Research your item outside of eBay

The internet and those things called books may help you work out just what it is you are trying to sell and what words describe it to those who want it. Google keywords that describe your item. Or go to the library.

Should you sell your item worldwide?

You may have an item that can be posted and may appeal to people outside Australia.
Check to see if it is worth listing the item internationally by searching worldwide listings (tick the box next to worldwide at the top of the left hand “search options” area.

Generally, most post-able and collectable items should be listed worldwide. Furniture and large items should only be listed locally as it will be very expensive and difficult to deliver overseas. However, your old Mid Century sofa may be so rare and sought after that someone in America will be happy to pay to have it couriered internationally. So if you are unsure, have a quick check of worldwide completed listings.

What should you title your item?

eBay is not like walking into a shop. When you walk into a shop, you can look around at the items for sale and you are reminded of what you want and tempted by things you never thought you wanted.
When it comes to eBay, buyers need to transpose their wants into distinct words and searchable words.
The title and category are the most important parts of your listing as they get people to click on your item and have a closer look.

Search for your item using keywords that describe it. Look over your item for marks, makers, stickers, dates or other details that may help identify it. Try a few different words (eg couch, sofa, lounge) and see which ones seem most popular. Browse the completed listings. Look for things to include in the description too. Read through successful listings for items like yours and note down any aspects that would be suitable to include in your listing.

What category should I list my item in?

While you are researching to see if your item will sell, you should try to work out what category it should go in. This can take a lot of time but we recommend doing it.

When searching for a category, don’t search items available worldwide. Each country’s eBay can have slightly different categories and you might not find the right category.

First use a broad search word to get a list of completed listings similar to yours. Using the ‘narrow your results’ box to the left of the search results page, start to drill down into the categories that people have listed similar items in. If you are lucky, there will only be one category – but there are usually a few.
Start with the category that has the highest number in brackets beside it and see if the items in there are like yours. But check the other categories too. Sometimes it is worth listing the item in two categories.

Another way is to click on “Buy” and “browse Categories” at the very top of almost all eBay pages.
Then drill down to find the category you are after and browse through the whole lot of completed listings. You might just come across a valuable piece of information about your item that will make it very desirable.

Searching Through Completed Listings

When trying to work out if your item will sell (and how much you might get for it), the most useful information can be found by looking at completed listings. You need to be registered with eBay to search for ‘completed listings’. To search completed listings tick the box to the left of ‘completed listings’ in the ‘search options’ box (to the right of your search results page and below ‘narrow your search’). Then click ‘search’ at the bottom of the ‘search options’ box. The prices of completed listings are in red and green.

Green prices indicate the item sold and give you the final price. This will give you an idea of what your item may go for. If there are items exactly like or very similar to yours, have a closer look at the number of bidders. This will give you an idea of how popular your item is. The more bidders, the lower you can make the starting price and the more people this will attract. Please be aware there are no guarantees! There is always the risk of loosing out when starting the bidding at a low price.

Red prices indicate the item didn’t sell. Usually, if the item is similar or the same as yours, and it consistently doesn’t sell then there probably isn’t much point in trying to sell your item.
However, there are many other reasons why the item might not have sold and it is worth checking these out to be sure:

• The starting price was too high.
• The postage was too high. Sometimes sellers charge very high postage – it cuts down on the fees they pay to eBay.
• The item was pick up only and was in a remote location.
• The item was pulled off eBay early.

Will it sell?

Before selling something on eBay, you should research the marketability, saleability and potential value of your item. The main aim is to answer these questions:

1. What category should I list my item in?
2. What keywords should be in the item title?
3. How much might my item sell for and is it worth selling?
4. Is my item really popular (many bidders bidding on similar items)?
5. Should it be listed worldwide or just in Australia?

Retro and Vintage Aluminium

Keep an eye out for aluminium canisters, biscuit tins, cake tins, etc. We have had great success with these types of items. If you manage to find a set of canisters in good condition, you’ve hit the jackpot!
Brands / Makers: Waratah, Raco, Jason

FAQ

1. When selling something on eBay does the buyer pay for postage?
Yes, postage is a cost that is added to the final auction (or ‘buy it now’) price when the buyer is invoiced. eBay encourages the seller to clearly state postage costs in the listing so buyers can consider the postage cost when bidding. If the postage cost is not listed, buyers should email the seller and ask how much postage would be to their particular location (usually a postcode or city). When listing, the seller should try to include a postage price where possible. The price should be as accurate as possible because bidders know when a postage charge is over the top (they are looking for similar items all the time and notice postage prices). It is however, acceptable to include about 50c to $2 for packing (depending on the complexity of the item.

