Start Selling

It’s easy to start selling at eBay since the process is easy and smooth to understand and implement….and it costs you very little money to get started.  One of the most significant things to note about selling on eBay is that there is little financial risk involved to get you started.  Most new businesses require large amounts of money to cover start-up costs such as rent and distribution.

There are really only a few things that you need to become a powerseller on eBay:

• products to sell
• a digital camera so that you can take pictures of the items that you’re selling an upload them to the eBay website
• a computer
• the enthusiasm to become an eBay powerseller and increase your annual income

You’ll want to make sure that you have enough room in your house to accommodate the items that you’re going to be selling.  You’ll need to have room set aside not only to store these items but also a space set aside where you can manage the shipping of these items.  If your goal is to be a huge eBay powerseller you might want to eventually find a space to rent so that you can sell your items in large quantities.

There are many sellers on eBay since the process of signing up is so simple.  Becoming an eBay powerseller is just one step away from being a seller who sells only the occasional item.  Powersellers make multiple sales each month and earn high profits from these sales.

Getting started selling at eBay is as simple as registering your name, or your business name.  There are some details that you’ll need to include in your registration as a seller, such as where you are located and how you plan on shipping your sold items.

Your goal as an eBay powerseller should be to look as professional as you can so that buyers take you seriously and learn to trust your reputation.  Setting up an “online” shop is one way that you can gain a more professional outlook among the many sellers that can be found on eBay.

There are several different options available at eBay that will help you to make a good impression on buyers.  You don’t want buyers to think of you as just another eBay seller and pass you by for a more professional seller.  When you first start selling your items on eBay you’ll find that there is a learning curve as you find out what works for you and what doesn’t.  The important thing is to be flexible so that you can make changes to the way that you sell in your favor.

Seller Registration

All types of people and businesses are using eBay to sell their products.  This includes the stay-at-home mom who is supplementing her family’s income by selling craft products to large companies such as IBM who are seeing huge profits by selling online through eBay.  When you sell items on eBay you can reach a large number of customers all around the world.

There are many benefits to selling on eBay.  Some of these legal and financial benefits include:

• The low cost of registering at eBay.
• The ability to have fast and secure transactions with your buyers.
• Tax laws that are clearly defined.
• Accounting advice that even an amateur can follow.
• Low advertising costs.
• Free advertising tools.

There are many books that have been published that show you how successful you can be selling on eBay.  This is a great market niche itself, to focus on the sale of items that show others how to sell, what to sell, and what to sell it for.

With so many benefits of selling on eBay more and more people are taking advantage of the opportunity.  Make sure that you’re one of the successful sellers by knowing all of the legal and financial angles of the eBay selling process.   The sellers who fail are often the ones who remain blind to the legal side of selling online through eBay.  Studies show that the most successful sellers on eBay operate businesses that are well organized and maintain perfect financial records of each and every transaction that they do both through eBay and with their wholesalers.

The first thing that you will have to do in order to sell on eBay to is register.  There are several reasons why you first have to register on eBay.  These include:

• EBay requires a certain amount of personal information from you.  This is to keep the eBay site secure.
• EBay requires that you register with them before you can begin selling an item or bidding on other saleable items.
• Registration will provide you with updates on the latest eBay information and deals.

Registration at eBay is easy. All you have to do is follow the steps laid out for you.  You will be required to provide your name, address, phone number, and a valid e-mail address.  Many eBay powersellers choose to use a business name for their online transactions.  You’ll want to include this business name in your eBay registration.

The next step needed for registration is your online user ID.  This is the ID by which you will be known as both a buyer and seller.  Make sure to choose an ID name that sounds businesslike and professional.  You will not want to come up with a cute name only to want to change it to something more sophisticated at a later date.  Choose a password that is easy for you to remember.

Once you have completed the first two steps you simply have to check your e-mail for confirmation of your registration.  You will then need to set up a seller’s account.  You will be asked to provide a valid credit or debit card as well as provide your banking information.  This is necessary so that when you start selling your items eBay has accurate and legitimate information about how and where you will be accepting payment.  EBay also needs your banking and credit information so that they can bill you appropriately for the small fees owed to them for any listing fees and commissions.  Any personal information collected by eBay is done through a secure system so you do not have to worry about security issues.

The registration process takes only a few minutes for you to complete.  Make sure your credit card and banking information is accurate and up to date to avoid confusion and error later.

During the registration process at eBay you’ll be required to provide information about yourself and the items that you’re selling.  One of the things that you’ll want to remember is to always keep the information in your seller profile current.  Not only does eBay need to have this current information, sellers want to see that your information is accurate since it lends you a high degree of professionalism.

Your email address: When you first register with eBay you’ll be need to use a current email address for the registration process.  If you change your email address it’s not necessary to register again.  You want to maintain the status that you’ve built up as a successful seller on eBay by simply notifying eBay of your email address change.  There is a “Change of Email Address” form that you can fill out and return to eBay that makes the change easy and fast.  It’s important that you don’t register with your new email address because when you do you risk losing the information and data that correlates with your old email address.  Should you mistakenly reregister with a new email address it can take eBay administration up to two weeks to merge the data from the old address to the new one.  In the event that you do register again with a new email address you can contact eBay at ukemerge@ebay.com to let them know.

Your User ID: You can change your User ID at any time by using the “Change User ID” form.  Your User ID is an important aspect of your eBay account.  It’s a way for buyers to identify you easily, especially when you’re relying on repeat sales from the same buyers.  You don’t want to take the chance of buyers not finding you by changing your User ID.  This is why it’s important to create a User ID that you know is right for your business when your first register with eBay so that you avoid these changes.  Your User ID should be a reflection of you and your business as opposed to a cute user name.  Remember that buyers are going to identify you by this User ID so you want to be as professional as possible.

Your eBay password: Your password is your access to your eBay account so you’ll want to remember it and protect it.  If you want to change your password at any time you can use the “Change Password” form on the eBay website.  There is also a “Forgot Your Password” form that you can fill out if you forget what your password is.  You’ll receive notification in your email of how you can change your password so that you can access your eBay seller’s account.  Your present password will stay valid until you change it, so if you forget your password you won’t be able to access your account until you fill out the “Forgot Your Password” form and make the password change and respond back to eBay with replying email.

Your account information: When you want to make any other account changes that include information about your account or yourself, you can contact eBay by using the “Change Your Registered Information” form.   This form will allow you to make any changes to your account that you need eBay and buyers to know.  Keep in mind that any changes may take a day or two to be implemented on your account information page.  Plan your changes accordingly so that you let your buyers see what you want them to see.

Other administration features: There are other administration features at eBay that you should be aware of so that you can become familiar and proficient with the selling process.  The more experienced and comfortable you are moving around the eBay website the more you can focus on the selling of your products and the promotion of your business.

If you’re looking for a certain feature of eBay, and can’t seem to find it, don’t hesitate to contact them by email to find the appropriate place where you need to look.

Some of the other administrative features that you can find on eBay include:

• Feedback Forum:   The Feedback Forum is filled with information about your eBay transactions.  This information is available for other eBay users to see.
• My eBay:  This eBay feature allows you to view your current, and historical, selling and bidding information.  This is handy feature to have since you can find out in one viewing what you’ve sold and what you’ve bidding on if you’re buying something from another seller.
• About Me:  The “About Me” feature of eBay lets you provide any other information to eBay registered users that you want them to know.  This can include personal or business information.

EBay administrative services are there to make your selling experience as easy as possible and so that your business can succeed.  Take advantage of these administrative services whenever you can so that you build a solid and positive relationship between eBay and yourself.