Mistakes to Avoid in your eBay Auctions

Online auctions continue to grow in popularity as an easy and efficient way to make money on everything from unwanted household items to rare and expensive collectables and even to bulky items like cars.

Log on to eBay and you will see countless auctions on any item you can imagine. As eBay auctions grow in popularity, it becomes harder to make money with your auction because it often gets buried or overlooked with all the competing auctions in the same category. Therefore, to make money on your auction, it is important to set your auction apart and avoid common eBay auction mistakes. Here are 3 important mistakes that you must take note of:

1. Wrong product category or product category not specific enough. As it is relatively simple and inexpensive to auction an item, many sellers simply do not put in enough effort researching the market. The result is the auctions are put up in the wrong category. This would be tantamount to pitching your deal to the wrong market.

However, if you are marketing your product in traditional channels and paying money for your promotions, you are likely to do a lot more research and legwork. If you want to earn a serious income, then you should not treat your eBay auctions any differently.

To research, find the best eBay category to put your product auction in. If you are selling coins, eBay shoppers do not have the time to search all 38,000 plus auctions put up under the category of coins. You need to define your product category as specific as possible. You will then target the true eBay shoppers that are likely to be interested in your auction.

2. A blurred or ugly looking image. Be sure your eBay auction has a clear professional looking image. Pay heed to the saying "A picture speaks a thousand words". Also, don't forget to ensure that your image file size is not too large. If the image takes minutes to download, the typical eBay shopper is bound to skip your auction.

3. Incomplete and unclear product description. Be sure to give a detailed and precise description for your eBay auction item. For instance, you can give exact dimensions of the product or give specific details about the condition of the second hand item. An incomplete or unclear description is not likely to attract bidders for your item.

All in all, the best exercise I can suggest is to visit your Ebay auction and honestly ask yourself if you would be even tempted to put in a bid for this product.

If the answer is no or even probably not, then change it. If you are passionate about your auction and take the time to make it professional, your auction is likely to stand out. Make the effort to do it right and you are likely to have successful auctions.

Evelyn Lim is an online publisher of a FREE newsletter aimed to help all aspiring home based business owners. She also hopes to equip her readers with skills on acquiring multiple sources of online income. To subscribe to her popular newsletter, please visit http://www.e-bizmap.com or her blog at http://www.EvelynLim.com .

---

Can You Really Make Money Selling New Release CDs & DVDs On eBay?

Being an active eBayer, I am often being asked about products to sell. A common question is "Where can I purchase products such as new release CD's DVD's and Video Games for Playstation... Read More

Taking Paypal on eBay

Accepting Paypal as a payment method might increase your selling prices and your profits. This depends on what you are selling. I sell collectibles to collectors. My clients are like junkies. They will... Read More

Fundraising Ideas Using eBay

Have you thought of using the online auction site eBay as your next major fundraiser?I have, and it was a huge success!Like many other businesses the fundraising business has seen an incredible change... Read More

eBay Auction Bidding Strategies--Overcoming the most Frustrating Situation on eBay

The Problem...It's happened to the best of us.You've been watching the auction all week, and finally you're about to claim your prize--a rare bronze statue from the Qing Dynasty. Or something just as... Read More

Before You Sell On Ebay, Take The Most Important Step

If you want to earn a full-time income selling on Ebay, you must take the first and most important step in all successful business ventures: you must accept that it is possible.This probably... Read More

Selling on eBay? Heres a Success Tip for Your Online Auctions

Are you planning to sell on eBay? Or have you tried in the past but not had much success with your online auctions? If so, here's a strategy that has worked very well... Read More

The Drop Shipping Business

You have suddenly found the perfect business and you are all geared up to make lots of money. You have see the ads about Drop shipping and it sounds great.Well of course it... Read More

How Pop-Culture Collectibles Can Increase Your Online Auction Profits

How Pop Culture collectibles can increase your Online Auction profitsWith the increasingly competitive environment for products to sell in the online auction arena, sellers are getting more creative as to the items they... Read More

Online Auctions: 5 Ways Your Business Can Benefit From Online Auctions

Online auctions are now the new gold rush on the internet.It seems as if everyone is talking about online auctions. And why not. There are thousands of online auctions on the internet with... Read More

Target Potential Bidders With Laser Beam Precision!

