1. Price items low when you first launch your store.
If you’re listing a new item for sale in your store, particularly if it’s in a saturated category, Godin suggests pricing the item lower than your competitors. Potential buyers pay close attention to price and may even opt to display search results from lowest to most expensive, so having a lower-priced item can ensure you show up high in results.
“By doing this, you may at first have little to no profit margin, but the more sales you generate, the higher you will climb in eBay’s default organic search results,” Godin says. “If you keep a close eye on this, once you are at the top or at least close enough, you can then start raising prices and reaping the rewards of patience and strategy.”
While pricing items low will limit your profit margin, there’s a strategy at work here. Lower-priced items tend to sell more quickly, and the more sales you generate, the higher your listings will be placed in eBay’s search results. Over time, as you establish yourself as an eBay seller, you can gradually increase your prices while maintaining optimal search placement.
2. Offer free 30-day returns.
Giving customers the option to return items for free for up to 30 days not only benefits your customers, but it also makes your listings more appealing and more likely to appear in eBay’s search results. “I’ve found that if you believe the best in people, make your business decisions out of courage and not fear, and treat your buyers with compassion above all, Free 30-Day Returns is an easy lever to pull,” said Audrey Morris of Mommy Enlightened.
If you offer free 30-day returns, you will also be eligible for eBay’s Top Rated program, which gives you access to a Top Rated seal that displays prominently in both search results and your listing. Participation in the program also gives you access to exclusive benefits, such as a 10 percent discount on final value fees.
To qualify as an eBay Top seller, you must have an active account for more than 90 days, 100 or more transactions and $1,000 in sales during the past year and a defect rate of less than or equal to 0.5 percent.
3. Provide free shipping.
Author Casey Bell said he was having difficulty selling on eBay at first and often had to relist items several times before they got any traction, but then he made one change: He offered free shipping. Suddenly, he had no problem making sales.
With the popularity of Amazon Prime’s free two-day shipping, many online shoppers have come to expect convenient and affordable shipping options, so offering free shipping is a great way to make your listing more appealing to buyers.
Free shipping can also simplify the selling experience for you because you won’t have to calculate shipping costs for every item you list. “There’s less headache,” Justin Dube — who offers free shipping on all his items — told eBay. “I’m never wrong and never surprised by some fees or by a mistake that I might have made otherwise. For me, free shipping makes things so much easier.”
Of course, you may not be able to offer free shipping on all of your items. Fragile items, heavy ones or items that need to be shipped internationally may cost much more to ship and will eat it into your profits. But as you make your listings, keep in mind that providing free shipping is one of the top eBay selling tips for a reason.
4. Request feedback from customers.
Receiving positive feedback from satisfied buyers doesn’t only establish you as a trusted seller and increase your credibility, but it can also improve your appearance in eBay’s search results. And a little positive feedback can go a long way. In fact, according to Godin, “Research shows that you need as little as 20 people to provide you with feedback in order to learn 90 percent of what you need to know in order to improve.”
Not every seller will think to review their purchase, so follow up with every customer to ensure they’re happy with their purchase and ask them to provide you with feedback.
5. Share your listings on social media.
eBay seller angelgirl327 suggests that eBay sellers increase their reach by sharing their listings on social media, which you can do directly from your listing.
Sharing your eBay listing on Facebook, Twitter or another social site is a great way to get more eyes on the items you have for sale, and you don’t necessarily need a large following. Your followers may also be more likely to purchase from you if they’re friends, family or even someone who’s gotten to know you through social and has already established a relationship with you.