You want to sell on eBay? What should you do first?

OK, from comments left on the last post I made, and comments I’ve heard personally from people, it seems like a lot of you would like to sell on eBay to make a little extra income.  So, what should you do first?

Buy on eBay.

That’s right, the first thing you need to do if you want to learn how to sell on eBay is to buy on eBay.  It seems a little silly, but it’s true.  Start out by purchasing through eBay, so that you can learn how others are doing it.  Buy from a variety of buyers.  Buy from beginners who just started selling.  Buy from veterans who have been selling on eBay for years.  Buy from Power Sellers (people who sell a lot of volume on eBay), and buy from low volume sellers.  As you buy from these folks, watch how they handle the transactions.  Decide what you like about doing business with sellers, and what you don’t like.  Write down your impressions so you won’t forget.  After a while, when you are getting ready to start selling, you need to look at these notes and take action.

What kind of action do you need to take?  Well, firstly, look at the things that you enjoyed about transactions.  Try to copy those things, and operate your business in a way that people will enjoy dealing with you!  Next, look at your list of things that you didn’t like during transactions, and do your very best to avoid those things when you deal with customers.  You want to make a good impression with your buyers, and make them want to come back for more!

So, to reiterate, your first step is to start buying, and tracking the transactions so you can learn from every purchase.  You will be surprised at how many little tricks you will learn when you do this.  Don’t worry, you won’t need to spend a lot of money on this.  Buy inexpensive things.  Buy things that you would have bought anyway, or that you can get a good use of.  If you buy things that you don’t need, you can also re-sell them later.  Even if you don’t make a profit, at least you can recover your money by re-selling.  What you are looking for is an education from people who are already selling on eBay, like what you want to do.

If you are like me, you won’t be buying for long.  I bought maybe half a dozen items on eBay before I started selling.  With a little hard work and smarts, you will be able to do that too!

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About the Author:  Bob Martin is an American who has been living in the Philippines since the turn of the 21st Century. Bob is an Internet Entrepreneur, and earns 100% of his income online. Bob earns through a number of different methods including e-commerce, Advertising, Informational Products and others.