I know that I normally write about a wide range of topics, but today, I felt inspired to share something with our fellow bloggers and readers out there. Have you ever wondered to yourself.... "Gee I wish that I could get started selling auctions online?" That was how we got started running auctions online. We thought that it would be more difficult than it was, but at the time, we knew nothing about listing auctions online. We began in 2006 listing auctions on eBay, but learned a lot about how to do it along the way. What better way to learn something, than as you go. The first few sales we had were unfortunate ones, but we learned how to deal with that and never forgot the lessons we learned, even after all of these years.
I want to tell about the bad experiences that we have had over the years since we began selling online, not to scare you, but to let you know that things can and do go wrong. It doesn't happen a lot and occasionally you will run into a difficult buyer. I have found that being totally honest and open with the buyer will make a huge difference in how they will work with you. We have had very few unpaid buyers and very few bad buyers, but they are out there and they do exist. Don't let that stop your dreams of becoming a great seller. We knew the risks and we chose to stick it out and take a chance. You do have to keep in mind that I am not much of a risk-taker... lol
Our first sell was scary... we had listed a vintage globe-shaped terrarium. It happened to be a deal gone wrong. When I listed the item, somehow my settings for only the countries that we would be selling too didn't stay put, which caused us to have to ship the item to the winning bidder who lived in China. It cost what the item sold for to ship it to the buyer, but in the end, we had gained experience. May have been a hard lesson learned, but learned nonetheless.
Another sale that we sold, was a chalk-ware Indian statue. Although I had packaged it up well and shipped it with insurance, via USPS Parcel Post mail, the package was thrown while in transit during the shipping process and broken. We were actually able to talk with the buyer over the phone and she was very helpful in giving us pointers. I'm glad that I had put insurance on the package, or it would not have been a nice ending I'm sure. That was the only 2 bad misfortunes that we have had in all of the years of doing business with online auctions.
I have learned along the way that as I am taking all of my photos for the items that we will be listing, I also make very detailed notes that include the measurements, sizes, and weights of everything. That way, when I am typing up the listing descriptions themselves, it will make it a whole lot easier, while at the same time saving me enough time to get more items listed.
Most of the time, we use Priority Flat Rate shipping through the USPS when it makes sense to do so. This helps to take away most of the guesswork when it comes to figuring the cost of shipping. Also, Flat Rate helps due to the fact if the item/items fits inside of the boxes or envelopes, it will ship for one flat rate. An added bonus for using Flat Rate shipping, is that the supplies are all free and can be ordered online, making the process easy. Another reason that you may prefer to choose Priority Flat Rate shipping, is that the items you are shipping will arrive to the buyer within 2-3 business days, which equals faster shipping times. The quick arrivals are great for when you need to make sure an item gets there quickly. We seldom use Standard Post (a.k.a. What used to be USPS Parcel Post Mail) for mailing larger items.
We have used USPS Priority Flat Rate mail for many years now, without any problems. I package everything that we list and sell online, with extreme care and effort to ensure that the package will arrive safely and in the same condition it was when listed online. We've had great results using this shipping service and all of our customers have loved how their packages were when they received them. When we have smaller items to ship, that won't fit in envelopes, we will use USPS First Class Parcel mail. It's not much more than the cost of postage stamps, as there seems to always be another increase on the way on the cost of postage stamps.
When working with the descriptions of any item that you are selling online, it really helps to list as many details as possible. You have to keep in mind that you are marketing an item to someone who has never seen the item that you have up for bidding. By using very detailed descriptions, potential buyers can see the items in your photos, while at the same time getting a better idea of what the actual item looks like from the details in the description. To help figure the exact weight of items prior to and once you have prepared the package for shipping, you will definitely need to invest in a really good postage scale. You can often buy them online between $15 and $25, depending on the weight limit that you are looking for. Our scale goes up to 50 lbs, and most of the items that we list are not over that so it works great for us and has paid for itself many times over already.
If you are like me, and have to multi-task everything each day... having time to make each listing look great with a specific template can be impossible... not to mention very time consuming. I have found that using Photobucket Deluxe helps make it all easier to do. Each section is marked so that you can type in what you want the listing to say and you can select the colors you want on the listing. You can code the photos into the template as well from Photobucket. I'm not sure if you can use any other photo website, but I have always used Photobucket with the free template maker. There is also a lot of great information and pointers on how to use the template, as well as learn some basic html codes.
To help save money on purchasing ink for printing out the shipping labels, we purchase remanufactured ink for our ink jet printer. Not had many issues there, but in fact, they would work better than the name brand ink. Giving around $12-$14 for 2 ink cartridges is a steal of a deal, when compared to giving $42, with tax, for both the color and black refills. If you happen to own a Zebra printer, the cost will be considerably lower. When and if things get better in the future, we plan to upgrade to a zebra label printer to print the shipping labels with. The cost for a Zebra printer will be well worth the cost and will quickly pay for itself.
When selecting items that you want to sell online, it's always a great idea to go to yard sales, estate sales, local auctions, and thrift stores. You will often times find valuable goodies that will cost very little. You can often make out really good if you happen to come across a good deal on someone who wants to sell a large lot of items. For example, we once purchased a large lot of collectibles. There were 100 items in the lot, but we only gave $50 for it all. That would work out to be $2.00 for each item, so anything over $2 you make it pure profit, not counting the selling and shipping fees of course.