2. As a seller, do you wait for payment before posting?
Yes, payment for the item should be received by the seller before they post your item. The eBay users feedback is the security in this process. A seller is looking to keep their feedback good by providing good and honest service. So the seller’s service is reflected in their feedback. If the transaction still goes wrong, eBay have processes for mediating the resolution.
If you are the winning bidder and the seller has a low feedback (less than 5 feedbacks for selling) and your final bid was more than you could handle loosing – then you could ask to pay via PayPal (expect to pay an extra $1 or so to cover PayPals charges) or see if you can pick the item up and pay in person.
If you are uncertain about any aspect of the transaction, try emailing the buyer or bidder and asking a few questions. Many uncertainties can be resolved through simple and direct communication before they turn into problems!

3. How do I sell on eBay?
Basically, if you are registered with eBay, click on the Sell link in the top right corner of the screen and flollow the instructions! For more detailed instructions, including tips for a successful listing, see the ‘how to sell your item on eBay’ post.

4. Where do I find stuff to sell on eBay ?
Start in your own home! If you look hard enough you will find heaps of stuff around your own home to sell. Try looking in those old suitcases and boxes in the attic or garage, gifts you have never used, furniture you don’t need any more. Take something you don’t need any more (no matter how small) and follow the ‘will it sell’ post to see what it might be worth.
Once you’ve exhausted your own things look at our ‘where to find retro and vintage items to sell on eBay’.

5. Do I need to download anything to be able to sell on eBay?
No. You only need access to the eBay webpage to sell your item on eBay. You can even edit you photos within eBay if you need to. Read the ‘how to sell on eBay’ post to learn how to sell on eBay using just the eBay webpage.
There are many software tools for eBay sellers available online and some make listing and tracking your items much easier. These are only really useful if you sell on eBay regularly. See the ‘Tools for Sellers’ post for a discussion of some of the software available for sellers.

How to Start Selling on eBay Australia

Step 1: Find something to sell.
We recommend starting with stuff in your own house before ‘investing’ in (buying) things to sell.
See our other posts for where to find stuff to sell on eBay.

Step 2: Register with eBay.
Go to www.ebay.com.au and click on “Register” either in a red rectangle in the middle of the screen or at the very bottom of the page.
Fill out your name, address, phone number and email address in the form.
You do not need to give ebay your Credit Card details to register.
Then pick a User ID. This is the name bidders will see when they look at your auctions or when you bid on items. Best not to include personal details in your user ID – there is no need to tell people your surname or birthday. Your first choice may already be taken so keep trying till you find one you like.
Agree to the conditions at the bottom of the page and you’re in!

Step 3: Register with PayPal.
This is not essential but eBay are making it increasingly difficult to list items without including PayPal as a payment option. See our ‘PayPal’ post for more info on PayPal and eBay.
Simply: the negative is that they charge fees. The positives are that it allows bidders to use their credit card, gives buyers and sellers increased security, and it is the only safe way to receive payment from international bidders. These positives increase the number of people who will consider buying your item - and that’s what it’s all about!

Step 4: Research the marketability of your item.
Use search words and browse categories to look for other items that are similar to yours. Use the ‘narrow your search’ and ‘search options’ on the left hand side of the screen.

The main aim of this step is to answer these questions:

1. What category should it go in?
2. What keywords should be in the item title?
3. How much is my item going to sell for and is it worth selling?

See our 'Will it Sell’ post for more detail on researching your item.



Step 5: Take a photo of your item.
A good photo is essential for a successful listing. See our 'Great eBay Photos’ post for tips on creating a great photo.

Step 6: Start Listing.
Click on ‘Sell’ in the top right corner of http://www.ebay.com.au/ then click ‘Start Selling now’.
eBay starts by getting you to describe the item and helps you find a category. If you completed Step 4, you will already know what category your item goes in (as well as good words to include in your title and how much you might expect to get for it).
Type in a word or 2 to get started and click ‘Start Selling’ in the blue box.
If you skipped Step 4, select a category from the list eBay gives you.
If you successfully completed Step 4, click the ‘select a suitable category’ tab to the left. Select a category, then sub categories until you are at the end.
Click ‘Continue’.

Step 7: Give your item a title.
Put in the words you think buyers will think of when they are looking for your item, Use the keywords you found when researching your item. Use up all the characters and do it efficiently (character count to the right). No need wasting characters on good grammer and punctuation when they could be used for a search word.
Don’t worry too much about the subtitle thing. This allows you to include more words in your title but costs more.


