So, we started our eBay reselling business a couple of years ago and boy did we have a lot to learn as we started this journey! Below I’ll tell you about some of the things we learned along the way.
The most important advice I can give is to do your research before you even start getting ready to sell products on eBay. Watch videos, check out other sellers on eBay, learn about shipping and anything you can think of to help you along the way. Here is a link to our youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwhGhIRZo-k6Gb5J1HP9YHg
I also recommend researching where you will be getting your product to resell and what product you want to sell. We decided to just sell a variety of items because searching for a specific product, a niche if you will, seemed to limit us. You need to research secondhand stores in your area, check to see if they even have products worth trying to resell, see if you have a Goodwill bins (clearance store) near you, and look for garage and yard sales.
Next, you need to figure out where you are going to store this product and what you are going to store it in. We started out using plastic bins but found that they took up too much space and weren’t always sturdy enough when stacking. We found banker’s boxes work well. They are sturdy and stack well. You should also figure out a system, so you know where you put your listed items. We just named every box, for instance, A-1. Then we put this in our description on eBay so we would know where it was.
Now you must decide what you are going to ship the items in. You can get a lot of free boxes from USPS of various sizes. Just be sure that you get some that aren’t flat-rate shipping. A lot of times an item will fit in a flat rate box size but will be cheaper to ship in a regular box. Once you get your business going on eBay you will also get credit that you can use to purchase shipping supplies from them. Another thing you should invest in for shipping is a shipping scale. Please be very careful when weighing your product for listing, include the approximate weight of shipping materials to the actual weight of product. The post office will weigh the product when shipping it and if you misjudged the weight, you’ll end up paying the difference because the customer has already paid shipping for the weight you supplied.
Now the real fun begins, listing the item!! Let’s start with taking the photo. eBay just added more picture availability, so I would take as many pictures as you can of the product. Make sure you add measurements, especially on clothing. Show front, back, sides, bottoms and anything else you can show. If the product has any flaws, be sure to point them out not only in the description but in the picture. As much information and pictures to really show off the item not only helps to sell the item but eliminates questions about measurements, etc.
Once your item is listed, you can set up alerts on eBay to let you know if an item sold, if you got an offer on an item or have any questions about an item. Even if you set up the alerts, it’s better to check at least once a day to see if you need to take any action.
Have fun with this! The best part for me is the shopping, because I love looking for things that I think other people would love. I hope this has been helpful and good luck!!