Sometimes just a few small tasks can make the difference between making a few bucks on eBay and making a small fortune each month. These ideas will help you get more out of your listings.

* Don’t think that if an item doesn’t sell right away, nobody wants it. Many times I have had articles that failed to attract a single visitor but got multiple bids and big wins on the second or third appearance. eBay is a rapidly changing marketplace with new members appearing daily and many more categories to list previously unsold products. See the next tip.

* A more appropriate listing category could increase sales. For example, I had some stereoscopic views of WWI that eBay’s suggestion tool found most suitable for listing under ‘Antiques & Art > Art > Photographs > Pre-1940’, where I sold some but not many of my 200 or so photographs. . I relisted the unsold items under “Collectibles > Militaria > WWI” and lowered the price from £4 to £3. Almost all sold, many at £3, others up to £40 each. Magic!

* Market your best sellers off of eBay. For example, I recently had a bronze statue of a greyhound, but not just any greyhound. This one had won the revered Waterloo Cup in 1906. I listed it under Collectibles > Animals > Dogs > Greyhound, but visitors were few and the statue did not sell. I put it back in the same category, but this time I wrote to the editors of specialist dog and greyhound racing magazines who I’m sure helped turn a simple ‘Dog’ statue into a highly prized racing collectible that sold for fifty pounds. . (It cost me 10p at the flea market.)

* Look for anniversaries or other events that could significantly inflate the price of your products and note them close to the appropriate date. For example, one of the first autographs I had of Fay Wray, heroine of the movie King Kong, had not sold on two listings until she recently died, after which my third listing suddenly attracted dozens of offers and a profit. cool £20.

* Keep in mind that it’s just as easy (some say easier) to sell to people who have money as it is to people with tight budgets. So instead of offering cheap items with small markups, go for expensive items. You’ll probably get fewer sales, but you won’t be working as hard and there will be less communication to handle. Consider: computers, fine jewelry, designer clothing, original art, cars, motorcycles. But be careful and check the listing rates before you hit the submit button. Some items, such as cars and motorcycles, cost more to list and could eat up a large amount of your earnings. Check it out or do what I did and promote a pair of motorcycle cufflinks under Motorcycles > Accessories, and then you’ll find you paid £6 in that category compared to 35p you would have paid in ‘Jewellery’ .

* Consider setting a reserve price on a low starting offer item. The low asking price may generate early interest, but be warned, some bidders feel cheated by finding a high reserve price on that ’99p’ asking price item. However, the low asking price/reserve price combination can result in furious bidding and high fulfillments and guarantees you’ll get a good price or the item won’t sell. The reserve price is never revealed, but is always over fifty pounds.

* Specialize! Become an expert in an area and make fewer costly buying and selling mistakes. The experience also saves you time researching and listing items for sale. You will also generate repeat business from regular customers who will come to trust you and your business.

* READY, READY, READY!!! And when you think you’ve listed enough, LIST A FEW MORE! Warning: This applies to items you’ve already tried and tested, and not expensive new products you know little or nothing about.

* Try to have a website outside of eBay from which to sell additional items to eBay derivative customers. This can be done by including a brochure or other citation with the original fulfillment package, thanking the buyer, and inviting them to visit your website for other items of interest. Consider including a coupon for a small discount on any order off of eBay. See the next tip.

* When you have that website, list it faster in the Google search engine by including the site’s URL on your “About Me” page on eBay. Someone told me that Google and other search engines index eBay related pages faster than most other sites. I wasn’t convinced so I gave it a try and found that it worked. Start by creating an ‘About Me’, you’ll see how in your eBay account, and say something like. ‘Thanks for your visit. We are suppliers to XYZ and you can learn more about us at http://www.oursite.com’. Keep in mind that it doesn’t matter if no one visits your ‘About Me’ page, Google and other search engine spiders will visit and index your site. I follow this technique for all new websites and find them indexed in days or weeks, never months. Warning: eBay doesn’t take kindly to anyone providing website addresses in their listings, or as part of an eBay ID, and active links are likely to exclude you. The rule does not apply to “About Me” pages.

* Use counters in your eBay listings. These are provided by eBay, free of charge, during the listing process. Counters allow you to see how many views each listing is receiving, from which you can plan and make changes (lots of views but no offers is a sign that something is wrong with your listing; low views and multiple offers usually indicate an attractive product) . Few visits and many offers could indicate a niche market, one with fewer members but 100% receptive buyers. But your competition can also check the popularity of your listings, allowing them to capitalize on your expertise and possibly leverage your ideas and products. The choice to use counters or not is up to you and you can always remove them once testing is complete and you know your product is a winner.