What I (Think I) Have Learned on eBay So Far - After My First Year of Selling

I found this old draft, but reread and all still relevant.

eBay selling is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor and changes between categories and sellers. Here are some guides I use which may or may not apply to you.

• Not finding close or exact comps is a good thing usually; it allows you to make your own price (within reason). And if buying at an auction, bids sometimes stay low for this reason.
• Stay away from plates, china and porcelain items with crazing, chip, cracks; very few exceptions here. Garbage-ware.
• When buying at estate sales and auctions, inspect inspect inspect.
• Go with what interests you and don't be afraid to move into a new category. You will get an opportunity to learn more, keep your brain active and open new opportunities and maybe ones others haven’t thought of.
• If you do find something is broken, see if you can salvage some costs if it can be sold for parts or repair (doesn’t work for dishes).
• I try to buy inventory I can sell for no less than double.
• I don’t do free shipping and prefer buyer know the costs separately. 
• Framed signed pictures can often be picked up at great prices. Take the time to learn how to package and ship and a good opportunity. Deep discounts from UPS on shipping too.
• Always be transparent on condition, this will build trust and set expectations appropriately.
• I like books, cheap to buy, low shipping cost, and easy to ship. But, you can get a ton of crap….I don’t scan and look for oddball antique/vintage book, complete sets and signed books primarily.  
• When no comps, start pricing higher and you can always reduce later; monitor views and watcher counts to guide you. Little to no downside doing this.
• Constantly work to increase your average sale; this means you will have to increase your buying costs but your confidence will build over time. 
• Try to move your inventory out of your house once multiple rooms in your house are getting filled. Happy spouse, happy life. Storage units are cost effective here. I had listings in every room and the garage….wife was miserable. Rented a 20x20 climate controlled storage unit with power and now keep inventory there (most of it anyway) and life is much better.
• I use the ‘allow offers’ option on 90% of my listings and always put a minimum offer to pass through. Then I never counter and just accept the offer 100% of the time, buyers are happier because they didn’t have to haggle.  About half of the buyers hunt for lowest price but some, maybe half, just “But it Now”. UPDATE 1/20/23 - I do this less often now that I am established and have built the brand to some extent, but I do look to have an initial BIN price that is at the lower end of the comps. 
• Periodically find your bad buys and junk listing and move them or remove them. I put a marker character in the beginning of the title and just drop price to lowest I will sell for ($3.99). Then when next neighborhood yard sale comes around, end all those listing and sell what I can and donate the rest.
• Know the fees of eBay and shipping intimately. International fees, final vale fees, transaction fees, auction fees…..they add up and roughly add up to 15% to 18% of the cost. I have a primer and example here.
• I always use promoted listing at a fixed rate of 3.5%. Keep it simple, not too excessive. Over 50% of my sales are promoted item sales, Traffic has increases 4 fold.
• Use the Global  Shipping Program, buyer and seller protection is built in, no customs forms, no brainer.
• Your pictures don’t have to be staged in a light box, just take as many as you can, have good natural light, good quality resolution, and capture flaws.
• Set goals for yourself: number of listings, sales per month, % of items with watchers, total listings and value, # of store followers, average sale price are some good starters.
• Track your own sales and costs and fees, know what loses money and makes the most money.
• Strive for perfection, 100% positive feedback (don’t settle for less), low return rates, etc.
• Trust your buyers, but know how to identify scammers…they are out there but by and large, most people are honest. And when they are not, use the Blocked Buyer List.
• I accept returns and cancellations unconditionally, only good has come from it.
• Be diligent of answering questions and monitoring your inbox.
• If your doing more than 20 or 30 listings a week, definitely get an eBay Store subscription, it’s worth it; and be sure to use your $25 credit for supplies each quarter.
• I won’t go into shipping much here as I have other blog posts with more details. A good general starting point can be found here.
• Use the Time Away and when you so you have no pressure to ship quickly when your not available or out of town. More info here.
• Try to add new listings several times a week, daily isn’t necessary, but every few days at a minimum. It also helps keep you engaged. I have built up a lot of overstock like comics and less interesting things to dip into if sourcing is slow.
• Read your feedback comments and learn from them. Or…take pride in them!
• Find other sellers that are successful and find a few things to emulate. 
• To take things to the next level if you are planning on this as your full-time (or only part-time) gig, plan to invest, keep an eye on sales growth, but for the first year or two, plan to reinvest heavily back in and keep the growth going. So many factors at play here like inflation, gas prices, stock market, etc….stay the course.
• If a buyer is not 100% satisfied, they get a full refund and shipping. Normally don’t even ask for item back. When I started this, a driving value was that I would do this my own way. 1 plate out of 10 chipped, full refund (and I will send them a replacement if I have one). 
• You don’t know everything, there is ALWAYS more to learn! The learning, improving, and growing is the one of the best parts of it all (at least for me).
• Mistakes are OK…don’t dwell on them, just say ‘yeah, I shouldn’t have bid so much on those ass-less chaps’ and move on (oddly enough, the ass-less chaps sold well and even bought a second pair at auction).
• I used to add a handling charge, but dropped it as I noticed feedback on shipping charges was notably lower than other areas.
• Always be on the lookout for free and cheap supplies. I even buy old cheap boxes of felt backed table cloths and cut into strips to protect items before sold. UPDATE 1/20/23 - I make a LOT of custom boxes for pictures and books…what I do is on my Costco visits leave with 20 or 30 of the cardboard sheets (free and they are fine with you taking them). 
• In your first year or two, you will need to be aggressive on pricing but once you get good history 
• Have fun! UPDATE 1/20/23 - Still having fun!

I’ll add more as I recall them.

John