How to Make Money on eBay - The Complete Series: How to Make Money on eBay

Disclaimer: The following guide is for entertainment and informational purposes only the author and anyone associated with this book shall not be held liable for damages incurred through the use of information provided herein. Content included on this book is not intended to be, nor does it constitute, the giving of financial, legal or professional advice.

The author and others associated with this book make no representation as to the accuracy, completeness or validity of any information in this book. While every caution has been taken to provide the most accurate information, please use your own discretion before making any decisions based solely on the content herein. The author and others associated with this book are not liable for any errors or omissions nor will provide any form of compensation if you suffer an inconvenience, loss or damages of any kind because of, or by making use of, the information contained herein. Any opinion given is the author’s own, based on her experience. If in doubt, always seek the advice of a professional who can advise you appropriately before acting on any part of this book.

This book contains references and links to other Third Party products and services. Some links contain affiliate links for which the author may receive compensation for. These links are denoted by an asterisk (*) next to them. The application of any affiliate link(s) do not affect the reason for including them in this book. Some of these references have been included for the convenience of the readers and to make the book more complete. They should not be construed as endorsements from, or of any of these Third Parties or their products or services. These links and references may contain products and opinions expressed by their respective owners.  The author does not assume liability or responsibility for any Third Party material or opinions. Other than being a seller on eBay, the author is not affiliated with eBay Inc. or any of its subsidiaries.

Table of Contents

BOOK #1:

Introduction

Why Do YOU Want to Sell on eBay?

Start Small

Things You Will Need to Get Started

Setting Up Your Business Entity

Setting Up Your eBay and Paypal Accounts

Getting Started on Paypal

Paypal Bank Verification

Upgrading a Personal Account to a Business Account

Getting Started on eBay

Linking Your Paypal to Your eBay Account

Getting Some Feedback

Getting Your Feet Wet

Getting Organized

Finding Items at Home to Sell

Listing Your Item

Determining Item Category

Title

Description

Item Details

Listing Upgrades

Auction-Style or Fixed-Price?

Pricing

Payments You’ll Accept

Shipping Charges - Who Pays?

Shipping Details

Handling Times

Return Policy

Confirm Your Listing!

Turbo Lister

Customer Service

Shipping Discounts

Non-Paying Bidders

SOLD! Now What?

Shipping

Dealing with Feedback

Keeping Track of Your Sales

Things to Acquire As You Make Money

Looking for More Things to Sell

Keep an Eye on Your Profit Margins

Opening an eBay Store

Becoming a Powerseller/Top-Rated Seller

Grace Period

Conclusion

BOOK #2:

What This Book Is and Is Not About

Who I Am - A Little History

Starting Your eBay/Online Business

Shipping

Free Shipping, Calculated Shipping or Flat-Rate Shipping?

Considering Other Shipping Options Can Save You Postage Costs

USPS Priority Mail vs Parcel Post

Saving on Mailing Labels

Fedex and UPS

Mailing Supplies

Getting Free Boxes

Save Money - Make Your Own Poster Tubes

Trimming Off the Excess

Cushioning Materials

Bubble Mailers

Other Miscellaneous Packing Supplies

Starting Out - Selling Your Old Stuff

To Purchase or Not to Purchase Wholesale?

Selling Storage Auction or Garage/Estate Sale Finds

Disadvantages of Garage Sales/Storage Auctions

Items to Look Out for at Garage/Estate Sales

Researching Items and Prices

Fixed Price or Auction-Style?

Stacking Deals

Padding Profits with Credit Cards

Debit Cards Can Help As Well

Using Gift Cards to Your Benefit

Maximizing Profits - Save On Gas with Gift Cards

Maximizing Profits - Saving with Grocery Store Deals

Finding NEW Items To Sell

How to Find a Niche

Arbitrage And Thinking Local

Local Retailer Opportunities

Ikea

Trader Joe’s

Wholesale Clubs

Costco

Couponing at Costco

Costco Memberships

Costco/American Express Credit Card

Additional Costco Tips

Items I Look Out for at Costco

Sam’s Club

Sam’s Club Membership

Deals at Sam’s

Items I Look Out for at Sam’s

Free is Good

The San Diego Comic Con (SDCC)

Items I Look Out for at the SDCC

Finding Deals for Resale from Other Retailers

Follow the Leader: Best Buy

Reward Zone Membership

Gamers Club Membership

Price-Matching at Best Buy

Items I Look Out for at Best Buy

Maximizing Profits At Online Retailer Sources

Slickdeals.net

Cashback Sites

Amazon.com

Amazon Price-Matching

Amazon Prime Membership

Amazon Kindle Special Offers

Amazon.com Rewards Visa

Items I Look Out for on Amazon

Staples/Office Depot/Office Max

Staples Price-Matching

Using Coupons at Staples

Using In-Store Only Coupons On Online-Only Items

Stacking Coupons

Rebates

Making A Profit After Rebate

Staples Rewards

Free After Rewards

The Ink Recycling Program

Back To School (BTS)

