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eBay The Mega Marketplace For Everyone


eBay is one of the world's largest market places with over 35 million visitors per day. That first sentence is worth repeating because I want you to realize that eBay gives you the ability to reach a customer base of millions and millions of people which is beneficial to you. Say Goodbye to garage sales and hello to eBay.

You don't have to become a major power-seller or wholesaler to take advantage of eBay and what this mega marketplace can do for you. All you need is a computer with Internet access so you can setup auctions for all that stuff laying around the house you've been wanting to get rid of by selling it or giving it away, so why not eBay it?

eBay auction VS garage sale

First lets talk about garage sales. Holding a garage sale consists of getting all of your items ready to sell and placing them on display in front of your house or on your driveway for neighbors and lookers to purchase. You or someone you know and trust needs to be physically present at all times to sell the items as your front yard has now become a small storefront. In other words you have to sit at home all day after getting everything together and promoting your garage sale which is a lot of work especially considering what you can accomplish with less time and efforton eBay.

Time & Money

Just about everybody is looking to save time and money which is exactly what eBay does for you. eBay is a much larger market and can attract many more potential buyers than a garage sale can. The very reason that there are more potential buyers creates more of a demand for your product, toy or whatever you are trying to sell. eBay commands more dollar for your product than a garage sale for this very reason.

eBay also saves you time because once you have setup your auction it does most of the work for you. You don't have to be present to sell the item, you don't have to be home to get paid electronically and you don't have to be there for somebody to see your auction because your potential buyers can look at your item for sale from the convenience of their own computer which saves you precious time.

eBay also gives you the ability to accept different payment methods such as PayPal, money order, check or cash it is up to you what payment methods you wish to accept. Garage sales simply do not offer this sort of flexibility with time and money.

Quick tips

Shipping can be a hard one to get used to - so make sure that you either A. get a postal scale (about $20 at Office Depot) or B. have the post office weigh the packages before you list. Take it from me because I have lost so much money on shipping because I would just 'guesstimate' and that simply does not work. I would recommend always making the buyer purchase Insurance and tracking. I had an issue where a customer said she never got her package and I didn't insure it. We decided to wait a couple of weeks then figure it out, she actually wanted me to refund everything to her, which I didn't feel was fair but was willing to do it because I believe in customer satisfaction. Fortunately the package finally showed up after three and half weeks (and I sent it Priority Mail).

You want to only send to the buyers address if it is registered with eBay. A couple of years ago a gentlemen contacted me to buy a $250 wireless antenna, he said he was traveling and asked me to send it to his satellite office. He paid me through PayPal, I always thought that was safe and would automatically include coverage. Two months went by and then all of the sudden Paypal took $250 out of our account without warning or explanation, when we called them they said that one of our eBay transactions was fraudulent! It turns out the man used a stolen credit card, PayPal told us we were out of luck since we did not send to his confirmed address. Lesson learned.

Always state the terms of your auctions, it is good to come up with your terms to use at the end of every auction that states your policies, if you combine shipping, the payment methods you accept, etc. Also, think of a refund policy. I give a full refund, or for instance my sister-in-law gives purchase amount back but not shipping, those sort of policies are up to you as a seller.

I use Turbo Lister, a free software program, that makes it so much easier to get multiple auctions setup simultaneously. If you do it directly from eBay it seems like it takes forever to enter each one. Turbo Lister is a free download and is available in Seller Tools at eBay.

A way to save money; I always use the free template from eBay. It's not really anything fancy. You can choose to get those cute little borders and clipart on each auction but it costs more money. It's proven that ultimately it doesn't matter to people, they want what you are selling. Your first picture is free after that they are .15 cents for additional ones. So I always try, when possible, to use only one picture. Sometimes if it is a big clothing lot or a large dollar item I will only use more pictures. I also make sure to try and write a great description so potential buyers know what they are getting and are excited for their purchase.

Something that works; I will sometimes utilize the 'Buy It Now' features (they cost extra) but I put the BIN price higher than I would normally expect to get and when somebody really wants an item, they would rather pay the higher price than risk missing the auction end without winning the item. There are many times where this has benefited both myself and the buy it now bidder.

If you are doing a local pickup or have special instructions for your auction make sure you include those instructions ALL OVER your auctions. The mistake I made one time was only putting local pickup only on just the shipping description andthe winning bidder did not notice that. Now I plaster special instructions like that everywhere.

