How To: Best Kept Secrets of Selling on eBay!

My Husband Adam runs a side-business making money through eBay. He sells Lego and even creates his own custom minifigures, including characters from The Walking Dead and Games of Thrones. He has been doing it for years and has in turn gained lots of in-depth knowledge about how to successfully use eBay to make a profit. There are many things that you can do on eBay to turn old items around your home or your own handmade crafts into cash - but what are the best kept secrets? Well, I've asked my Hubby for some help with another of my 'how to' posts and here are a few of his very own best kept eBay secrets..
1. Get your picture right - If you're selling a new product and it's sealed eBay say that you are allowed to use a stock image from the Internet, these pictures are designed and taken to sell the items so they are worth using. If it is a used product, you will need to use your own photos of the product. Make sure that when you take your own photos they are well lit and clearly show all the details and any defects.
2. Describe everything. It's so important to describe everything about what you are trying to sell. If it is new and sealed and a popular product, eBay will sometimes have stock descriptions of the product which you can use, this will give details about certain generic features of the product. If it is a used item, make sure you are completely honest with the condition- otherwise this will just cause a headache for you further down the line, if the buyer contacts both you and eBay to state that the item was not as described.
3. Price it right. On ebay, there is a great option at the top right when you search for the product you will be listing called 'Advanced' (it is next to the blue search button). When you click this, scroll down and check the option under 'Search including' called 'Sold listings' - this will tell you how much the products have sold for previously - which will then give you a good idea about how much people are willing to pay for your item. Then you should be able to work out the best price to list your own item at.
4. End your auctions at the right time.  The busiest times for people purchasing items through eBay tends to be Sunday at 8pm or Monday at 8pm - this is when Adam generally finds that his auctions get more traffic. He has tested other days and times and it is repeatedly these days at this time that get his items the highest bids and therefore the most money.
5. Offer different options for postage.  Offering people different delivery options such as next day delivery or international shipping will widen your potential customers. Adam uses Royal Mail for most of his postage (they have a great online resource for working out postage costs) And for bigger orders over 2kg he uses reputable and reliable couriers such as TNT direct.
If you're new to selling on eBay or if you were just after a few tips, both Adam and I hope these may have helped - please let me know if you enjoy my 'How to' posts and would like to see more! :)
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