How to Find Out What’s Selling on eBay

ebay101 — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 04:43:09 +0000

One of the biggest questions I come across is what is the best item to sell on eBay. The truth is there really is no right answer to that. With over 50 million users worldwide there can be a market for just about anything. So my recommendation when you are starting out is to take some items that you are familiar with do some research on wether they are selling now or not.

You see, no matter what you choose to sell, it is a good idea to research the market on eBay first to see how much the item is currently selling for. One way to do that is with a cool feature on eBay’s search tool that allows you to search for items that have already ended. This way you can know what a certain item is selling for on eBay at that time.

Heres how to do it:

When you go to do a search, click on the advanced search link. Then on the advanced menu you can add whatever keyword you want to search like usual, but you will want to click on the checkbox that reads Completed Listings Only. This will bring up all the listings on that keyword that have ended within the last 90 days. The prices that are green mean they sold for that amount. If the price is in red it didn’t sell.

Now this is not a guarantee that your similar item is going to sell for
the same amount, but it does give you a good starting point for
pricing your item.

So grab all your old junk from the garage and attic and research what you can sell it for. You never know, you may just have a goldmine right under your nose. Get started and sell, sell, sell.

Oh, another great way to research what sells is a cool software program by my friend Dave Guindon called Hot Item Finder. Using this incredible software program can Cut Down on your Research Time and help you really start making money on eBay today.

So if you want to get serious with this and really STOMP Your Competition on eBay by Finding What Consumers Are Really Searching For, you need to Check This Out Now!!

To get more ideas of things you can sell checkout this link to 10 Ways to Find Items to Sell on eBay

eBay and Paypal Listing and Sale Fee Chart

ebay101 — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 08:10:01 +0000

When you make a decision to start selling on eBay there are a lot of things to take into consideration. Such as, what to sell, should I have a store, what payments to accept, and what shipper to use to name a few. But one thing many people forget to think about is how much is it going to cost you to sell your item. So I am going to share with you what fees are involved when making a sale on eBay.

Now when you list your item there is always going to be a certain fee called an insertion fee. The cost of this fee varies depending on how much you start your item for, what type of item you are selling, and what quantity you are selling. The listing fee starts at a simple 20 cents and can go up to as much as $4.80 for a general listing. Fees for real estate and cars are on a different scale.

Here is a chart of insertion fees for general categories:


Starting or Reserve Price	Insertion Fee
$0.01 – $0.99	$0.20
$1.00 – $9.99	$0.40
$10.00 – $24.99	$0.60
$25.00 – $49.99	$1.20
$50.00 – $199.99	$2.40
$200.00 – $499.99	$3.60
$500.00 or more	$4.80

On top of the insertion fee you can also add on extra features, called listing upgrades. Some of those upgrades are worth the price others are not. The one that gives you the biggest bang for your buck is gallery picture. Adding a gallery picture will place a small picture of your item on the main search page and will really help your listing stand out. Some other good and cheap choices are bold and border. These are a little more expensive so you need to calculate the value based on how much you think you will get for your item.

Here is a list of all the listing upgrades and costs:

Feature	Fee*	Feature	Fee
Value Pack	$0.65	Pro Pack	$29.95
Gallery	$0.35	Highlight	$5.00
Gallery Plus	$0.75	Border	$3.00
Listing Designer**	$0.10	Featured Plus!	$19.95
Subtitle	$0.50	Gallery Featured	$19.95
Bold	$1.00	Pro Pack for Motors	$29.95
Scheduled Listings	$0.10	Home Page Featured	$39.95
10-Day Duration	$0.40	quantity of 2 or more	$79.95
Gift Services	$0.25	List in Two Categories***	x2

Fees may vary based on promotional pricing.
The Listing Designer fee for eBay Motors is greater, see the eBay Motors fees page. There is no Listing Designer fee for Selling Manager Pro subscribers.
Double the Insertion and listing upgrades fees (excluding Scheduled Listing, and Home Page Featured, and Final Value Fees to list in two categories.)

Another group of fees comes in when you choose to list an item at a Buy it Now price rather than at auction. Listing with a buy it now price gives buyers the ability to make the purchase immediatley rather than wait for bidding to end. This is also a good way to sell items off if you have more than one where you can charge a set price for each item. This is also a good way to generate sales around the holidays when people don’t have time to wait for the bidding war to get finished.

