Different Ways to Sell on eBay - By: Vickie Sayce

Before the Internet was popular, people had two common ways to buy things. Either they needed to head to a store to find the things they need or place an order by telephone and have things delivered. Once these items are no longer of use, the tendency is to sell the product by means of garage sale or poster ads in hopes of attracting people. Of course this method hardly works unless you have a lot of connections in your local community.

Now with the introduction to the Internet and eBay, it is now possible for even the average work at home mom to start selling things that they no longer need if ever they wish to earn some extra money. Before you start setting up your eBay account and eBay store, know that there are different ways to sell your item and choosing the best selling format is necessary for having maximum sales. Each format has its own advantages so you need to choose the right selling format based on the product, quality, and other parameters.

Auction-style

This is one of the most popular ways of selling because profits can be made depending on the popularity and rarity of the product. This is useful if you cannot assess the value of the product and see that nobody else is selling the product. If you think the product isn't very popular, keep the product there for 7 or 10 days so you can give more time for people to bid. You can also add a fixed price as well giving the option for people to pay the full price if they can already afford it. Keep this price slightly above average so you can encourage people to bid and possibly exceed the given fixed price.

Fixed Price

If you don't think your product will receive lots of bids, it is better to set a fixed price otherwise you might lose on profits. This type of selling requires that you know the value of the product and know how to deduct the value based on the age and condition of the product. If you got the numbers right, there should be a number of people that are interested and willing to pay the price you gave.

These items can stay longer, for 30 days, or you can use the "Good 'Til Cancelled" which pretty much stays there and renews itself every 30 days if there are no buyers Keep in mind that there are fees involved every time your item is renewed.

If you want to make the offer more tempting without adding a bidding component, you can use the "Best Offer" option which allows people to negotiate and propose their price. While you won't profit from these since lower prices are proposed, you can still compare best offers and choose the highest. This option is best when selling highly expensive products.

Remember that no matter what selling format you choose, there will be insertion fees and final value fees after you made the sale. There are also advanced methods of selling such as the story inventory where you can sell set items. Familiarize yourself with these two styles and learn the strengths and weaknesses of each

About the Author

Vickie Sayce has written a very informative book on starting an eBay business to make money from home while raising the kids. If you want to make money on eBay, visit http://AuctionPaydayKidsPlay.com and sign up for a free 7-Day Mini Course. Vickie teaches others how to get started on eBay and offers tips and reources at her blog, VickieSayce.com. She has been buying and selling on eBay since 2001; Her ebay store is Vickie's Ventures.

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