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Last week when City sold all of those items, I noticed that a couple of items didn’t sell. She had started all of the items at $9.99, but out of 10 items, only 6 sold, and the other four went unsold.

I started to poke around and look at other, similar items on Ebay – and I noticed that there were a number of similar items that sold on ebay, but each of them sold for different prices. In one case an antique Marx tin toy Army Jeep sold for $58, and the exact truck sold by a different seller only sold for $30.

I realized – that there are probably some secrets to getting the best prices as a seller on ebay. So after our experience last week, and comparing the items that sold against those that didn’t sell – as well as comparing items on ebay from other sellers that were identical to the ones that Cindy couldn’t sell…I recognized some of the patterns.

I will describe those patterns here, and maybe this will help others who are new to selling on Ebay as well:

Tips on How to Increase Ebay Sales

One thing I noticed about the auctions that didn’t sell was that we had a LOT of people watching the auctions. They had all added it to their watch list, yet for some reason they never decided to take that leap and bid. Why?

Better Description = Better Sale

One of the biggest differences I noticed between the items that sold for a lot vs. those that didn’t sell for very much was that the items with a higher ending bid also had a longer and more detailed description of the item. These sellers always offered an accurate description of size and weight, and described any flaws, however minor.

Close and detailed pictures sell an item best.

The biggest item that has the greatest impact on the selling price of Ebay items appear to be the quality of the photos. I noticed that some Ebay sellers who appear to have fantastic cameras were able to take extremely close-up pictures of their item. This would often include the detailed markings underneath an item like a statue or fine china. The photos were so large and clear that it’s almost like being in a shop and seeing the item for yourself. I noticed that the items like this that had large and stunning photos easily outsold auctions that had only one photo, or small, blurry or not very detailed photos by at least 30% more in price. The impact of photos appears to be one of the most significant factors in getting a higher price on Ebay!

Accept Paypal

One of the most important things that appear to increase sales on Ebay is whether a buyer accepts Paypal. This first time around, Cindy didn’t accept Paypal because we don’t have a Paypal account. We were accepting money-orders only. However, I noticed that sellers who were selling the same exact item, but accepted Paypal, sold the item for almost twice what Cindy sold these items for. We are definitely going to sign up for a Paypal account!

Timing is Everything

Timing is absolutely key. Cindy simply sold items throughout the day. The items were posted immediately when she clicked “submit”. However Ebay has a feature to “schedule” an auction to start at some other time. I noticed that all of the items Cindy couldn’t sell had all ended around 10 a.m. in the morning when most people are at work. However the items that were ending through lunchtime did very well. And the items that were selling just after suppertime in the evening, from 6pm to 9pm, did absolutely best of all. A couple of the items that Cindy sold at noon, I noticed other sellers had sold in the evenings, and they were able to make a sale.

Obviously we have a lot of work to do to make sure that the items that we sell on Ebay not only sell – but sell for the most that we can possibly get for them. We need to make sure that we:

Write an excellent description
Take very close-up and detailed photos.
Sign up for a Paypal account.
Time the end of the auctions carefully.
These are lessons that we learned the hard way. Hopefully those of you out there who are just getting started on Ebay will take this advice. Do these things, and you’re sure to see your sales on Ebay take off too!

The saga of Jack’s family (to be continued)