(continued from last week).
4. Listing Your Item
How do I list my items?
First, look over your clothing/items. I wash and iron most of the items I buy. Buyers want to see the clothes looking their nicest so make the items look how you would want to see them in a picture if you were the buyer.
Now, Photography; Use sharp backgrounds! I have a large piece of white, no wrinkling fabric and one in black. Polyester works great! I photograph lighter items on black and bright or dark items on white. You can also use editing software to make the images “pop”. Make sure you focus on the clothing/item youre selling.
Natural, outside light works best, but I have taken indoor photos too. Overcast or partly cloudy days work best. Take a full shot and then a few up close shots as well.
I recommend using a hosting service such as www.photobucket.com or www.tinypic.com Why? Because eBay allows you one free photo per item and charges for each additional photo. If you upload your pictures to a hosting service, you can copy and paste the html code from as many photos as you like into your item description at no extra charge!
You will then need to choose an item category. DO NOT LIST IN MORE THAN ONE CATEGORY. eBay claims it can increase the ending price, but doing this doubles your insertion fees.
If you have an eBay Store, you will want to also choose which Store categories you want your item to appear in. When you set up your Store, you can choose to use eBay’s categories as your default, which is probably the easiest way to go at first. You can also add broader categories such as “Back-To-School” or “Easter”. You can place your item in TWO Store categories is you wish, which is nice for customers searching your Store.
Writing your listing: Now that your photos are edited and uploaded to your hosting service, it’s time to list your item. You can use eBay’s “Sell Your Item” (SYI ) form. Or you can use iSale on a mac. (thats what I use).
Leave out words such as “Cute” or “Look”. Buyers search for item specifics.
So this would be a proper “title” for your listing if you were selling an outfit from Janie & Jack in a size 4/5 and it still had tags on it (NWT)
Janie and Jack Boys Size 4 4t 5 5t Outfit Set NWT
Describe your item: Major importance here! What do you want to tell a shopper about you item?
Most importantly, you need to list the brand, size, color or pattern and in some cases, the line name (esp. for Gymboree and Janie and Jack) You will also want to include item condition, describing any flaws or details. Also, include measurements. It keeps the questions from buyers down. Keep the description short, but sweet.
If you use a photo hosting service, you will then copy and paste the html tags (provided by your host) for as many photos as you wish into the description. You will need to click on “html view” and make sure you paste the codes after the item description text. Also, type
Price your item: Are you going to send your item to auction? Are you listing it as Store Inventory? Either way, you can search current auctions and inventory on ebay.com to see what others are going for and where you should price your item or start your auction.
For auctions, I will often send items out at .99. This brings a lot of traffic and more bids.
Another way to determine a starting bid for auctions is to figure what would be the least amount you would be willing to let it go for.
As for Store Inventory, I love the “Best Offer” option. I offer it on most all of my Store items. I price the item a few dollars more that I hope to get for it, and will generally accept 20-25% less than the asking price. If the offer is much lower, I can simply counter with an acceptable price! Best Offer (BO) is great!
Shipping: Many sellers use calculated shipping. This is very easy to do. You simply enter the weight of your item (round up for the weight of packaging and a handling fee) and the buyer will see what the item will cost to ship to them. I use First Class Parcel for all items 13 oz. and under and Priority for anything over 13 oz. The USPS will provide free Priority shipping supplies. They can only be used for Priority Mail.
I recommend printing your postage through eBay/Paypal. You can print on plain paper and tape the labels to your packages or invest in half-sheet labels that are self-adhesive. By printing your labels at home, you receive Delivery Confirmation for less than .20 per item as opposed to .65 if you buy it at the PO. And DC is free on Priority packages! Having the DC number is a wonderful tool in case a buyer ever claims not to have received an item. You can track and confirm using the DC number!
Payment: You will also need to decide how you would like to be paid. I recommend accepting Paypal. I only accept Paypal. That way both buyer and seller are covered if there is an incident and it needs to be worked out.
5. Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get those great graphic and borders I have seen on others sellers’ listings?
You can brighten up your listings using a listing template. You can buy one right on eBay, usually for under $10. They come with instructions for adding text and photos. They aren’t necessary, but once you get in the selling swing, they are a fun thing to add pizzazz to your listings. You can also spend more money and buy a custom made Storefront for your eBay store. Again, they aren’t necessary, but make a nice presentation. iSale is another great option. Yes, you pay a little for it, but there are TONS of templates in there for you to use.
