Top tips for successful selling

• Information information information
  Don’t leave out any information that would be useful for the buyer (sizes, material, colours etc). This could cause them to leave your listing quickly. See them as impatient, they don’t always have the time to ask you as they don’t know how long you’ll take to reply. They can easily go somewhere else where the information is clearer.
• Seeing is believing
  Use as many pictures as you can, we are all more likely to buy if we have a good understanding of what it will look like when it arrives. Not having a clear, or large enough picture is a major downfall for many listings.
• To return or not to return
  Make your terms clear, if you accept returns or refunds, if you have any aftercare service etc. It reassures a potential buyer if they think they can return the goods if there is a problem. Hence they are more likely to take the plunge.
• Shipping costs
  Be honest with your shipping costs, only charge what it costs you to ship the item. Over-inflated shipping can put buyers off.
• Complete your profile
  The more a customer knows about you and your business the better, mention how long you’ve been in business, or your background. Even some testimonials are great. Be personable and approachable.
• Promotion - Let people know
  Tell everyone that they can bid for your items. Use the HTML code provided on your account page to promote your listings. If it’s known, it’ll spread. Word of mouth is one of the best forms of advertising. Put it on your website, this will let your customers know they can bid for your items. Use it on MySpace, Blogs, or why not post the page of your items on your Facebook account by using the ‘Share’ button which is on every page.

MOST IMPORTANT TIP OF ALL

• This is by far the most important tip of all, without this all of the above are useless. The only way auctions can work is if the buyer thinks they are getting a bargain. A way to guarantee your item won’t sell is by starting your bid at the retail price, or worse, even higher. Follow these last few tips carefully:

1. Start your bid LOW. For example, if you’re usual retail price is £30, then start at £15 or £20. Mention the retail price in the listing. This will grab the buyers attention, lots of people can’t resist a bargain even if they don’t need the item. The lower you start your bid, the more likely you are to get bids.
2. Mention in your description that you would like at least X amount before selling. That way you could start irresistibly low, but not feel a little guilty should you not decide to sell to the highest bidder.
3. REMEMBER THIS IS NOT EBAY YOU ARE NOT OBLIGED TO SELL IF THE FINAL BID IS NOT SATISFACTORY - So you have NOTHING to lose by starting low!
4. DO NOT
   - Start your listing at the retail price
   - Start higher than the retail price
   - Start low but over-inflate the shipping, buyers don’t like this as they feel cheated.
   

Following the above tips can only improve your sales, put them in to practice and see what the results are!