eBay Selling Success: Top tips from an expert eBay PowerSeller

By Robert Pugh

Top tips from long-term PowerSeller and eBay expert Bob Pugh
The eBay marketplace can be daunting for the inexperienced seller and it can seem tough to go up against established PowerSellers. But it is possible for your business to compete successfully, and make a good profit, if you plan carefully, work efficiently and take the right approach.
To help you on your way, Robert Pugh, author of the hugely popular eBay Business Handbook, has produced this collection of essential eBay tips. In this concise guide Robert - or Mollybol to the eBay community - reveals the techniques that have enabled him to become a successful and profitable seller over a period of seven years... and counting!
Find out:
- What to sell and where to find stock
- How to structure your item descriptions
- How to optimise your eBay shop for keyword-based search engines
- Customer service and eBay etiquette that can make a huge difference
And lots more too!
If you have made a start on eBay but are looking to take things to the next level and increase sales and maximise profits, this book will provide you with loads of useful ideas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harriman House
• Release date: May 14, 2012
• ISBN: 9780857192332

Book preview

Publishing details

HARRIMAN HOUSE LTD

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Petersfield

Hampshire

GU32 2EW

GREAT BRITAIN

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Website: www.harriman-house.com

First published in Great Britain in 2012

Copyright © Harriman House Ltd

The right of Robert Pugh to be identified as the author has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

ISBN: 978-0-85719-233-2

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library.

All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Publisher. This book may not be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without the prior written consent of the Publisher.

No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person or corporate body acting or refraining to act as a result of reading material in this book can be accepted by the Publisher, by the Author, or by the employer of the Author.

About the author

Robert Pugh, or Molly to his customers and some friends (Bob’s eBay username is Mollyboy – read on to find out why), has been an active member of the eBay community for seven years since leaving a high-profile job in account management in search of the quiet life. After 24 years working for the same company and many years of direct front line selling Robert retired aged 40, bought some slippers and settled down to daytime TV. Well that was the idea, but reality turned out to be completely different.

Seven years on and Robert now has a thriving eBay business selling items in the diverse fields of cosmetics, toys and DIY accessories. He has written prolifically during this period, including the weekly eBay UK Bulletin (www.ebaybulletin.co.uk) and The eBay Business Handbook, which is currently in available in paperback and eBook formats in its third edition (www.harriman-house.com/ebaybusinesshandbook).

The weekly bulletin includes free advice on running an eBay business, including tips on selling and buying, as well as amusing anecdotes about eBay life. It is now over 240 issues old, with all back issues stored online and available to anybody.

Following the publication of the Handbook Robert has been a regular contributor to numerous newspaper and magazine publications, has given countless radio interviews and even managed to get on TV, including a slot on Newsnight.

He is married with three daughters (affectionately known as The Elves) and still lives in the same shed in Essex.

About this book

I’ve written this book for eBay traders who want to get better at what they do, improving sales and efficiency, and ultimately making more profit. I’ve assumed that you have a knowledge of the workings of eBay and are able to navigate around the site. If you don’t have that knowledge yet, or are finding that as you read this book some of the tips are too advanced, take a step back and read my other eBay guide – The eBay Business Handbook – first. The Handbook covers all of the basics you need.

The hints and tips contained within this volume are the result of seven years serious selling on eBay and are based on the activities I have personally experienced. There are many areas of eBay that are not covered here, because these relate to aspects of the site that I do not use. I can only advise on things I understand and use myself.

So, on to the tips…

The basics

Ask yourself why you are selling on eBay

This can be a hard question to answer honestly. It took me 24 years to realise that I didn’t like working for somebody else and that money is not the be all and end all of life. Now I use eBay to support the lifestyle I have chosen; money is of course important but more important to me is control. I set myself targets for each month and when I achieve them I stop selling.

So this tip is really to stop, take time out and decide what is important to you; often the world moves so quickly that thinking time is lost.

Start in a small way

I receive many emails asking for advice on how to make it big on eBay quickly; I am courteous in my reply but point out that if it were that easy to make millions overnight then everybody would be on eBay doing just that. There is only one sustainable way to get rich from eBay and that is to start in a small way and grow.

It is