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4 Week Action Plan

Week 1
Get familiar with the site by buying. See how other sellers list similar products.
  • Set up your PayPal account
  • Buy that CD or book you always wanted and understand how the buying process works on eBay
  • Understand how other sellers list products successfully by looking at their items
  • Learn about your legal obligations as a business seller
  • Create your page of branding (About Me) on eBay to tell buyers who you are
  • Decide on your terms of trade e.g. postage & packing, delivery time
  • Visit the Business seller board and hear what other business sellers are talking about
  • Week 2
    Start selling and test eBay for your products by listing 5 items for sale
  • Select 5 items of excess stock which have completely given up hope of selling
  • Photograph the items
  • Research sales prices on similar items by doing a Completed Items Search
  • List your items for sale setting the opening bid price low on most of them. Set a high opening bid price on one item as a comparison.
  • Draft your Frequently Asked Questions for Buyers and add them to your About Me page
  • Make sure you leave feedback for the other party in the transaction
  • Check your own feedback score
  • Week 3
    Test different selling strategies including fixed price, low opening bid price, high opening bid price.
  • Select another 10 items and sell them at fixed price. Try to use the same type of products you listed last week to be able to compare results easily. N.B. You will need a confirmed Direct Debit on file for fixed price listings (takes up to 14 days)
  • Monitor your listings and answer buyer questions promptly from My eBay. Remember that your responsiveness is an indication of your Customer Service.
  • You can revise listings that haven't received bids yet and you can add to your Frequently Asked Questions page
  • Look at eBay shops and get inspired by other sellers
  • Week 4
    Professionalise your eBay sales by opening an eBay shop and using appropriate selling software to manage your sales.
  • Learn about the 3 types of shops and start by opening a Basic Shop
  • Choose your own categories and put 5 listings up for sale using the Shops Inventory Format
  • Your other listings will appear in your Shop too
  • Start a Selling Manager subscription to help manage your after-sales processes
  • Set up email templates for winning bidders
  • Look back on your first 4 weeks of sales and decide how much you want to sell for the next 4 weeks.
  • Congratulations!