How To Sell On eBay

How To Sell On EbayWondering How To Sell On eBay? If you’re looking for step-by-step instructions for how to sell on eBay, you’ve come to the right place!

We will walk through this one step at a time. Here is a quick overview of the steps of how to sell on eBay:

  1. Create an eBay account.
  2. Create a Paypal account.
  3. Get the eBay app.
  4. Start listing.
  5. Choose your listing type and price your item.
  6. Choose the shipping method.
  7. Submit your listing.
  8. Get paid and ship your item.

First, a bit about me. I’ve sold over 5,000 items on eBay. Just last year alone, I sold over 2,000 items.

In one year, I had over $40,000 in gross sales and net almost $20,000 (after all expenses shipping, sales tax, cost of goods, fees, etc).

And this was just from working a few hours during nap time reselling thrifted items! How crazy is that!

(Affiliate link disclosure: this post may contain affiliate links through which I may make a small amount from at no additional cost to you.)

Reseller Bootcamp

If reselling online sounds like something you would be interested in, you’re in luck!

I’ve put together a FREE 5-Day Course called “Reseller Bootcamp.”

You can sign up and get the course delivered straight to your inbox. In it you’ll learn:

  1. What kinds of items you can flip.
  2. The best places to sell to maximize your profits.
  3. 6 keys to taking professional looking photos.
  4. The 5 components to get your items sold.
  5. How to turn flipping into a steady and reliable income.
.

Steps For How To Sell On eBay

1) Create An eBay Account

If you don’t already have an eBay account created, you will want to start by creating one.

It is completely free to create an account and start selling!

If you already have an account you use to make purchases on eBay, you can use that one.

Using your existing account is actually a great way to start selling with positive feedback already on your account.

If you are brand new to eBay, it might be a good idea to do some shopping so you can understand how everything works. It would be a great way to get some positive feedback on your account as well.

Head On Over And Create An Account Now!

It’s easy to create an account if you don’t have one already. Just head on over to eBay to get one set up now.

You will just need to walk through the typical steps of entering your name, email, password, etc.

A Note About eBay Fees

It is free for most categories to list items. You are only charged when your item sells.

You can find out the complete breakdown of eBay fees here.

That said, here is what you need to know:

You get 50 free listings a month!

When your item sells, you will be charged a “final value fee” that is 10% of the total price (including shipping) for most categories.

2) Create A PayPal Account

The next step to sell on eBay is getting your Paypal account set up. If you don’t already have a PayPal account, you will want to get one.

If you happen to have a PayPal account already, you can just use the one you have.

Signing Up

If you need to set up a PayPal account, head over to Paypal and get signed up.

Once you’re there, just click the “Sign Up” button at the top of the page.

PayPal Fees

PayPal is basically your way to collect payments via credit card. And as such, there are payment processing fees.

The fees are calculated on the whole amount the buyer pays including any sales tax that eBay collects.

As a side note, the sales tax eBay collects comes to you but is immediately sent to eBay so you don’t need to worry about remitting it to the state of sale. eBay will take care of the sales tax for you!

The fees for PayPal are $0.30 for each transaction PLUS 2.9% of the total payment received.

EBay Managed Payments

EBay is currently in the process of rolling out eBay Managed Payments. This essentially eliminates the need for a third party (PayPal) to collect payments. It creates a more seamless shopping experience for buyers.

If you are able to take advantage of eBay Managed Payments, the fees are $0.25 for each transaction PLUS 2.7% of the total payment received.

The current status of eBay Managed Payments, is it is by invite only. Once all the bugs have been worked out it will soon be made available for everyone.

 

 

3) Get The eBay App

If you already have the app on your phone you can skip this step. Otherwise download it to your phone.

You will definitely want it to monitor your items and receive notifications (if you like). You may also want to use it to list from.

The eBay app is a must! Get it before moving on.

4) Start Listing

The next step to selling on eBay is to starting listing!

There are basically two ways to list items:

  1. From the eBay app
  2. From the main eBay website/computer

There are pros and cons to each. But if you are just starting out, it’s probably easiest from the eBay app. It is fairly intuitive and the app will walk you through each necessary part.

Once you get the hang of it and are listing multiple items at once, it is easier to list from the computer.

Just choose one method and go with it!

Listing From The eBay App

If you are using the eBay app, just go to the “Selling” page and click the big blue button that says “List an item.”

