As one of the most popular platforms for selling and buying online, you can’t go wrong with eBay. Whether you’re selling electronics, clothes, old magazines or other miscellaneous items, you’ll have a good chance of finding the right buyer on this platform.
The eBay platform makes it especially easy to list an item. To create a listing, you can search for your specific item through the barcode number to find it that way and have eBay auto-populate your listing. You can also auto-populate a listing based on one that is already published. Also, eBay will automatically re-list your item if it doesn’t sell within one week.
You have the option of either listing an item as an auction or for a buy-it-now price (or both). When listing an item as an auction, the best way to get attention is to start with a low price. This way, your listing will gain more views and you’ll have a better chance of the auction price increasing once it ends. However, there is, of course, the risk that you’ll end up selling your item for less than you wanted. On the other hand, you may find that it’s too difficult to gain enough interest without this approach.
It’s free to list on eBay unless you post more than 250 listings per month, in which case eBay will charge you 35 cents per listing. If you sell an item on eBay, the platform will keep a final value fee of up to 15% plus 30 cents per order.
The return policy of eBay typically favors the customer unless you, as a seller, choose not to offer returns. If you do offer returns, which incentivizes customers to buy from your store, you may end up spending more money on shipping fees for returned items. On the other hand, the option to disable returns may deter customers from taking a chance on purchasing your item, especially if you’re a new seller and don’t have any or only have very few reviews.
Who should use it:
You could have luck selling any item on eBay, but the platform can work particularly well for items that are unique or unusual and have a specific audience. For example, the platform is well suited for selling old magazines, or even outdated electronics that most people don’t use anymore but may be of interest to a very specific group of people.
You can also sell more ordinary items, including clothes and home products. Just keep in mind that since there are so many listings on eBay, you may find that it’s harder for your listings to get the kind of traffic necessary to actually sell a product. For clothes and fashion accessories, you may want to consider a platform specifically for these items (such as Poshmark).
- Versatile and suitable for a range of different products
- Final sales fees are lower than competitors such as Poshmark
- Easy to list items on the platform
- Can be difficult to get your item noticed due to the high number of listings
- Customers may return items for any reason
