Money Smarts: Selling on eBay - Why Fall is a Great Time to Start

Image courtesy of eBay.

I posted here in April about why I prefer selling stuff on eBay rather than spending the time and energy (and crossing my fingers hoping for good weather) having a garage sale.

I've had a lot of success selling my kiddo's gently used items on eBay in the past; in fact, when my daughter was in preschool and kindergarten and we were facing one of our more challenging financial times (selling our house in a down-trending market in 2006 while my hubs commuted 140 miles round trip each day to his current job for 10 months - oy!), the money I made selling items on eBay covered her tuition costs each month.

If you've never sold on eBay before, this is a great time of year to give it a try. Ask yourself if you have any of these items hiding in your closets, garage, or basement:

-->Halloween costumes

-->Outgrown kids snow boots, snow pants, and winter coats

-->Outgrown kids jeans, sweaters, and sweatshirts

-->Fancy holiday clothes that were likely worn just once or twice

-->Gently used toys in good condition with all the pieces intact

-->Boy Scout or Girl Scout uniform items

The list could go on and on, but you get my drift. You likely have some of these items you and your family don't use/need anymore taking up space (and creating clutter) in your house. List them on eBay and make a few bucks while you clean out your house!

Right now, eBay is offering a List 5 Free deal - you can list (5) items FREE every (30) days. This means you'll pay no insertion fees, fees which are charged based on the starting price of the items when you list those items on eBay. This can be a simple way to dip your toes into the eBay pool, especially if you have only a few items to list.

But I have to tell something - when I first began selling items on eBay, I listed them directly with eBay. I quickly learned there was a better way, one that made my listings look better and cost less overall because it was then a free service - Auctiva, an eBay listing management site for sellers.

Auctiva offers eye-popping templates for you to use for your listings and saves all your information about shipping, policies, etc, to make it easy to quickly list new items with your saved information (no tedious re-typing). While it's no longer free to use, you can sign up for a 30 day FREE trial here. You'll be able to list (15) items and you'll have all the cool tools that Auctiva offers to make selling your listings easier. If you want to continue after the 30 day free trial, it costs $2.95/month.

I have (a-hem) a large stack of stuff in my basement just waiting for me to get it listed on eBay and out of my house! Because listing items takes some time, here's a short run-down of what I do to make it easier on me (and not overwhelming):

-->Order FREE shipping supplies from USPS right here. These take about 1-2 weeks for delivery; they come with your regular US Mail delivery.

-->Sign up for a FREE 4 week trial at Stamps.com. You'll get $25 in FREE postage, $5 in FREE shipping supplies, and a $50 digital postal scale (which makes it waaay easier to weigh you packages to estimate shipping costs for your listings). Be sure to note when you sign up so you can cancel if you don't want to use the service after 4 weeks.

-->Get a PayPal account if you don't already have one to make payment easy for your buyers.

-->Check all your items before you list them and make sure they are clean! Launder all clothes, wipe down all toys, etc. If there are any defects, note them so you can be honest in your listings.

-->Decide on pricing your items by checking here for what items that are the same or similar have sold for recently. Be sure to check "Completed Listings" so you can view final sale prices on listings that sold.

-->Take GOOD pictures that show EACH item so your buyers can really see what they're getting.

-->Decide what you'll sell first and make a selling schedule for all your items. For example, I'm going to get my kiddo's old Halloween costumes up this weekend and sell them in 3 Day auctions because trick-or-treat time is just around the corner. If you have items that are seasonal (Halloween, Christmas outfits/toys), make sure you schedule to sell them at peak times and give yourself enough time for the listing + shipping time to equal at least a week before your buyer would need the item.

-->Decide how many items you'll list each week. I used to list only 5-7 items per week because it was a manageable number for me. Remember, potential buyers often email you with questions and you'll need to be able to ship promptly. Don't overload yourself in the beginning!

-->Write your listings. This takes time at first, but gets easier over time. Be honest about your items. Be clear about your payment policy, your shipping policies, and your return policy. Click over to eBay and read through what successful sellers use for their policies to get an idea of what works.

-->Feedback, feedback, feedback. Give honest feedback and err on the side of kindness. You'll want your buyers to do the same.

For more information about selling on eBay, click here and read eBay's guides. They are detailed and very informative; this is a great seller's reference to bookmark.

Don't forget to sign up for Big Crumbs as well. If you're like me and you find yourself reinvesting in our economy by spending some of your eBay earnings on other fabulous items you discover on eBay, you'll earn cash back when you shop on eBay through Big Crumbs. Woot!

Have you had success selling on eBay or through Auctiva? Is there a better seller's tool out there that you use? Share what you know in a comment below!

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