A Guide to Selling Online

Some basic information which should help you sell online successfully.

Money

One of the most important things about selling online is actually getting the cash. Depending on how you are selling there is usually some type of transaction fee whether that be from a credit card company, PayPal or the site you are selling on. Before you sell an item, it’s important to find out how much you are likely to pay in transaction fees. Also online bank accounts make it much easier and quicker track the cash coming in from your sales.

Where to sell

There are a whole host of options when deciding to sell online: • EBay - one of the most popular whether

you’re selling an item or two or setting up your own online store. You can set a price for items or sell them as an auction.

• Craigslist/Gumtree – These sites allow you to advertise your items online, but not to complete the transactions.

• Amazon Marketplace – Anyone can sell items on Amazon; all you need to do is set up a Seller Account. It tends to be more popular with businesses as the rules are stricter than on Ebay.

• If you’re planning to run a business selling online it could be worthwhile setting up your own website.

How to sell

Listing your items is generally pretty easy, but getting people to buy then can be the tough part. • Timing – Put some thought into when your

items go live. Sunday evenings tend to be the busiest times online, so try to have your items going live (or auctions ending) then.

• Description – Try to write a description which makes your item stand out. Get people’s attention and explain what’s so good about the thing you are selling.

• Photos – For brand new items it’s fine to use generic photos. For used items people tend to want to see the condition of the item, so take and post your own photos.

• Your Own Site – If you set up your own site people need to be able to find it. Invest in some SEO or pay-per-click advertising.