My guide to eBay and why we love the auction website

We live in a digital age, where anything is becoming more possible by the day; the internet dominates the global market. The online super highway contains more content and more information than any of us will ever be able to comprehend. We have fan sites, Social media, blogs, online markets and auction sites. We have gaming sites, film and television sites, businesses of all types, and so much more. There are of course a few that draw more traffic because of their originality, uniqueness, niche, and simplicity. We all know Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and hotmail. We all know about the auction sites as well, the main one's being eBay and Ebid. This post will look at why we love sites like eBay, how so many businesses are turning to the online platform to run their store from and some ideas for would-be entrepreneurs.

For as long as I can remember eBay has been around to assist buyers and sellers. I myself have made a few hundred pounds over the last few years selling my junk to eBay users. However in our new digital age it has become somewhat apparent that online stores like Amazon and Play are contributing to the destruction of the high street market place. Less and less consumers make the trip to their town centres to make purchases on clothes and other amenities.  Many high street retailers have shut down, or are in process of going out of business. Thousands are out of work, and it’s all down to the convenience of the online store.

So the shop keepers and business owner’s hands were forced to play the online game, by starting their own eBay stores and creating seller accounts on websites like Amazon. I have made a few purchases from eBay stores, and to my surprise a lot of store owners had adapted and had created visually appealing eBay pages that in some cases linked to their own websites. So the digital age has forced business owners to learn basic SEO and website design, making our generation and older ones more advanced.

I have a friend who lives on eBay, every day he spends a few hours surfing the auction site for all manner of products. This is the beauty of eBay, you can sell anything you want, provided you add an accurate description and send what you’re selling in a timely fashion. I have seen garden sheds, motor bikes, cars, laptops, phones, clothes, candles, toys, collector’s items, even foreign money for sale. I remember selling less than £10 worth of Falkland Island coins, which are pretty much the same as our coins and being a British colony as well for over £10.

Ok so I promised some advice for you would be eBay sellers, I want to provide some basic information for those of you that wish to either start their own online business or perhaps just want to get rid of their junk. First of all remember that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure, I have sold all manner of different items on eBay, I have sold a van, model soldiers, money, coins and notes, old games, old DVDs, even a jacket that I won through a competition. So remember no matter what you want to get rid of you could probably make some money from it.

So the first steps you need to take are is to create a PayPal account if you don’t already have one, create an eBay account and get verified for a sellers account ASAP. To do this all you need to do is follow PayPal’s easy to follow step by step guide and the process should only take a couple of days. Any money you make during this process will be kept on hold and you won’t be able to transfer it through to your bank account. Don’t worry about this process, as until you have been selling for over 6 months with a decent amount of positive feedback your money will always be kept on hold for around 30 days as a matter of making sure your customers are happy with what they’ve bought.

Next on the list of course is choosing your items and posting an advertisement for your customers to view. Remember that the first picture for your ad is free, I have only ever used one decent well lit photo for my ads so you don’t need to increase the fees placed on you by adding more, unless it’s a car of course then you will need to add plenty. The description should include all relevant information, but you should also take the time to add a back story to the item. Adding a history to an item adds sentimental value and increases the likelihood of an impulse buy. You should also start the bid at around 99p, this gives off the impression that the buyer will get a great deal and will increase the chances of a group of people being attracted to your item. Postage and packaging should be kept cheap, unless it’s a large item as this also has an effect on the buyer’s choice.

You should always take a look to see if there are many other similar items that you’re selling on for auction. Study their ads, see what other people are saying, and build upon it. Don’t forget there are hundreds of videos on YouTube that can provide good wholesome advice on how to be an eBay power seller. One last thing to add before I go, if you have a few spare pennies consider this, pop over to the wholesale part of eBay and look for items that you can re sell for a profit. Many users buy and re sell items on eBay, try to look for something that you know you can sell for more. Food for thought ladies and gents, perhaps one day you will become a power seller, but you must remember if you start making a lot of money you will have to register for VAT, so just take that into consideration.