So you’ve decided that you want to get started as a seller on eBay. There are a few things that you really need to know before you throw yourself in at the deep end.

What to Sell

First, you need to decide what it is you’re going to sell. What will be your speciality? You’ll do far better on eBay if you become a great source for certain kind of product, because people who are interested in those products will come back to you again and again. You won’t get any loyalty or real reputation if you just sell rubbish at random. You may want to begin by selling used items that you no longer need, just to get a feel for how transactions occur on eBay, but for long-term, you may want to consider buying to sell on eBay.

When you think about what to sell, there are a few things to consider. The most important of these is to always sell what you know. If you try to sell something that you just don’t know anything about then you’ll have difficulty writing good descriptions or pricing the items realistically.

You might think you’re not especially interested in anything, but if you think about what kind of things you usually buy and which websites you go to most often, I’m sure you’ll discover some kind of interest. If all else fails, mention it to your friends and family: they may say “Oh, why don’t you sell …”, and you’ll slap your forehead for not having thought of it.

Don’t worry if you think the thing you’re selling is too obscure - it isn’t. There’s a market for almost everything on eBay, even things that wouldn’t sell once in a year if you stocked them in a shop. You’ll probably do even better if you fill a niche than if you sell something common.

How Will You Collect Payment?

Before you decide to go big-time on eBay, make some transactions yourself. Purchase a few items that you want or need so that you can see how the process works, particularly how you pay for your items. Being on the buying end helps you understand the concerns of your future customers. In browsing to decide on a item to bid on or purchase, you will notice that each seller establishes his own policies regarding payment and shipping. Some use eBay’s built-in payment system, while others use third-party payment processors. Fine-tuning your policies will come after you have some experience, but do formulate some plan for payment and shipping before you ever post your first listing. This may involve opening a PayPal account and a separate bank account that you reserve just for your business. Decide whether you will accept checks or money orders. Decide whether you will sell outside of the US (or your country, for eBay has sites in many countries). Be aware that payment processors, such as PayPal, charge transaction fees to the buyer and conversion fees for foreign currency. You must take these small charges, as well as eBay listing fees, into consideration when establishing your pricing.

Tax and Legal Matters

If you decide to sell on eBay on a full-time basis, you should register as a business. You may be required to collect and remit sales taxes, and this involves some paperwork (and time). In the early days of the Internet and eBay, individual transactions might have been almost “anonymous,” but no longer. Thousands of people earn their full-time living on eBay and millions of dollars change hands every day. You’ll be better served in the long run to accept that if you intend to earn a lot of money on eBay, you are a “business” and must behave and be governed by local, state, and federal laws that regulate businesses. Accept that there may be some expense in setting up your business properly and legally.

Prepare Yourself

There are going to be ups and downs when you sell on eBay. Don’t pack it in if something goes a little wrong in your first few sales. The sellers who are successful on eBay are the ones who enjoy it, and stick with it, whatever happens. You will learn as you encounter new situations. The important thing is to be honest with your buyers, be willing to admit mistakes and to make it right if you did make an error. Good communication with your buyers is the key.

Selling Your Stamps or Coins on eBay

If you are a coin or stamp collector, you may have considered selling your excess or unwanted items on eBay. This is an excellent idea. First, do a lot of browsing on eBay in the categories you might want to sell in. Look for items like the ones you have. You will be competing against the “big boys,” but eBay is one of the “fairest” markets you could possibly find. Realize, though, that stamps and coins rarely actually sell for the value you may see in printed catalogs. You’ll probably want to group your stamps rather than attempting to sell them individually, unless the item you have is rare or really valuable. Just as you’d want to see what you are buying, your potential customers will want good visual images of the items you are selling. The condition of stamps and coins is so important; the images you provide in your listings must clearly show the condition of your items. So, you’ll need a good digital camera or scanner, and you’ll need to know how to process those images to get them into the proper format for posting to your listing.

If you have extras that you want to sell as a lot, it may not be necessary to photograph each and every one, but don’t over-price your lot unless you are absolutely certain of the value of what you have and can provide a comprehensive list of the lot contents.

The costs of shipping stamps is less of a consideration than other commercial items, but do consider shipping costs and methods before you post your listings.

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