Monthly Archives: April 2010

12 Tips for Better Sales on eBay

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After recently selling a few things on eBay, I’ve compiled some suggestions for you in hopes it’ll increase legitimate bidding activity.

Readability

  • Use a large, readable font. On a 22″ wide screen LCD monitor, 14 point is ridiculously small. Try 18 point and the Georgia font.
  • Create sections in your auction description with bold headings. (e.g. what’s for sale, why you’re selling, item condition, shipping or local pickup, retail pricing)
  • Check for spelling, especially in the title.

Completeness and/or full disclosure

  • Explain yourself. Most auction descriptions are too brief or simply repeat the item name. Why are you selling the item? How long have you had it for? What comes in the box?
  • Even though eBay auctions have a built-in shipping, return policy, and payment tab, repeat the shipping, handling, and payment details in the description. (You know, for redundancy and decreasing miscommunication.)
  • Don’t use stock photos. The bidders will usually ask, so save them time.
  • Display several clear photos of the item. If you know someone with a DSLR camera, get a white foam poster board and take the photos of the item(s) on it. Try to take the photo in some shade. If it’s too bright, get a friend to hold a diffuser over the item(s). For best results, make a light tent. (See “How To: DIY $10 Macro Photo Studio” or “How to Make An Inexpensive Light Tent – DIY“)
  • Link to a few glowing reviews of the item.

Don’t pay unnecessary fees

  • Host photos elsewhere. There’s no need to pay eBay more money for photo hosting. If you have Flickr, WordPress/WordPress.com, or Tumblr, create a set/page with a gallery of photos for your item(s). Don’t forget to link to the photos within the auction description!

Increase views, watchers, and bids

  • Use eBay’s first free image so it shows up in the listings.
  • End the auction around 9:30pm, and if possible, on the weekend. This will help get more buyers looking at your auction, especially for more expensive items. If you end the auction at 3pm on a weekday, it’ll be more difficult for people at the office to participate in the last few minutes of a bidding war. Don’t forget to calculate the time zones you want to cover. (For example, if you want to end the auction at 9:30pm EST, start the auction at 6:30pm PST.)
  • For a fee ($0.10), eBay can schedule your auction to start at a certain time and day. If you want to save that ten cents per auction, and you’ll be at a computer when you want to start the auction, fill everything out and save as a draft. You can post it later.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to take some photos of some more items I’m going to put up for auction.

Do you have more time-tested suggestions? Please take a few minutes to share them with a comment, and explain how it’s helped you. Thanks! (Back off, spammers. I’ll nuke comments and ban IP addresses without hesitation.)

Sold my Canon EF 28-135mm lens

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I finally sold an unused lens (Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM), which I bought a year ago from my friend, Noel Kleinman.

Why?

I dropped the lens last April while I was borrowing it from Noel. Fortunately, he was cool about the situation and let me buy the lens.

I haven’t really used it since then.

A few weeks ago, I went on an eBay selling streak and sold all my bass guitar pedals[1. I bought a Line 6 Bass PODxt Live pedal board, so I didn't need them anymore.].  Those sales gave the courage to finally post the lens for auction on eBay.

After eBay and shipping fees, I broke even from when I bought the lens. Other than being a little cautious with a new eBay user with zero feedback, everything went well.

I’m glad that most camera lenses don’t depreciate like everything else[2. The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens that sold for under $80 USD (two years ago) currently sells for almost $99.99 USD.].

P.S. I bought a used Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM on eBay a few weeks ago, so don’t ask me what I’ll do with this money. :)

Next at All Narfed Up – Tips for better sales on eBay

Don't fear USPS First Class or Parcel Post

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I returned a pair of shoes to 6pm.com a few days ago. It hurt because of the return shipping cost, but at least they’re not sitting at home, unused.

I opted for USPS Parcel Post ($11.57) for the 3 pound, 15 ounce box, along with Delivery Confirmation for $0.80. The website estimated its arrival in 7 days.

Here are the tracking results:

  • Acceptance, April 07, 2010, 2:29 pm, TEMPLE CITY, CA 91780
  • Arrival at Unit, April 09, 2010, 8:51 am, SHEPHERDSVILLE, KY 40165
  • Delivered, April 09, 2010, 9:15 am, SHEPHERDSVILLE, KY 40165

It traveled 2,100 miles and arrived at its destination in 1 day, 18 hours, and 46 minutes.

In comparison, USPS Priority Mail would’ve been $15.30, or $3.73 more than Parcel Post.

My point? If you’re mailing something that isn’t time sensitive, you don’t need USPS Priority Mail.

Side note: USPS offers free Priority Mail supplies. But, is the difference saved – when using First Class Mail or Parcel Post – negated when buying your own supplies? I suppose you would save money if you’re reusing boxes. Keep that in mind.