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With 250 million users and 180 million active buyers on eBay, one might think that selling here is easy.

It’s not.

The sheer volumes of buyers, sellers, and listings on the platform make selling here the equivalent of humbly whispering to a crowd in the middle of Time Square.

And yet, some businesses have mastered eBay to a point where they are making millions of dollars. What’s the secret sauce of their success?

Keep your prices ahead of the curve

Daniella Flores, creator, and author of iliketodabble.com shared a peculiar tip for selling on eBay. Whenever she finds herself in the corner and can’t sell an item fast, she goes straight to the search bar to look for similar items. Then she tweaks the price on her listing and beats the living hell out of the competition.

Keeping your eye on similar listings is actually one of the key elements of maintaining a successful sales strategy. Adequate repricing is your golden key to success on eBay.

That said, keeping track of the constant updates and new offers is an overwhelming task. Just think about how many there are!

Using an automated repricer is wiser and much more efficient. Why bother with manually tweaking the price when there’s an app willing to do the powerlifting for you 24/7/365?

Master the art of pricing

Speaking of your pricing policies, it’s best if you were to create your listings with profit in mind.

Yes, you’ve paid money for your items. Yes, they have a retail value. And yes, there are the prices your competitors go for. All of these factors play a major role in evaluating the price of any given item you are looking to sell.

That said, eBay is not retail. Its auction-based nature is quite the unexpected.

It’s your job as a seller to know the price of your items on eBay specifically. Check sold items (emphasis on sold AKA something someone has bought) and make that price your stepping stone.

Again, repricer apps have intelligent analytics systems in place to help you keep track of the eBay value of goods.

Pick the right product

Technically, you are free to sell whatever you want on eBay. it’s not like anyone’s here to stop you. that said, there’s a handful of products you should avoid like fire, especially if you are a new seller.

iPhones, smartphones or other electronics are a prime example of things you shouldn’t be selling for a series of reasons:

• They are expensive
• Auctionbased nature of eBay won’t let you make a lot of profit
• There’s a lot of trust issues surrounding fake electronics sold on eBay and you, as a new seller, don’ have the trust on the platform to deal with them

Same can be said about event tickets, commonly counterfeited items (Nike/Ugg shoes, designer bags, expensive sunglasses, etc.), and items with removable components.

Pay attention to detail

Picking the right listing type can make or break the sales of an item. Its description or the lack of it is like sun and moon in the eyes of the shopper. Pitch-perfect visuals are more than essential.

It’s these seemingly small things that can make your buyer’s journey a pleasant walk in the park resulting in positive reviews and development of your brand.

Shipping costs?

Let’s be honest here – everyone hates paying for shipping. To the client, these costs are money blown out the window. To you, the lack of payment is a colossal new stream of expenses.

Here’s a couple of ideas you can use to sweeten the deal:

• Charge a flat rate for shipping
• Don’t charge at all (but sneakily include the cost into the price of an item and then feel free to slap the “free shipping badge” on a listing) 

So these were our top 5 handy tips to help you sell better on eBay. Do you know of any other ideas that work? Feel free to share them with us in the comments section!