Okay, lets start with the description of your product and it's title. First, the title, make this both informative telling the customer about what the product is but also make it interesting, you are one of many listings that are trying to sell the same thing. The description is where you have the most creative license, here you have to fully describe your product, it's features and anything that the customer may want to know. You also have to put the product in its best light, think about it's many befits of buying it and try to get that message across. If you can think of any reasons not to buy it include these as well. Make sure you dismiss the argument by showing a counter argument! It's a very powerful technique.

Now the picture, we have all seen those photos where it is just taken off the Internet and the product is in perfect condition, so we know how annoying it is to see them. Don't use them, instead you have to take suitable pictures of your item. If you continually sell on EBay your own camera is a must. You will want a to take a few photos of the item. You will need a general shot showing the entire object also some close-ups, these will give the feeling to the customer that you are not trying to hide anything. When you take it you want to have a contrasting colour as the background, for example lay some white sheets of paper down against a black object. You should take the photo in natural light, avoid glare and don't use the camera's flash feature as the photo will probably end up overexposed otherwise.

Finally advertising, you can chooses to pay for advertising yourself if you need to have a lot of bids, but just having your items on EBay will mean it will get a lot of exposure.

A final tip, if you are trying to sell an expensive item I would recommend that you get the item professionally inspected and sell it at an auction house and not online. If you do sell on EBay have professional photos of your item taken and get the description written for you.

Copywriting is simply defined as 'salesmanship in print'. It is the art of putting the entire sales process into writing and inducing the reader to take prompt action, either to buy your product or surrender their contact information. In online marketing, effective copywriting is used in many communication platforms such as emails, websites, blogs, splash pages, thank you letters. But the most vital use of copywriting resides in its potential to create powerpacked sales letters!

A sales letter (also known as 'pitch page') is a complete sales presentation placed on a webpage, PDF, or document. It's main purpose is to sell a product directly through that webpage! You might think that this is too ambitious, and that people seldom buy from webpages. But in the real world, hundreds of thousands worth of dollars and products are sold via the internet every single month! The sales letter has fully automated everything, and coupled with a powerful online shopping cart or payment gateway, online sellers can really take home giant incomes and customers can get their ordered products safely! To see a perfect example of an effective sales letter in the dating niche.

But wait, writing an effective sales letter is not as easy as it sounds! An internet marketer should have superior knowledge about choice of marketing words and phrases. He must understand psychological triggers that cause people to buy. He (or she) must find a way to keep a reader (and consequently a potential customer) interested. And finally, an online seller must be able to smoothly guide a prospect towards the 'close' and induce the reader to buy now.

First tip, any aspiring copywriter must know how to write an effective headline. The main headline should immediately confront the reader and cause him to STOP whatever he is doing. This is a tough challenge, but to be able to do this effectively, the copywriter must write a major product benefit that will satisfy the needs and wants of the reader. It is proven that longer headlines succeed more when it comes to getting the attention of readers. For example, in a hygiene website selling breath products, a certain headline goes like this: "How To Cure Bad Breath In Less Than 3 Days... & Have Strong Healthy Teeth & A Sparkling White Smile For The Rest Of Your Life". You might laugh, but this particular headline was taken from a real life breath product which sold like crazy online!

Next, the online seller must insert his personality, establish his authority and expertise, and gain trust from the reader. All this 'self marketing' is done for a single purpose, and that is, to answer the reader's question, "Why Should I Listen To You"? Statistics show that sales for any website drops by as much as 40% to 90% when the seller has not successfully branded himself. That's why the first few paragraphs of the sales letter should be aimed at the online seller telling more about himself and establishing his authority on the subject he's talking about. For example, a person selling his music courses online should'nt just start off selling and pitching the products immediately. He should first concentrate his first few phrases in telling the reader about his musical background, how many years he 'has been playing music", or possibly the amount of people he has personally mentored to become great musicians.

