eBay Sellers: Why You Should Accept PayPal

Are you looking to become an eBay seller?  If you are interested in making money online, possibly even enough to support yourself, you just may be.  Over the past few years, eBay has revealed itself as an online market place where just about anyone, including you, can make money.

Although it is relatively easy to make money on eBay, as an eBay seller, there are a number of important factors that come into play.  For instance, you will want to have good, quality items to sell, detailed descriptions of those items, as well as easy to see pictures.  Perhaps, those are some of the most important components of becoming a successful eBay seller, but there is something else that can be just as important, your accepted methods of payment.  For the best chance of success on eBay, you will want to accept a wide range of payments, including personal checks, money orders, and PayPal.

Speaking of PayPal, PayPal is one of the most common methods of payment accepted on eBay.  Despite being one of the most preferred ways to shop on eBay, there are still a number of sellers who don’t accept PayPal as a form of payment.  If you have yet to setup your eBay seller account, you will also want to take the time to set up a PayPal account.  Of course, you can still make money on eBay without accepting PayPal as a method of payment, but your chances for success are higher when you do.  That is why it is extremely important that you at least look into getting a PayPal account.

When it comes to getting a PayPal account, you will find that you can have a personal account or a business account.  If you want to make the most out of PayPal and eBay, you will want to get a business account, as it enables to you accept credits cards as a method of payment.  The only difference between a business PayPal account and a personal PayPal account is the fees.  The fees that you are charged will vary, but you will be charged a small fee each time someone, namely an eBay buyer, sends you a payment.

Although the PayPal fees may be a turnoff for you, you should let them be.  By accepting PayPal, you are more likely to have more sales, as well as higher priced product sales, as more eBay buyers rely on PayPal to shop online.  This will essentially make the fees seem minimal, as they easily pay for themselves overtime and you are still able to make a profit.  In fact, your PayPal fees, from a business standpoint, can even be tax deductible.

One of the many reasons why eBay buyers like to use PayPal is because it gives them a sense of security.  When using PayPal to buy items on eBay, buyers do not have to actually provide you with their bank account information or their credit or debit card numbers. This information is automatically stored in PayPal’s secure system.  eBay buyers simply have to follow the instructions on the invoice that you send them, enter in their PayPal sign in information, click a few confirmation buttons and they are good to go; no important information has to exchange hands.

If you aren’t already accepting PayPal, you will want to think about the many benefits to doing so, some of which were outlined above.  For more information on PayPal, you are urged to visit PayPal’s online website, which can be found at PayPal.com.

eBay Sellers: The Importance of Communication

Are you an eBay seller?  If you just recently became an eBay seller, you may still be learning the ins and outs of eBay, particularly how to make a profit.  While there are an unlimited number of tips that could help increase your chances of making a profit on eBay, like detailed product descriptions and such, there is one way that is relatively simple; having an open line of communication with all of your eBay buyers.  Although you may not necessarily think about it at the time, communication goes a long way when it comes to online business transactions, particularly on eBay.

When it comes to keeping an open line of communication with your customers or potential customers, there are three main situations that you should take advantage of. First, if you are selling a popular item, you may have a number of bids or even a number of questions.  If your product description wasn’t very detailed, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you to have messages from other eBay members seeking more information.  While some of these questions may be good, valid ones, others may seem a little bit out in left field. In fact, some eBay member questions may leave you wondering if they even looked at your auction listing. Still, it is advised that you answer all user questions in a polite and timely matter.  Doing so will increase the chances of your item or items being sold.

Once an eBay buyer has agreed to buy an item from you, whether it be through a traditional auction listing or a “Buy It Now,” sale, you will want to send your customer an invoice, showing the total amount of money that they owe you. After you have received payment, there is a good chance that you will box up the items sold and head to the post office.  A great way to make a good impression is to send your customers an update email; an email that can let them know that their items were just shipped.  Many eBay buyers like this because it gives them an estimated arrival time frame.  Should you have purchased a package tracking number, you will want supply your customers with that information.