How To Sell On eBay: Create Your Listing



Title

To start your listing, the first thing you will enter is a title for your item. You will want to name the title of your item the same words someone would search to find the item you are trying to sell.

Some tips:

  • Be as specific as you can.
  • Avoid works like “Cute,” “L@@K,” and the like. Those aren’t words shoppers will be searching for and they can actually hurt your rank.
  • You get 80 characters. Use as many of them as you can.

Example of Bad Title: Cute black dress.
Example of Good Title: J Crew Women’s Dress Peplum Midi Black Size 10

Notice, the good title includes:

  • The brand
  • Who it is for
  • What it is
  • Keywords
  • Color
  • Size


Photos

Photos are what shoppers see first before anything else when browsing. So you will want to make sure you have great photos.

Some tips for photos:

  • Take pictures from different angles.
  • Take some close ups.
  • Make sure you have good lighting. Avoid shadows.
  • Take pictures of any flaws or defects. Be as upfront with the buyer as possible.
  • You get 12 pictures. Make use of them!


Use Square Pictures

I also suggest taking pictures prior to starting your listing and not accessing your camera through the app. Why?

If you take pictures from within the app, the aspect is not square (and it can’t be changed to square). You want your pictures to be square as that is what is used.

Here is an example to show you how it looks on the shopper’s end. The picture for the first listing is not taken in square mode. You can see how you will end up with gray stripes on the side to make it into a square.

The picture for the second listing is taken in square mode. It looks much more professional.

By doing this one small thing, your listing will stand out from the competition.


Non Square Photo Vs. Square Photo


Enter Category, Item Specifics, and Description

Category. The next section you will come to when creating your listing is the category. Most of the time the category will update when you enter your title.

If you need to change it, just click on that field to select the correct category. Make sure you have the correct category before continuing on to the item specifics.

Item Specifics. Item specifics will be filled in based on what you entered in the title. Make sure everything looks correct.

You will also want to add any additional information that you can.

Description. The description is where you can add anything additional that has not been covered. At a minimum, you should include any flaws and measurements where applicable.


If You’re Wondering What Supplies You Need To List…

If you’re wondering what supplies you need to start listing items (such as for taking pictures), you can see the EXACT list of reseller supplies I use here.

You don’t need a professional camera!

5) Choose Your Listing Type & Price Your Item

The next step in How To Start Selling On eBay is to choose your listing type and price your item! There are two basic listing types available:

  1. Auction
  2. Buy It Now

For auction listings, you will need to select how much you want bids to start at.

For buy it now listings, you will just enter the price you want.

I know it can be confusing knowing which type of listing to go with. So I’ve written a post discussing when to choose auctions and when to choose buy it now price.


How To Price Your Item

From within the listing tool, it is easier to get an idea of how much you can get for your item. To see similar sold prices just click on where it says “See how other sellers priced it.”



When you do that, the app will helpfully provide examples of recently sold items and their sale price.



 

Click To Join Reseller Bootcamp Now!

6) Choose Your Shipping Method

Shipping is probably the one biggest factor that keeps most people from selling on eBay.

Fortunately shipping isn’t as hard as you think. And it definitely gets easier with experience.

As you are listing, you will come to the section for shipping. The app will give you recommendations based on what it thinks the weight is and what it thinks the shipping method should be.

It is wrong 99% of the time. You will want to enter your own information.

There are three basic things to enter:

  1. Package Details
  2. Shipping Method
  3. What You Are Charging


Package Details

Before choosing the shipping method, you will want to enter your package details.

  • Weight of your package
  • Dimension of your package

Just click on the field where it says “Package details” to enter your own weight and size.



Be as accurate as possible as you don’t want an item to underestimated the cost to ship. This is where a scale comes in handy.

Also, always make sure to count the packaging in your size and weight as well.

View On Amazon

Shipping Method

You will want to choose your own shipping method. Just click on the next field and you will see all the options.

There are several options for carriers. The shipping providers available through eBay are:

  • USPS
  • UPS
  • FedEx

It will looks something like this:



Each method is listed with the price next to it.

For our example, eBay’s recommended shipping method was USPS Priority Mail ranging in cost from $8.25 to $14.90.

For this particular item, I would select the next one down: USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope for $7.75.

Of course, you will want to make sure your item fits in the particular size package you select.

Here are some helpful hints for choosing your shipping method:

  • USPS is cheapest for smaller items (such as clothes) and for items that fit in flat rate envelopes and boxes.
  • If you are shipping anything very heavy or bulky that doesn’t fit in USPS flat rate boxes, UPS Ground and FedEx Ground or Smart Post are good options.
  • USPS Priority Mail Small Flat Rate Box is the size to hold a cell phone or other similar-sized item.

