It’s very easy and simple to get started posting your first auction on eBay. This article will cover the steps you need to follow to get your first auction up.

The first thing you need to do is set up your eBay seller’s account. If you have already bought things on eBay in the past, then you already have an account. Just log in and click “Sell” on the toolbar at the top of the page and then click “Create a seller’s account”.

If you have never bought or sold on eBay, then you need to create a new account. First click on the “register” link beneath the toolbar, then click “Sell” and “Create a seller’s account”. From there the eBay website will guide you through the process of getting set up. For security reasons, this may involve including providing your card and banking information.

You can register for your eBay account here: eBay.com

Now that you’re registered, you need to decide what you want to sell. It doesn’t really matter what you sell, this is just your chance to get your feet wet. Check your garage and attic, I’m sure you can find something that you’re not attached to and something interesting. Small items like books and CDs are great for your first time.

Once you have your item picked out, it’s time to submit it. Just click “Sell” and you’re on your way. The first thing you need to do is choose the best category for your item. eBay makes this easy, you just type in your item, and eBay suggests the best category for you. It’s usually best to just go with the category that eBay comes up with.

The next step is writing the title and description for your item. You want to make sure to include any keywords that people might use when searching for your item in the title. Include all the rest of the information in the description.

Now you need to set your starting price. In order to draw people to bid on your auction, set a starting price of $0.01. Don’t worry because items almost never end up as such a low price. Next set the duration of the auction. You have the choices of 3, 5, 7 and 10 days. This is really up to you, the longer the auction the more bids you are likely to get. Add a picture to your auction because items with pictures always sell for more.

Great, now you’re ready to select the payment methods you want to accept, and where you will post to. I would just go with PayPal for now, and limit yourself to the country you are in. Just click the “Submit” button and you are done!

Now you can just sit back and let eBay work it’s magic. Potential buyers will search for your item and submit bids on it. Some bidders may email you with various questions about your item. Just do your best to answer the questions as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

Don’t worry if your item doesn’t sell the first time. The great thing about eBay, is that if your item doesn’t sell the first time, you can list it again for free!

Once the auction closes and you have a winning bidder, eBay takes care of all the work. eBay will send your buyer emails guiding them through the process of sending you payment for the item your are selling. Just make sure you have the money in hand before you send the item.

eBay prefers that you use PayPal to send and receive your payments. PayPal is very safe and secure and you will get your money instantly so it’s a good idea to use them. It’s also free to create an account with PayPal.

You can create your free PayPal account here: PayPal.com

As soon as you have received the payment, all you have left to do is pack up the item and send it to your buyer. If you’re not sure of the best way to get this done, just take your item to your local post office and they can help you. Use the buyers address from the confirmation email that eBay sent you and write it on the package. That’s it, you’ve made your first successful sale on eBay!

This article was written on behalf of eBayBusiness.net by Webmaster and Internet Marketing Specialist Jason Cooper. Visit http://www.ebaybusiness.net and download 3 Free eBay Business eBooks today! (c) 2005, eBayBusiness.net. This article may be reproduced in all venues so long as the content and by-line are reprinted intact and all links are set live.

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The first thing you need to do is write an auction title.
This is the most important part of your auction. If your title doesn’t interest anyone no-one will read your ad.

You could have written the most compelling auction description ever written. But unless anyone reads it you’ll get no sales.

All professional ad writers agree that the title is 9x more important than the ad itself. Before you read a newspaper article, what’s the first thing you read?

That’s right. The headlines. Only when a headline interests you will you attempt to read the actual article.

The most effective way of coming up with the best title.
The best way is follow the 100-1 rule. First write 100 titles then pick the best one. Why?

Professional writers do this because 100 seems to exhaust all possible titles. You’ll find when you’ve finished that the best one jumps off the page at you.

Try it! It works. It takes time but nothing comes without effort. And the results will outweigh the work.

There is however a better way that I stumbled across. This method is used by one of the most successful writers on the web.

He simple asks a special question that just gets headlines flooding from your fingers. I must say, it works like magic. He always gets his headline in less than 5 minutes. And what’s more, always gets amazing results. Everytime!

Sorry I’m not going to reveal that question here, because I’ve included it in my best-selling ebook about ad writing. And it would result in less sales, because that would be one of the main reasons people are buying it. Amongst others.

How to write the auction description.
Your description is the part that needs to get the person to place a bid. So you better make sure it’s persuasive.

Just about everyone reads the first paragraph. If this doesn’t grab em, then they’ll quickly leave and look for other auctions.

The best first paragraph is always the one that grabs the imagination. When they read it they should see themselves with your item. A bit like the car salesman who gets you to sit in the vehicle.

Hopefully you’ve done a good job of that so now they begin reading the rest of your ad.

People want to see the benefits of owning your item. So you need to show all the benefits of having your offering.

You also need to present the benefits in a certain way. The best way I’ve found for presentation is shown in my book. It always gets the best response whenever I do this in my auctions.

If possible you should always use a photo. When people see what your offering they’re much more happy to buy.

So to summarise…

Get the auction title right. This is the most important part by far.

Use a powerful opening paragraph.

Present all the benefits of your item.

If possible use photos.

Copyright 2005 Ian Stables All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ian Stables shows eBay sellers the best ways to get extra bids to their auctions in his ebook “The 37 Effective eBay Ad Writing Secrets. http://ebayadsecrets.tripod.com/

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