
item that met their needs. We also tell them to keep the item even though we
state in our listing that the buyer pays return shipping. Try to leave your customer
on a happy note. Sometimes it's hard to bite the tongue and let it go, but for the
sake of feedback, eBay cases, and defect ratings it's better to just do what it
takes to keep the customers happy.
Visit our website for more advice about Returns & Refunds:
• Helpful Guide to Customer Returns & Refunds
• 6 eBay Selling Tips for Positive Customer Service Experience www.TheFamilyPickers.com
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Use the Scheduled Listing Feature
For non-store owners, the scheduled listing feature if free to use. You
can create your listings and schedule them to go out at a specific time.
This is very convenient for those who want to have their items start and
end at optimal times. You'll have to experiment with what times work best. For
eBay store owners, the scheduled listing feature costs $.10 per item. To bypass
this fee, we schedule our items out as far as they can go and when we are ready
to list them, we go in and change them all to “Start my listings when I submit
them”. This erases the the fees and you can list as normal. Pretty cool, huh!?!
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Over Communicate With Your Buyers
Having excellent communication with your buyer doesn't cost you a
penny. No one wants to feel ignored so over communicating with them
goes a long way to please them. If you receive a question from a
potential buyer, respond immediately with an answer or let them know that you
will look into it and get back with them as soon as possible. If there is an issue
with the item they received, immediately issue the refund (before responding to
them). Then send a message through eBay with the details of their return &
refund.
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Experiment
Everyone's business is different based on the types of items they sell,
their target market, etc. There is no exact formula to making tons of
money on eBay. You should take some time to experiment with listing
duration, fixed price vs. auction, free or calculated shipping, which day of the
week to start/end items, etc. Make sure to record what you are testing or
experimenting with to see if it has payed off.
For testing listing duration we do two things.
First, we keep a calendar to record how many
items we listed that day and for what duration.
Second, we use an excel spreadsheet to track
our sold items and record the listing duration
of that sold item. At the end of the month we
can see which duration was most profitable.
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Taking Pictures
Take Clear, Up Close Pictures
Your photos are going sell your item, especially with the rise of mobile
buyers. We've heard stories of buyers on mobile who NEVER read the
description, they make their purchase solely on the pictures. People
are visual and when they are spending money online, they want to clearly see
the item before they purchase it. Make sure to use good lighting (natural lighting
is the best). Don't leave a lot of space in the background; crop the photos so that
the item is front and center.
There are some professional photo studio's available on eBay that include
backdrops and lighting so that you can take beautiful pictures. If you have
enough dedicated space where you could set this up, we recommend the
investment.
Here are active listings for photo studios on eBay.
- 26 -
Use a Plain Background
Use a solid black or white background for all your pictures. White is the
best background possible, but some items look better on black so use
your own discretion. Some people have said to use bright colorful
backgrounds to make your item stand out in the search results, but this could
actually take away from your item rather than help. Just think about when you
shop at big box store online... the background is almost always white. It puts the
emphasis on the item and not what is behind it.
The best way we have found to get a nice solid background is to use poster
board. For under $5 dollars at a Dollar Tree or Dollar General, you can purchase
two sheets of white and two sheets of black poster board to use as your
background (one sheet for the bottom and one sheet for the back). www.TheFamilyPickers.com
- 27 -
Photograph ALL Flaws
We don't want to give the buyer any reason to be unhappy with the item
they receive. This could result in open cases, negative feedback, etc.
It's important to disclose all flaws in the listing so the buyer knows
exactly what they are receiving. You may not receive as much for the item as you
would if it was in excellent condition, but in the end it will be worth it when you
don't have to deal with angry buyers.
Make sure to have pictures displaying the flaws that you also havedescribed in
the listing description so that the buyer can also make their own judgement on
how bad their think the flaws are.
