Copyright (c) 2008 Jenny How

Founded at 1995, eBay has since form the largest online auction community. There are millions registered users who visited the site daily to buy something.

Home makers and part time sellers sees the opportunity on eBay to make some extra income. Bigger companies see the opportunity of more exposures for their business.

eBay's marketplace platform opens up a lot of opportunities for any entrepreneur. Just like any other business, selling on eBay does require some planning.

Here are some personal tips which may assist you.

Whenever you are selling on eBay, make sure you are listing your auction clearly. Often times, a seller will simply mark the name of the object and a price, completely forgoing the inner details which can be vital in making a sale.

Pictures are worth a thousand words and in the case of eBay, a picture is worth a thousand cash. The picture you post up in your listings say a lot about your business. Your pictures either break or make the sale.

Think of multiple angles when shooting pictures.

The best way to do your pictures is to look at the item you are selling with an objective mindset and ask yourself what you would want to see if you were going to buy the item

Make sure you use the "buy it now" option. You can set a low price and allow for anyone to buy outright if they so choose.

Often, buyers will skip auctions if they feel there is going to be too much of a race to acquire the item.

Remember also to give your buyers a chance for questions. Most of the time a buyer may wish to ask you specific questions about an item.

Feedback is important in making any decision; As a buyer ourselves, we like to be able to communicate and ask for help about an item before pulling our our cash for it.

Give your possible buyers as many opportunities as you can to make inquiries.

You always want to make sure you set a low price. If you set your auction more than moderately high, and there are similar auctions going on, you might lose out to the better priced items.

It will also pays for you to research on eBay if there are similar items for auction. Although a lower bid price attracts buyers, remember to set only what you are willing to get.

It doesn't make sense to put an item for bid for $0.99 when your costs is $10. Some Powersellers are very confident that worked in their favors. Most of the time, this serves like an ad that attract buyers to the other listings.

Selling on eBay is an art of dealing with people. Would a seller impress you if he or she leaves you a good feedback praising you of your prompt payment? Do the same to your buyers.

The recent eBay changes have made it impossible for sellers to leave negatives for buyers. You can use this to your advantage. Leave an honest positive to your buyers first and plant them a good impression? You will be much likely be seen as a professional seller to deal with.

Whenever possible, try to insert a small Thank You gift in the parcel to your customer.

Repeat customers are the key to any succesful business offline or online. Create an enjoying buying experience for your buyers so that they remembers you and return!

Even a small gesture like remembering their names makes you different from the rest of the sellers out there.


------

Jenny How is full time eBay Powerseller and blogger. Her latest book Learn To Sell On eBay In 7 Days reveals how she started an online niche business on eBay. You can download it free at http://www.jennyhow.com