My First Ebay Sale

Recently, I made my first e-bay sale! There are a  few things you never forget in life- your first kiss, your baby's first words ( sorry no personal experience!), the first time you left your fly unzipped in front of an audience ;.your 1st ebay sale certainly ranks up there with em all.

Initially I must admit, I was extremely skeptical about my chances of  making a sale.After all I reasoned, why would anyone be interested in a 3-year old baseball cap going for $7.95 + Shipping costs? ( ..incidentally, I got my cap free as a gift) Boy, was I wrong. If there's anything I learnt from this episode, its that people will buy absolutely anything on ebay!!

Well, of course some things might be harder to peddle than others - don't expect your used baby shoes from 35 years ago to sell as well as your limited edition Michael Jordan 1997 Collector's Edition Basketball card; or your piece of toast that you crazily think looks like the Virgin Mary (nyeh!) to outsell your designer Jimmy Choo's ...(actually I might be wrong on this one...)

In any case here are my 4 simple tips to ensure your 1st sale goes as smoothly as silk on a baby's bottom :

1. Beware of hidden listing costs!
E-bay generally charges very little to put an item up for sale, but that's not to say you should take them lightly ! Almost every add-on costs money. Its attracting to tick what I call the "make-fancy" boxes like sub-headers, additional pictures, layout designs, but just be aware that they are not FREE.

2. Ensure Shipping Costs + Clauses are covered in full!
Do not make my rookie mistake of undercharging for shipping costs. Things to consider  are

•  Are you using regular, registered or express post? Some obviously cost more than others.
  
• Are you packaging your item in a purchased shipping box, or using the Chinese takeaway container you just wiped the oil off from?
• Be realistic about your shipping times, always remember : under-promise and over-deliver

3. Have a stunning picture up.
Ensure your picture accentuates the best bits of your item. You have one picture, so make it count. And NO, it is not acceptable to have your half finished roast chicken, floundering in the background!

4. Get a compelling item description up.
The golden rule of writing a description is this : be honest but always creative. please don't take this to mean : be dull & drab. People are looking to buy, you know that by the fact they're actually browsing for your item. So, give them a reason to buy YOUR item. Some words can be "spiced up". The same way Sanitary Enforcement Officer  is really just "Janitor"  -  "shining , brand new" can be written as "sparkling, glossy, mint condition, never been used!"

Hope to hear your own experiences of shopping on ebay.