Our motto is "Under Sell, Over Deliver". Don't try to make it sound better than
what it is. State the facts, and leave it at that. It's tempting to talk up an item that
has a good track record for selling well or making a lot of money. You're actually
better off with just the facts, both good and bad. www.TheFamilyPickers.com
- 28 -
Auctions
Try Short Term Auctions
If you've found that auctions work better for the type of items you sell,
trying using 3-day durations. There are some people out there who still
bid on auctions and sort the search results by "ending soonest" to see
what they can bid on at the last minute. Make sure to start your auction at the
price you would be happy with if you only got one bid and see what happens. You
might be in for a surprise! :-)
While you are still testing this duration on your items, make sure to record what
you are testing so you can track the results and determine if your experiment was
worthwhile.
- 29 -
Start Auctions With a Low Starting Price
Depending on the type of item you sell, you might be able to start your
auctions at a very low price and let the bidding war begin. You'll want to
experiment to find out if this works for you, but it's worth a shot to see
how far it will get bid up.
One thing we have done is taken some of our older items, make sure they have
calculated shipping on them, and price then at a starting price of $.99 (or
whatever starting bid would allow us to break even after fees and item cost). We
quickly got rid of quite a few items without losing money.
Another item that may be eligible for a low auction are collectible vintage items
like the one in the picture below:
- 30 -
How to Deal with Non-Paying Bidders
The most frustrating thing about auctions is the non-paying bidders. It
just comes with the territory. If you have a procedure in place for how
you deal with these cases, everything will be fine and there's no need
to freak out about it. :-) Our procedure is to contact the bidder via eBay message
two days after the auction ended. Here is what we send them:
Congratulations on your purchase. It has been two days since you were the
winning bidder on this item and we have not received your payment. We
understand that situations come up that may delay your payment so please
contact us to make payment arrangements or submit your payment by 12pm
CST on [Month Day, Year] . If we do not hear from you by noon CST on [DATE]
we will file a "non-paying bidder" claim with eBay so that we can have our fees
refunded and the ability to relist this item.
Thank you in advance for your prompt response.
If we have not heard from them by the date and time noted in the message, we
will open a non-paying bidder case in eBay. At that time the buyer is contacted by
eBay and asked to send their payment. If the buyer has not paid after four days,
we can then close the case in eBay and receive a refund on our fees.
- 31 -
Utilize Second Chance offers on Auctions
If you had multiple bidders on an item and the winning bidder did not
pay for the item, eBay allows sellers to offer the item to the next highest
bidder at the last bid they made. You do not have to give the second
chance offer if you don't want, but if the next highest bidder was only a few
dollars less than the winning bid, you may still want to sell the item to them.
Second chance offers can also be used if you have a duplicate of the item you
sold at auction. Say for instance, your high bidder paid for the item they won, but
you have another item exactly the same available to sell. You may send your
next highest bidder a second chance offer at their last bid amount. For example,
if you have 3 extra duplicate items, you can send second offers to the top 3
bidders.
You can find out more information about Second Chance offers here.
- 32 -
When to Use Auction or Fixed Price Listings
You will want to experiment to figure out which format works best for
you. For us, we have found that clothing items do better on Fixed Price
whereas some unique items do better on Auction.
In categories where there is more competition it's better to set your item at fixed
price so that your buyer can purchase immediately. Since there is so much other
competition in that category, we don't want the buyer to keep looking around after
they've seen our item. We want them to just buy it. However, with less
competitive categories, it might be better to let your buyers decided what it is
worth. They will bid it up to what they believe they should pay for it and you will
be surprised at what they are willing to pay.
- 33 -
Shipping
Order FREE Shipping Supplies
What would sellers do without the free shipping supplies offered by
USPS? The post office provides a variety of boxes in different shapes
and sizes along with flat rate boxes and envelopes. It is never any fun
running around searching for a box at the last minute when your item sells with
the pressure that you need to get it to the post office before they close.
With your items in mind and the sizes you will need, keep a good inventory of
boxes on hand. One of our favorites are the Padded Flat Rate Envelopes. Almost
all of our clothing will fit in them, there is no weight limit, and they only cost $5.35
to ship (with the Top Rated Seller Discount, $6.10 without the discount).
You can order these supplies online at USPS.com... no hidden fees, no shipping
costs.
- 34 -
Make Priority Boxes Bigger
Don't have a box that will fit your item, and none of the free USPS
boxes work either? No problem! The post office will allow you to cut
down or combine priority boxes to make one that will fit the size you
need.