What are the best times to start and end listings?
Well, that depends. For Store Inventory, it really doesn’t matter. But for auctions, I like to have mine end between 7:30 and 10 pm on Sun-Thursday evenings. I also try to run a long enough auctions that I get weekend exposure. Auctions that end on Friday and Saturday nights don’t do as well. You can choose 3, 5 and 7-day listings.
Is Feedback important?
YES! MAJORLY IMPORANT! As a seller, it is the only indication a buyer has of your reputation. In most cases you will receive positive feedback just by offering items as described, fair and speedy shipping and good communication. In rare cases you get the hard-to-please customer. If they are not making unreasonable demands (i.e. threatening to leave negative feedback if you don’t give them a refund), it is in your interest to find out what the issue is an attempt to resolve it fairly.
It is also important for you to leave timely feedback for your buyers.
What do I sell when?
For children’s clothing, here is a general rule of thumb I use when planning my year:
January: Start listing Spring items! Christmas is over, buyers are looking to stock up those Spring wardrobes, including Easter outfits. Get you Valentine’s Day items out, too!
February: Keep on listing Spring! After Valentine’s Day, start getting some Summer items listed!
March: Summer in full swing! Bathing suits, cruise wear, etc. Sell out the rest of your Spring items.
April: Big month for Summer, but it will wind down by the end of the month!
May: Pretty slow month for children’s clothing. Work on stocking Back-To-School items for late June and July!
June: List and July Fourth items and keep listing BTS! You will start getting hits at the end of this month!
July: BTS in full swing! Mid-to late month should be very busy! Don’t forget school shoes, jackets, jeans, dress and legging sets, etc.!
August: Continue with Fall and BTS. Will slow down a bit by the end of the month and school actually starts.
September: Get those Halloween costumes listed! Keep selling Fall.
October: Send out the last of your Halloween stuff and introduce Christmas. Parents have portraits made early! Still sell Fall.
November: Very slow month. Some sellers try toys for Christmas.
December: Slow month except for toys. Use this time to list Spring inventory! Get stocked up.
What brands sell best?
There are tons of boutique and better children’s clothing brands out there, but these are some of the best selling brands on eBay:
Amanda Remembered
Anita G
Anavini
Aster (shoes
Austin & Ashley
Baby Gassy Gooma
Baby Lulu
Babymini (Catimini)
Baby Nay
Bailey Boys
Bear Feet (shoes)
Beaux et Belles
Bella Bliss
Berlingot
Best Friends
Boden
Cach Cach
Cakewalk
Chabre
Chez Ami
Chicken Noodle
Chocolate Soup
Clayeux
Cornelloki
Cottontail Originals
Cow & Lizard
Deux par Deux
DPAM
Elefanten (shoes)
Fast Friends
Feltman Bros.
Flapdoodles
Flap Happy
Fresh Produce
Funtasia! TOO
Gap
Greggy Girl
Gymboree
Hanna Andersson
Hartstrings
House of Hatten
Icky Baby
Indygo
Jacadi
Janie & Jack
Kash Ten
Kate Mack
KC Parker
Kelly’s Kids
Kenzo Jungle
Kitestrings
Laura Ashley
Lavender Blue
Le Top
Lilly Pulitzer
Lipstik
Little Mass
Lulu & Me
Malina
Magi
Marimekko
Melissa Jackson
Michael Simon
MiniBoden
Monday’s Child
Mulberribush
Mulberry St.
Munki Munki
Naartjie
New Potatoes
Nick Nack Patty Wack
Oink! Baby
Orient Expressed
Painting Red Rhinos
Petit Ami
Petit Bateau
Plum Pudding
Psketti
Ralph Lauren/Polo
Robeez (shoes)
Rosalina
Skivvydoodles
Storybook Heirlooms
Strasburg
Sweet Potatoes
Tea Collection
Trish Scully
Two Turtle Doves
Vive la Fete
Widgeon
Will’ Beth
Zackali
Zoodles
Zutano
Zyno
I got my tips and help from my husbands aunt who used to be a big seller on eBay. She was a huge help to me when I started off and I hope I can pass that along to you. Was this guide helpful to you?
Interesting post Meghan. I starred to save it for future info… 🙂
Hello! You have just received an award! Congrats! Have a great day! ~Heather http://livingonloveandcents.blogspot.com/2010/06/my-first-blog-award.html
I am finally getting to see everyone's blogs. Have a great day!
This is a great list! Thank you for all the information.