5 Mistakes I Made When I Started Selling on eBay

BUYING CHOICES

We all know how easy it is to buy items especially when you are sourcing from thrift stores because there is so much stuff in these stores. At first I would grab just about anything that I thought was valuable. For example I use to buy a ton of a certain jean because brand new it was $50 in the stores but when I got home and started to list these items, I realized they wouldn't sell fast or wouldn't sell for a decent enough profit because I had to include the shipping cost which for jeans is always Priority mail. Another example of bad buying choices was electroncs, I use to buy every name brand stereo and speakers I would find and yes some do great on eBay but honestly most aren't worth touching when you consider the shipping weight and the current 2nd hand market value on eBay.

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING

This is a game changer for sure and I honestly wish I started selling International early on. Offering international shipping can really provide you with some great sales every month and through out the year. I have found that some buyers don't have a problem spending more money for the item just because it is not easily available to them in their country. When I started selling Internationally on eBay it was a hassel because you couldn't print the labels from your home, I had to go into the post office, sit in the lines and fill out forms. It was a time suck, now it is so easy, especially with the eBay Global shipping program. You basically enter the required info, print out the label and drop it off at the post office. Don't overlook international shipping because you could be missing out on tens of thousands of dollars a year and it is truly something you need to have as an online seller.

UNDERSTAND THE WEIGHT OF YOUR ITEM

This alone would cause me so many headaches and money. I use to buy items and just list them on eBay without knowing the measurements or the weights and I would always find myself after the sale trying to figure out why I was loosing money or spending so much time trying to package these items. Time is money and I know I always say this but it is so true. Since I changed this sloppy way of listing items, I currently weigh, measure and have on hand all the packaging materials I will need so when the item sells, I'm making money and not wasting time packaging. It only takes seconds to measure and weigh an item but it is worth it in the end so you don't get stuck paying crazy shipping costs. Especially on items over 13 oz, if you don't follow through and take the time to do this you will find yourself losing money every time. Everything I do is calculated, for example if I'm selling a heavy jacket, I take photos, measure the jacket, prepackage the jacket and weigh it. By doing all of this I understand my shipping costs whether they are domestic or international. There are no surprises when the item sells and I can easily grab the item and ship it out within minutes. No more wasting time and most importantly no more losing money.

SHIPPING ITEMS OUT IN A TIMELY MANNER

As I mentioned in this video, when I started selling on eBay I would ship items out at my pace. Well that was the wrong thing to do because back than my pace was when ever I felt like doing so. I currently ship out 6 days a week and I have set times of the day when we ship items out. For example, we ship items out in the morning, 3pm and than I find myself printing shipping labels at 10pm. Once you start selling volume on eBay it all becomes learning how to manage your time. Do you know how long it would take to ship out 50 items a day? I do and that is why I have systems in place so I make sure we ship out orders in a timely manner. As you know buyers these days expect when they purchase an item online that it will ship out fast and if you don't you will not only annoy them but they might posssibly leave you negative feedback or leave you a low DSR rating. Avoid these bad habbits and ship your items out the same day or within 24 hours of a cleared payment. Trust me, your buyers will love it and so will your feedback. Build a reputation for shipping items out fast and you will be surprised how far that will go especially when it comes to future customers. Buyers expect this and there really is no excuse to not shipping items out fast.

THIS IS A BUSINESS, TREAT IT LIKE ONE

When you first dabble with eBay it might feel like a hobby or maybe you are treating it like one but back when I was selling that is what I did. I treated selling like a hobby, I didn't treat it like a job, like a business. I remember a time when money was tight and items weren't selling that I sat down to figure out what to do and how to change it. The solution was an easy one, Mike damn it, treat this like a business, you are hungry right? Stop being lazy and make this work for you! It was like a light bulb went off in my head. I needed to get my act toghether because I didn't want to live in the streets, I didn't want to not be able to provide for my family, I didn't want to get a "REAL" job! So I changed, I had a brand new attitude, a new outlook, I wanted to Win! All I had to do was improve on what I was doing wrong, work harder, work smarter and treat this like a business. I put action into play, I created goals, I listed more, I managed my money and 30 days later I wasn't worriying about how I was going to pay the bills, I wasn't worried at all because I made it happen. I became more efficient, I became more profitable, I became a business, I became an Entreprenuer!