Perhaps you’re moving home and want to lighten your load on moving day, particularly if you’re downsizing and will lack the space. Perhaps you do an annual spring clean once the daylight returns, or maybe your wardrobe is bursting at the seams despite you only wearing the same handful of outfits.
Whatever the reason, it can be difficult to get started when selling online. So here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your items and maximise your profits so you can make some extra cash!
Compare sites
Before making a listing, do some research to determine which site will be the best one to sell your items. There might be specific sites for certain categories of products like antiques, furniture or cars. This is particularly important if you have a niche collector’s item, where you’ll benefit from targeting specific buyers. If in doubt, it’s best to stick to the more well-known sites - these are where the majority of buyers will be and will, therefore, make your item much more likely to sell.
Whichever site you choose, make sure you know what fees you’ll be expected to pay as a seller, as these may affect how you’d like to price your item. You’re likely to pay a fee to the payment system you choose, too (eg. PayPal), so make sure you work out the minimum price you’ll be willing to accept after fees and price accordingly.
Accurately price your postage
Postage can be a bit of a minefield, and it can be tempting to round up your postage to make sure you make a little profit. Try not to do this - regular buyers will have an idea of the correct postage and can tell when you’ve overdone it. If you’re only advertising locally, make it clear if you’re only able to hand deliver the item within a certain area. For small parcels, take a look at couriers like Hermes, or Parcel2Go to find low-cost parcel delivery, and for anything larger you might find it helpful to use a site like Shiply to compare prices for things like furniture, cars or anything bigger than a parcel.
Be flexible with payments
Unless you have good reason, you should really be able to accept at least a couple of methods of payment. If you’re selling on eBay and only accepting cash, you’re likely to find it very difficult to actually sell your item compared to if you were able to accept cash, PayPal and credit card payments.
If you have a good reason to keep your payment options limited, make these limitations very clear on your item listing so buyers know the situation so they’re not disappointed later if it’s out of their reach.
PayPal is very easy to use, so it’s definitely worth getting involved if you aren’t already registered. On PayPal you can create invoices and process refunds as well as sending and receiving money.
Hopefully this will help you get What are your top tips for selling online?
MissLJBeauty