Third tip, the online seller must increase the perceived value of the product or service he is offering! To do this he must highlight all the features and benefits of the products he is selling, then appeal to the emotions of the buyer. Increasing the perceived value of an online product can be done in many ways. First, the online seller must make the product look "scarce", showing that it has high demand but limited supply. Second, he can make the offer "time sensitive", by stating and making clear to the reader that the product will be available for only a certain period of time. Third, he can add free bonuses and additional goodies for those who order now. Fourth, he can give "early bird discounts" for the first few people who avails of the offer. All these are proven sales techniques which has been used since the beginnings of civilization, during the days of barter and trade. Fortunately, they still apply today!

NOTE: This article contains links that point to sample sales letters. I do not own the links and websites mentioned, neither do I have selfish interests in posting them. They are just included here for illustrative purposes.

Some main features that you should become familiar with first are:  

• Your seller account balance
• The PayPal account site
• Sell command
• Items you are selling
• Feedback forum
• Payment information
• Seller account

The faster you become accustomed to the auction site layout, the easier it will be maneuvering through the site, and the less you will have hide your head in shame and rely on your computer guru to help you (usually a child, if not your own then somebody else’s).  Don’t be afraid to make mistakes on your first few tries; just don’t tell anyone that you goofed up.  If you get knocked of the site, forget to add something to your listing or list an item in the wrong category, don’t worry and don’t take it out on your computer, you can always go back and change things very easily.

            It can’t be stressed enough that you will need a safe, convenient place to keep the items you are selling. Remember the pets. I had a collectors WWI picture book, it had a nice leather cover and was in nearly mint condition.  My puppy liked it to; I probably don’t need to explain.   Items sold should be clean (dusted, washed, remove grime), or at least as clean as you can get them, without causing damage.  Nobody wants to receive a dirty item; it’s a good way to upset a buyer.  The only exceptions would be items that are sold as-is, such as old antiques, old books, things that can’t be cleaned without excessive costs or causing damage, then it should always be stated so the buyer knows exactly what they are getting and what state it is in.

            There are always rules on selling items, a few of these general rules are:

• No used underwear (which is kind of gross that this would be sold and bought.  But it is listed on the no sale list from the auction site).
• No claiming authenticity, if it is known that the item is not authentic (repro of a painting, forged signature, etc…).  Claiming authenticity on a fake will cause major issues at every level.  Just don’t do it!
• No selling illegal items (there are list on the auction site).

These are just a few basic examples; auction site will have a long list of forbidden items.  If you are selling an item that is on the no sell list, the auction site will remove that item, you are still responsible for listing fees in most cases.  If you are selling items like coins, stamps, or autographed memorabilia, a statement will pop up at the end of the listing reminding you about authenticity.  It’s still okay to sell this items, it’s just an agreement that the item is authentic and not a fake being sold as authentic.  If you knowingly sell a fake, they also state what will happen, and in most cases it involves being banned from the e-community; which will put a damper on the whole online garage sale thing.

If you are listing multiple items and don’t want to have to type in the same information over and over again, you can select sell a similar item after you have listed one item.  This will allow you to change the item information or even main category, but it will still keep your seller preferences; like refund statement, payment methods etc… in the item description box.  This method saves both time and valuable sanity.  We’ll get to the entire listing process in a second.

Deciding what to charge:

            The purpose of having an online garage sale is to get money not loose it, so you want to make sure you are getting the best price for you junk!  The best advice is to research what other individuals are charging for similar items.  Type in an item description at the auction site and see what it or similar items are going for.  If you think you have a high value item, then search around other on-line auction sites to see what similar items are going for.  Then you can decide what selling format to use and what to place the price at, don’t worry in a couple of chapters you’ll have the format options down.  Once you have been selling for a while, it will be easier to determine a selling price.  When in doubt about a selling price, always take time to research prices for similar items.  You will KICK yourself for selling something for a buck, when you find out a buyer would have easily paid twenty dollars or more for it.  The buyer gets a great deal and you get that little voice reminding you that you ripped yourself off.   I once sold a VHS box set for $45.  I was pretty happy until I found out the average selling price was over $100.