You can do this with any of the regular Priority boxes. However, you CANNOT do
this with Regional boxes (A, B, or C) or Flat Rate boxes. Only regular Priority
boxes are allowed.
For instance, one time we had a board game to ship but the flat rate game box
was too big. So we took two 1092 Priority Mail boxes and put one box at one end
of the game and put the other box at the other end of the game and taped them
together in the middle.This worked perfectly and made for a much nicer fit, using
less packing material to fill wasted space. www.TheFamilyPickers.com
- 35 -
Know Your Packaging Before Listing
Always have a box or envelope in mind that you are going to ship your
item in before listing. One of our pet peeves is not having any clue what
to ship an item in when it comes time to ship. In fact, often times we
are already thinking about what the item is going to be shipped in before we even
buy it.
If you are using free shipping supplies from USPS, write the name or number of
the box on a piece of masking tape and attach to the item so you will know
exactly what box to grab at shipping time.
If it's is one of your own boxes, consider storing the item in the box you want to
ship it in if you have the space or at least keep that box off to the side so that it
doesn't get used for something else in the mean time.
Knowing your packaging also helps you give more accurate shipping weight and
measurements for your listing so that you don't overcharge accidentally.
- 36 -
Keep Shipping Supplies on Hand
What a disaster it would be to have an item to ship but find out that you
don't have any more tape or you ran out of packing materials. To avoid
this, make sure to keep a good inventory of shipping supplies on hand.
When you notice something is getting low, buy more right away.
Some things to keep in stock:
• shipping tape
• tissue paper
• packing peanuts
• air packs
• bubble wrap
• Free USPS boxes in the sizes you use most
The type of supplies you need will vary based on the items you sell, but you get
the picture. Don't run out and get yourself in a bind when it's time to ship. www.TheFamilyPickers.com
- 37 -
Give Buyers Free Shipping
We use free domestic shipping on all of our clothing items, especially
since most of them are either First Class or Padded Flat Rate. We sell
mostly clothing and since that category is very saturated, the free
shipping option seems to be a selling point for many buyers.
There is something that happens psychologically in the minds of buyers when
they don't have to add shipping cost to the sale price. They see that item as
being a "good deal" even though there might be someone else out there that is
offering it cheaper with the combined sale price plus shipping. This doesn't work
for everything, so you'll want to experiment and decide for yourself if this is a
good option.
If you are going to use free shipping, make sure to account for shipping costs
when you price your item. If you are doing an auction, make sure that your
starting bid includes enough to pay for shipping just in case you only get one bid.
We always charge calculated shipping for international purchases and on nonclothing items.
- 38 -
Don't Overcharge Your Buyer on Shipping
Always weigh your item in the box or envelope that you are going to
ship it in. This helps you to give more accurate shipping costs for when
you are using calculated shipping. The buyer doesn't want to feel
ripped off and feeling overcharged just gives them a reason to leave negative
feedback. Yes, when they purchase your item they are agreeing to pay the
shipping cost, but that doesn't mean they will refrain from complaining about it.
Always try to keep your shipping as accurate as possible.
Be careful not to undercut yourself either... you have packing material, tape, and
paper (the packing slip/business card and shipping label) to add to your shipping
weight.
Keep in mind that Regional boxes (A, B, or C) are not charged by weight, but
rather by destination. Therefore, if your item can fit in one of the regional boxes, it
may be cheaper to ship than regular Priority.
Also remember that Priority is charged by the pound. That means, if your item
weighs 2lbs 1oz, you will be charged for 3lbs. If your items weighs 1lb 13oz, you
will be charged for 2lbs. First Class mail prices go up every 4 ounces, with 13oz
being the max shipping weight for First Class.
It is possible to make money on shipping in a legitimate way. If you are a Top
Rated Seller, you will get a discount on shipping that allows you to sometimes
make a few dollars.