Step 8: Describe your item.
Upload your pictures by clicking ‘add pictures’ and ‘upload’ then going to the ‘basic’ tab because you already have beautifully edited pictures ready to go (don’t you!). No need to ‘select’ any ‘optional picture upgrades’ at this stage – they will cost more money.

We do recommend selecting ‘gallery’ however. This costs an extra 59c. It puts a small version of your picture on the list of search results. People don’t have to click onto your item to see your picture.
In the description:

• Say how good it is!
• Describe the colour and texture, any markings or labels and features.
• Write in the size (measured).
• Describe any damage or wear.
• Include the age of the item (where relevant).

The more information you give, the less reason the buyer has to doubt your item and the more confident they will be to bid.

Be honest – the buyer is relying on your description in place of seeing and touching the item themselves. If the winning bidder disagrees with your description – they will give you bad feedback. If you think you can cope with bad feedback - then why are you taking the time to read this post? We will write a post on feedback soon.

Change the font size etc to make it look eye catching!

Don’t worry about ‘listing designer’.

Click on a ‘visitor counter’ if you want – this will tell you how many people have looked at your listing and its free.

Step 9: Put in a starting price.
We recommend the ‘auction’ listing as opposed to the ‘buy it now’ price. Generally eBay works on the auction process. The idea is to generate bidding on your item and get the highest price someone is willing to pay.
The lower the starting price, the more interest you will get in the item. So start as low as you are willing to accept.
Once you get the hang of what is a sure seller, you can even start items at .99c! But getting a good price on an item started at .99c is by no means guaranteed!

We recommend listing for 7 days, it’s pretty much the standard and is a good length of time to allow for people to come across your item.

Start the listing immediately as scheduling costs more money.

‘Buy it now’ can be used where you will accept a price and are hoping the item will sell quickly.




Step 10: Select payment methods.
Select PayPal if you are listing the item internationally or if you are willing to accept payment by paypal. See our ‘PayPal’ post for more detail on the PayPal process.

We also recommend selecting:

• ‘bank deposit’ - you email your bank account details to the winning bidder at the end of the auction,
• 'money order / bank cheque' - these are the safest forms of money transfer,
• 'personnal cheque' - it is quite acceptable to wait for the cheque to clear before posting the item,
• select ‘other/see description’ if you are offering pick up and payment can be made in person.

The more payment methods you allow – the easier it is for buyers to pay and therefore the more likely they are to bid.

Step 11: Put in a postage rate.

See our post on ‘postage and packing’ for details on how to calculate postage.
Put in the regular domestic postage rate if it is standard.
If postage varies, select ‘Calculated: Cost varies by buyer location’ from the dropdown menu.
If you can put in a postage cost, all the better. This makes it much easier for buyers to be confident in bidding.

If you would like to list your item internationally, select ‘worldwide’ from the dropdown menu in ‘international postage’.

Step 12: Other things you’d like buyers to know.
Don’t worry about ‘buyer requirements’ or ‘returns policy’ at this stage.
In the ‘Additional Checkout Instructions’ section it is good to add details such as:

• International bidders must pay with PayPal.
• Postal insurance is available if requested.
• Other fine print that you think is necessary.

Click Continue and you are nearly there!

Click ‘preview your listing’ part way down the page to see what you have created.
Don’t worry about the ‘make your listing stand out’ stuff – just more cost.

Step 13: List your item!
Double check your fees. They should be about $1.50 to $2.

eBay will then charge you a small % on the final selling price of your item.
Click ‘List your Item’ and you are away!

Step 14: Monitor your auction.
Check ‘My eBay’ (top right corner) and your emails regularly throughout the listing period (at least every 2 days). Reply to questions promptly and honestly. Ignore emails from people offering you a price to finish your auction early – this is not in the spirit of eBay and you have no security at all if you close the transaction out of eBay. If your item is so good, why haven’t they put a bid on it? You can also report dodgy emails to eBay.

Step 15: Close the sale!
Email the winning bidder within 48 hours of the auction closing. Let them know your preferred method of payment, your bank account details or you phone number if the item is pick up only. The winning bidder should then get back to you in 3 days. If they don’t, send them a friendly reminder.
Wait to receive payment from the winning bidder. Then pack and post the item as soon as you can.

Step 16: List another item (or 5)!

What do you do with the items that don't sell?

Relist the item immediately on eBay (reducing the price if possible) to take advantage of eBay's free relisting policy and also catching any potential buyers that were watching the item. We have often found that by relisting at a lower starting price gets more buyers interested, and results in a higher final sale price.

Hold off for a whilebefore relisting the item. It may have been the wrong time for your item for any number of reasons (too many similar items listed, etc, etc). If you relist on eBay within xx days of the original auction ending, it is still free to do so.

