How To Become An eBay Seller

This post will share how to become an eBay seller and start a side hustle this year.

I’ve earned a steady income from my eBay account for nine months.

With the cost of living rising in April, there’s no better time to start a side hustle than now.

It would be best to have all the extra income you could get.

You also need as many passive income streams that require as little to no effort as possible.

At this stage, we have gone past relying solely on our day jobs to get us through.

So, if you want to learn how to make money from existing stuff you already own or have a passion for e-commerce and are looking for a way to start on a small scale, then this post is for you.

I will make this post as straightforward as possible in a way that I wish someone had explained to me when I started.

How To Set Up Your eBay Account & Get It Ready For Selling

The first thing you need to do before you can start selling is to become an eBay buyer.

If you want to set up an account as usual, fill in your details and buy the needed stuff.

This is the first thing you need to do to build credibility.

You’ll receive feedback from the seller for every item you buy, which counts as a rating for your account.

So, the more you buy without problems, the higher the chances of the seller giving you a positive rating.

You can also get negative or neutral ratings depending on how the transaction goes.

I think I had about 50 stars before I was confident enough to start selling.

There was a point when I was shopping so heavily on eBay.

I never really used Amazon, so my ratings increased quickly.

So, set up your account, buy stuff and let your ratings accumulate.

It’s as simple as that.

I would not advise you to open an eBay business account unless you have prior business experience or an existing business.

Start with a free private account and learn the ropes first.

Then, if you want to scale your business, you can take it to the next step.

How To Start Selling On eBay As A Beginner

Before officially becoming an eBay seller, you must prepare for some things.

Think about it as starting a new business.

You don’t just jump into it without adequate preparation.

The same thing applies to eBay selling.

You need to decide what products you’ll be selling, how often you’ll list, and how you’ll price and package your orders for shipping.

The more information you have upfront, the better your chances of succeeding.

I know how excited I felt after getting my first sale.

That was enough to spur me on to make even more sales.

So far, I haven’t had any issues because I did my homework correctly.

To help you understand the fundamentals of selling on eBay, I’m going to categorise this section into three parts;

• Product
• Pricing and
• Packaging

Product

First, you must decide what you will sell on eBay.

Do you want to declutter your closet or your home entirely?

Do you have excess sealed toiletries, including skincare and makeup, that you can resell?

The beauty of eBay is that you don’t need to put yourself in a box.

You don’t need a niche; you can sell just about anything.

At the moment, I’m decluttering my closet, so I’m selling:

• new clothes with tags,
• pre-owned coats that I don’t like anymore,
• all my pre-owned denim that doesn’t fit anymore,
• new skincare I haven’t opened in over six months.
• preowned gadgets and tools
• new kitchen items I don’t use.
• General home items that haven’t been used in over a year.

You can see how random my shop is, which I love so much.

I love that I can sell anything that I don’t like anymore.

Sometimes, I buy things and am too lazy to return them, so I sell them on eBay.

Best Practices For Listing Items On eBay For Sale

The act of uploading a product to eBay to sell is called listing.

Anytime you want to sell something, you’re listing that product as an item for sale.

To get the most out of your listing, including quick sales, there are some best practices you must follow:

• Clean your lens and take clear photos of your products on a blank background. Most of us have iPhones, so there’s no excuse for blurry or poor-quality images in 2022. As for your background, ensure your product is the centre of attraction without distractions. I use my wooden floor for pre-owned items because it just works. I take an e-commerce photo from the brand’s website for brand-new items.
• Use keywords in your listing. You don’t want to list an item buyers won’t find in the search bar. Use as many keywords that describe the item as possible.
• Fill in as many details in your listing as possible, from measurements to fabric types to texture and skin concerns. eBay will give you many details to fill out, so do just that. Every little detail will help you make sales faster.
• Be truthful about the condition of your items. Don’t try to pass off pre-owned items as brand-new. If an item is ripped or needs repair, mention it in your product description. Someone will still buy it as long as you’re honest and upfront.

As an eBay seller, you constantly think about identifying what to sell, especially when the orders become regular.

But once you’ve mastered it, you’ll notice the fast-moving products and better know what to sell next.

Pricing

Getting your pricing right as an eBay seller is essential, especially for brand-new items.

The least you can do is get your money back even if you don’t make a profit.

This is why I love using the eBay Fee Calculator.

It simplifies the whole pricing, including eBay seller fees, which I’ll get to shortly.

This calculator is super easy to use. I plug in my cost price, shipping fee and selling price based on the competitive price on eBay.

If I want an item to sell quickly, I set the price as the cheapest, sometimes sacrificing a nice profit.

If it is a hot item that sells out quickly, I increase my profit margin as much as I’m comfortable with.

Managing eBay Seller Fees

Shortly after I started selling, eBay scrapped its previous fees and introduced a general fee called a final value fee, which is 12.8% of the total value of the order.

I don’t like to overthink these fees, as the eBay Fee Calculator takes care of that for me.

Giving me a final selling price gives me a breakdown that includes the eBay seller fees, so I know that I’m not short-changing myself.

Thankfully, eBay has weekend promos where they cap the price of the final value fee at £1, so take advantage of those to increase your profit.

Payment

Last year, eBay cut off PayPal as their payment partner.

Now, everything is done directly with your bank account.

From seller fees to refunds and payouts. You get to determine the frequency of your payouts.

I love the thrill of getting paid at the beginning of the week, so I prefer a weekly payout.

You can set yours to bi-weekly or monthly.

It is also good to get a business account for eBay to separate your personal and business transactions for your taxes later.

I use Starling because it is super easy and convenient to set up.

Before paying you, all the seller fees are deducted, so anything left over is your profit.

Read about eBay Managed Payment Dates

Packaging

The final important part of selling on eBay is packaging and shipping your orders to your customers.

In a previous post, I shared some practical Small Business Packaging Ideas to give you an idea of the packaging you can use for your orders.

I like to reuse my old shipping boxes to save money, especially on boxes.

Whatever I buy comes in a box; I store it nicely for my eBay orders.

If the box has logos, I use kraft paper tape to remove or stick them over it.

I remove the shipping labels carefully so as not to destroy the box.

General Packaging & Shipping Tips

• Get the cheapest bubble envelopes and poly mailers, which can be used across various items to cut costs that will not affect your profit.
• Buy your labels directly from eBay. It’s usually the cheapest.
• Package your orders and print your labels at home. If you can’t afford a thermal printer, get a sheet label for your laserjet printer. Buying ink will add up quickly, so it is wise to invest in a thermal printer if you want to be an eBay seller for a while.
• If you work from 9 to 5 and only have evening time, factor in your dispatch and shipping times on your eBay account.
• Package your orders as firm and tight as possible to prevent them from opening before they reach your customer. I use a lot of transparent tape to ensure my packages are well-wrapped.
• Leave feedback for your customer after every order. It encourages them to leave one for you, too.

Finally,

If you are ready to start your eBay side hustle this year, I hope this post has helped.

I’ll have subsequent follow-up posts to share and document my experiences selling on eBay.

You might think that little extra doesn’t add, but it goes a long way, especially if you have a 9-5 and you’re paid monthly.

Having extra money come in the middle of the month hits differently all the time.