How To Sell on Ebay

A friend of mine told me that she wants to sell online and, she asked for some tips. I gave a few suggestions including the following:

1. You need a computer and a digicam. If you dont own a pc, you may rent one. Invest in a good digicam. Some sellers scan their items, though.

2. You need to open an Ebay account. The account name must be something relevant to your items for sale. I use mameecloset as username because i sell items that could be seen inside a mamee's closet ;-)

3. Buy a few items on ebay. This is for you to be able to get some positive feedback or just to have a "feel" of how ebay works. I have zero feedback though when i started but, the buyer opted for a meet up.

4. Decide what to sell. I sell clothes, books and perfumes because i have access to those; I sell wholesale ukay ukay or used clothes, I looove books and I know where to source the most affordable authentic perfumes. You could start by selling used clothes, toys, books etc. Be sure that they are in good condition, though. I will try to expound on this, next time.

5. Take Pictures of the Items. Take pictures during the day. Do not use flash; I use soft flash sometimes. Use a a background with solid colors: black or white. You can lay them on a flat surface, either on the bed or table

6. Edit the Pictures. Crop the edges and resize them. Some even put a watermark of their username to discourage picture theft.

7. List Your Items. For clothes, include the following: item name, size, color, fabric and any other important descriptions. For books: name and author. For perfumes: name, edition (optional) and quantity.

8. Wait. Wait for the buyers questions or winning auctions, if ever. Answer questions promptly and send out payment invoices patiently.

9. Confirm Payment. My savings account is enrolled online so i merely check online to verify the payment. You may ask the buyer to email you the scanned copy of the deposit slip or you may ask for the transaction number. Gcash is also convenient; it shows the sender's contact number and transaction receipt.

10. Pack the Items. Use bubblewraps, packing peanuts, plastic wrappers, boxes etc depending on your items fragility. I use bubblewraps when I ship perfumes; Plastics for books. I use small boxes when i send out more than 1 dozen books for a single order.

11. Ship the Items. Opt for those which offer free pick up services so you will not spend for transpostation costs. I use Xend Express for my deliveries within Metro Manila while I use Air21 for provincial shipments. Text/ Email the winning bidder about the waybill or tracking number. The number could be seen in the upper right part of the waybill. And, it could be tracked on the courier's website (www.xend.com.ph/) or on your mobile phone (www.air21.com.ph/?q=track).

12. Feedback. Some sellers give the buyer's feedback once payment has been confirmed because the buyer's responsibility (paying) has been done. Other sellers wait for the buyer to leave a feedback for them first arguing that some buyers leave negative feedbacks for no reasonable reasons at all. I generally leave feedbacks immediately once payment has been confirmed. Im cautious though when it is difficult to transact with the buyer.

Selling by Lots

This is an edited/updated version of a guide I wrote on Ebay Phils.

For the first time online sellers who has bulks of inventory, it would be better to sell those by lots. This is applicable to make up, clothes, and books, to name a few.


Why is selling by lots better than selling per piece?

1. Selling by lots moves your inventory faster than by selling them per piece. This is great for those who have limited storage spaces at home.

2. Selling by lots liquidates your inventory faster compared to selling them per piece. This is beneficial to those who has limited financial capital to buy new items to sell.


How to sell clothes by lots?



1. Clothes in a lot should be more than 2 and less than 10. This is to avoid the buyer getting overwhelmed by so many items. I had several baby rompers; both brandnew and gently used. I segregated them by condition and gender and further narrowed the list by age. The picture here is an example of 1 lot of 3 brandnew baby rompers.

2. Choose 3 or 5 clothes of same category. For example, 1 lot of 5 girls tshirts small size so that buyers wont be confused. You could also categorize them by brands say, 1 lot of 3 Gymboree clothes.

3. Take pictures of the lot of clothes by group and separately. This is to help the buyers scrutinize the clothes per piece and not just by bulk.



How to sell books by lots?



1. Books in a lot range from 2 to 24 pcs. It depends if the seller deals with retail or wholesale selling. It also depends on the buyer if he buys books to add to his collection or to resale.


2. Choose books per category. The category could be per genre -romance novels, per author - Nora Roberts, per particular series - Harlequin Romance or any category that you could come up with. Just make sure that there is a "theme" among the books.


3. Take pictures of the books by group. This is of course help the buyers see the items. You dont need to take their individual pictures, though. However if you're selling more than three dozen books in one lot, it is better if you also upload their pictures per one dozen.



I hope this gives a clear idea of how to sell items by lots. Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Why Do I Enjoy Selling Online?

I have been selling online for almost a year now.

I started selling on Multiply with Apple Cheeks baby shoes and ukay ukay bales or used clothes . I already have a personal website hence, I opened a separate account for my business (http://www.mameecloset.multiply.com/) to avoid confusion and to look professional. I tried setting up an account on Auction Philippines but, I got discouraged when I encountered problems uploading pictures. After which I registered on Ebay Philippines (www.stores.ebay.ph/mamees-closet) and listed the baby shoes. Hubby mentioned buying some Psp accessories on Sulit (http://www.mameecloset.sulit.com.ph/) so I also registered there and listed an ad for my ukay ukay or used clothes bundles.

And, the rest is well, history.


Why do I enjoy selling online?


1. I enjoy selling online because selling is one of my passions in life. My other passions include traveling, reading, writing, eating and talking! Anyway, I have been a salesgirl all my life: in my mom's drugstore during elementary and high school, in my novelty shop during college and in my medical distribution business after my first pregnancy.

2. I enjoy selling online because it is an extra source of income for me. I am a full-time mom and a part-time Law student who relies on hubby and mommy for spending money. Thanks to multiply, sulit and ebay, JD and I goes to Jollibee without having to wait for hubby's remittance or asking my parents for money. I could even buy Ipanema flipflops without worrying that hubby might get mad at me for spending such an amount of money on a mere pair of slippers.

3. I enjoy selling online because I could do it in my spare time (between the babies and my studies). I can have my forty winks or digest cases while the buyers are picking/bidding on their choices; I can sing with Barney on tv while I edit my items' pictures. I can even talk to my buyers over the phone while glaring my eyes at my active toddler! In short, online selling gives me the privilege of earning money while having a life.

5. I enjoy selling online because of the free ad space or shop. Having 10k is not enough if I opened a brick and mortar store even within the village but, the same amount is more than enough for an online shop's one month inventory. Opening an account on multiply and sulit is free; opening an account on ebay is also free but, some features have charges. Anyone could start online selling with a mere Php500.oo or with no financial cost at all!

6. Last but not the least, I enjoy online selling because it gives me the opportunity to meet like-minded individuals. I have met working moms, full-time moms and work-at-home-moms from multiply and ebay who bought my baby shoes, books, perfumes and clothes; I also met businesspersons selling all sorts of wares on sulit. Im now a forum moderator there, by the way hehehe.