I recently sold an industrial printer on eBay. The highest offer from the UK? £1,000. The highest offer from the Middle East was a whopping £5,000.

Don’t let the size of your item put you off offering it overseas. The above printer weighed five tones but we found a way to dismantle it and ship it in a container. It cost less than £1,000 to ship and the buyer was happy to pay for it.

If you’re selling an item of regular size then do use the usual Royal Mail, Parcelforce or DHL to ship it. If you want to send something bigger then it’s worth getting a quote from other couriers, such as Interparcel, or from shipping companies.

A couple of things to remember: Pack your item properly and packaging materials can cost a bomb.

A courier once damaged an insured package I sent. However, the company felt I hadn’t packaged it properly so I got no compensation. (Most couriers will not insure jewellery or antiques. Do try to find one that insures unusual objects. If you do, please tell me!)

I spend a small fortune on packaging materials. I send items that are cheap to post but cost more than ten pounds to package. I do explain on the listing that I’m charging for packaging materials as well. This way buyers know I’m not pulling a fast one.

If possible try to offer free postage on items that don’t cost much to post. Free shipping makes your listing come higher up on the page and gives more incentive for potential buyers to click on your item.

However, do make sure that you state on your policy who’s responsible for postage in the case of returns and that ‘free postage’ doesn’t mean ‘free return postage’.

Best of luck in shipping your items to the whole wide world!

I’ve aborted many eBay purchases because of bad descriptions. The frustrating ones are the ones which don’t tell you the size, weight or material of the item, or how long it will take them to post it.

At times like this I end up buying the same product at a higher price but with straight-forward descriptions. (Amazon and John Lewis are masters of clarity.)

Writing a clear description doesn’t mean that you have to write a lot.  Too much irrelevant information can be as frustrating as lack of details.

The secret to writing a good description is to know your product inside out. You must be able to tell people how buying this product is going to benefit them.

Also, honesty is the best policy. If the item has faults, such as scratches or marks, do write that. It should prevent returns and unhappy customers.

I usually start my description by writing one sentence or two stating how the product benefits its user. Then I  do some bullet points of its features such as:

• Material, weight and size
• History
• Retail Price
• Any defects
• Time it should take me to post it
• International postal options
• Contact number, etc …

Your potential buyer is probably browsing a few sites so your layout needs to be easy on the eye.

Good customer service is to be able to answer queries from potential buyers quickly. Fantastic customer service is when your description is so clear that potential buyers don’t need to ask you any questions.

• Having a plain backdrop or uncluttered background
• Getting good natural lighting
• Showing the item from many angles
• Showing the scale of item
• Taking a short video if necessary

I have a spot in my house next to a big window and a plain wall were I take some of my photos. Other times I take photographs in the garden, like I did with this bag.

For this stopwatch I used a white sheet as a background and laid the stopwatch by the window in bright daylight. This way I didn’t need to use the flash which would have reflected in the glass. I think potential buyers can see clearly from these photos any marks or scratches. For the real listing I also took other pictures from different angles.

To show the item’s size I took a photo with my finger next to the watch. This gives a better sense of scale. If you’re selling a bag you can show someone carrying it or if you’re selling envelopes you could put a CD next to them. Anything like a coin or a ruler will give a better sense of scale and help that potential buyer make a decision.

If you need to show that an item is working then do take a short video of it. I upload my videos to YouTube and then embed them onto my eBay listing. Keep the videos short, less than 10 seconds if possible, so that they don’t take ages to download. Here’s a simple ten second video I took of a Roland Printer:  Roland Movie 2

Obviously, if the item is too heavy to be moved then make the most of your surroundings. Don’t forget to use the cropping tool on eBay to remove any dead space in the picture.

Whatever you do, don’t go around copying photos of the product from commercial websites. Potential buyers really want to see the actual product you’re selling and not a stock photo.

Taking photos has become one of my favourite bits of selling on eBay. I feel I really ‘get to know’ and item once I’ve lovingly photographed it.

The majority of people looking for something specific to buy don’t go straight to eBay. They first go to a search engine such as Google. If it points them to eBay then that’s where they go.

For your listing to climb up the pages of Google, you ought to write as many relevant words in the title as possible.

The title words must genuinely describe the product. If you’re selling a Swatch, don’t be cheeky and describe it as “Swatch Watch not a Rolex” just to get traffic. This will provoke the wrath of eBay and the mistrust of potential customers.

A friend of mine recently sold some beautiful and expensive wine glasses in an eBay auction. He was expecting hundreds of pounds for them but instead got five pounds! Why? Well, his title only said “Wine Glasses”. It never mentioned that these were “Dartington Crystal Wine Glasses”. Had he written that, he would have got hundreds of pounds for them.

Before writing your title it’s worth taking a l look at the completed listings of similar products to check if the items fetching more money have certain words that make them easier to find.

Buyers love getting genuine top-brand items on eBay at a lower price so it’s really important to write your product’s brand, condition, size, and any other applicable terms. This way you’ll maximise the number of visitors to your listing and get higher bids and sales.

Once you have a decent product to sell on eBay, you must decide whether to list it as an auction or at fixed price. Your choice can sometimes make all the difference between getting a fantastic price and going home empty handed.

There’s no fixed ruled about which format to use but you’ll develop an instinct about it from bittersweet experience. However, here’s a quick guide of the different formats: 

Auction without reserve

My all time favourite. I love starting auctions at £0.01 and see people flock to my listings. However, I only do this when I have a really popular product that I am confident will sell well.  I put products that are tempting rather than necessary here. Items such as branded clothes and bags and ‘boys techy toys’.