Things to keep in mind when you are pricing an item:

• How much did you pay for it?
• What are similar items being sold for?
• What is the condition?
• What is the age?
• Are you selling it for profit or just to get rid of it?

Remember you will find your own way of setting up an e-selling system, just like you have a system for setting up a traditional garage sale. Once you have your system set up e-selling will be a breeze.

Common Sense and Simplicity

Selling on online auction site has a big advantage: you connect to thousands and even millions of people. This allows sales of a wide variety of objects which are specialized the unique: with a little luck you may sell to someone. Technically it is very simple: you are guided a step by step through all stages of the creation of your account, the payment methods you accept, through the publication of your text and possibly your photos. Put a announcement and at least one picture, but if the only photo you have does not improve the value of your product, then it is better to not publish the picture. In all cases, a detailed narrative description of product is your best bet: put yourself in the place of the buyer and ask yourself what information he needs.

You will need a valid email address for your entry to the site: you will also receive questions that buyers may ask. Check your mailbox regularly during the bid.

Secure Transaction

A transaction on auction sites online is never entirely secure, in the event of a disaster, things can take a long time to solve. However, several methods can be done to avoid trouble. See the profile of the seller or the buyer to whom you are dealing. If his profile has only few information, contact him, for example by questioning on the product. If you decide to buy, there are modes of payment relayed to a third party agency who takes care of your cash payment and then pay the seller, usually about ten days after your payment. If in the meantime you have not received the item or that it does not comply with the agreement, you may report to the third body that will block the payment pending resolution of the dispute. If you are a seller, expect to receive the payment (or confirmation from the third party) before sending your item, your bank can contact the issuing bank for the viability of the transaction, but some banks do not have access to this request.

As a customer on any auction site it is a good idea to read some of the negative and neutral comments to get a feeling about the seller. Being burned by a seller is not an easy task. You should not be afraid to report the store if you feel the store took advantage of you and did not send you what you paid for. It is the sellers job to work to please the customer.

Rude remarks from sellers are not in the best interest of the seller either. Those with petty excuses such as “Buyer did not read rules of auction” are poor answers from the point of view of the buyer and really leaves the seller with little to no creditability. It is also a mistake to blame it on the seller if they are Newbie.

A good seller knows how to treat customer. Knowing to send packages with shipping instructions for easy returns can be important, as well as being able to admit one made a mistake. A seller should make remarks that are positive in statement even if they have negative connotations. It is always best to give the benefit of the doubt. In fact, it is good business. The truth is a positive comment tells nothing about the seller. Moreover, if you play both sides of the field as a buyer and a seller, even the remarks made to someone who sold to a seller can make a seller look bad.

Any seller is a fool and an idiot who badmouths a customer. They are putting out their hard-earned cash to buy a product from a seller. If a seller feels that their customer should pay for return shipping on item in which they created the problem, in this business world this is considered bad business.

Before considering to go into the auction business it is a good idea to know a little bit about selling and customer service in general. Otherwise they are wasting their time. Using pity that you are selling for a loved one is not good business - it just means you want to be a charity case. When one creates a store online they are branding themselves even if they are selling used items.

If a seller does not understand these simple items they should not be in business.

If you're serious about selling on eBay, you need to purchase a digital camera. The one exception would be if selling an item that can be effectively scanned on a flatbed scanner such as books, magazines, DVD's, CD's, etc. Most other items will be best reproduced by using a digital camera.

Finding a good digital camera is not cost prohibitive these days as prices are rapidly coming down. I would suggest reading up on the different options on the internet and doing some price comparisons on eBay as well as the shopping comparison sites. This will be well worth the time investment. In addition, you may want to consider purchasing a tripod, particularly if you hand is shaky when holding a camera.

I would choose a corner of a room to set up a small area for photographing your items. Move a large table into the room and use this as your base for photographing your auction items. You're going to need to avoid shadows and glare. To do this, you can purchase a photo cube at your local camera store. These are very effective in blocking out unsightly reflections and shadows.

You should also purchase a light to use with your photo cube. Since the cube is translucent, it will diffuse any light that enters it, making it necessary to have only one light source. Visit a reputable camera dealer and let them know what you're going to be photographing so they can help you choose the most appropriate light.