I the end, it's all about keeping the customer happy. In fact, there have been
some occasions where we made a mistake on the shipping weight and actually
sent our buyer a refund for the difference of what they were overcharged. This
puts the buyer in a happy mood about their transaction and less reason for them
to want to complain about anything. www.TheFamilyPickers.com
- 39 -
Purchase Postage Online
If you are still standing in line at the post office to purchase shipping for
your eBay items, it's time to enter the current century! :-) The feeling of
being able to bypass the long lines and set our prepaid items on the
counter for the postal clerk is amazing... You have no idea what you are
missing! We purchase all our shipping labels through PayPal. To do this, log in to
your PayPal account and click on one of your new item payments that you
haven't shipped yet. Scroll to the bottom and click on "Print Shipping Label" and
you will be able to select your shipping method, weight, and measurements and
purchase the shipping online.
You can also purchase shipping labels directly on eBay. Try both methods and
determine which is easiest for you.
- 40 -
Think About Package Presentation
How your items looks when it comes out of the box or envelope is one
of your customer's first impressions of you as a business. It will also
play a huge roll in how they leave feedback for you.
For clothing items, we highly recommend folding each item very nicely and
wrapping them in tissue paper.
For other items, make sure the item is nicely wrapped in bubble wrap and/or air
pillows. We've seen some sellers that will reuse a cereal box or some other
"grocery box"... this does not look very professional. Just because it's made out
of cardboard doesn't mean is fit to ship in. :-) It's all about appearances.
We have had many people leave feedback saying how nicely packed the item
was. It leaves an impression with the buyer and shows that we care about their
item and how it arrives.
Here is an article with more about package presentation.
- 41 -
Use Packing Slips and/or Business Cards
We don't want to send an item to a buyer and not give them any way to
come back and purchase from us again. That's why it's a good idea to
put a packing slip and/or business card in each package. We suggest
making it personal with a handwritten thank you. We always write thank you
with their name and a smiley face to give that personal touch. Make sure to
provide the URL to your store (or domain name if you have one). If you have a
Facebook page for your business, be sure to include that on your business card
and invite your customer to 'like' your page. Here are some more helpful tips on
packing slips.
Packing slips can be printed on PayPal or eBay. Check out each and see which
one you like best.
- 42 -
Ship Internationally
Many sellers are a little scared to enter into international shipping. We
completely understand as we were once in your shoes. However, there
is nothing to fear! Shipping works much the same with international as
it does with domestic.
We only offer international shipping on items that are less than 4 pounds. If you
go over 4 pounds you will need to fill out additional customs forms. With items
under 4 pounds, you will have one shipping label that you will need to sign and
that is it. We have never had any problems with lost items or customs. We
ALWAYS charge calculated shipping so we actually make more money on
international buyers (because if it sold domestic they would have gotten free
shipping on select items).
We have also used the Global Shipping Program a few times with no problems.
Right now the GSP only offers USPS Priority International shipping which is
much more expensive than USPS First Class International. Most of our
international customers choose the cheaper.
Also, something else to keep in mind, if the item you sold had free domestic
shipping but sold internationally with calculated shipping, eBay does not charge
final value fees on the shipping cost... only on the selling price.
Here is a step-by-step guide for setting up your listings to offer international
shipping.
- 43 -
Ship on Saturdays
Technically, eBay does not require that we ship items on Saturdays.
Only business days count as shipping days. However, to provide good
customer service, it's a good idea to ship items on Saturday if your post
office is open.
Where we live, the post office closes at 11am on Saturday so we package all
Friday night and Saturday morning items in order to get them to the Post Office
on Saturday before closing.
By doing this, you will make your customers happy because of how quickly they
receive their items. www.TheFamilyPickers.com
- 44 -
Ship Priority, Not Parcel (Standard)
In this day and age, it's all about the fast food mentality! People want to
get their stuff quick, they don't want to wait forever to receive their item.
That's why you should say goodbye to Parcel Post, now called
Standard Post, and go Priority!
Not only is Priority mail quicker shipping time than Parcel Post, it's often around
the same price. It's definitely worth shipping the few extra cents to ship Priority
instead of Parcel. For Example:
To ship a 2lb package from Iowa to California the rates are:
Parcel (Standard) Post: $8.76 for 6 day shipping
Priority Mail: $8.98 for 3 day shipping
- 45 -
Sourcing & Inventory
Try Retail Arbitrage
We have tried this a few times and done pretty well. If you watch the
sale ads for some of your local big box stores, you can find some good
deals to buy and resell on eBay (many people do this on Amazon as
well).