When a potential bidder (customer) is looking at a specific auction you have listed, you can safely gamble that they are interested in that particular item. Now, if you have several things that... Read More

Taxing Your eBay Profits

As a small business person-slash-advice columnist I dread the first quarter of the new year. Not because in my mind my own business fortunes start at zero again every January or because I... Read More

7 Steps to Easier EBay Shipping

If you're like me, you probably hate packing and shipping the things you sell on eBay.Don't get me wrong, I love selling on eBay. I just don't like the shipping part. I find... Read More

How Professional Ebay Auction Templates Can Boost Your Ebay Sales

Do you like to sell on eBay ? It's easy and fun, isn't it ? In fact, it's one of the easiest online business you can start almost overnight, without any major investments.... Read More

How To Sell On Ebay: The Money Is In The Back-End

Many people who sell on Ebay completely neglect the follow-up process. They post an auction. Someone wins. They send an automated message to the winner. They ship the item. End of story. End... Read More

eBays Latest Fee Increases--Is this the beginning of the end?

On January 13, eBay sellers received an unwelcome announcement from eBay. Fees were going up.Partly due to our tendency to "skim" messages and partly due to the way in which the announcement was... Read More

eBay - Profiting With Books By Janette Oke

Janette Oke is a Christian writer whose books about life, love, values and faith have a huge following among women today. Each of her Christian books for adults falls into one of six... Read More

Selling through Auction Marketplaces

Consumers are increasingly feeling more comfortable in buying products through the Internet. According to a report released recently by the Department of Commerce first-quarter retail sales rose 23.8 percent to US$ 19.8 billion... Read More

eBay and Dropshipping - A Perfect Fit!

eBay and Dropshipping go together like a hand in a glove. As you read this article, right now, thousands of eBayers are running there own auction business. Some of them make little money,... Read More

6 Reasons Why an eBay Business is the Easiest and Safest Home Business to Start

Calling internet auctions an "Entrepreneur's Dream" isn't poetic license or part of the get-rich-quick rhetoric. Net auctions are the simplest, easiest way on this planet for the little guy to make money.1. NOT... Read More

How To Cut Your eBay Fees By More Than 90%

Now, are you ready for the REAL TRUTH about selling on eBay?It's simple; don't list too many items for sale using their auction format. Instead, set up one of their stores. The cost... Read More

Dropshipping on eBay, Does It Work?

eBay offers any business owner a new global market to sell his products or services on. You are no longer constrained by geographical positioning. Your small local businesses, when taken online, can become... Read More

Doing It eBay: An eBay Business Means Fun and Profits in a Global Marketplace

In 1995, when Pierre Omidyar introduced an online business venue that was essentially a virtual garage sale with auction pricing, no one knew a retailing revolution was about to occur. That site became... Read More

eBay The Mega Marketplace For Everyone

eBay is one of the world's largest market places with over 35 million visitors per day. That first sentence is worth repeating because I want you to realize that eBay gives you the... Read More

Importing Products to Sell on eBay

The interesting thing about online buyers is they are extremely price sensitive. A survey done by Forrester Research shows that 73 percent of surveyed online buyers expect prices on the Internet to be... Read More

Profitable Paper Piecing on eBay--Part 1

Why sell paper piecings on eBay?eBay is a great way to make a steady part-time or full-time income from a hobby that you love! Selling paper piecings has its ups and downs, but... Read More

An Emerging Market in eBay Consignments: The eBay Trading Post (Part II In A Series)

In 2002, the eBay consignments business was born, referred to by eBay as the Trading Assistant Program.It's possible that eBay didn't foresee just how much they would benefit form their eBay consignments program.... Read More

Where To Find Items To Sell On eBay

One question that always seems to pop up is, "Where do I find products to sell on eBay?" Here are some ideas to get you started.Start at HomeWhen you first get started, it... Read More

The Secret To Real eBay Success

Q. I hear so much about people who started selling on eBay and eventually turned it into their full time business. Is it really possible to build a profitable business just selling junk... Read More

How To Sell Santa?s Slip-Ups

Shoppers spent more than $15.5 billion this Christmas on gifts on the Internet alone. Just imagine how many millions went to unwanted polka dot sweaters, electric nose hair clippers, and thigh masters. That... Read More