Effectively finding products to sell on ebay to consign or not to consign

I remember the first time I sold something for someone on eBay. It was a great feeling. Not great, like, I’m getting married tomorrow or, I just won the lottery, but another type of great.

I felt as thought I had helped someone out and made some extra money. Those two things combined can create such a fulfilling feeling. This act, however, that of taking ownership of someone’s belongings, then selling those belongings and receiving a commission is commonly called consignment.

Consignment is a great way to start an online auction business. After selling all the unwanted items lying around your house, you are probably not going to have that much experience in any one type of niche products. If you are able to have a variety of other people’s things to sell, you can get the hands-on experience of handling many different types of items and eventually focusing in on one particular item.

That is the biggest obstacle to overcome when you start out on eBay. I even hate to say it here to you because I have read so very much: What should I sell? Sometimes familiarity breeds contempt and sometimes, as in this case, it is necessary. It goes without say that it is necessary to decide what you want to sell on eBay before beginning an eBay business. You guys know this.

When thinking about ideas of choosing what to sell, it’s easy to let a small amount of bias get in the way. Ok, come on now . . . you know that everyone wants to sell what they like. I, for instance, love books and though I’m having a little success currently, I will have to eventually decide if the market is too competitive. As will you in deciding what you want to sell. Of course, don’t count what you like out. It’s really of matter of deciding what is practical and not letting too much bias get in the way.

Maybe you don’t want to start a consignment business. It’s just not for you. There are many other ways to decide what to sell. Terms like market research are intimidating to me and may be to you also. So, let’s just call this part . . .

Looking for the Expensive Stuff

Honestly, that’s what we want to do. And where do you find them? The very place you started out on. Right there on eBay. The most effective “market research” you can do is looking at closed auctions in any given category. Let me tell you the easiest way to do this.

Make sure you’re signed into the eBay website. Avert your eyes ever so slightly to the upper right hand corner. What do you see? White space? Ok, a little to the left (depending on your monitor resolution) and you see a search box. That tiny box that gives you access to all the consumer products you can imagine. Don’t type anything in it. Click on the link directly below it that says Advanced Search.

Now you have the portal to look for the expensive stuff. Choose your category on the left, type in your keyword, then click on the Completed lists only checkbox. You can also search within certain price ranges and highest or lowest price first.

This is the best, freest way to find what is selling well on eBay. The key is, to stay consistent. Look for trends and even though you think what you like may not be practical, check it out anyway. You find yourself selling what you love and making money at the same time.

And when that happens, you’ll be helping yourself out and making some extra money.

How to use ebay s promotional flyer tool

If you have an eBay store, then you can print off promotional flyers for it for free.

You might have seen ones that other sellers have sent you – they’re basically lists of items available in their eBay stores, usually bearing this default message: “Thank you for your purchase! Please visit my eBay Store for more great items and friendly, reliable customer service.” If you know what you’re doing, though, you can really make your flyer stand out from the crowd.

How Do I Do That?

Go to ‘My eBay’, then ‘Manage Your Store’. Now click ‘Promotions’, and you’ll see the ‘Store Promotional Flyer’ option there for you to use. A flyer will be automatically created using the settings and items from your eBay store, and you can customise it however you want. Be sure to add a border, to make your flyer more attractive visually.

Once you’ve created a flyer, you can print it as many times as you need to – it will be updated each time you print it to show your latest items, so you should only print what you need that day.

What Can I Do With the Flyers?

Well, there are all sorts of uses for promotional flyers.

While you could go and hand them out on the street, that probably wouldn’t be especially effective. Most of the people who walk past you and take the flyer will have no interest in your product, and it’ll just be a waste of paper, ink and time. No, as with all marketing, there are better ways to target your flyers.

Put them in envelopes: if you’ve been putting business cards or compliment slips in your envelopes, use the flyers instead. It’s like sending out a mini-catalogue to your buyers, and including the right items on it might help you make a few backend sales.

In your shop: If you have a real shop or business, then you can hand flyers out to your customers to let them know that you also sell things on eBay.

At a rival’s shop: This is a bit of guerrilla marketing, but maybe you’re into that. You can try handing your flyers out outside a shop that sells your items. Be aware that this might get the shop’s owners a little upset if they see you, however – you should only give flyers to people leaving the shop, not entering it.

Send them to businesses: Look up the addresses of businesses in the area that might need what you’re selling, and send them flyers in the post.

