Small Business Centre

If you meet these requirements, you can open an eBay Shop now. You'll be taken through a step-by-step process to name your Shop, choose your Shop's basic appearance, etc. You can have your Shop up and running in minutes!

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2. How do I make the most of my eBay shop?

Promote your Shop in every listing: Auctions and Fixed Price.
Use the Gallery feature - it's only €0.10 on Shop Inventory Listings.
Include links in your listings and About My Shop page to your Shop and Custom Categories.
Cross-sell your Shop Inventory with Merchandising Manager.
Add your custom logo and Shop description.
Create Custom Categories and pages.
Use your custom URL in all your delivery materials and email communications.
Set up merchandising relationships with Merchandising Manager
Create business cards with your Shop name and custom URL

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3. How do I use keywords correctly and effectively?
Make a clear, compelling first impression by writing a skillful title for your item.

Start with these tips:

Use descriptive keywords that clearly convey what you are selling.
Include your item's brand name, artist, designer or other labels bidders will recognise.
State exactly what your item is, even if your title repeats the category name.
Think of words bidders might use to search for your item and include relevant terms and words.
Bidders don't search for words like "wow" or "look" so make intelligent use of your space.
Browse similar Completed Items to see which titles drew high bids in the past.

Be sure to follow eBay's rules regarding titles.

The following types of titles are considered inappropriate for inclusion in the eBay forum:

Item titles that fail to state what the nature of the item is.
Item titles that contain website addresses, email addresses or phone numbers. The only exception to this rule is the sale of domain names.
Item titles that contain profane or obscene language.
Item titles that use the following words in an attempt to market or advertise their item: "prohibited", "banned", "illegal", "outlawed" or any other descriptive word which may bring into question the legality of an item by either governmental or eBay standards.

Policy: These types of listings are not permitted and will be ended. The insertion fee will be automatically credited for that listing.

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4. How do I sell at fixed price/Buy It Now?
You can give your buyers the convenience of Buy It Now on your listings both using the fixed price format and within auction-style listings.

Fixed Price format
When you choose to list in the Fixed Price format, you simply indicate the price at which you'd like to sell your item(s) and buyers can purchase from your listings immediately at that price.

Requirements
To sell with Fixed Price format, you must:

have either a minimum feedback rating of 10, or
have Direct Debit on file for payment of eBay fees, or
if you have a PayPal account, you need to have a minimum feedback score of 5 and accept PayPal as a payment method.

Online Auction Format
When you choose the Buy It Now option on auction-style listings, your item has two ways to sell. It starts when you, the seller, names a price at which you are willing to sell your item immediately and skip the auction process.

Buyers have the option to purchase your item instantly - without waiting for the auction period to end.

There's no need to choose between the auction option and Buy It Now. You get both. If a buyer is willing to meet your Buy It Now price before the first bid comes in, your item sells instantly and your auction ends. But, if a bid comes in first, the Buy It Now option disappears. (In Reserve Price Auctions, Buy It Now disappears after the first bid that meets the reserve.) Then your auction proceeds normally.

Requirements
To sell multiple items in your listing with Buy It Now, you must either

Have been a member of the eBay community for 14 days or longer as well as have a feedback score of 20 or greater, or,
Have Direct Debit on file for payment of eBay fees, or,
If you have a PayPal account, you need to have a minimum feedback score of 10 and accept PayPal as a payment method.
Sellers must list a minimum opening bid of at least €0.99.

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5. Do I have to offer warranty with my products?
You are not obliged to offer a warranty with your products. However providing a warranty on items helps overcome buyer resistance to buying online and may be the deciding factor in whether a buyer purchases your product over another seller's. Clearly state the warranty provided on any item and make the warranty information prominent in your listings.

As a business seller, you need to comply with the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980. This is is one of the most important laws to be aware of when selling goods on eBay.ie in the course of a business. You are responsible for ensuring that any goods you sell on eBay:

correspond with the description you have given in the item listing;
are of merchantable quality; and
are fit for their purpose.

Goods are of merchantable quality, if they are as fit for the purpose(s) which goods of that kind are commonly bought and as durable as it is reasonable to expect having regard to any description applied to them, the price (if relevant) and all other relevant circumstances. Indications of quality include fitness for purpose, freedom from defects, appearance and finish, durability and safety. It is the seller, not the manufacturer, who is responsible for the goods.