It is also advised that you follow through, within a few days or a week, to see if your customers received their items.  You may also want to send a personal note asking them how they liked the items and such.  One thing that you definitely want to include in a follow-up message is a thank you note.  You will want to thank each of your eBay customers for doing business with you. You should also state that you hope to do business with them again.  In today’s society, many consumers are not thanked for their business anymore, although many wish that they still were.  Sending a thank you follow-up note will only take a few minutes of your time, but it is something that your customers will likely remember for sometime to come.  

As it was stated above, having an open line of communication may increase your eBay profits.  Why you may ask?  Well, you need to think of it from a consumer standpoint.  If you could shop at two different retail stores, which both had the same products available for the same prices, which store would you choose?  If you are like most consumers, you would respond with the store with the best customer service.  eBay is no different.  With competition increasing each day, you need to be able to set yourself apart from other eBay sellers.  The best way to do this is to go the extra mile for your customers.

Keeping an open line of communication before, during, and after each sale will help give you a good, positive reputation among many eBay buyers.  It will also likely result in return customers; customers who can help to increase your eBay profits.

eBay Sellers: Should You Open an eBay Store?

Are you an eBay seller?  If you are, there is a good chance that you have heard of an eBay store before.  In fact, you may even have your own eBay store.  eBay stores are increasing in popularity.  For that reason, if you currently don’t have an eBay store, you may be wondering whether or not you should open one.  To determine whether or not you should open an eBay store, you may want to examine the advantages and disadvantages of having one.

Before examining the advantages and disadvantages of having an eBay store, you may be wondering exactly what one is.  In a way, having your own eBay store can be compared to having your own retail store.  By paying a small monthly fee, you are able to create your own customized “storefront.”  This storefront is what customers will see when they visit your eBay store. For instance, you can make your own logo, create your own eBay store, and do much more. As previously mentioned, you must pay a small monthly fee to have an eBay store; however, you must also pay traditional final value and insertion fees.  Despite having to pay traditional eBay fees, they are much lower than normal, if you have an eBay store.

Perhaps, a decrease in eBay fees is one of the biggest benefits to opening up your own eBay store.  If you only sell a few items a month on eBay, it might not necessarily be worth it for you to open up an eBay store, but if you are a medium or high volume seller, you could save a considerable amount of money by opening up your own eBay store.  It is also important to mention easy of use.  Creating your own eBay storefront page is easy to do, as well as creating your own eBay listing. Despite being listed in your eBay store, you create all of your eBay listings the same way as you did before, with eBay’s step-by-step guide.

Although there are a number of advantages to having an eBay store, there are also a number of disadvantages or downsides to doing so as well.  One of those downsides is marketing.  Unlike many traditional auction listings and “Buy It Now,” listings, which show up in eBay searches, items inside eBay stores do not. Essentially, this means that it is your responsibility to get traffic to your eBay store.  Without traffic, your eBay store items will not be able to sell.  While there are easy ways to get traffic to your eBay store, like using traditional auction style listings, which will appear in eBay searches, and then place a link to your eBay store, and such, it can be time consuming to do.  How you will make money is definitely something to consider before opening up an eBay store.

As you can see, there are a number of advantages and disadvantages to opening up an eBay store.  The decision as to whether or not you want to open up an eBay store is yours to make, but you are advised to at least look into to doing so.  Thoroughly researching and examining eBay stores is a great way to learn more about them, as well as gain insight into whether or not you can profit from having one.  While having an eBay store isn’t for everyone, there are a number of eBay sellers who have noticed an increase in profit since opening their own eBay stores.

eBay Sellers: How to Market Your Auctions

Are you an eBay seller?  If you are, your goal is likely to make as much money as you can by selling products that you no longer need or want on eBay.  Unfortunately, there are now thousands, if not millions, of individuals who are interested in doing the same thing.  For you, this often means a steady increase in competition.  However, even with competition, you should still be able to make a profit when using eBay, but you may need a little bit of help.  That help could from marketing.

When many of us think of internet marketing, we often automatically think of online retail stores or online websites.  Although you are not running your own online retail store, you are trying to make a profit online; therefore, you are, in a way, like a retailer.  Just having your for sale items listed on eBay is enough to get your eBay items exposure, but you may want to think about taking it a step farther.  There are a number of different ways that you can go about marketing your for sale eBay items, without having to spend a dime.

