Build an eBay empire in 3 simple steps

Everyone likes to think that they can hustle outside of their regular nine to five to make a tidy little extra income. This might be to save up for your next vacation, top up your nest egg or save for your retirement.

One lucrative way of making some extra cash is to set up your very own eBay empire, it is slightly different from setting up an Etsy business. This could mean anything from selling your collection of classic vinyl, importing goods from the Far East to sell in your home country or making your own custom made tee shirts to sell online. Becoming an online seller doesn’t require much financing to get going, and can be done in your spare time. Take a look at this guide to help you run a successful eBay business.

Listings

If you’ve ever hopped onto eBay to check out the merchandise available, you will have been confronted with adverts rife with spelling mistakes, poor grammar, and fuzzy photos. These listings are unprofessional, lack quality and will underperform. You need to ensure that your listings exude quality. Write a detailed description of the product that you are selling and use bullet points to tease out the key selling points. Be honest and point out any flaws within the item. Use photographs to show these flaws, as well as display the product from every angle. Provide measurements and welcome questions and viewings if appropriate.

As an eBay seller, you need to be transparent and trustworthy. Reputation is everything on eBay, so you need to ensure that you have nothing but positive feedback. This begins with your listing.

How will you sell

If you’re selling cars, horse trailers or other high value items, you may be a little wary of starting these items as a £1 auction. Try not to worry too much. eBay is so popular that everything finds its value, and something is only ever worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Ensure that you list in the right category and make your items available globally to ensure maximum exposure.

Choosing the ‘Buy It Now’ route is a sound choice if you need a certain amount for an item. However, if your product is niche, you may have to wait a little while before your listing sells. Auctions can be scarier, but you can always set a reserve to ensure that your product doesn’t sell for anything less than what you instruct.

Shipping

Don’t be one of those sellers that packages their items in an old shoebox with shredded newspaper. Instead, purchase packaging material appropriate for your product. Fragile porcelain requires foam or bubble wrap and a double walled box. Utilise fragile tape and label your parcels clearly. By using quality packaging materials, you can be certain that the items that you dispatch will not become lost or damaged in transit. If this were to happen your feedback would slide and your reputation would take a knock. This may mean that customers are less likely to purchase from your eBay store.

Follow this guide, and you can create a profitable eBay empire to give you some much needed extra cash.