Category: 
April 30, 2010
Garage sales and flea markets are so 20th century. Quality manufacturers who sell to us at good wholesale prices are nice also. Today, if you have merchandise to peddle, the first market you want to try and sell it on is eBay.
This amazing market place sells virtually everywhere on Earth and has spawned lots of copycats. It is truly the internet marketing place.
You will be joining thousands of other like minded citizens who seek to make money selling their products on the popular web site. Everyone is aware of the online selling gravy train, so you will need to make your items stand out somehow in order to make more money on eBay.
Size up your Competition
Before listing your items for an auction, check out the Completed Items listings on eBay itself. Here, you will see what products are up for sale, what their prices are, and how they are presented to the public market. You might also get a better idea on what title to put on your product to produce a higher price.
Do not overload the auction site with items. Your income will be higher on eBay auctions if you sell a few items at the same time rather than overload the auction site with many items.
How To Describe Your Wares
You will have limited space for product information so make your words count. Be intense and study other similar items for sale to get more ideas. The competition can not hide from you here.
In the auction title be careful to avoid words such as Look, or Wow. No one ever types in these words to do a search. Use words that potential buyers will be likely to use when searching for your product. Put yourself in the buyer shoes for best results.
Be generously informative with information in the auction description. Include any product details that buyers will find helpful. Walk in the shoes of the buyer. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words (or perhaps a thousand dollars!). A good, color picture is absolutely essential to catch the eye of a buyer.
Shipping News Must Be Kept As Low As Possible.
Do not tack on excessively high shipping and handling costs to your auction sales. While your goal is to make more money on eBay, unfairly high shipping fees may turn off buyers. You will definitely get more sales dropped and refunded with this greedy tactic.
Treat your customer the way you wish to be treated. Many businesses have gone broke because they did not do this simple act of kindness.
There is always another seller who will give them a better deal. Much of my success has come from lower prices, shipping and higher quality wrapped up with the best service possible. Trust me on this one.
James Lowe
http://www.articlesbase.com/ecommerce-articles/ebay-is-a-market-for-sellers-59565.html
Horaayy..there are 4 comment(s) for me so far ;)
How do Ebay sellers manage to sell things below market price and still make money?
I bought my iTouch 2nd Gen 16GB (brand new) at only $242 while the market price is $299 plus tax. I have also found a lot of things selling at Ebay for less than the market price, if you are only selling that item once, I guess you wouldn’t mind making less; but some sellers sell hundreds of items all for less, how would they be able to make a profit?
There are a number of ways to do this.
1. You are a wholesale distributor selling product on the side.
2. You are a overstock company that buys overstock of retail stores at low prices.
3. You stole a ton.
4. You sell quallity knockoffs.
5. You are a retailer clearing stock or going out of business.
More often than not it is number 2 or 5.
References :
its called wholesaling, basically the seller will contact the manufacturer or another wholesaler and by them at factory prices, these prices they get them for are incredibly small however the must buy in bulk, i sell ipod headphones, genuine apple at school for £1 , however i buy them for just 11p so i make a huge profit
References :
own experience
Most all of the answers above are correct but it all comes down to one thing: VOLUME SALES
When you sell volume, you can reduce your profit margins and make good money.
This is how Henry Ford did it:
VOLUME SALES = HANDSOME PROFITS:
“In October 1908, the first Model T Fords were sold for $950. As Henry Ford found new ways to reduce production costs, he passed the savings on to consumers as lower prices. By 1912, the car was selling for $575. It was the first time that a new car had sold for less than the average wage of U.S. workers. The price of the Model T would continue to drop during its 19 years in production, at one point dipping as low as $280. With each price cut, more and more consumers could afford to buy the cars.
This reduction in price meant that Ford’s profit margins (on each Model T) decreased but its revenues increased. How was that possible? In 1909 the profit on a car was $220. By 1914, the margin had dropped to $99. But sales were exploding. While profit margins on individual cars were smaller, the added sales volume increased total profits. During this period, the company’s net income rose from $3 million to $25 million. Its U.S. market share rose from 9.4 percent in 1908 to a remarkable 48 percent in 1914.”
http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.php?lesson=692&page=teacher
In short, one time sellers of a particular item cannot be competitive with volume sellers of that item.
References :