Remember that people love fast shipping so when you do sell try to ship the item out as soon as possible after auction ending. Your customers will love fast shipping. I also include a note thanking them and sometimes I include a bonus item. That's just some of the fun and benefits of selling on eBay.

Lori Osenbaugh sells on eBay in addition to being a licensed Realtor® and Pampered Chef Consultant. You can custom search for Colorado homes at PreferredDenverHomes or search Lori's Pampered Chef Online


MORE RESOURCES:

Auctions - Google News

American Foreclosure Hits Bottom With Tower Auction in Atlanta: Mortgages - Bloomberg


American Foreclosure Hits Bottom With Tower Auction in Atlanta: Mortgages
Bloomberg
Atlanta's office market is a victim of overbuilding and inflated real-estate prices fueled by issuance of commercial mortgage backed securities that peaked in the US at $232 billion in 2007. While investor demand for property debt surged last month by ...

Will they or won't they? - Sydney Morning Herald


Will they or won't they?
Sydney Morning Herald
The clearance rate was 58 per cent for the 101 auction results reported to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria. The outcome of another 36 sales is still unknown. Many commentators are tipping the RBA will cut rates by 0.25 percentage points.

and more »

Market middle ground proving elusive - Sydney Morning Herald


Sydney Morning Herald

Market middle ground proving elusive
Sydney Morning Herald
Real Estate Institute of Victoria spokesman Robert Larocca said the level of new stock coming onto the market for February was surprisingly high. ''We've got 10-15 per cent increases in stock levels for the first few weeks of February compared with ...

and more »

Got $1.8M? This Harrison estate is up for auction - The Journal News | LoHud.com


Got $1.8M? This Harrison estate is up for auction
The Journal News | LoHud.com
Its owner — international real estate developer Neill Bernstein, dubbed “Cape Town's Donald Trump” — has lived there for several years but now is returning home to South Africa. Misha Haghani, founder of Paramount Realty USA, is handling the auction ...

and more »

Tucson resort avoids auction block, for now - Arizona Daily Star


Tucson resort avoids auction block, for now
Arizona Daily Star
Starr Pass Resort Developments, the owner, took on the debt before the real estate bubble burst and the property, which opened in 2005, was only just getting its footing when business and leisure travel screeched to a near halt.

and more »

Fannie Mae's Fire Sale - Barron's


Credit Union Times

Fannie Mae's Fire Sale
Barron's
How to buy a cut-rate rental property. Fire sale! The Federal Housing Finance Agency has approved a big residential real-estate auction at Fannie Mae to help the mortgage giant unload its inventory of 122616 foreclosed houses. For the first time, ...
Tales from the Field: A Homeowner Who Fought Foreclosure and WonRisMedia.com (press release)

all 58 news articles »

Concierge Auctions to Sell Premier Residences at Auction Within Exclusive ... - MarketWatch (press release)


Concierge Auctions to Sell Premier Residences at Auction Within Exclusive ...
MarketWatch (press release)
The auction will be conducted in cooperation with Rivers To Peaks Real Estate ~ Big Sky Real Estate. "The seller developed these idyllic vacation homes ideally situated in the heart of the most luxurious amenities these communities offer," stated ...

and more »

Gold Coast back on the road to paradise - The Australian


Gold Coast back on the road to paradise
The Australian
It was - as she told her children - excellent shopping when the biggest single auction of real estate nationally was held on the Gold Coast last weekend. And the buyers, many of whom had flown in from interstate, were out in force picking up properties ...

and more »

Yarmouth Route 28 motels sold at auction - Wicked Local


Yarmouth Route 28 motels sold at auction
Wicked Local
The twice-postponed auctions drew a mixed crowd of lawyers, real estate brokers, neighbors and a town planning board member. The motels have been the focus of a civil lawsuit for more than a year. The town sued the motels' former owner for violating ...

and more »

Concierge Auctions, the Nation's Premier Luxury Real Estate Auction Firm ... - MarketWatch (press release)


Concierge Auctions, the Nation's Premier Luxury Real Estate Auction Firm ...
MarketWatch (press release)
24, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Concierge Auctions, the nation's preeminent luxury real estate auction firm, auctioned high-end properties throughout 15 states in 2011. The year proved successful for the NYC-based company, as the firm produced a ...

and more »

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