If you have accumulated many similar items that haven't sold you could relist them as a bulk lot. We have done this with McDonalds promo toys and Tazos. Paying another listing fee on a single item may not be worthwhile, but spread over 10+ items might make it an option worth considering.

Taking this concept a step further, we set up a market stall, of our own, at a local car boot sale. It was nothing fancy in terms of set-up or what we were selling, nor did we make much money, but it was an enjoyable day and effective in clearing out items that hadn't gone as well on eBay as we'd initially hoped. What it also means, is that you can take more risks on buying items to sell on ebay, knowing that you've got a back up of selling them at your market stall. We now even buy items purely to improve the range of our next market stall, knowing that we'll never list them on eBay.

Where to find retro & vintage items to sell on eBay

Garage Sales

Probably the easiest (and more than likely the cheapest) option to use to find items to sell on eBay. Your local or community newspapers will generally always have listings for garage sales. We head out EARLY on Saturday (and occasionally Sunday) mornings to hunt some bargain items.

Tips:

1. Plan ahead. Look for an area with several garage sales located closely together, or look for combined sales (several houses, or an entire street, getting together to hold a sale). This way you can maximise the number of sales you visit and increase your chances of finding a bargain!
2. Get there early. Our motto is sometimes "if it's after 9am, it's not worth it". We've never arrived at a garage sale before the sun has risen, but there are plenty of people who do.
3. Persistence pays off. Don't listen to anyone who says "if it's after 9am, it's not worth it". We have found some of the best items and biggest bargains by not giving up, and visiting the last couple of garage sales on our list.

Church fairs, school fetes, market stalls & other community group sales

These are an absolute goldmine! Imagine 50 garage sales combined into 1 massive sale! We've learnt that if we only visit one place on any given day, that place should be a school fete or church fair.

Tips:

1. Be prepared for these places to be BUSY. We're not the only ones who know the potential value of these places, and people can be mercenary and go to extreme lengths when it comes to finding themselves a bargain! It won't be until you've been elbowed out of the way by a 70 year old woman or seen a grown man jump a fence to get into a sale ahead of everyone else, that you'll know what we mean.
2. Know what you're after. We love retro and vintage kitchen ware, so we make a beeline for that sort of stuff. You might be into books, vinyl records, clothes, whatever it is go straight to it, you might not get a second chance!
3. If there's more than 1 of you - split up, this way you can cover more ground.

Op Shops, Charity Stores & Second Hand Shops

Generally the people that work in these places know what they're doing. They'll know the brands and makers, so you're unlikely to find a $100 item for 50 cents - but occosionally we've found bits and pieces at bargain prices. The big "depot" Op Shops or Charity Stores are probably the best (and the most fun to spend time searching through) for finding a bargain.

Auctions

We've only had limited experience with buying items at auction to sell on eBay, but we've had a reasonable level of success when we've done so. The type of auction we look for is where the entire contents of a (hopefully old) house are being auctioned. You'll have to register as a bidder (most likely on the auction day) and can view the items up for auction (most likely on the day or for a few days prior). It was at one of these auctions we discovered the Planet Lamp!

Great eBay Photos

How to take a great photo:

1. Clean the item. Give it a polish with a dry cloth if it’s shiny.
2. Set the item up on it’s own and on a plain, contrasting and clean background. If you can’t move the item at least clean up around it – don’t photograph your couch with dirty laundry next to it.
3. Take the photo in bright daylight, but out of direct sun. Daylight gives the best colour and clarity but direct sunlight leaves strong shadow lines which the item hard to see.
4. Do not use the flash (also leaves shadow lines).
5. Make sure the photo is in focus. If you are taking photos of small details like labels or blemishes set the camera to a close range setting (usually shown with a flower symbol on your camera).
6. If you are using a digital camera, take a few shots just in case.
7. No need to have the camera on a high resolution. Standard eBay photos are not more than 500 by 500 pixels and less than 50KB.
8. Download to your computer and choose the best photo.
9. Crop the photo the edges of the item, plus a small border.
10. Up the brightness to just a smidge above what looks normal.
11. Up the contrast to just a smidge above what looks normal.
12. Resize the picture to around 500pixels by 500pixels (this will save on uploading time later on).

How many to take? Usually 1 photo is enough. Additional photos should be taken if there is some detail that is much easier shown than explained – such as a makers mark on the base of a ceramic or a scratch on a piece of furniture. It really is a waste of time (and money) to put on multiple photos from slightly different angles.

Original photo.

Photo after editing.

retrollectable

Welcome to retrollectable