One time we found a pair of Sony headphones on the clearance rack at Target. It
had been marked down 50 or 75% (can't remember for sure). We paid around
$30 for them. We resold them on eBay around Christmas time for $75. Not too
bad!
Here is a retail arbitrage quick tip:
- 46 -
Sell Items From Liquidation.com
Going to thrift stores every week to find new items takes a lot of time.
But what if those items could just show up at your doorstep and you
could immediately dive in and start listing? We have purchased quite a
few lots of items on Liquidation.com and done very well selling them on eBay.
Just like all the items you purchase, you still need to be conscientious of what
you're listing. You'll still run across flaws and stains, but purchasing items in bulk
is definitely a benefit! Make sure to do your research on eBay before purchasing,
you don't want to buy anything that isn't worth it.
There are many sellers on Liquidation.com that specialize in specific items. If you
find an item that sells well for you and the quality is good, you can go back to that
seller and by more lots of that same item as you need more inventory.
- 47 -
Sell for Friends & Family
While there's not as much profit for you when selling on consignment,
the items that your friends and family want to sell will allow you to have
more items in your store and build your feedback as you sell them.
Also, you never know, your friends and family might just have some stuff that you
can still make a nice chunk of change off of. Make sure when someone asks you
to sell something for them that it is going to be worth both your time and their
time.
For Example:
(Consignment item sale price) $50 + (shipping) $10 = $60
50% Commission Rate on the Sale Price
$25 for the person you sold for
This method seems to work well for us, but choose a percentage that makes
sense for your business and time. If you are only going to make a few dollars,
you should consider if it's worth it or not.
- 48 -
Keep an Eye Out for BOLO Items
Many sellers on social media platforms will share some awesome
BOLO (or be on the lookout) items. Keep these tips in mind as you are
picking and you might just find a new treasure that you otherwise
would have passed up. As you buy and sell these BOLO items, you'll find that
knowing what to pick becomes second nature and you'll be posting your own
BOLO tips!
Here are a few items that are worth keeping an eye out for (as of January 2015):
• Starbucks City Mugs
• Some Hot Roller Hair Curlers
• Cranium Cariboo Game
As always, make sure to research before buying. (You can use a great tool like
Terapeak for doing in depth research.) The things selling good in the present may
not be selling as well in the future.
A great place to consider a wide variety of items (including BOLOs) at low cost is
to visit a Goodwill Outlet Store. These stores are different than your local
Goodwill Retail Store. To understand the difference between the two types of
store and the nearest locations near you, visit: gwoutletstorelocator.com www.TheFamilyPickers.com
- 49 -
Keep Track of Inventory
It's important for any business to keep track of inventory. Keeping good
inventory records helps you make sure that you haven't accidentally
listed duplicate or sold items.
One time we were contacted by a buyer who wanted to buy an item that had
ended before she had a chance to make her purchase. We relisted the item and
she promptly bought it. However, we forgot to delete that item out of unsold so it
ended up being relisted again and purchased by another buyer. It was
embarrassing to have to tell the customer that we made a mistake and the item
wasn't available.
Now we keep better track of our listings by exporting all our active listings to
Microsoft Excel and comparing with our inventory spreadsheet to make sure that
all active items are in our inventory as "In Stock" and not sold or duplicated.
To do this, go to your active items and select all your listings via the checkbox
(tip: if you click the first check box at the very top, it will automatically check all
the boxes for you). Then click "edit". Note: You can only do this with 500 listings
at a time, so if you have more than 500 you will need to do this in multiple
batches. Once all the listings are pulled up in the bulk editor, click the top check
box again to select all listings. Then click on "Action" and then on "Export to file"
this will allow you to download the listings to CSV where you can open in Excel
and start reconciling your inventory. www.TheFamilyPickers.com
- 50 -
Get Rid of Items That Aren't Selling
Many sellers have items that have been listed for almost 2 years and
still haven't sold. On some of these items we need to just let go and get
rid of them. Plus, the things we picked two years ago are probably not
the same things we would pick today since we've learned new things and
found better items to sell. Therefore, it's time to get rid of the old and make room
for the new. No sense paying for (or using free listings on) items that aren't
selling. Put everything in bags or boxes and donate them back to the thrift store.
