If, along with half of Britain, you decided to declutter this year, chances are you have some items to sell. Yes, you could take them to a charity shop, but you could also see whether you could make some money yourself. This is because eBay alongside other popular online selling sites such as Depop and Vinted are absolutely flying. I too decluttered this year (the process is another blog in itself!) and enjoyed the success of selling over £2,000 worth of items when I followed these six tips:
1/ Do your research
Do a quick search to see if anyone else is selling your item. This will not only give you a template to crib as there’s a brilliant ‘sell one like this’ option but it will also give you an idea of the demand you’re likely to see as well as a good indication of the price you’ll achieve. If you choose the ‘sell one like this’ button, eBay will do most of the hard work for you including selecting the category, pricing and postal costs. All of it is editable though so you can tailor it specifically to your liking.
2/ Make it as easy as possible for your buyer
Put yourself in the buyers shoes and think what would I like to know about this item before I committed to buying it? If you’re selling clothing, particularly if you are selling vintage, it’s important to add measurements such as chest, waist and length. Also add in fabric type, perhaps where and when you bought the piece, the condition it’s in along with any noticeable faults you are aware of. Always be honest because if your buyer ends up being disappointed, they are likely to leave negative feedback and that is something to avoid if at all possible. Also think about how to describe the item in the title - ‘Size 6 shoes, red patent leather, 2 inch block heel from Aldo’ will find your potential buyer much quicker than just ‘size 6 red shoes’ which will likely got lost in thousands of other search results. Think what you would type into a search engine if you were looking for that particular item and then use that as a handy guide.
3/ A picture speaks a thousand words
Although your title and description are incredibly important, so are your images. eBay will allow up to 12 photos in your listing for free so add as many as you can. It is worth taking a little time to display your item in the best possible way, so if you have a mannequin, use it or produce a flat lay on the floor to illustrate how the item might look when worn. I usually take a photo from the front, side and back along with a shot of the fabric or print, any design features, the size label and the care label. For more specific advice, have a quick look at this best practice guide.
4/ Pick your price
If you followed tip number one you will already have an idea of the price you might achieve, so set a starting price in line with that. You could choose a ‘buy it now’ listing but know that auctions are still by far the most popular way to buy. I tend to set the starting price relatively low to attract lots of interest and to safeguard against your item going for an amount lower than you would like, you can always set a reserve price which will not be displayed to your buyers. If you do use the ‘buy it now’ option it will incur an additional fee of 50p which is on top of any sales fees. Talking of which, no matter how you sell your item, you will be charged a 10% fee of the final sales value plus any postage. So, if you sell an item for £15 and the postage is £3.10, you will be charged 10% of £18.10.
5/ Timing is everything
I always choose a 7 day auction and will aim to have it finish after 7pm on a Saturday or ideally a Sunday as this is the most popular time on the site. It’s vitally important because you want as many people as possible to be available when your auction is ending, This is because many people will bid right at the last minute - in fact, I regularly bid within the last 10 seconds! So, you want people to readily have access to the auction, which is almost always during the evening. Try to avoid your auction ending at particularly busy times of the week such as during the school run or when there’s a big event on the television such as a series finale or an important sporting event.
6/ Remember postage
eBay will helpfully make postage suggestions for you, but to be sure, you can always use the Royal Mail’s price finder When thinking about the weight and size of your item, don’t forget to allow for any packaging and tape you will also need to use. Probably most important though is to obtain a proof of postage just in case a buyer claims their parcel never arrived. This means you will not be out of pocket if a refund is needed. Also make sure you are paid via PayPal which will give you some protection against any payment issues,
So happy selling and please remember that if you need to slim down your wardrobe but don’t know where to start or what to get rid of, my wardrobe consultations would be perfect for you!