Here is a list of the Buy It Now fees (These fees are added to your insertion fee):

Buy It Now Price (US$)	Fee (US$)
US$0.01 – US$9.99	US$0.05
US$10.00 – US$24.99	US$0.10
US$25.00 – US$49.99	US$0.20
US$50.00 or more	US$0.25

A very important part of your listing is the pictures. In a store you can see the item up close, touch it, smell it, etc. Online all you have is pictures and a description. To maximize your profits it is very important to give a very good description and have good clear photos of your item. There are other ways to add photos to your lisiting, but if you use ebays hosting it will cost you a little extra.

Here is a breakdown of the fees for images:

Feature Fee

First Picture Free

Each additional Picture $0.15

Preview Picture Free

Picture Show Free

Supersize Picture $0.75

Picture Pack $1.00 for up to 6 pictures or $1.50 for 7 to 12 pictures

Finally, when your item sells you will be charged a fee also called a Final Value Fee. That fee varies and is based on a percentage of your sale price not including shipping charges.

Here is a list of the Final Value Fee costs:

Closing Price Final Value Fee

Item not sold No Fee

$0.01 – $25.00 5.25% of the closing value

$25.01 – $1,000.00 5.25% of the initial $25.00 ($1.31), plus 3.25% of the remaining closing value balance ($25.01 to $1,000.00)

Equal to or Over $1000.01 5.25% of the initial $25.00 ($1.31), plus 3.25% of the initial $25.01 - $1,000.00 ($31.69), plus 1.50% of the remaining closing value balance ($1000.01 – closing value)

Now you have an idea of the fees for eBay, but what about Paypal. Paypal is the most popular form of payment on eBay. If you start selling I highly recommend excepting Paypal. But keep in mind there are fees to use them as well. If you make a payment with Paypal it is free, however selling and taking payment from others is a different story.

Here is a look at the cost of having Paypal as a payment option:

	Personal Account	Premier/Business Account
Open an Account	Free	Free
Send Money	Free	Free
Withdraw Funds	Free for bank accounts in the US Fees for other banks	Free for bank accounts in the US Fees for other banks
Add Funds	Free	Free
Receive payments funded by PayPal Balance, PayPal Instant Transfer or PayPal eCheck	Free	1.9% to 2.9% + $0.30 USD
Receive payments funded by Credit Card, Debit Card or Buyer Credit	4.9% + $0.30 USD (limit of 5 transactions per 12 month period)** for domestic or U.S. transactions2% + applicable Fees Fees for cross border payments4.9% plus $0.30 USD for card payments received using PayPal on Skype	1.9% to 2.9% + $0.30 USD
Multiple Currency Transactions	Exchange rate includes a 2.5% fee** Fees for cross border payments	Exchange rate includes a 2.5% fee** Fees for cross border payments

Some other costs to consider are shipping price and shipping supply cost. When listing you item for sale always take in to consideration all of these costs before deciding on a price to list you item at. You don’t want to end up losing all your profit because you didn’t plan.

For more information on eBay fees go to the following link:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html

To avoid some of these fees checkout Auctiva.com. Auctiva is a service used by many eBayers that is loaded with FREE tools and other resources to run your eBay business or hobby. Some of the features you get with Auctiva are:

Auctiva’s one-page listing tool dramatically reduces the time it takes to list each auction

Auctiva’s store and scrolling gallery help you cross-market and increase customer traffic, as well as create a brand for your business

Auctiva’s professionally designed auction templates give your auctions an edge over the competition

Auctiva’s profiles will save you both time and sanity in not having to type repetitive information into hundreds of listings

Auctiva’s unlimited image hosting, with supersizing, gives you one central, safe place for all your auction images

And the best part is: It’s all FREE!

http://www.auctiva.com/signup.aspx?how=email_ryhr91

Feature	Fee
First Picture	Free
Each additional Picture	$0.15
Preview Picture	Free
Picture Show	Free
Supersize Picture	$0.75
Picture Pack	$1.00 for up to 6 pictures or $1.50 for 7 to 12 pictures

Closing Price	Final Value Fee
Item not sold	No Fee
$0.01 – $25.00	5.25% of the closing value
$25.01 – $1,000.00	5.25% of the initial $25.00 ($1.31), plus 3.25% of the remaining closing value balance ($25.01 to $1,000.00)
Equal to or Over $1000.01	5.25% of the initial $25.00 ($1.31), plus 3.25% of the initial $25.01 - $1,000.00 ($31.69), plus 1.50% of the remaining closing value balance ($1000.01 – closing value)