| Ok, so you have decided you are going to sell an | | | | product it may be worth considering selling one |
| item in ebay be it a dvd, stamp collection or | | | | item on a buy it now and one as a normal bidding |
| whatever. How should you go about getting the | | | | auction - this will cover you both ways. |
| best possible price? | | | | Having a good description and photo is very |
| First of all you should do some research into what | | | | important. I have seen countless unsold items |
| prices similar items have been fetching. You can | | | | where the product was probably very good but a |
| use ebay's 'completed listings' tool to do this. This | | | | terrible photo make it look awful. If appropriate, |
| shows you what has been sold and at what price | | | | use a scanner for eg stamps, but for larger items |
| and is split down into product categories. This will | | | | take photos using a digital camera and keep |
| give you a good guide as to what price you can | | | | taking pictures until you get a good photo. A good |
| expect to achieve. | | | | photo is worth a 1000 words! Bidders are |
| The next important step is your opening price. | | | | instinctively drawn towards items with photos and |
| You do not want to set a high opening price that | | | | away from those without. Give as much |
| will scare off bidders. It is far better to open with | | | | information as you can as to condition, age, |
| a low reserve and hope this attracts several | | | | manufacturer, model number etc. If you were |
| bidders. It is a fact that people are drawn to | | | | selling a tv for example, tell the viewer that it is a |
| items with bids on them already. Having several | | | | Phillips 32" flat screen tv model number P2350, |
| bidders can lead to competitive bidding and you | | | | two years old put in perfect working order. |
| are more likely to receive a higher final price. To | | | | Finally, make sure you give all the details for post |
| restrict the chance of the item going for a very | | | | and packaging. I've been caught before when |
| low price you should set a reserve price - if this is | | | | buying a small item where I thought the postage |
| not reached then the item will not be sold. | | | | would be pennies; the seller didn't disclose the |
| Consider using a 'buy it now'. Some bidders do not | | | | postage cost until after the auction and I had a |
| like to wait until the end of an auction and would | | | | nasty shock. I'm not the only person this has |
| rather 'impulse buy' in the knowledge they have | | | | happened to so make sure you disclose your |
| won the auction. Other bidders enjoy the thrill of | | | | postage and packing charges or you may lose |
| the auction. If you have more than one of the | | | | some potential bidders. |