Selling & Making Money Successfully on e b a y is Work!

Selling & Making MoneySuccessfully on ebayis Work! By Dr. Michael Stachiw January 2009

ebay Selling • Starting to sell on ebay is relatively easy • But like most business ventures, the easy part is getting started, it’s the day-to-day details that can (and will) cause failure January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling As the old saying goes,“The Devil is in the details”! January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling Let’s start by defining a few items: • ebay is a large on-line auction/mall of items that are for sale. On a yearly basis, the sales on ebay are greater than Kmart, Sears and Macy’s combined. • You can be either/both a seller or buyer on ebay January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling • Usually a person sells items on ebay in using one of three methods: • Auction. Maximum of 10 days • Buy it now ( ), maximum of 30 days* • Buy it now or best offer ( ), maximum of 30 days* * Can be set to automatically relist “till cancelled” January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling • Each of these three methods has advantages, as well as disadvantages. January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling • Auction: • + Can gain highest $ on sale • - Shortest sales interval (10 days) • - Most expensive posting fee (% of initial requested bid) • Items need to be auction “friendly” January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling • Buy It Now: • + Like selling in a regular storefront • + Longer sales duration (30 days) • + No haggling on sales price + Great when you have multiple items January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling • Buy It Now: • + Lowest sales/posting fees ($0.35 to post + % of sales price) • - If buyers don’t like price, harder to sell January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling • Buy It Now, with best offer: • + Like selling in a flea market • + Longer sales duration (30 days) • + Supports haggling on sales price • + Great when you have multiple items • + Lowest sales fees ($0.35 to post + % of sales price) January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling • Buy It Now, with best offer: (Cont’d) • + If buyers don’t like price, they can make an offer easily & you can accept easily • + Most likely to sell • - Can easily lead to less $ per sold item January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling • Last, but not least, what payment methods are we willing to accept & delivery method? January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling • Payment methods: • Check • Money Order • PayPal (required as an option) January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling • Delivery Methods & Pricing • UPS/USPS • Local pickup • Handling Charge • Shipping fixed or based on weight January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling • Ok. So let’ s look at actually selling something. Steps involved are: • Create PayPal account if you do not have one • Create eBay account if you do not have one January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling • Take photos • Write-up technical description of what we are selling. • Decide on selling price. (Research selling price or do we already know our price?) January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling • Decide on shipping & handling issues • Start posting, by selecting a category • Then complete all posting questions January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling • Select photo(s) • Enter item description. Be descriptive • Select payment and shipping options January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling Let’s take a look at actually going through the process January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling Now what? January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling Much like a physical store, you will have daily tasks to perform. Like . . . January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling • Answer questions • Haggle over price • Collect money • Prepare items for shipping • Ship items • Answer even more questions January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling • Give refunds • Rate customers • Answer redundant questions • Do bookkeeping • Do banking • Answer endless questions January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

ebay Selling January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw January 2009 – Dr. Michael Stachiw

Selling & Making Money Successfully on e b a y is Work!