How To Increase eBay Profits

Some sell on eBay to clean out their garage or attic.
Some sell to make a little extra money here and there. But
for some, eBay represents a chance to create a second
income or start a home business. Product choice is
important. But to really increase profit you must know how to
increase the number and amount of bids per item. An eBay
seller must maximize each product's profit margin. This
article describes techniques to make as much profit as
possible.

1. Sell like products at the same time. Bidders look to
see what else you have for sale they might be interested
in. Combined shipping saves postage for the buyer. Packing
in the same box saves time and packing costs for the seller.

2. Bundle a less desirable item with a more desirable item
increases sales. This is an old offline auction technique.
If the bidder wants the better item he has to buy both. If
two sellers offer the same item, the buyer bids on the two
item auction. Bundling two low cost items together also
increases bids. A buyer may not be willing to pay shipping
for one item, but would for two.

3. Remember seasonal issues. Don't sell snow skis in July,
water skis in January. Be sure to offer seasonal items
early enough to allow for shipping. Don't expect to sell
many Christmas items that must be shipped during the second
week of December.

4. Understand profit margins. Don't buy to resell for
only a $5 profit when you can make $20 on a different item.
Determine your desired monthly income and choose products
appropriately. Want to make 1000 a month? That is $250 a
week. That's ten successful actions at $25.00 profit, or
five items at $200 a month, or ten items at $100 each. Also
packing 10 items takes less time than packing 20 items.
Always consider time as a cost.

5. Don't forget back end sales and secondary products.
Offer similar products during the payment process or on
your auction store/web site. If you sell underground fences
for dogs, an up-sell item is a customized collar. A
secondary product could be a pet door. Another secondary
product could be a ebook on "Travel Safely With Your Pet".
A back-end sale to the ebook could be a item that helps
your family travel safely with your pet.

6. The List - For many successful online sellers the
mailing list is where their money is made. Using a
autoresponder, sellers automatically email customers on
their list at regular intervals. Including content with
announcements of upcoming sales increases back end sales.
Once a customer buys, they are more likely to buy again
from same person or company.

7. Customer demographics should be considered. Collectors
have expectations non-collectors don't. Example, some book
buyers that are allergic like to see "book from non-smoking
home" in ad. This would earn you a higher bid. What does
the customer expect to see in a description?

8. Auction terms and conditions should be included with
each auction. What shipping options are available? Do you
take questions? Do you ship only certain days? What kind of
payments do you take? Type whatever standard terms you
offer in a word processor and cut and paste into your
auctions. This saves time. For some sellers, typing the
content for each auction is one of the most time consuming
tasks.

Profit involves keeping costs reasonably low and creating
higher bids. We've described some techniques for increasing
profit. Sit down and mentally run through the process of auction
selling and come up with some of your own ideas.
EBay is a great business opportunity but like any business, sellers must be wise in their product choice and sales techniques.

Author info: L. C. Peterson is a writer and web marketing
consultant. Her sites include http://www.new2auctions.com, http://www.LCPeterson.com, and http://www.publishingebooks.com. For more information on online marketing, content and ebook creation and online auctions take a look.

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