However, try to pick a thrift store that you don't shop at very often so that you
don't end up buying some of your items back! :-)
- 51 -
Marketing
Open an eBay Store
Have you out grown your free listings from eBay and are contemplating
whether or not to open an eBay store? Doing this definitely takes your
business to the next step, but we understand the uneasiness about
paying that extra fee every month.
Here are some key benefits:
• The store will give you credibility. We didn't really believe this statement until a
fellow eBayer referred to us as the "pros" because we had "a store and
everything" :-)
• It allows you to get more exposure for your business brand or niche. You can
set up your store with your logo and cover photo, which makes you look more
professional (and credible).
• You may set up your own categories for your items, which serve as keywords
for your store SEO.
• You can offer markdowns and sales on items in your store.
• If you decide to go out of town, you can out your whole store on vacation so
that you do not need to worry about shipping sold items when you're not home.
Here is an in depth article about opening an eBay store that may help you with
your decision. We recommend using eBay's Fee Illustrator to determine
financially if buying an eBay Store is worth it for your business.
- 52 -
Buy a Domain Name for Your eBay Store
A great way to get buyers to come back to your store for repeat
purchases is by getting a domain name for your eBay store. If you
include a packing slip or business card in each item you ship, it's a
good idea to make a simple domain name that is easy to remember. People
can then type your domain into their browser and find their way back to your
store. Domain names can be purchased for around $15.00 per year.
Pick a name that make sense for your business. If you can get the name of your
niche in the title, that would be the best. If not, no worries, just keep it relevant
and easy to find.
- 53 -
Set Up a Website for Your Business
You may find it helpful to set up a website for your eBay business where
you can tell more about yourself and direct traffic to your store.
Keeping a blog is a good way to get traffic to your website. Consistent posts
about your topic can give you some good rankings on Google which you can use
in return to direct people to your stuff on eBay.
Here are a few ideas for how to use a website for your eBay business:
• Record your eBay adventures, almost like a journal. You don't need to disclose
how much you paid for an item if you don't want to, but maybe share where you
found it, how much you believe it's worth, etc. Have some fun with it. If you go
to a big sale or market, share some picture of the neat things you found.
• If you sell in a specific niche, make your website a resource center for that
niche. For example, if you sell collectible items, share blog posts about the
history or the values of those items.
Pictures! People love pictures so be sure to add lots of pics to your site... Don't
put too much focus on the keywords and SEO that you forget about your
audience. You're trying to appeal to readers, not robots :-)
If you choose to start a website for your business, we highly recommend using
Bluehost as your web host. For around $5 a month you can have a website,
email addresses, and excellent customer service for help getting it all set up. www.TheFamilyPickers.com
- 54 -
Start a Facebook Page for Promoting Items
Starting a Facebook page (or any other social network page) for
promoting your items or niche may be helpful. Posting links to your
items on Facebook could not only bring traffic to your listings or store,
but it also gives the search engines a boost and may help your rankings.
Make sure not to post only links to your items, share other things too. People
don't particularly like being pushed to buy things all the time, so if you're only
trying to sell to your fans, you might lose some people on your page. You will
want to put some time into thinking about what different things you could post on
your page, but try to keep it relevant. If you sell niche items, consider posting
things related to that niche. You want to get your customers to 'like' the page so
keeping them interested in the niche they like is a big benefit. Most of all, be
creative, engage when people leave comments, and have fun with it!
The point of your Facebook page is not to get 10,000 likes. That is just a number.
You want genuine people who are really interested in what you have to offer. So
don't buy into services that say they will get you 500 likes for just $5 dollars. You
don't need a bunch of spammy likes, you want genuine fans who will be
interested in what you have to offer.
If you find that your niche is too broad (like a little of everything), a Facebook
page may not be for you. Keeping up with social media can be time consuming
and if you don't really have a targeted audience, you might be wasting your time.