Perhaps, one of the best ways to go about marketing your eBay items is by joining the eBay community, otherwise known as the online message boards.  When you talk with other eBay community members your screen name used is also your eBay name.  In the eBay community forum, every time that you start a new message or respond to an existing one your name is left, with a link to your main eBay webpage.  That is the age that outlines all of the items that you currently have available for sale.  Many eBay community members click other member’s pages just out of curiosity, but it not uncommon for someone to find something that catches their eye.  Simply starting a few conversations with other eBay community members, even just occasionally, may help to up your eBay exposure.

Another relatively easy way that you can market your eBay auction listings to the general public is by posting on a number of message boards, besides eBay.  There are a number of message boards that allow internet users, just like you, to post information on items that they have available for sale, both on and off of eBay.  Providing a link, as well as short description of some of the items that you are looking to sell is a great way to increase your eBay exposure and up your chances of making a sale. When taking this internet marketing approach, it is important that you only advertise your eBay listings in areas designated for doing so.  Spamming is not permitted on many online message boards and it may actually get you a bad reputation.

Speaking of using online message boards, there are a number of online message boards or forums that allow members to have signatures.  Signatures are where many people leave their name or a favorite quote of theirs, but some message boards allow members to use it as space to promote their products or businesses. Before posting a link to your eBay auctions, you are advised to examine the online message board’s policy concerning signature advertising.  Should it be allowed, you are advised to take advantage of this free internet marketing.  You will want to post a link to your eBay sales page, but be sure to mention that eBay is where all clickers will be going.

Another easy that you can promote your eBay items, particularly if you have multiple items for sale, is by putting a “please checkout my other eBay auctions,” message at the end of each of your eBay listings.  As with all of the other above mentioned internet marketing tactics, this is easy and free to do.

eBay Sellers: How to Deal with Difficult Customers

If you are an eBay seller, you will have to do business with eBay buyers.  As traditional retailers do, you may also have a problem with some customers. While the majority of eBay buyers are more than pleasant to deal with, there are some who can “ruffle your feathers.”  While your first thought may be to give a difficult eBay buyer a piece of your mind, you may want to refrain from doing so, especially if you rely on eBay to generate income for yourself and your family.

When it comes to dealing with difficult eBay buyers, one problem that commonly arises is with your current auction listings.  It is not uncommon to get an eBay message from a buyer requesting that you lower your price on one of your listed items.  In fact, it is not uncommon for an eBay buyer to mention that other eBay sellers have the same items listed for less.  If and when this ever happens to you, you will want to keep your cool. You should simply state that you are unable to lower your asking price.  Kindly suggest to the eBay buyer in question that if they are looking for more affordable prices, they should consider doing business with an eBay seller who offers more affordable merchandise.  The decision as to whether or not you want to lower your eBay prices is yours to make, but you should never feel pressured into doing so.

Another situation that commonly arises on eBay, concerning difficult eBay buyers, is the payment process. There are many eBay buyers who make the mistake of assuming that all eBay sellers accept the same methods of payments, but not all do.  One of the most common methods of payment accepted is PayPal.  If you currently do not have a PayPal account, you may want to look into doing so.  Regardless of what methods of payments you do accept, you are urged to outline them in your auction listings.  Yes, eBay has a section for that, but, unfortunately, not all sellers make their way down to that section.  Should you have a buyer that wants to make alternative arrangements, you need to use your best judgment.  If you cannot reach an agreement, eBay should be notified.

One of the other common problems that arise on eBay, with difficult eBay buyers, is those who refuse to pay.  With eBay, if you bid on an auction and win it, you are responsible for making payment; however, that doesn’t mean that everyone does.  When trying to request payment from a non-paying eBay buyer, you will want to stay professional when doing so. By simply sending a few reminder notices you should still be able to keep your positive image.  If you haven’t heard anything from your non-paying eBay buyer, you may want to contact eBay after about a week.  eBay has a process that allows you to get your fees back, as well as a process that will gives non-paying eBay buyers a negative feedback rating.