I have found that it really helps to use the ebay, PayPal fee calculators, along with the USPS shipping calculator. This will give you a better idea of how you can adjust the pricing of your items, so that you will not go in the hole on anything. You can then get a better price range that you can afford to go up or down on all of your prices for your auctions. This has helped us sell a good bit by using this method.
Many will say that the time that you list an item affects when if the item sells or not. Yes, that could be sort of true if you list auctions that allow the buyers to bid it out to the finish. The experiences that I have had are not like that at all. I usually do an auction-style listing with a starting price and also add a buy-it-now price, in the event that the buyer wants to buy the item then, rather than waiting. I also include the cost of all fees and shipping cost into the pricing, so that I am able to offer free shipping. This helps to attract buyers to your listings, so that they can see that they are getting a great deal at a fair price. It also helps to search prior to listing an item to see what the similar items have sold for, so that you know how to better adjust your pricing. I like to keep our prices very fair, and by doing this, have good results.
So, I have found that by marketing the item through thorough descriptions and nice looking photos do make a huge difference in whether an item sells or not. Another great way to advertise your items for free is by using twitter and pintrest. These 2 sites help attract more buyers, than facebook alone. I have a facebook account just for our online auctions, but after seeing that it didn't help project sales, I quickly stopped using facebook and only use twitter and pintrest. Also using free online stores helps as well.
Once you find a method that better suits your work ethic and listing strategy, you will reap the efforts of your hard work. Yes, it does often take a while to get going, but the hard work and time that you put into your listings will pay off in the long run. You will be very proud that you gave online auctions a try. It's not as hard as most would think, but it can be done. Just be sure to stay updated on the changes of shipping costs, seller updates, and fees associated with everything. Keeping all of this in mind will help you achieve your goal of being a very successful seller online, no matter what venue you choose to go.
There are other online venues that you can list auctions online on besides eBay, but I have not found that any have the true volume that eBay does. We joined eBid in June 2012 and never made a single sale until May of 2013. I put a lot of work and effort into that site, but soon pulled all the listings that we had on there due to the fact that it wasn't worth trying hard to only sale 1 item the entire year.
Selling items at online auctions may not be for everyone, but for someone who may be down on their luck or out of a job, this could really benefit you. I know in our area that jobs are few and far between, so for us to have been blessed by having the opportunity to sell auctions online, it have been the ultimate blessing. What got us really motivated to selling year-round was a natural disaster that struck our town in 2011. Our online auctions was my saving grace, which helped me overcome some very difficult times since the storm hit. Anyone can do auctions, with very limited income. The only thing that I have to buy really, is the ink, brown package paper and clear packaging tape. As I mentioned before, I purchase only the remanufactured ink cartridges, which helps us save money. I also buy a 4-pack of the clear packaging tape at Wal-Mart for $3.98. I figured ways to stretch it and make it last a long time, so those 4 rolls of tape will last us a long time. The brown package paper I can buy for $1.00 a roll at Fred's or for $4.98 at Wal-mart for a giant roll.... just depends on what store I am in and what I have to spend at the time.
Since I use a lot of the mailing supplies that USPS has, they are free to order and get in the mail. I save a lot on boxes, envelopes, and postage in general by doing this. You can simply set up an account with USPS online and you're all set to order the shipping supplies. You can also print postage on the USPS website as well. You can pay with a debit card to help make the process even easier.
Well.... it's finally time for another busy week to wind down to an end. With the busiest time of the year fast approaching us, it's very difficult to get everything done that is going to need to be done. With so much to do in such a little time, it's often a very stressful time. I plan to gear up with holiday listings on ebay, due to the fact that I wasn't able to get a head start on it last year. This year I plan to begin in advance so that I will have all of the projects that I have thought of during the course of the year to make and offer in our listings. I think that by getting an early start, it can help you make a few more sales. It's always a great idea to make sure you have things lined up in the order of how you want to list, so that you will save time and get more items listed.
I have found that it does pay to think ahead of the holidays, as they are the busiest times of the year, and many shoppers will purchase items for gifts. Another great way to purchase items to list is to check out the discount and clearance aisles. This will give you a little something different when it come to listing auctions, while at the same time saving you money on buying things to resale. I have found that it's never too early to think about the holidays ahead. It can make a great way to see an increase in sales during the busiest times of the year.
As a busy stay-at-home, wife, mother, and homemaker, saving money where ever and when ever I can matters. So everything that I have mentioned earlier in my blog will be sure to help you save a bundle while at the same time working from the comforts of home. We've not become wealthy by listing actions online, but we earn enough to help pay the bills and put food on the table. To the right person who has a lot of time and the right things to make it happen, you can earn enough to sustain a steady income. Like anything else, there are highs and lows with sales at various times during the year. We have experienced that many times during the course that we have run auctions online. You just have to dig deep within and not let it get you down. Always remember to keep the attitude of I can make this work and keep your work ethic high.... you will do just fine.
I have found out first hand that you don't have to be a millionaire to have a successful eBay business or sell and list auctions online. You just simply have to have the motivation from within that you can do this and succeed. I hope that I have hopefully helped motivate or encouraged someone out there to give the world of online auctions a try. You will be happy later on that you gave it a try... I know that we are glad that we took the chance all of those years ago. Thanks so much for dropping by to read and view our blog!! I hope that you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Please feel free to share your advice or pointers about any of the topics that I have written about today. I would love to hear from some of our readers out there. Thanks again!! Have a great weekend and take care!! Until next post.... May God bless!!
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