- 55 -
Join eBay Groups on Facebook
There are a lot of groups on Facebook for eBay sellers. Many of these
groups have thousands of members with people making posts and
commenting everyday. Take advantage of this resource. Groups are a
great place to ask questions, look for feedback on items, etc. Many people will
post pictures looking for advice of what to call an item or what price to list it at.
Having technical difficulties? Post on the group and ask if anyone else is having
problems. Groups are a great source of support for all eBay sellers.
Also keep an eye out for BOLOs. People like to show off their big scores and will
often give the link to the actual sold listing to prove it. Take advantage of this and
keep these items in mind while picking.
- 56 -
Subscribe to eBay Sellers on YouTube
The are quite a few sellers on eBay who have YouTube channels where
they will share what they're up to in their eBay businesses. Many will
give tips and ideas for selling on eBay, in addition to how-to videos for
doing different things. Just like Facebook, a lot can be learned from this
resource! www.TheFamilyPickers.com
- 57 -
Write eBay Guides
Writing eBay guides is another great way to advertise your items. It's
especially good if you specialize in a specific niche. You can show that
you have experience with those types of items or topics and become
an authority in that niche.
Include links to your eBay items in your guides that will direct readers to your
items for sale. Also, put a link to your guides within your eBay listings, this will
show you as an authority in the topic you choose to write about.
Make sure to include tags at the end of each guide; these are the search terms
that people might use to find your items.
If you've created a Facebook page, or other social media page, post a link to
your published guide for more traffic potential.
The great thing about eBay guides is that they are also indexed by Google and
can be found by people searching outside of eBay. This is a huge plus, especially
if you are putting links to your eBay items within your guide. www.TheFamilyPickers.com
- 58 -
Stay Motivated & Have Fun!
It's easy to get discouraged when selling online because things don't
sell as fast as we hoped they would, or sales in general might be down.
Therefore it's important to stay motivated and just have fun! Keep it
interesting by having a competition with your friends and family to see who can
find the best deal for resell at a garage sale or thrift store. Keep up with social
media groups for encouraging tips and ideas.
So get out there and have a great time! www.TheFamilyPickers.com
- 59 -
Tools & Resource Guide
If you’re just getting started on eBay, or maybe you’re just curious how we make
it all happen, here is a guide to all the tools that we find extremely helpful and
use everyday in our business.
iPad
We understand that an iPad is quite an investment, if you don’t
already have one. We finally broke down and purchased one from
BestBuy (but you can also purchase one on eBay) and began
listing our items with it. We found that it was a huge time
saver. Before we would spend the morning pickin’ for items and the
whole afternoon taking pictures and cropping and then listing the
items the next day. Now we can go pickin’ in the morning and in the afternoon
take the pictures, crop, and list all the items in the same day. It cut our listing time
in half! Click here to get the eBay mobile apps.
Digital Scale
A digital scale is a must have for shipping items on eBay!
There is no getting around it… you need to have one if you
don’t already. When printing shipping labels on eBay or
PayPal, you’ll need the scale to make sure you are entering
the correct weight for your items. We recommend purchasing
a scale that has at least a 40lb weight capacity, because you never know what
you might end up finding and selling on ebay! Here are some shipping tips from
eBay that you might find useful.
Sharpie Magnum
A large Sharpie Magnum is the perfect size for marking out
barcodes and unnecessary writing on reused shipping boxes.
These markers save a lot of time because of their size and they
do the job very well. It will quickly cover what you need and
- 60 -
make people at your post office happy! We recommend purchasing at least two
at a time so that when your marker dries up, you will already have the
replacement ready to go.
Bubble Envelopes
For shipping USPS First Class Mail or USPS First Class
International, we uses these Scotch Bubble Mailers. They
can be purchased in a variety of sizes. The bubble cushion
protects each item and self-sealing closure makes them very
easy to use. We have never had any problems with these
envelopes. They’ve gone to countries all over the world and
items arrived safe and sound.