Be sure to choose the correct method. You don’t want to loose money on shipping!

What You Are Charging For Shipping

The next field in the shipping section covers how you will charge for shipping. When you click on it, you will be taken to a screen that looks like this:

The three choices available are:

  1. Charge shipping that is calculated based on your buyer’s location
  2. Charge a fixed amount regardless of the buyer’s location.
  3. Offer free shipping. Meaning you will pay for shipping.

My recommendation is to go with “Calculated Shipping” for your listings unless you are completely confident in how much something is going to cost to ship.

Calculated shipping will charge your buyer on how much it will cost to ship to their specific location. It will also automatically update when shipping rates increase as they often do.

The choice to offer free shipping is up to you. And you will need to figure it into the price of your item.


International Shipping

One of the great things about selling on eBay is having customers worldwide! I’ve even had repeat international customers.

eBay offers a few different options for international shipping. If you are brand, brand new I would hold off on it. If you’re ready to tackle it, it’s really pretty easy to get started. You can read more about international shipping here in: How To Ship Internationally on eBay.


Additional Shipping Tips…

Here are some additional posts I’ve written to help make the job of shipping easier for you:

7) Submit Your Listing

Once you’ve got everything entered into the listing, you are just about ready to submit your listing.

Just double check that everything looks okay. You will also want to double check that you are not getting charged any fees to list. It should say “List it for free” just like this:



If there is a price to list there, go back and review your listing and make sure you aren’t paying for something you don’t want to.

If everything looks right, click the big blue button that says “List your item.”

 

If you realize a mistake after submitting, in most cases, you can revise your listing.

8) Get Paid & Ship Your Item

Now that your item is listed, you are just about finished. Now comes the hard part of waiting for your item to sell!

Depending on your price and the demand it could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few months.


Get Paid

Don’t ship your item until you get paid. EBay will not let you purchase or print a label until you are paid.

To see what supplies you may need for shipping check out Reseller Supplies I Use where I show you the exact items I use.

Your Funds

If you’re new to selling, it may take a while to have access to your money as PayPal may put a hold on your funds. This is only temporary.

Once you have demonstrated a history of positive buyer experiences, your funds will be available immediately when a buyer makes a purchase.


Ship Your Item

Once your item sells and is paid for, you will get an email from eBay letting you know your item sold and it’s time to ship. If you’ve set up notifications through the app, you will also get a notification on your phone.

Don’t worry – you don’t have to go to the post office and stand in line for hours. You will be able to purchase a label through eBay (likely at a discount)!

It can be done from the app and will look like this:



All you need to do is:

  1. Purchase the label.
  2. Print it.
  3. Attach it to your package.
  4. Get it to your carrier.

For getting it to the shipping carrier, you can either find a drop box or site for your carrier, or some carriers (like USPS) will allow you to schedule a pick up so you don’t even have to leave your house.

This is one of the great things about USPS! To schedule a USPS Pickup go HERE.

Summary of How To Sell On eBay

Those are the basic steps of how to sell on eBay. To summarize:

  1. Create an eBay account.
  2. Create a Paypal account.
  3. Get the eBay app.
  4. Start listing.
  5. Choose your listing type and price your item.
  6. Choose the shipping method.
  7. Submit your listing.
  8. Get paid and ship your item.

With these steps you can get started making money on eBay today!

Be Sure To Sign Up For Reseller Bootcamp Here:

.

Frequently Asked Questions

No!

If you are wondering when you might need a store subscription, check out 10 Reasons To Open An eBay Store

Wondering if you need the get a business account? The answer is no. A personal account will do just fine.

Of course, if you want to upgrade, you can. And there is no cost for upgrading.

However, for selling on eBay it isn’t necessary.

You don’t need a whole lot to get started. Pretty much just your phone and a scale.

You’ll need shipping supplies once your item sells.

If you’re serious about making an income from reselling, then you’ll also want to invest in a lighting kit and mannequin.

If you are looking to make a steady, reliable income from selling on eBay, first, let me tell you it is definitely possible.

The key is to treat it as a business. Because what you put in is what you’ll get out.

If you wish to get started, I recommend signing up for your FREE 5-Day Reseller Bootcamp.

 

If You're Ready To Get Going...

Things To Sell:

Supplies For Resellers

How To’s