While it can be really easy to list an item on eBay, we found that by putting more information about the product, taking better pictures and researching the product drives more traffic to our site. So, I’ve put together some practices that have helped us so far.
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Our Journey
We watched a lot of videos of other eBay sellers before we even started trying to sell products and we decided that we weren’t going to try and sell a particular product, a niche if you will, but to resell products that we thought would do well. This method does work but expect a lot of trial and error. We saw that other resellers did really well selling shoes for example, but when we found that certain brand of shoe that did well for them, it didn’t necessarily do well for us. We also found that price is really important, not only to attract buyers, but also for profit. Using the eBay app when shopping and checking if the item you’re looking at has sold and at what price has been really helpful for us.
As I mentioned, you can just take a picture, put a description and price on an item and list it, but if someone has that same item for sale and took multiple pictures, gave a great description and lots of item specifics they are probably going to sell it before you do. Make sure when you are listing your item you mention any problems with it, like hole in knee of jeans, so that customers trust that you’re being honest about the item. Satisfied customers especially ones that give good reviews will help drive your business. What does this mean as far as doing a great listing? Here are some of the things that have helped us.
Research
When we first started our business, our family was more than happy to give us stuff to sell that they no longer wanted. This was great in terms of anything we did sell was pure profit, but as you can imagine, some things were not so great! Amongst some of the things we got were old dishes and household items. Since I wasn’t familiar with a lot of the brands, I did research, not only online, but on other sellers with similar items that sold to see what customers were interested in, so that I could put as much information in the listing as possible. Things that have also helped me listing clothes, are finding size charts online and printing these out. Even when a product you find has a tag, because of wash and wear, it may no longer measure that size, and the charts help me determine if it really is still that size. This is especially true with jeans and pants. Try to give your customers as much information as possible.
Pictures
Pictures can really help sell an item, so taking your time and really showing all aspects of the item is really important. The following are ways we found to help us with this. First, where to take the picture. You can use any flat surface as long as the background is a solid color, white usually works best. When we first started, we bought white poster board and put it on our countertop and it worked pretty well, but living in an apartment, counter space was limited, so we ended up getting a folding table that we could store when not in use. It really comes in handy with longer items such as pants. The table also makes showing measurements in pictures much easier. I recommend using fabric measuring tape when taking pictures. It is much easier to maneuver than a yard stick or metal tape. We also found some mannequin torsos at the Goodwill bins that hang and use to showcase shirts and tops when taking listing pictures. These were not at all expensive at the bins. Try to take at least one picture of a clothing item with it hanging, so customers can see the entire item in one picture. I usually make this the first picture. Take as many pictures as you can to really show off your item. You can easily get good pictures on your phone, and it makes it easier to use the eBay app. But you can also take them on a camera and download them to use on the app.
Lighting is also important when listing an item. I still have problems with shadows sometimes, but I’m getting better. We use small spotlights that help to highlight our products. I always think that I don’t really need an extra light because it is light outside, but looking at the difference in picture quality, I really suggest making sure you have some type of light on to make the item stand out.
Finishing the listing
After taking great pictures, then you need to make sure your title catches the customers attention along with as much information as possible. Since it is only 80 characters, make sure you put exactly what the product is, for example Nike Quick Dry shirt. The other important thing here is the size. Add as much more information you can. We also put our product location here, such as box A-1, so we can easily find where we stored it. Next is item specifics, fill in as much as you can. When I get to description, I refer them to pictures and mention any flaws.
Pricing and shipping
When you come to pricing the item, make sure you research what others are selling it for and what price like items sold for. Then you can get a good idea of what you want to price it. Make sure you weigh your item before you do the shipping. If it is something that doesn’t need a lot of packing, then you can put the bag or box you’re going to send it in on top of item on scale and get true weight. If you’re going to need pack material make sure you add at least 4 or 5 ounces to the weight. The last thing you want to do is have your listed shipping price too low. When you go to get your shipping label on eBay, make sure you weigh completed package and use this weight. Whatever shipper you use will charge your account the actual cost of shipping, so if you didn’t have the customer pay enough, then you eat that cost. Be as precise as possible.
Conclusion
Anything you can do to make your item stand out from other listings will help sell the item faster. You don’t always have to spend a lot to make this happen. Putting some thought into each item will never be a waste of time. Once you get to know the process of listing, it becomes much faster to list an item. Check out more of our blogs for more tips to help you get started. For more information on our thrifting check out our videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwhGhIRZo-k6Gb5J1HP9YHg