An Example of Reselling A Deal from Staples

Keeping Up to Date on Staples’ Deals

Items I Look Out for at Staples

Kohl’s/Macy’s/Dillard’s

Variable Pricing

Price-Matching At Kohl’s

Coupons

Stacking Coupons

Manufacturer and Competitor Coupons

Stacking Coupons and Price-Matching Deals

Kohl’s Cash (KC)

Kohl’s Charge Card

Kohl’s Emails

Yes2You Rewards

Rebates

Keeping Up to Date on Kohl’s Deals

Items I Look Out for at Kohl’s

Target

Price-Matching at Target

Stacking Deals at Target

Target REDcard

Items I Look Out for at Target

Walmart

Price-Matching at Walmart

Walmart Savings Catcher

Items I Look Out for at Walmart

Other Retailers

Thinking Outside The Box

The Fourth Quarter

Be Prepared

Why I Do Not Camp Outside Retailers On Thanksgiving

My Main Black Friday Source - Amazon

Retail vs Online Sources

Reducing Risk

Deciding Your Margins

Average Margins That I Expect

Lower Margins On Easy-Sale/Low Risk Items

Higher Margins On Heavy and/or Bulky Items

Margins on High Fraud Items

Listing Description

Item Condition

Pre-Sale Listings

Shipping Policy

Return Policy

Cometh the Taxman

Conclusion

BOOK #3:

About This Book

Introduction

Who I Am

Shipping Internationally

Follow the Money

Why You Should Sell Internationally to Maximize Profits

How Do I Figure Out What To Sell Internationally?

Being Aware of Compatibility Issues

Opening Up Additional Arbitrage/Niche Opportunities

Less Competition

Higher Cost of Living in Other Countries

Taking Advantage of the Weakened US Dollar

Our Close Neighbor and Ally: Canada

Possible Issues With A Canadian Order/Buyer

Shipping to Canada

It’s the Economy, Stupid - The UK

How to Sell to the British Market

Possible Issues With A UK Order/Buyer

Shipping to the UK

A Road Less Traveled: Australia

A Distinct Advantage: Amazon Is Not Yet in Australia

Possible Issues With An Australian Order/Buyer

Shipping to Australia

Affluent Non-English-Speaking Europe

Possible Issues With An European Order/Buyer

Shipping to Europe

Going South: Brazil

Possible Issues With A Brazilian Order/Buyer

Shipping to Brazil

Selling Elsewhere

A Japanese Middleman

The Language Barrier

Currency Risk

Fraud Risk

Shipping Logistics and Risk

Postal Loss and Insurance

eBay Global Shipping Program

Describing Your Item for An International Sale

Customs

Specifying Shipping Time Estimates

Conclusion

One Last Thing

About the Author

Introduction

This book is a beginner’s guide to selling on eBay - it covers the basics of how to start to selling on eBay. It is written with the US-based seller in mind. If you have already sold a few items on eBay, please consider my other books which include hints, tips and insider secrets that I have acquired in my 16 years of selling full-time on eBay:

Why Do YOU Want to Sell on eBay?

Before you start on eBay, you have to ask yourself why you want to sell on eBay. Only you can answer this question for yourself.

Do you want to sell on eBay to just get rid of some items lying around the house?

Are you a stay-at-home parent looking to make some extra money from home?

Are you hoping that selling on eBay will allow you to quit your job?

Are you looking for an income source that will allow you to travel the world?

Are you looking to get rich from selling on eBay?

There is no wrong answer. However, it will help to know the path you need to take to reach your goal. The goals may change but that’s ok! When I started selling on eBay in my dorm room in 1998, I was just looking to make some extra money while attending college. At that time, I never dreamed that selling part-time for the next two years (while in college), would pay for those two years of college tuition. I never thought at that time, that I would end up selling on eBay (and later on Amazon and Etsy) full time for the next 16 years. I never imagined that it would pay for or partially subsidize my travels around the world.

As with any business, there will be ups and downs. There will always be things like the economy that you cannot control. Can you get rich selling on eBay? Of course it is possible. However, I will not promise you that you will get rich - I simply cannot. Treat anyone that makes such wild claims with suspicion.

Past performance is never a guarantee of future performance. Something that sells well today may not sell at all tomorrow. Can you make money on eBay? My answer is a definitive YES! YES! YES! But... you have to be careful with your costs. How much money you can make will depend on how long you want to stick with it - looking for items, listing, packing and shipping all take time and follow-through. Earning a reputation takes time.

Figuring out your goals will also help you to decide when you want to stop. For me, it was figuring out that I wanted to live a more self-sustainable life out in the country. Selling on eBay has been a wonderful fun ride. It is not for everyone. If you want a steady, reliable paycheck, this may not be what you want to do.