It is also not uncommon for an eBay buyer to be unhappy with the item that they purchased and received from you.  If this happens, you need to also use your best judgment.  To prevent a problem from occurring, you will want to make sure that you provide a detailed description of whatever you are selling, as well as numerous pictures.  It is also advised that you outline a return policy, whether or not you actually have one.  Should you have intentionally or unintentionally mislead an eBay buyer, you should make the situation right; however, stand your ground if you are being scammed or “taken for a ride.”

The above mentioned situations are just a few of the many that you may come across as an eBay seller.  No matter what situation arises, you are advised to use your best judgment and also keep your cool. In the end, you will be glad that you did.

eBay Sellers: How Photo Sharing Sites Can Save You Money

Are you an eBay seller?  If you are, you likely already know the importance of having pictures in your eBay listings.  There are a many eBay buyers who will not buy an item on eBay if they haven’t seen a picture.  In fact, many eBay buyers like to see more than one picture.  The only problem with this is that posting a number of pictures on eBay can get expensive, especially overtime.  However, there is a way that you can give your potential customers what they want, more pictures, without having to go broke while doing so.

If you are looking for a way to have multiple pictures appear in your eBay auction listings, but you are urged to examine websites that are known as photo sharing sites, if you haven’t already done so.  Photo sharing websites are sites that allow you to post digital photographs online and sometimes even videos. There are a large number of internet users who use photo sharing sites to upload and share pictures with friends and family members over the internet, but many internet users are also starting to use photo sharing websites to help combat their eBay seller fees, particularly the fees associated with having multiple pictures in an eBay auction.

If you are interested in giving photo sharing websites a try, to help you save money when selling on eBay, you will need to find a photo sharing website to use.  To find a number of photo sharing websites, you may want to perform a standard internet search.  Your standard internet search results will likely include PhotoBucket, which is a free, well-known photo sharing website.  Of course, you can use just about any photo sharing website you want, but you are advised to look into PhotoBucket, as it is free and easy to use.

Speaking of using PhotoBucket and many other online photo sharing websites, you will need to create an account.  You should be required to fill out a small form, which may request a little bit of information about yourself, like your full name or your email address.  You will also need to create login information for yourself, including a screen name and a safe password.  Once you have that finished, you should be able to use the photo sharing website in question, whether it be PhotoBucket or not, to help you start saving money.

When using a photo sharing site, you will see that different sites have different instructions that need to be followed, but the first step will be taking pictures of your eBay items.  Then you will need to upload them to your computer and then follow the photo sharing website’s instructions on how to upload your photos to their site.  In most cases, this is a relatively simple process, which tends to involve selecting a few pictures from your computer’s hard drive and then hitting an upload button.

Once your pictures have been uploaded, you should see thumbnails or smaller versions of them. With PhotoBucket there are little boxes underneath each thumbnail that can be used to select the picture or pictures of you choice.  You will want to select all of the pictures that you want listed in a particular eBay listing.  Then, you should be able to find a link that allows you to generate an HTML code.  This will lead you to another page with a lot of information on it, particularly HTML links.  Many photo sharing websites outright tell you which HTML code links you should use for eBay.  Copy the code and paste it in the description of your eBay auction listings and you are good to go; your pictures should appear.

Using a photo sharing site is optional, but it is definitely something to look into.  As an eBay seller, you want to profit as much as you can and this also involves eliminating unnecessary expenses.

eBay Data and Research – How Important Is It?

eBay is a business anyway you look at it. Sure, it is a great deal of fun for both the buyers and sellers,
but when you look at it from another view point, you will see that it is a business from the seller’s point
of view, the buyer’s point of view, and eBay’s point of view. 40 million dollars a day travels through eBay.
Selling items on eBay successfully is an art, and eBay offers many different forms of Data and Research to ensure that you are selling the right items, to the right people, in the right way.

Some of the data and research is not free, but much of it is. The available resources include hot items by
category, eBay Pulse, merchandising calendar, sales reports, marketplace research, buyer behavioral report, and the eBay solutions directory. These tools are quite easy to use, and the information that can be gleaned from them is extremely valuable.

The Data and Research tools are all accessible through your seller’s account, by clicking on the
‘Advance Selling’ link. Learn to use those tools, and get your piece of that $40 million eBay revenue each
day.