How does eBay work? I need to sell about 20 Health Science Books? Think ya' can help?

Question

How does eBay work? I need to sell about 20 Health Science Books? Think ya' can help?

What is the first step for using eBay? How does that auction thing work? When will I know when it stops? Will I be notified? Do custormers pay in cash or check and can I request cash only? Is shipping and handling included? What about returns? Please tell me everything I need to know! I appreciate it and Happy Holidays!

Answer 1

To sell an item on ebay, you need to set up a sellers account.  When doing this, you will need to have either a checking account or credit card that is used to verify that your address is really yours.  Once your account is set up and verified, you should be set to go.  When you are ready to list the item to sell it, you will need to type in a discription of the item and state what kind of condition it is in.  For your price, list it low to begin with and that way you will stand a better chance of people bidding on it.  For shipping and handling, you will need to find out how much your item is and calculate how much it will cost to ship the item.  Remember to figure out in that price the cost of the packaging and some of the listing fees.  Customers will be able to pay with cash, check, money order or a paypal account, which is the safest way to go since then you will have your money instantly.  I do not recommend cash since if it gets lost in the mail, you are out your money.  When the auction ends you will be notified of it by email.  You do get a choice if you want it to be 7 days or longer.  The longer the auction time, you do need to pay a fee for it.  7 day ones are free.  Oh, customers can send a check to pay for it but to be safe, do not send the item until the check has cleared your bank account so you know you have the funds.  Returning items can be done, only if the person says it is not what was stated in the ad.  The person buying it will have to pay shipping and handling costs to send it back to you and have to provide a tracking number.  Once you recieve the item, give the cash back.  I think I have told you everything.  I know there is help on the website to walk you thru everything that you need to know for any ?'s that you have.  

Hope this helps

Answer 2

First you need to go to ebay and do a search of the books you want to sell. Make sure there are a demand for them. There are what's called "insertion fees". This is what you have to pay, just to list items on Ebay. When the items sells, you pay a "final value fees" This is a percentage of whatever price the book will sell for.

Then you have to create a seller acct, it's simple. Just like signing up for Yahoo.

Auction - It's just a form with blank sections that you fill in. What you're selleng, title, publish date, used or new, etc...

Auction Time - you can set it for a seven day run. People bid on the books for seven days. At the end of seven days, whoever is the highest bidder wins. Ebay will send you an email of who the winning bidder is.

Payment - I would advise against doing cash. eBay does not recommend cash or cash wire transfers as a payment method. If you pay by cash, you do not receive protection under the eBay Standard Purchase Protection Program. You also do not retain any proof of your payment, and will have little to no remedy for transaction problems. You can accept checks, but don't mail the items until the check has cleared the bank.

Shipping & Handling - This must be determined before shipping. You have to list ithe price in your auction.

Returns - you set your own return policy. Anything goes. You can list on your auction that you do not accept return under any conditions. Sold as is.

Email me with any questions. It's hard to answer all on here.

You really need to go to Ebay and read for yourself. Read on the forums, Called 'Seller Central" It has a lot of useful information from current sellers.

Answer 3

Check out: http://ebayzone.blogspot.com  They have good information on everything you need to know about ebay.

http://ebayzone.blogspot.com

Answer 4

First set up an account. Just click the register link at the top of any ebay page.  You will need a credit card to register as a seller.  You will find it difficult to get bids at all as a new seller, so its best to buy a few cheap items to build up feedback, which will help potential buyers trust you.  It will also help you understand the buying process, which will make you a better seller.  So when you are ready to try selling your books, you will need to take photos of them.  Then click the sell link at the top of any ebay page.  You will then be taken through the process of setting up an auction.  You should sign up with paypal as most buyers want to pay this way.  You can not accept cash, it is now against ebays rules to do so. State in the auction how much you will require the buyer to  pay for shipping. Also it will be up to you as to what your return policy will be. You will be notified by email when the auction ends.

Edit:  Warning 7 day auctions are NOT free as someone else answering stated.  Be sure to check out ebays fee schedule before listing anything.  Also there is a second fee which is a percentage of the price the item sells for.