This is a complicated law and for more information on your responsibilities we recommend that you look at the ODCA's summary of the Sale of Goods and supply of Services Act.

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6. My first listings on eBay didn't attract any bids. What should I do?
Don't lose heart. The first few listings can be a learning experience.

Go to My eBay and see what the Listing Analyser recommends that you change when you re-list the item

Have a look at the Perfect listing (https://pages.ebay.ie/help/ebayexplained/selling/create-an-ideal-listing.html)

Did you use a good photo(s) of your item which clearly showed the item and its condition?
Did you write a clear, concise description of the item to complement the photograph?
Did you answer questions from buyers promptly so they had a chance to bid on your item after receiving the answer?
Did you list your item in the correct category?
Did you use a reserve price with your item?

It can put many buyers off bidding when they know there is a reserve price on the item.

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7. How do I develop my sales on eBay?
Read the Advanced Selling Guide - UK version (.PDF)

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8. My account has been suspended and I have been asked to provide Proof of Identity. When will my account be reinstated?
Please allow 48 hours.

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9. What can I do about negative feedback?
First of all, be honest and decide whether you deserved it. Did you let down your buyer in some way? If not, then read on.

Resolving Feedback Disputes
To maintain the integrity of the feedback system, feedback left for a member becomes a permanent part of that member's record. The comments cannot be edited at a later date. We encourage members to communicate with their trading partners prior to leaving feedback since most misunderstandings can be resolved quickly through direct communication. eBay's Feedback Forum is a place for members to express their opinions. eBay will not censor these opinions or investigate the comments for accuracy.

There may be times where you are unhappy with feedback you have received or regret feedback that you have left for another member. If you find yourself in a dispute where feedback has already been left, you have a few options to address the dispute:

Reply to feedback received:
Share your side of the story by responding to any comment that has been left for you. Your response will be shown directly below the comment left by the other eBay member. Reply to feedback received about you now.
Follow-up to feedback you have left:
You can leave one follow-up comment to a comment that you have already left, to add information or clarify your earlier comment. This will appear below your original comment. Follow-up to feedback you have left.
Feedback Removal:
eBay will remove individual feedback comments only in very exceptional circumstances, if they violate specific policies. Some special situations where eBay will remove feedback include: getting a valid court order to do so, the feedback contains vulgar language, or contains personal contact information. See a list of situations where eBay will consider removing feedback, and how you can file for removal.

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10. How soon can I sell after completing the automatic payment mandate online?
You can sell using the auction-style format immediately. For fixed price listings you need to wait for your automatic payment to be confirmed (this may take several days)

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11. Do I have to offer returns?
As a business seller you need to comply with Distance Selling Regulations.

The European Communities (Protection of Consumers in respect of Contracts made by means of Distance Communication) Regulations, 2001 apply to sales to consumers made by sellers acting in the course of a business which have been concluded at a distance. In other words, where there is no face-to-face contact between the seller and the consumer. This would usually cover sales made over the internet, for example, via eBay.i.e..

Business sellers need to comply with a certain number of obligations such as:

providing clear information about themselves and their items (this information could be contained in your listing or in your About Me page); and
providing consumers with a period of seven working days in which the consumer can cancel the contract (often referred to as the "cooling off" period).

To get a general idea of the laws governing distance sales, we recommend that you review the summary of the regulations which are available at www.oasis.gov.ie/ distance selling regulations and/or the European Consumer Centre's website, www.ecc.ie. Please note that, although the guidance states that the regulations do not apply to sales at internet auctions, this refers to traditional auctions carried out via the internet and not sales made via eBay's auction-style selling format.

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12. How can I find out if products similar to mine are popular with buyers on eBay?
You can learn a great deal about the current market for a specific type of product by doing a Completed Item Search on eBay.

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13. I've forgotten my user ID or password. What should I do?
Go to the Site Map at www.ebay.ie/sitemap.html and look under My Account for help.

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14. I've hit a limit on the amount I can sell. What's happened?
While your automatic payment is pending confirmation (this can take several days) you have limit of €25 on any selling fees you can generate. This limit will be lifted automatically once your Direct Debit is confirmed.

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