|
|
|
Channels:
|
Search for:
|
Author: Laura_Brito, Contributing Editor
| When an item sells and only when it sells, you have a final value fee (commission). This will vary depending on the final amount. Final value fees can seem complicated because they are based on variables that can be confusing. Here is ebay's Final Value Fee Chart
There are extra options that you can add to your auctions and store listings. Some of these, in my opinion, should be a requirement; like gallery pic and Buy It Now. The gallery picture offers a visual enticement for the customer to view the whole listing giving you a edge. Often buyers won't even look at listings that do not have a gallery pic. Art is a visual medium so this makes it even more important. Buy It Now allows the customer to purchase your item without having to go through the auction bidding process. A Buy It Now price should be higher than the starting bid giving you an edge for profit! Here is Ebay's Upgrade Fee Chart |  |
 |
| If you need to protect your investment in the item you are selling, you can always set a Reserve Price on your item. A Reserve is a price that is unknown to the buyer unless you reveal it in your auction description. You can start your auction for less than the reserve price, but the customer does not win the auction unless he meets or exceeds the reserve price. So even though you may get bids, the item does not sell unless the reserve price is met. There is a lot of controversy when it comes to Reserves. Personally, I think they are a good tool and should be used if you need to get people excited about bidding and to protect what you have in an item. This option has a small fee that is refunded if the reserve is met and the item sells. Here is Ebay's Reserve Help Page
Ebay Stores have a separate fee schedule from Ebay auctions. It is similar in some ways but the benefit in a store is being able to list an item for up to 4 months! That is why I like the stores so much. Cross promotion generates more sales! Of course an ebay store will never equal Ebay auctions but they are still a good way to market higher priced items and items that you want to promote longer than a week. Here is the Ebay Store Fees. This same page also includes tutorials and other valuable information about Ebay stores. |
 |
| If your auction closed and your item did not sell, you can always Relist it. Relisting means you put the same item up on Ebay and incur the same fees; but, if the item sells the second time around, Ebay will refund the second listing fee that was paid for this item. It is like getting a second chance to show your item for another week for free, but only if the item sells! If it does not, you are out of luck and will receive no refund for the second listing fee. You are only allowed to relist an item once for the refund.
Ebay keeps copies of all your listings for up to 30 days, but sometimes Ebay has been known to lose an occasional listing or two. If this information is important to you, then you should use an auction management program, which I will cover later. The benefit of using one of these programs is that all your information resides on your hard drive and it won't be purged from the system. |
 |
| There is one page that will save you a bundle yearly if you check it daily! It is the Ebay General Announcement Board. This web page will list all the free events that take place on Ebay, i.e. free listing days. I estimate that over the years I have saved myself approx $6,000 in listing fees by working very hard on Free Listing Days. You should check this right after midnight Ebay time or first thing when you get up. It is worth it to put aside other plans for the day and list, list, list!
|
| Quick Jump: | ||||
 |
||
|
||
Copyright © 1998-2009, F+W Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. FA |
||
