How difficult is it to be an eBay seller? I've only been a buyer.

[CharmedOne]

I have no problem buying items on eBay. I just check to make sure the seller is reputable. :) That said, would it be difficult for me to become an eBay seller? I never ever sold anything on Craigslist or even had a garage sale! I have some gently used, non-baby items that I would like to sell.

Caroline

http://lilypie.com/pic/070603/vb1E.jpg http://b3.lilypie.com/2Vyrm7/.png
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_sapphire_24m.gif 29 months

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[StantonHyde]

It's really very easy. I started this fall. I got a good book--Ebay Business for Dummies that has EVERYTHING in it. I set up a separate bank account, got verified, got the right PayPal account and downloaded turbo lister. I bought a clothes steamer--which is great. And I bought a set of photo lights for under a $100--I forget if they were $25 or 65). I had a tripod for my camera so I used that.

I would research what things are selling for more than I did and set a higher intro price. I start all of mine at 99 cents, thinking they will bid up. Some do, some don't. I guess I don't mind as long as I get them out of my house and I get more money than if I took them to the thrift shop.

The other thing I would change, would be to list all of my items as variable shipping, because now I have at least 3 packages for people who won multiple items and thus have combined shipping. The combined weights are much more and thus I am going to lose money on shipping those packages!

That's it. This is just a hobby for me.

[jess]

I agree with PP--it's fairly easy. I'm a SAHM and selling on ebay allows me to have what I consider my money--what I use to buy the kids stuff with, fill the gas tank and help with the bills when it's needed. I sell mainly kids/women's clothing.

I think the biggest mistake I made starting out was listing directly with ebay--they charge for each photo used and for options like scheduling when you want the auction to start. I now use Auctiva.com as a listing host...it's fairly easy to understand once you get started, you only pay for one photo (but can use many) and you can schedule for free. They also have a decent selection of backgrounds. Also, auctiva is free (yay!).

I would also recommend taking the time to get nice photos. Once I started realizing the importance of clear photos my things really started selling better--it made the difference between what would have been a $3-$4 sale to what became a $20+ sale.

Good Luck! Just doing it is the best way to learn--it really is fun watching your own auction sale price climb in the last seconds! :)