In general, the more photos you include in your auction listing, the more money your auction will generate. Here are some photo tips that will help you generate higher sales:

Here are some tips for getting great auction photos:

1. Take multiple photos from all angles. Show not only the good, but also any dents, scratches, or imperfections.
2. Always use good lighting. If you don't have a photo cube and light available, use natural light. Avoid using the flash feature on your camera.
3. Use close up photos whenever possible. Not only do they look more appealing but they also make the buyer feel confident that they're seeing all of the flaws.
4. Once you have your photos, use photo editing software to make any corrections to your photos. I would suggest cropping as much of the surrounding background out of the photo as possible. This creates a more appealing picture. You can also do any necessary light or color correction using photo editing software. One free photo editing software you can use that's available online is called Picasa.
5. Always have a simple background for your photos. The best way to do this is to use a neutral background that contrasts with your object. Avoid having any other props, distractions, or patterns in your photograph. You want the attention to be focused on the item you're selling.
6. Consider using your ISP to host your auction photos. You can save quite a bit of money this way since eBay charges for any additional photos beyond the first one. Now that you know the secrets of taking great photos, put them into practice and watch your bids sour to new heights.

Take foreclosures for example. I'll tell you right here for free (if you don't already know), a list of foreclosures can be found at your local courthouse in most cases. They are also listed in many local newspapers. As far as getting a great deal; it's like finding a "needle in a haystack." In most cases, when a foreclosure goes to auction, the mortgage holder (quite often) has someone with cash waiting to save the property in trouble. (Though you may get lucky).

Then you have tax certificates and tax liens. A list of property with delinquent taxes is also public information, and for a small fee, the property appraiser or clerk of the court can run off copies for you. They can also provide you with the date of any upcoming auctions. These auctions typically go pretty quick, and again not everyone will let go of their property so easily, even if they have to borrow the money so they don't lose it. Also, before bidding on these types of properties, it is best to thoroughly research what you are buying.

As for these so called "real estate courses," some of them charge in excess of $4,000 dollars. They provide you with a "coach" and a "mentor," and some of them are beginners just like the people that have purchased the "course." A typical course will tell you that you use other people's money to finance your purchases, when the fact is: You need money to make money.

It is a rare instance when someone is willing to sell for pennies on the dollar, and "you get what you pay for."

A typical "guru" website will start off telling you how much money they made using "a simple method." Toward the end they will ask you for money, and more times than not- you probably won't ever be able to contact the person whose name appears wishing you "the best of luck." One I have had an experience with is Lou Vukas. I have never spoken to him, or been able to contact him, AND no one seems to know who he is, but he sure has a lot of emails to send.

Bottom line, just ask someone who has been doing real estate investing, or mortgages or refinancing and you'll be surprised at what they will teach you for little or no money.

If you want to create a steady income with Ebay auction sales, you must post auctions every day. You can do some research or trial and error to determine when the best time of day to post your type of auctions is. However, auctions should be listed every day. This insures that you will be having money coming in to you on a regular basis. Also, you will never be completely overrun with work on one day out of the week.

Task #2 - Sending Invoices

Since you will be posting auctions every day, you should also be sending invoices as auctions close every day. When you send the complete invoice to every one of you buyers, you should also print out a copy for your records. On that invoice, you can mark off when they pay you, how much the actual shipping cost is, and any fees accrued.

Task #3 - Shipping Product

Some people leave all the auction product shipping to the weekend, or have one day per week that they ship on. It is a better idea, however, to ship product immediately when they are paid for, or when the payment clears your bank. This will insure that the merchandise gets to the buyers quickly and that they leave positive auction feedback for you. This will help increase your sales.

Task #4 - Leaving Feedback

Leaving feedback is an important part of the Ebay system. Giving positive feedback to your buyers lets others know that they paid on time and were pleasant in completing the transaction. Leaving positive feedback will also make them more apt to leave it for you.