(By the way, the worst way to start an auction is to put a high first bid like £500 rather than £0.01. A high start price really discourages people to start bidding. If you want your item to fetch at least £500 then start it at £0.01 but with a reserve of £500. That way, if it doesn’t reach the £500 you don’t have to give it away.)

Auction with reserve

I only use this when the reserve is going to be at least £500. It’s not worth it using it for lesser price products as lower reserves discourages/annoys buyers as it can make you look petty.

I use this format when a product is too specialised to create a bidding frenzy. So I’ll start the product at £0.01 and put a reserve of say £500 just to cover my back.

Buy It Now

The fixed price format is ideal when you have everyday products that have a clear market price on eBay, such as envelopes, pens and books. The majority of people buying everyday stuff want to pay there and then, and at a good price.

Buy It Now/Best Offer

This is becoming a favourite of mine. It works brilliantly when you only have a rough idea of what a product might fetch as there’s nothing like it on eBay. You put the item at your ideal price but give punters the chance to send you an offer. It’s ideal for niche products.

For example, I use this mode if I’m selling a spare part for a BMW engine. It means that it sits there until someone that really needs it makes me an offer for it. (It’d be silly to put said BMW spare part on auction and expect to have a bidding frenzy!)

This format attracts more attention than the simple fixed price format as it makes the buyer feel that they had power over the price.

Classified Ads

eBay allows you to use Classified Ads for motors, houses and services. You pay a fee upfront and get a Classified Listing for 28 days. You don’t need to pay any selling fees afterwards.

So there you go, a variety of formats you can use. If it seems daunting let me assure you that after you’ve sold a handful of things on eBay you’ll be an expert yourself!

I’ve been trading on eBay for nearly five years and I can confidently say that the top secret of success is having a ’hot product’.

By a hot product I mean something that is either collectible, scarce, the newest model, a top brand, or has become popular because of it’s connection with a celebrity. 

A few weeks before the much-hyped Anya Hindmarch’s “I’m Not a Plastic Bag” bag was about to launch in 2007, a select group of people were given one for free at a press conference.

Some of these recipients flogged their bag on eBay and got hundreds of pounds for it. A few weeks later the bag was officially launched at Sainsbury’s costing just £5. 

This bag was seen as such a hot product that fashionistas were willing to pay a premium just to be able to carry the bag before the masses did.

When I find a product that I think might sell on eBay, the first thing I do is search for it on eBay’s “Completed Listings”. If I see that the majority of similar products have sold and have sold at a decent price then I’ll sell it. Otherwise, I give up there and then and avoid wasting my time and paying listing fees.*

Remember that when it comes to creating a profit on eBay, taking beautiful photos and writing elegant prose are only secondary to getting your products right.

* eBay Pulse is another way of looking at which products are selling well on the site.

Within minutes of starting the auction you get a phone call from someone offering you lots of cash for the item on the condition that you take it off the site and sell it to them immediately.

Would you sell it there and then?  After all, it’s instant cash and you don’t know the value of the item. Well, I wouldn’t sell it and you shouldn’t either.

If someone wants to rig the system it probably is because they know the true value of the product.  They also know that they won’t be able to afford it once the auction gets going. 

I once had three people offering me £2,000 in cash for a stereo I had just put up for auction.  They wanted me to take it off eBay straight away.  I held on and the item sold for £6,500.

If you’re ever tempted to sell an item outside the site please don’t do it. You will lose the trust of all the potential clients that are bidding on the item and you won’t have the protection from eBay if the deal goes wrong.

I have answered many a question on eBay. The one that sticks in my mind is when someone asked about the diameter of an internal valve of an oven (five millimetres if you must know)!

You can’t foresee queries like this. However, you can drastically reduce their number by preempting them in your description page.

What you must obviously mention is the item’s model, condition, measurements and postage options. If applicable, whether it comes from a smoke and/or pet-free home.  Don’t overfill the page but make sure your description is relevant.

If you get the balance right you’ll only be asked genuine questions which you’ll be delighted to answer.

Great customer service is much, much more than answering clients questions straight away.  Great customer service is about being so clear upfront that your clients don’t need to waste their time asking you a question in the first place.

The image on the left is a lovely one of an engagement ring. However, rings that are photographed this way hardly sell on eBay. 

The diamond rings that actually sell on the site have been photographed in the style of the image to your right. They have a personal touch about them. They might show the owner’s hand or the box in which the ring came in. 

If you’re a high-street established shop then people expect to go to your website and see professional looking images.

When people go to eBay to buy an expensive ring at a discounted price they’ll probably feel more comfortable buying it from a woman called Jacinta, who has put a decent but not perfect looking photograph, and who might even tell you the usually sad story of why she’s selling the ring.

So take uncluttered, clear photographs of your items. And add a personal element to them because on eBay it’s that human touch that sells.

But if you want to pump the profits do end the auction at a time when there’s a lot of traffic on the site.   Possibly a Sunday night, the busiest time on eBay.

These timings apply if you’re only selling to the UK or European markets.  If you’re offering your item worldwide then you want to find a time when most of your global audience is awake.

Some bidders use automatic bidding software.  Auction sniper, for example, does the bidding a few seconds before the auction finishes.  For those bidders your end timings won’t matter much.

I wish I could say that ending an auction at a particular time will bring you riches.  But no amount of eBay marketing makes for a poor product.  Compare it to the estate agent’s mantra of location, location, location.  A house in a desired area will sell well anytime, even if it has cosmetic and structural issues. A wanted item on eBay is the equivalent of that house in the perfect location.