eBay Buying & Selling

Learn about eBay buying and selling and how to save and make money and get the best deals possible on eBay, plus many other great eBay buying and selling tips.

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Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Why eBay Auctions Fail – A look at the Top 7 reasons

eBay Seller

EBay is one of the most popular auction web sites across the vastness of the internet. Many people make full-fledged businesses out of eBay auctions. Just as with any business, perhaps more so than other businesses, an eBay business can quickly and easily become a failure. There are a few sure-fire methods that will ensure that your eBay business becomes an almost instant failure. The following is our top seven reasons why eBay auctions fail.

Price

Price plays a big part in the success or failure of your eBay auction. If you set your starting price too high, bidders will look elsewhere. Many successful auctions set their prices low to begin with and leave it to the bidders to raise it higher. The same holds true for buy it now items (fixed price). If the price is too high, it will not sell, period. Aim a little lower for both. This area also includes shipping prices. If you charge excessively for shipping, it will keep bidders away

Photograph

If you don’t have a picture of your item, your customers will again look elsewhere. Bidders want to buy what they can see. If you provide at least one clear photograph of your item, it is more likely to sell then without any photographs at all.

Reserve Price

These are horrible words to a bidder. Bidders want to bid freely and not worry about a reserve price. If you have something you want to minimum price for, you should consider a fixed price auction.

The Listing

If your listing is loud and flashy with an abundance of spelling errors or simply written in a way that no human being on earth could read it, your auction will fail. Ensure that all titles and text of the description are clear, concise, and clean.

Negative feedback

If you have negative feedback, you will have problems selling on eBay. Bidders want a seller they can trust.

PayPal

If you do not accept PayPal on eBay, you most likely fail. Most bidders on eBay use PayPal and ONLY PayPal. Consider creating an account for eBay purposes.

Being Difficult

You will want to avoid making statements in the listing that will make you appear as a difficult seller. You will want to be clear on your return policy, but do not be so strict in the policy or who you will sell to, that you put the bidder off your auctions forever. Be firm, but fair.

eBay Seller



Sunday, July 16, 2006

Help! I can’t find what I need on Ebay!

eBay Buyer

So, you’re looking for a digital camera on EBay? Do you know how to find it quickly and painlessly? This article is to help the average eBay consumer become an eBay search crackerjack.

With all the items available for sale on eBay, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find what you are looking for. The following tips should help to make your search a breeze.


Search, don’t browse.

Searching for a digital camera is a lot more efficient than browsing. While browsing will give you more options, searching will yield results quicker and in less time, leaving more time for capturing the perfect picture!


Use The Advanced Search.

Using the advanced search for digital cameras will narrow done the search, making the search more concise. To get to the advanced search, click the link under the search box. Once at the advanced search, enter a keyword, select a category and press the search button. A good example of a keyword would be the manufacturer’s name and camera type. For example, Sony Cyber Shot 6 megapixels. When just using the search box if you type in Sony Cyber shots 6 Mega pixel, it will come up in the results and possibly other cameras that are 6 megapixels. The advanced search method is more efficient then just merely using the search box. That will be easier to sort through than if you used just 'digital camera' as a keyword, in addition to being more detailed on your search criteria. There are even more boxes below that will allow you to put the results in order such as price, time left on the auction and current bid. You can also change the view to see just pictures or item number. Also, you can change how many results are on one page.

Using these tips, you will be able to find that “perfect” camera in no time and be able to find all those accessories to make the neighbors envious. Happy Searching!

eBay Buyer