Learning How to Sell on eBay – A Quickie for the Absolute Newbie
As a former eBay employee and PowerSeller, I get asked a lot of questions and hear a lot of erroneous ideas about how eBay works. Perhaps the most common misunderstanding I hear is that eBay will sell your product, come to your house to pick it up and pay you, and then ship your item to the buyer. All that and all you had to do was list the item on their website.
It’s not uncommon to hear a lot of incorrect information. I’ll often correct people with true information. The reactions are varied, ranging anywhere from increased interest and curiosity to — surprisingly — contempt. Nevertheless, once you understand exactly how eBay works I think you’ll be surprised at its simplicity.
The one thing that every would-be eBay seller needs to understand is that eBay is a user-powered service. In other words, as a general rule eBay has a non-interference policy. That is to say, everything that happens is the responsibility of the people using the site. And this is what eBay means when they say, “We are only a venue.”
It’s not really anything new. Let’s think back to the pre-World Wide Web days for a moment and consider how private citizens sold things back then. The most common method of advertising one’s item was through local classified ads. In a lot of ways, eBay isn’t much different than a classified ad in a local newspaper.
To get listed in a local newspaper’s classified, you would simply call them up and tell them which category you wanted to have your ad published in and what you wanted it to say. Publications typically charged per line of print and would have run times of anywhere from a day to a month or longer.
After that, the seller would wait for the phone calls to start rolling in. Potential buyers might ask questions, set an appointment to see the item in person, and possibly even haggle over price. Eventually a buyer makes an offer that the seller accepts, and details about how the transaction would take place are discussed and agreed upon.
Now in our example you’ll notice that, aside from the initial contact to get the ad listed, the newspaper was not at all involved in the transaction between the buyer and the seller. The buyer and seller, as two private citizens, communicated directly with each other to come to a sales agreement.
Does that seem at all unusual? Of course not. It was a transaction between two private citizens. Why would the newspaper get involved? The newspaper simply acted as the advertising medium, or venue, that connected the seller with a buyer.
Selling on eBay isn’t that much different. If you have something you want to sell, you list it on eBay. Once that happens, you’re pretty much on your own. Sure, eBay will help you keep track of the bids you receive and help facilitate communication, but the actual transaction is a private one between two private citizens.
Just like when I list in my local paper’s classifieds, I am a private seller. As such, I dictate the terms of the sale. At the same time, I am responsible for delivering the product once I’ve found a buyer that agrees to my terms and sends me payment.
Simple, right? Now if you’re thinking to yourself, “Gee, there’s got to be more to it than that!” well, you’re right. This is just a very high-level overview. For more detailed information, head on down to my website for the knitty gritty stuff as well as advanced selling strategies for the serious eBay seller.
Stu Lisonbee is a former eBay employee and PowerSeller who teaches the art of how to sell on eBay, including how to make money with eBay dropshippers.
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