Flyers give you another advantage: If someone types your store’s address as it appears on the flyer and then buys something, then you’ll get the 75% final value fee credit for advertising, without even having to pay anything for advertising!

Users who are inexperienced on eBay, though, can create a few problems for you – they might not quite know what they’re doing, and that’s never good. In the next email, we’ll cover how to report and handle eBay transaction problems.

Ebay and the advent of cybercash

Gone are the days when only cash (or cattle in some cases) was the only accepted mode of payment for trades. As the concept of trading evolves, so does the means of paying for items.

Today’s electronic world pushes the envelop further. With the advent of online trading systems such as eBay, many new forms of payment have flourished.

First of all, on eBay, the mode of payment depends on the agreement of the buyer and the seller. Most often, the seller will specify his or her desired payment method. In these cases, the seller often has primacy in the decisions regarding payment modes. However, the buyer may still communicate with the seller regarding a viable alternative if it suits both parties.

The following is a list of common eBay payment modes.

Cash On Delivery

Cash is, after all, still cash. This payment method can be done through a third party courier system or by the buyer and seller meeting each other at an agreed place. The advantage of such is that the exchange of item for payment is done in the presence of the buyer and the seller (or the seller’s representative). However, some people will qualm over the risk present when two strangers meet.

Personal Check

One popular method of payment is personal check. Writing checks is easy and safe. However, many sellers do not like accepting check because they are easy to cancel.

PayPal

PayPal is the payment of choice on eBay. In fact, eBay owns PayPal.

Using PayPal is easy, convenient, and relatively safe. PayPal acts as like an internet ‘wire transfer.’

After signing up for PayPal, one may send cash over to anyone with an email address using the PayPal system. PayPal also has security features that safeguards against fraud in case there is dispute between the seller and the buyer. This system is best for transactions up to $1000.

Escrow. com

Escrow. com is the payment of choice for purchases over $500. Escrow. com holds the buyer’s money from the seller until the seller delivers the item. Only then will the funds be released to the seller. This system makes for a very safe, although highly procedural transaction.

Wire Transfer

This is the payment of choice for countries that do not carry the PayPal service. Wire transfers are risky because the buyer usually has to wire over the funds before the seller sends the items. The chance for non-delivery of items is high.

Other Payment Systems

The number of third party payment services is steadily on the rise. Their systems for payment vary. However, to be successful they must be convenient to use and safe as well.

Clueless about what you can buy on ebay

Being clueless on what items to buy on E-bay is a phase.

In fact, it's the very first step to online shopping. With every new day, online shoppers conquer more E-bay buying techniques, and slowly lift off the novice's launch pad.

From then on, online shoppers realize there's more they can buy on E-bay than meets the eye.

Generally, E-bay is comprised of almost all the things a buyer would want and need under the sun. In fact, it seems that E-bay's selling almost everything.

Because of its diversity in items being sold, E-bay categorized each item for easier search. Though, each listing varies from one country to another.

Generally, online shoppers may choose to buy things under the category of antiques. These may include old-fashioned decors; house wares; vintage cars, clothing, and accessories; historic collector's item; and old postcards.

Buyers may also deliberate on buying items classified under the automotive category. These may range from cars to accessories to almost insignificant extras like car stickers, car perfumes, and collectibles.

Those who are looking for computer gadgets, electronic bolts, or printers may look at the Electronics and Computers category of E-bay.

E-bay listings also have the basic necessities like clothes, shoes, and accessories. It also includes different kinds of jewelries like trinkets, charms, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, watches, and ornaments.

Those who are looking for stamps and other collectables like postcards, old papers, even different kinds of minerals, rocks, and fossils will find E-bay a very lucrative place to do online shopping.

E-bay also caters to people who are into sports. Buyers can find different sorts of sports gadgets, sports get-ups, and tools. Those who are hobbyists may also find practical tools for their respective hobbies like gardening tools, cross-stitching paraphernalia, cooking and baking utensils, or scrapbooks.

Best of all, E-bay offers a great line of entertainment appliances and high-tech gadgets like mobile phones, mp3 players, pc tablets, PDAs, memory cards, flash cards, video cameras, digital cameras, audio recorders, sensors, and camcorders.

Aside from these common items that reflect fads and fashions in today's contemporary society, e-bay has also that special section that consists of "everything else." These are the things that do not fall under the basic categories. These are ephemera, costumes, children's themed gift sets, party packages, mobile sim card, and mobile load, even a Google account.

With these things, buyers can be assured of a wide array of things and gadgets that would serve them best provided that it does not fall under E-bay's prohibited list.