Why sell on eBay? Most people who sell on eBay have full-time jobs. They use eBay to supplement their income, liquidate an estate, cull out items from their collection, or use it in lieu of a yard sale to sell things that they no longer want or need. Becoming even more common are those sellers who purchase new products at wholesale prices and re-sell them on eBay for a profit. You don't have to sell full-time on eBay though. You can sell as many or as few items as you want (as long as you have a supply of low-cost products). It's a great money-making hobby. Keep your day job and sell on eBay in the evenings and on the weekends.

The great thing about eBay is that for most sellers, the more work that you put into selling on eBay, the more money that you make. This is very appealing to many sellers. However, selling on eBay, like any other business, can be hard work. A big motivation for those that end up power selling on eBay, is the desire to own a business; to be their own boss. eBay is perfect for starting a small sales business because of the low initial set-up costs - it's low risk.

Although this article is primarily focused on selling books, almost all of the tips here can be applied to selling anything on eBay. eBay buyers can benefit by understanding what to look for in a good seller.

Registering on eBay - If you do not already have an account with eBay, you'll have register in order to buy or sell on the eBay auction site. For buyers, all that eBay requires is your name, address, e-mail and telephone number. For sellers, you'll also need to provide credit card information. eBay uses a secure system to receive your credit card number, so there is no risk that anyone can intercept your credit card number. If buying on eBay, there will be no charge. If you sell on eBay, your credit card will be automatically charged on a monthly basis for any listing fees and commissions.

Register to buy or sell on eBay by clicking on the banner below.

This eBay selling guide assumes that you understand the basic eBay auction listing process. If you don't know how to set up an eBay auction, click HERE and we’ll take you to eBay's own “Selling basics” page.

Why sell books on eBay? If you're thinking about selling books on eBay or on any of the other online auction sites, you're lucky; books happen to be one of the easiest types of collectibles to sell on eBay.  Perhaps the best thing about selling books on eBay is that they are very easy to package. Once you start selling on eBay, you’ll find that packaging and mailing are some of the most time consuming and least rewarding parts of the e-Bay selling process. By their nature, books are small enough so that one person can easily package and mail them. Cardboard boxes of the appropriate size and shape for shipping books are quite easy to find. Books are also relatively difficult to damage in shipping (unlike many other collectibles that we've sold on eBay: paintings, antiques, fragile glassware etc.). Books are also inexpensive to ship (the United States Postal Service even has a less expensive "Media Mail" rate that can be used for printed materials).

Generally, books are purchased by affluent and reliable adults. If you sell books, instead of something typically purchased by adolescents (such as games for the X-Box,  Pokemon cards, etc.), you're more likely to have fewer non-paying customers.
 
The eBay price comfort threshold. Most items sold on eBay are sold for between $5 and $50. Partly because there are just more items that happen to fall into that range of values, and partly because most buyers are comfortable spending that amount on an internet auction. If you sell items that are worth more than fifty, a hundred, or two-hundred dollars, your pool of potential eBay buyers diminishes greatly. This is great news for those selling books, because most books fall under the $50 price comfort threshold.  

Describing books. Writing a thorough and accurate item description can be a big challenge for sellers, especially new ones, when creating an auction listing. However, because books are widely collected and sold, there are already widely recognized description protocols and condition and grading standards that have evolved which make it far easier to describe the condition of a book. These can be of great value in producing a well-crafted and professional looking eBay auction listing.  You can find an example of those grading standards HERE.

What is the secret to making money on eBay? Attract as many bids as possible!

How do you attract bids?  Establish credibility, present your auctions professionally,  offer a guarantee, include a photograph of your item, and maintain an exemplary feedback record.

You'll notice that we use the word "professional" repeatedly in this guide. Professionalism instills confidence in buyers. Remember, when an eBay buyer bids on one of your auctions they are not initiating a transaction with a well-established company with a proven track record like an Amazon.com, they are placing their trust in someone who could very easily no longer be in business tomorrow. The only thing that the buyer has available to them to assess the legitimacy of your auction is your eBay feedback record and the quality of your eBay auction listing. The goal of your eBay auction should be to differentiate your auction from the others by convincing bidders that what you're selling is legitimate, and that when paid, you'll quickly deliver the product in excellent condition.

Next: Where to buy books to sell on eBay

Introduction
Where to buy books to sell on eBay
Planning your auction
How to write an auction title
How to write an auction listing
Auction item photographs
How to maximize your selling price
After the auction
What if the buyer doesn't pay
Maximize Profits - Keep your costs to a minimum
What not to do - a summary
Top Ten Seller Tips
Register on eBay
Buying on eBay - buying tips

Other great eBay tips by Jonathan Turner can be found HERE.

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Guides to selling your books on e-Bay and online