Free USPS Boxes
Stop scrounging for boxes at the last minute and order free
shipping boxes from USPS. The free packaging from USPS
that we use the most is the Padded Flat Rate Envelope. This
retails for a flat $5.95 shipping ($5.35 if you’re a Top Rated
Seller), no matter what the weight is. Since most of our items
are clothing, we use it on a majority of them. We also take advantage of their
Regional Rate Boxes, you’ll have to check the price on each item depending on
where it’s going, but a lot of the time the regional boxes are cheaper than regular
priority. We keep a variety of different types and size boxes on hand from the
post office so we’ll have the supplies when we need them. If you order too many
or a kind that you didn’t end up needing, we recommend taking them back to
your local post office.
Tape Gun
A good tape gun will make handling packing and shipping much
easier. You won’t have to fight the roll of tape when you can find
where you left off on the roll, only to have it tear half way down
and then you’ve wasted a big piece of tape. (We’ve all been
there.) It’s worth it to make the investment and buy a tape gun/
dispenser. It just makes life easier!
- 61 -
Heavy Duty Tape
We have tried different kinds of packing tape and the one
that works the best for us is Scotch Shipping Tape. It isn’t
the cheapest tape out there, but it’s worth the extra cost.
This tape is much thicker than the cheap tape and it gives
more security to shipping your package. When we used the
cheap tape, we were worried about how thin that tape was so we were double
taping many things. At that point it really wasn’t cheaper so buying the heavy
duty shipping tape from Scotch wasn’t really that much more expensive anyway.
Tissue Paper
We learned pretty early in our journey of selling on eBay that
every small touch means a lot to the buyer when they open
their package. One thing we started doing was wrapping all
of our clothing items in white tissue paper. This didn’t add any
extra protection, but it helps show our buyers that we care
about how their item is handled and want to keep it looking
nice when they pull it out of the package. We have even received positive
feedback commenting on how nice the item was packaged. It’s the little things
that sometimes count in giving the customer a good buying experience.
Bubble Wrap
Bubble wrap is one of our most used shipping supplies and it
does a great job at keeping almost anything safe in shipping. We
like to use the large 1/2″ bubble wrap for larger items and the
smaller 3/16″ bubbles for smaller items. We usually will wrap it
around an item a minimum of 2-3 times for the best padding.
Also consider asking family or friends if they have any or know where you could
get bubble wrap. Some businesses will give it to you for free because they
usually throw it away anyway.
- 62 -
Air Pillows
Air pillows are an extremely lightweight way to fill up spaces
in you boxes after you’ve already wrapped your item with
bubble wrap. They hold up well in shipping and keep your
package weight to a minimum.
Packing Peanuts
When you have a box that is slightly oversized, packing
peanuts are perfect for filling in the gaps. You have to use
them carefully because they do add some extra weight to
your package, but otherwise they are a perfect solution to
fill up a box and provide some extra cushion to you item.
Heat Gun
When reusing old boxes, you’ll want to remove any old shipping
labels or stickers. We’ve found that the easiest way to do this is
to use a heat gun and the old labels will peel right off the box
without ripping the cardboard.
Business Cards
This is a must have for any business, whether you have a
brick and mortar building or you’re an online eBay
business. Business cards are a great way to remind your
customers who you are when they receive your item and will
help prompt repeat purchases. Some companies that you can order
from online are: Vistaprint, PsPrint, or Moo.
Microsoft Excel
Using the right software is very important for keeping good
business records. All of our bookkeeping and inventory tracking is
done through Microsoft Excel and it has worked very well. We
highly recommend using this to keep track of all your business
needs. It will help you stay organized and keep all your business
records up to date. www.TheFamilyPickers.com
- 63 -
About the Authors
Based in Hiawatha Iowa, The Family Pickers are a
family of seven working together in business. The
younger children are learning about
entrepreneurship as they help with buying and
listing items to sell online.
We enjoy helping others learn how to sell online
so they they can be entrepreneurs and not have to rely on corporate America for
their living. You can find more tips and ideas for selling online at:
TheFamilyPickers.com
Please join us online by connecting with us:
https://www.facebook.com/TheFamilyPickers
https://twitter.com/familypickers
https://plus.google.com/+Thefamilypickers
http://www.pinterest.com/familypickers
https://www.youtube.com/thefamilypickers
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-family-pickers
- 64 -

The Top 53 eBay Selling Tips for 2015

Transcription

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