The nice thing is that you don’t have to quit your job or even have to invest much money, if at all, to get started. I started on eBay with almost $0 down. My only starting costs were eBay insertion fees (eBay did not have their free 50 listings/month then). With eBay’s current free listing promo, you CAN start with absolutely NO money! eBay has always been a game for me but I now want pursue other interests. I hope my series of eBay books will help my readers to get to where they want to be as well.

Believe it or not, you can lose money on eBay even if it looks like you are making a profit. This can happen because of inexperience or if you are not careful. No one is infallible, I too have lost money on some auctions because of mistakes I’d made.

Amongst many things, my series of eBay books will teach you the buying and selling techniques that I have developed over my many years of selling on eBay. This book covers the beginner’s part of it.

Do not invest much money starting out - always keep costs low.

Start Small

Unfortunately, there are so many ebooks out there selling the idea of making thousands a month on eBay from just working a few hours a day. Oh yes I want some of that! Make money in your sleep! YES! Actually, you can really make money in your sleep selling on eBay, especially if you sell internationally. But, you have to have all your listings set up for international sale in place before going to bed.

Many people ask for advice on how to make money quickly on eBay. If it were that easy, no one would need jobs. They would all be selling on eBay and getting rich. Start small, learn the ropes and develop a business and a reputation. Biting off more than what you can chew will only choke you.

Things You Will Need to Get Started

Time.

A computer with internet access or phone with the free eBay mobile app http://mobile.ebay.com. Use a library computer if you have neither.

An eBay, Paypal and bank account. Having Paypal is not essential but will improve and streamline your sales tremendously if you want to sell on eBay.

An area dedicated for your eBaying. Since I advocate starting small, this area can be a table, a drawer or even a corner of a table. You can expand the area as your business expands. Put all your eBay items as well as packing supplies here.

Something to sell. More on this later in this book and in my other eBay books.

Something (camera, tablet or cell phone) that you can take digital photos with.

Borrow if you need to. Thankfully, access to digital cameras are easy these days. When I started selling in 1998, I had to take photos on film, get them developed and had to buy a scanner to scan the photos to eBay!

A photo editor is recommended. Again not absolutely necessary but nice to have. Most PCs have PAINT which is free. You can also use a free online photo editor at http://pixlr.com or you can download free software at http://gimp.org.

Some packing supplies for your items: packing tape, boxes (more on getting these free later) and/or envelopes.

Shipping scale (digital is recommended). For small items, you can use a digital kitchen scale in a pinch. Having a scale is nice to have but not a necessity when you are starting out. If you do not have one, do not buy one yet. You can get your packages weighed at your local post office.

Access to a shipper (USPS/UPS/Fedex).

Setting Up Your Business Entity

The following suggestions are for informational purposes only. These are the steps that I have taken with my business. I am not a lawyer, financial or tax professional. You should consult your local legal and tax professional if you need specific advice about setting up your business.

If getting rid of some items around the house is your reason for wanting to sell on eBay then feel free to skip this chapter. However, if you’re planning on selling on eBay with any kind of seriousness, you might want to consider setting up a separate company entity. You can register your corporate entity status through your Secretary of State’s website. 

Once you have a business established through your state, you can apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) though the IRS (http://1.usa.gov/1hBUiLt). An EIN is a tax identification number which is separate from your personal social security number. The process is quick and easy and can be done for free online. The IRS will issue you an EIN almost immediately. You can use your EIN for all your business transactions including your paypal and business bank account information. You will also need to use your EIN when you file tax returns for the business.

Setting Up Your eBay and Paypal Accounts

Of course, if you want to start selling on eBay, you have to register for an account. While registering for a Paypal account is not absolutely necessary, gone are the days when everyone paid for their eBay orders with checks or money orders. Paypal is the most common way to accept payments on eBay.

Since Paypal is also owned by eBay, the two are streamlined in the eBay selling/buying process. While it is your prerogative to not accept Paypal payments, you will likely reduce your chances of making a sale on eBay greatly if you choose not to accept Paypal payments.  I highly recommend that you sign up for a Paypal account if you do not already have one.

Getting Started on Paypal

To sign up for your Paypal account, simply go to http://paypal.com and click the Sign Up button which is currently on the upper right-hand corner of the page.

You’ll then be taken to a page where Paypal will ask if you want to set up a personal or a business account. I have taken a screenshot of what the current page looks like but the actual page on Paypal will probably change over time.

Sign up for a business account which will make it a lot easier to accept customer payments. Choose the Business Account tab and click the Continue button.

Paypal will then ask you if you want the Standard or the Pro account. Choose the Standard account which is free. The Pro account involves a monthly subscription fee and it more geared towards merchants with their own websites. It is not necessary for selling on eBay.

Click the Select Standard button to continue. Again, the Paypal pages may change over time but the idea remains the same.

Enter the email address that you want your Paypal account to be registered to and, and the appropriate Captcha code. Then click Next.