Q&A for How to Sell on eBay

The best way to avoid being scammed is to be as knowledgeable as possible about selling. There is no foolproof way. eBay and Paypal have rigged the system in favor of buyers, so anyone who knows how it works can rip sellers off. Even sellers with decades of experience get scammed occasionally. That's why we say never to sell anything on eBay that you can't afford to lose. So, how do you become knowledgeable about selling on eBay? Read at least one recent book about it and read the discussion boards on eBay. Many experienced sellers share their expertise there. Start by selling inexpensive items.

You can always try, but there's no guarantee that anyone will be interested in a broken item. You could have some luck with electronics, as some people will buy broken ones to refurbish them or use parts of them for other things.

eBay bills you monthly for the fees you incurred, which include listing fees and final value fees. You will have a fixed monthly fee only if you open a store.

There is no minimum sales requirement just to sell on eBay. There are minimum sales requirements to become a PowerSeller, Top-Rated Seller, and Top-Rated Plus seller.

Yes. An auction is a binding legal contract. If for example, you list a $500 Gucci handbag for a starting bid of 99¢ with no reserve, and the highest bid is 99¢, you have to ship that Gucci bag when the buyer pays you 99¢. So don't do that. Start the auction for the lowest price you will accept for the item. Do not count on the bids increasing to your desired price. Canceling sales because you didn't get the price you wanted is infuriating to buyers, and eBay has a very low tolerance for this practice.

You normally get up to 50 free listings per month and pay 30 cents per listing for any additional ones, unless you want to add some upgrades to your listing. You also pay a final value fee for each item that successfully sells, which is usually 10% of the total price including shipping. All fees for the previous month are automatically withdrawn from your linked PayPal account (and thereby, your bank account) around the middle of the next month. See http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html for more details on fees.

No, there is no system for trading items on eBay. You could both list items for the same price and buy each other's items, so you'd basically both get your money back (minus small eBay/PayPal fees). Or you could try contacting a seller and suggesting a trade outside of eBay, though they might not be comfortable with that if they don't know you. It's probably best to use another site, like Craigslist, if you want to trade items.

If the return policy is marked as "Returns Accepted", the buyer can return it. Just let the seller know that you're not satisfied with it, and he/she will work it out for you to make sure you're happy with what you get. However, it's likely that you will have to pay for shipping to send the item back.

Yes, as long as you are honest with your posting and inform buyers that it is homemade.

It depends on what stage your listing is in. If it is a Buy-It-Now listing that has not sold, or an auction that has received no bids, you can cancel. If the auction has received a bid but is still open, you can cancel the bids and end the auction, but eBay will charge you a final value fee for the bid you received. If the listing has ended with a buyer, and the buyer has paid, you can get your account banned in short order for refusal to ship. Cancelling a sale after you have received payment will in most cases earn you a defect which can lower your selling status. Read eBay's documentation about cancelling sales for full details.

You have asked two completely different questions here. A bid is a binding contract on both parties, so, "Does someone have to buy your item?" Yes. If you are the high bidder, you are required to pay for the item. "If someone bids $0.01 on the item, do I have to sell it to them at the end of the bidding?" Yes. You cannot refuse a sale because you set the opening bid lower than you are willing to accept. If you set the opening bid at a penny, then you must ship if the buyer pays the penny plus any shipping costs you specified.

Yes, all brands are allowed. High-end brands are especially popular due to the good deals that can be found on eBay compared to buying them new.

Think very carefully before you sell these items on any site that requires you to ship them. Packaging them so that not a single piece is broken during shipment requires skill, experience, and the right packing material, which can be expensive in and of itself. Fragile items are usually heavy, making shipping expensive. I would highly recommend that you try selling these items locally using a site like craigslist or letgo instead of eBay.

EBay does not have warehouses. Normally, you ship to the buyer yourself. However, if you are based in the United States and are willing to sell to foreign buyers, eBay does have a Global Shipping Program that allows sellers to ship items to its center in Kentucky, where eBay forwards the item to the buyer. There are pros and cons to this service. Learn the details before signing up.

No. A personal credit card is not the same as a merchant credit card account, which is the only other approved form of payment for most eBay transactions in the United States.

No. And I strongly recommend that you DO NOT list local pickup items on eBay. Why? 1) People expect eBay sellers to ship. You'd be shocked at the number of buyers who don't even know what "local pickup" means. You are practically guaranteed to get a lot of bids/purchases from people who live nowhere near you. 2) It could be a scam. One of the oldest tricks in the book is for a buyer to pay you with PayPal, pick up the item, and then open an "item not received" claim and get a refund. It's best to use websites for their intended purpose. Craigslist, Letgo, OfferUp, Close5, and other sites are intended for in-person cash transactions. Use one of them instead.

To the buyer. Normally, you print the shipping label from eBay by going to My eBay > Selling > Sold, clicking 'Print Shipping Label' next to the sold item, and following the steps there. The shipping address will be printed on the shipping label. If for some reason you don't want to use eBay's shipping label, you can still click on Print Shipping Label to see the buyer's address and write it on your package.

Handle all transactions and correspondence through eBay and eBay messages and payment (PayPal). Don't agree to third party transactions, text messaging or private emails.

There is a barcode button on the right of search, then an autofill notification will come up.

You can scan a picture, save it to your computer, and just upload from that location when uploading the images from that item. If you're talking about something else, please clarify.

Your eBay account will be linked to a PayPal account, which is where the money from a sale will be deposited. You can then transfer the money from PayPal to your bank account.

The money will be deposited to your linked PayPal account. You can then transfer it to your bank account.

You can use a merchant credit card account instead of a PayPal account, but I personally think PayPal is easier to use on eBay.

When a buyer pays for an eBay item via Paypal, the transaction is sent to eBay. eBay and PayPal are linked, so eBay knows that the buyer has paid.

You select both categories when you are filling out the Sell form. Note that listing in two categories doubles your final value fees.

You can sell them on eBay. I recommend trying other sites as well, particularly Etsy. Amazon recently opened a Handmade section on their site that's worth looking into.

You get paid before, but if you are a new seller you will have a temporary hold on your account.

Shipping costs depend on the courier service you use to ship. Contact your desired courier service provider to get a rates chart for all countries. From the chart, you can get your shipping cost by calculating the average or maximum cost.

When you list an item, there is a spot on the eBay listing form for you to check a box regarding state sales tax. Put in the percentage your state charges. If a buyer from your state purchases an item from you, that percentage is then automatically added to their purchase price.

It depends on the seller. Everyone is different on their waiting time, so it's very important to have good communication with the buyer and know more or less when they will be paying for an item. I think about a week is reasonable to wait before you can contact them to see what their plan is for sending payment. Patience is key.