Task #5 - Customer Service

Perhaps the most important part of doing Ebay business is customer service. Every day, you should email your buyers with any new information, let people know that you have shipped their product, and answer any questions that arise. Check Ebay auction's messaging system every day. You do not want to miss a sale because you failed to answer an interested party's question before an auction ended.

This five a day recipe for Ebay auction success gives the basics of what every Ebay seller needs. No matter if you are only selling old items from your garage, or investing in wholesale stock and creating an ecommerce mega-retailer, you still have to do these basic Ebay tasks. And, they are the only way that anyone can reach success in this auction marketplace.

Step 1: Register With ebay

This step is pretty straight forward. ebay makes registration simple and easy. In order to register you must be at least at least 18 year old. When choosing a screen name on ebay consider that if you wish to specialize in a certain type of goods that it is a good idea to have a screen name that relates to the items you'll be selling.

Source: https://scgi.ebay.com/ws/

Step 2: Find Out What's Selling

Each month, ebay produces several reports regarding the most successful products one ebay. This report can be an beneficial tool in making sure you know what to sell. The report is located at http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/whatshot.html. It includes calendars about which items will be featured on their home page, and what has been selling the past month.

Source: http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/whatshot.html

Step 3: Find Your Product –At Your House

Everyone has things around that they don't need and will never use again. ebay is the perfect place to sell the things you aren't going to use. Your house is a great place to find items to sell on ebay. Make sure the items you are going to sell are in good condition however.

Step 4: Find Your Product –At The Store

Based on the report of what is selling on ebay. Go to your favorite store and bargain hunt. This is one of the most successful strategies on ebay. Look for items that will sell and find them at lower prices. When you find a super-deal, buy a few of the items and then try them on ebay. It may be tempting to sell the item before you buy it at the store, however, don't sell them before you buy them as they may be gone from the store and leave you in serious legal trouble with the buyer and ebay.

Step 5: Find Your Product –Drop Ship

Drop shipping is a great tool for ebay buyers and Sellers. The way drop shipping works is a company gets wholesale prices from distributors and you register for an account with them. They manage the inventory and you sell it. Once you have collected payment, you pay them the wholesale price for the good and then they handle shipping. A good website for this is www.doba.com. For around $30.00 a month they can give you access to 250,000 products and they take care of shipping.

Source: http://www.doba.com

Step 6: List The Product

Using ebay's listing service you can quickly and easily list your product on ebay. There are many features that you can add to your auctions but many of them may not be worth the value to your item. For instance, you may have a cheap item that would not be worth a $1.00 extra in fees to make the title of the item bold in the listings. Make sure you don't spend too much money on enhancing your item or it will lower profits. It is crucial to give an accurate item description. If the product is damaged, say so otherwise it may reflect badly on your feedback.

Step 7: Wait For Buyers

The next step is to wait for all the buyers to come to you. If after a few days there aren't many people that have looked at your item or are watching it, it may be a good idea to revise your item and place it in another category on ebay. If a buyer sends you a question, answer promptly as he/she is a potential customer.

Step 8: Wait For Payment

While it is the buyer's obligation to pay you can lessen the wait time by offering as many ways to pay as possible. PayPal is the ebay's most common method of payment. They offer free services with the charge of a fee per transaction. They are a great resource and can be found at http://www.PayPal.com.

Step 9: Shipping

Except in the case of drop shipping, you are responsible for shipping the item. It is important for your ebay feedback that you ship quickly after you have received purchase from the buyer. When listing your item you may wish to use the “Calculate Shipping” feature because it gives a more accurate cost breakdown. You can make a lot of money on shipping if when you list it you add a packaging and handling fee to shipping. The cost of shipping can make or break your profit margin so it is important to price the shipping enough to cover the costs. This is sometimes difficult; however, it is much easier if you have a good scale to use.

Step 10: Communication With Buyer

Communication with the buyer is crucial. Make sure you let him/her know that you have shipped the item. This can lessen any anxiety the buyer may have about shopping online. If possible, send the buyer the product tracking number via email so that he/she can view it's progress shipping whenever he/she wants.

Good luck and happy ebaying!