Use Underscore to Get Longer Titles

By using underscore "_" between words in your title, you'll get to enter a longer title than if you just used spaces between your words.

It's just one more free thing you should do in order to make your listing on your ebay auction stand out... and make money selling on ebay

For new sellers on eBay

For new sellers on eBay, you have five EASY short-term goals to concentrate on:

Get experience through selling some items from around your house. It's key to get a few wins under your belt.

Obtain 10 positive feedbacks to get a gold star. People will start to trust you and bid more. Strive to keep your feedback slate clean; it will play an important role in your future.

Take those shades off! During the first 30 days after registering on eBay you'll have glasses on. This means you're new, or "shady". People will be reluctant to bid.

And lastly... be registered for 2 months, simple enough. Once you have +10 feedback and have 2 months experience, people will trust you a lot more, and your good reputation will help you to make money selling on eBay.

And lastly, find your niche. You have some time to think this one over. It's important to make certain it's the direction you want to go in advance... so much of your success will depend on the customer base you build over time.

You can easily make $1000 or more your first month just by selling odd goods from around your house. That will also help to get your first 10 positive feedbacks.

Short-Term Goals For New Sellers

Everyone needs goals. My best advice to you starting out:

Sell everything, within reason. Do this to learn what you're doing and to make some money selling on Ebay.

If you have anything with any of potential value to others that you aren't using, get rid of it. In fact, take it a step further...

Get rid of stuff on behalf of people you know. Once you start actually doing it, you're going to learn how to make money selling on Ebay about 10 times faster...

Pictures a Must on your Ebay Auction ads!

A Thousand Words is Worth a Picture

I am no photography expert. I rarely take pictures of my products, don't even have a camera, but I do know this...

Photos and other pics make you and your item credible. The better you are with your camera the more bids you’re going to get.

If you have a digital camera, use it. Take several photos of important aspects of the item, flaws and all. If your teapot has crack in it be sure to take a picture of that as well.

Also remember; by inserting a photograph of the item you are selling you get a 'Pic' graphic next to your item description.

Bidders look for the 'Pic' symbol and will be more inclined to visit.

I ALWAYS use some pics in my ads.

Don't be afraid to weave some images and graphics into your auctions- but if you do… make sure it contributes to you message.

A sprinkling of clipart does wonders for html ads, if it contributes to the message. If not, don't use them. They distract.

So, to make money selling on Ebay, use pictures!!

How To Keep Track of Your Ebay Auctions

Once you have more than 5-10 auction listings online, you will need to develop an effective system for keeping track of them all.

Simply listing the items and sending a confirmation email to the winners is not enough.

For example, if a customer purchases one of your products and asks whether you received payment yet or not, you need to track down the item number and see if you have received his payment.

Other customers may want to know when the item was shipped or have other questions pertaining to auctions they won in the past.

The best way to do this is to use the excellent resources at http://www.ebay-auction-secrets.com/auctionnetwork.html . These resources will help you to make money selling on ebay!

Relisting Strategies: Doing Better Next Time...

Did your auction do a flop on you? No bids, nothing? You can still relist for free but you need to answer the question...

What went wrong? Was the auction over-priced? Was it in the wrong category? Do I need a better headline? Description? Or was it that no one wanted to buy your product in the first place.

When you relist, change things up a little.

Consider changing one or more of the following listing variables:

What category you choose

How you word your title

Your reputation/feedback

How you describe your item

Starting bid price

Timing

Photos/pictures

Listing Features like featured ads, etc

Try to pinpoint what went wrong- then relist and see what your results are... thank goodness for testing.

If you test well, you will eventually make money selling on ebay.

Pick Your Niche and Define Your Market

This is ground zero for your success strategy. Find your own niche. Define your market. Then you can know the type of person you’re going to be selling to and the types of product you want to sell.

You're auction sales letters will be a hundred times better if you know the person who you are writing for. (Visit Ebay Auction Secrets for the best, easiest auction sales writer software)

Along with being in a superior position to take advantage of repeat business, the benefits from becoming specialized are endless. you will make money selling on Ebay, for a start!

Use Paypal

Over 75% of eBayer's Use Paypal

Hands down, Paypal is THE auction pay type. It's a free service and easy for bidders to use. If you use it, you'll have almost no fees taking away from your hard earned money-

Sign up with Paypal today and start taking credit card orders instantly

I'm sure you're probably already a member by now :)

You will make more money selling on ebay if you offer PayPal.

When To Ship Your Item

Customer satisfaction is your number one aim. So, you need to ship fast… but don’t let this throw you off.

I used to ship 4-5 days a week. This eventually shrank to one day, Friday. Most customers complement my fast shipping. Never once has someone said, "Hey, you were a little slow with the shipment.”

Actually, it’s a little unfair for the folks who win on Friday, but as a rule I never end auctions on a Friday since it’s probably the worst day to end an auction.

I did this for site traffic reasons by the way.

The people who win on Saturday and Sunday never expect the shipment until the next week.

I also alert them about my shipping day and give them a reason for it… most people appreciate that. They know when to expect the shipment and I don’t have to email them to let them know when I send it.

So every Friday, back when I sold heavily, I would get up around 7am and get everything ready to go. It normally took me about an hour or two to prepare things for the mailman to pickup.
Pick one or two prime days per week to do your shipping business. Stick to it, it gives everything order. Get it done and out of the way.

How to Choose the Best Category

Ok, you have put a lot of thought into your product and completed the introspective phase of getting started.

You're excited about your merchandise and you're ready to start selling it on eBay auctions. The next step is to find your niche market; as applies to online auctions, this refers to the category you will list your item in.

Considering eBay has over 1000 categories to choose from, this should be a relatively easy process. But there is one important trick you need to know.

Before listing your item in any category, follow these simple steps: First, browse through ALL eBay categories and write down which ones you feel are relevant to your product.

You should be able to find at least 5-10 possible choices.

Next, write down the number of auctions currently online in each of those categories (the number of auctions online will appear next to the category name).

An average in any category is about 1000, so if there are more than 1000 you may conclude that the category is active and if there are less than 1000 you may consider it inactive.

I consider categories with over 3000 auctions to be popular and those with over 10000 are most popular.

Using this ranking system, rate the categories that you have chosen for your product.

I recommend listing in active or above categories only because they get the most traffic - if you put your product in an inactive section of eBay™, you may get little or no bids, even if you feature it.

Avoid categories with less than 1000 auctions online!

You'll make more money selling on Ebay if you do this.

Don't forget to check out www.ebay-auction-secrets.com!