How To Increase eBay Profits

Some sell on eBay to clean out their garage or attic. Some sell to make a little extra money here and there. But for some, eBay represents a chance to create a second income or start a home business. Product choice is important. But to really increase profit you must know how to increase the number and amount of bids per item. An eBay seller must maximize each product's profit margin. This article describes techniques to make as much profit as possible.

1. Sell like products at the same time. Bidders look to see what else you have for sale they might be interested in. Combined shipping saves postage for the buyer. Packing in the same box saves time and packing costs for the seller.

2. Bundle a less desirable item with a more desirable item increases sales. This is an old offline auction technique. If the bidder wants the better item he has to buy both. If two sellers offer the same item, the buyer bids on the two item auction. Bundling two low cost items together also increases bids. A buyer may not be willing to pay shipping for one item, but would for two.

3. Remember seasonal issues. Don't sell snow skis in July, water skis in January. Be sure to offer seasonal items early enough to allow for shipping. Don't expect to sell many Christmas items that must be shipped during the second week of December.

4. Understand profit margins. Don't buy to resell for only a $5 profit when you can make $20 on a different item. Determine your desired monthly income and choose products appropriately. Want to make 1000 a month? That is $250 a week. That's ten successful actions at $25.00 profit, or five items at $200 a month, or ten items at $100 each. Also packing 10 items takes less time than packing 20 items. Always consider time as a cost.

5. Don't forget back end sales and secondary products. Offer similar products during the payment process or on your auction store/web site. If you sell underground fences for dogs, an up-sell item is a customized collar. A secondary product could be a pet door. Another secondary product could be a ebook on "Travel Safely With Your Pet". A back-end sale to the ebook could be a item that helps your family travel safely with your pet.

6. The List - For many successful online sellers the mailing list is where their money is made. Using a autoresponder, sellers automatically email customers on their list at regular intervals. Including content with announcements of upcoming sales increases back end sales. Once a customer buys, they are more likely to buy again from same person or company.

7. Customer demographics should be considered. Collectors have expectations non-collectors don't. Example, some book buyers that are allergic like to see "book from non-smoking home" in ad. This would earn you a higher bid. What does the customer expect to see in a description?

8. Auction terms and conditions should be included with each auction. What shipping options are available? Do you take questions? Do you ship only certain days? What kind of payments do you take? Type whatever standard terms you offer in a word processor and cut and paste into your auctions. This saves time. For some sellers, typing the content for each auction is one of the most time consuming tasks.

Profit involves keeping costs reasonably low and creating higher bids. We've described some techniques for increasing profit. Sit down and mentally run through the process of auction selling and come up with some of your own ideas. EBay is a great business opportunity but like any business, sellers must be wise in their product choice and sales techniques.

Author info: L. C. Peterson is a writer and web marketing consultant. Her sites include http://www.new2auctions.com, http://www.LCPeterson.com, and http://www.publishingebooks.com. For more information on online marketing, content and ebook creation and online auctions take a look.

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


How To Find Tons of Hot Items Selling On EBay ...In Less Than 10 Minutes

There are many ways to start a home business online,... Read More

How To Use A WYSIWYG HTML Editor To Make Stunning Ebay Auction Listings

What kind of browser are you using for online surfing?... Read More

Your Junk is Another Persons Gold

Saving money can be quite hard to do if you... Read More

Drop Shipping Your Way to Increased Profits

Drop shipping, for those who are unfamiliar with it, is... Read More

Instructions on How to Put Picture on Ebay

Like many folks, you have heard of online auctions. Heck,... Read More

How To Cut Your eBay Fees By More Than 90%

Now, are you ready for the REAL TRUTH about selling... Read More

Rent A Coder & Other Service Auctions

You may be in the market for a new website.... Read More

eBay Listing Service : Make Managing Your Auctions Easy

Do you want to have a lot of auctions going... Read More

How To Sell On Ebay: Using Store Policies To Cement Your Credibility

In your quest to build credibility as an Ebay seller,... Read More

Finding Antiques And Collectibles To Sell On eBay

Many people who decide to make a living selling collectibles... Read More

The Top Sellers On eBay & What We Can Learn From Them

A fascinating eBay case study is the number one seller... Read More

An eBay Computer Purchase

An eBay purchase that turned sour.A story of fraud, deceit,... Read More

How to Sell Your Crafts on eBay

Artists, craftspeople and photographers are successfully selling their wares everyday... Read More

From Ebay Zero to Power-Selling Hero: The Devil Is In The Details

If you've ever heard the expression "the devil is in... Read More

What YOU Must Know About The Advantages And Pitfalls Of Dropshipping

The following may be the most important information about dropshipping... Read More

How To Compete With Amazon.com

If you are selling online,here is the down side of... Read More

Royal Memorabilia ? An eBay Prince or Pauper?

There has always been a fascination with royalty and as... Read More

Five Ways To Detect Shill Bidders On eBay So That You Dont Pay Absurd Prices

There is as a lot of buzz about shill bidders... Read More

Make Money Online: Learn To Sell On Ebay

The online auction site eBay is an excellent tool for... Read More

Your Auction Headline Or Title - The Most Important Part Of Your Auction

The words you select to describe your item will have... Read More

eBay Auction Sellers Guide to Finding Hot Money Making Products

You might be one of the thousands of individuals who... Read More

eBay and Dropshipping - A Perfect Fit!

eBay and Dropshipping go together like a hand in a... Read More

eBay: What Should I Sell?

There is an art to picking profitable products. It's not... Read More

Seven Steps to eBay Selling Success

More and more people try their luck at selling on... Read More

Just The Ticket - How To Make Hundreds Per Day As A Ticket Broker On eBay!

It should be simple - your favourite team/band/theatre play is... Read More

Real Estate Auction Action - Buying A Home At Auction

Due in part to the popularity of the U. S.... Read More

Five Tested Ways To Find The Perfect Drop Shipper

You've heard about it many times in recent months. Being... Read More

The Top Ten Antique Categories On eBay!

Knowledge is Power! And this statement could not be more... Read More

How to Win on eBay

I've bought over 100 items on eBay over three years... Read More

Auction Sales - Keeping Customers You Worked So Hard To Get!

If you've studied business concepts you know that finding a... Read More

Low Cost, High Profit Dream Products To Sell on eBay and Amazon

Finding quality products to sell is the key to continuing... Read More

Professional eBay Auctions Reap the Profits for Sellers

eBay offer an unbelievable amount of traffic for ANYONE wanting... Read More

8 Collectible Dolls That Sell Well on eBay

From the beginning, eBay's primary growth came from the collectibles... Read More