Setting up to Sell on eBay

eBay is one of the internet’s most successful websites for selling unwanted, second-hand and new items, ranging from toys and computer equipment to bicycles and cars. If you want to sell your own items on eBay, there are a few things you must do before you begin selling, including registering and choosing a payment method.

Register with eBay 

You have to create an account with eBay before you can start selling items through it. Depending on where you live in the world, eBay has a website relative to your country. For example, if you live in the UK, then visit www.ebay.co.uk, whereas if you live in the USA, visit www.ebay.com, and if you live in Australia, visit www.ebay.com.au. Some of these websites are slightly different, but in all cases there will be a ‘register’ button near the centre of the screen. Click on this to create an account with eBay.

Enter Your Personal Details 

It’s important to enter your details accurately and avoid any false information. You will need an email address that doesn’t have an eBay account connected to it. Choose a suitable user ID for yourself, which is at least six characters long, but be prepared to try a few variations as someone may have already taken the name you want to use.  Don’t forget to read through any user agreements and privacy policies to make sure you are happy to register with eBay. According to the registration web page, eBay does not rent or sell your personal information to third parties without your consent.

User ID Don’ts

An eBay user ID cannot include spaces or tabs, special characters or symbols (for example, £ or &), but can include asterisks, underscores, full stops and dashes. Your first or last name cannot be used along with email or website addresses. 

Password Pointers  

You will need to think of a suitable password to go with your eBay account. This will enable you to log in to your eBay account and sell items. eBay has some rules and helpful advice concerning passwords, which are as follows:

1. Password length: Your password must contain at least six characters.
2. Symbols and letters: The password should contain at least two of the following – upper-case or lower-case letters, numbers or special characters such as a question/exclamation mark, underscore or @ symbol.
3. ID or email: Do not use your email address or eBay user ID as the password.
4. Obvious words: Avoid using obvious passwords, such as ‘abc123’ or ‘Password’.
5. Personal stuff: Don’t use personal information that can easily be guessed, such as your name, phone number, or date of birth.

Identity Confirmation

After entering your personal details and clicking on the ‘Continue’ button, the next screen to appear may inform you that eBay needs to confirm your identity. This can be completed by either asking eBay to telephone you, or by entering details of your bank, credit or debit card. If you choose to request eBay to telephone you, an automatic phone call will be made to you (landline only) and a four-digit verification code will be read out. You will need to enter this code on eBay’s website to complete registration. If you choose to enter your credit or debit card details, complete the relevant fields. eBay states that it does not use these details for any other purpose than confirming your identity.

Paying for eBay Fees

eBay requires a method of payment to be set up to enable you to pay for advertising items and to pay any commission and other fees when an item has been sold. There are a number of different methods of payment, which are explained as follows:

1. PayPal: This has become a popular method of payment with a reputation for reliable and secure transactions. You have to create a PayPal account and either enter your bank, credit or debit card details. This will be used to extract payments or credit funds when you sell something through eBay. For further details, visit www.paypal.com. 
2. Direct Debit: Bank or Building Society account details need to be supplied to eBay and eBay will automatically send a request to your financial institution to deduct any fees for selling items. This type of payment takes roughly 19 days to set up.
3. Credit card: Enter your Visa or MasterCard credit card details online via eBay and payments will be taken each month for any fees incurred when selling items. 
4. Cheque or postal order: eBay can issue an invoice and payment can be made via a cheque or postal order. Once eBay receives the cheque or postal order, allow seven to 10 business days for the payment to clear. 

Receiving Payments

Items you sell through eBay need to be paid for and there are a number of methods of receiving payments. These include the following:

1. PayPal: All eBay sellers must offer PayPal as a payment method. This is a secure online payment method, which allows you to get paid quickly without sharing any of your financial information with the buyer. As a seller, the disadvantage of being paid using PayPal is that it incurs a fee  
2. Cheque or postal order: This is one of the lengthiest methods of payment as it is best to wait until the cheque or postal order has cleared before posting or releasing the sold item. However, this method avoids fees incurred with PayPal.
3. Credit or debit card: If you operate a business that can take credit or debit card payments, then this method can be used to receive payment for an item sold through eBay. However, this type of sale incurs a fee, just like PayPal.
4. Pay on collection: Most sellers prefer this method of payment, especially where the buyer collects or the seller delivers in person. No fees are incurred via eBay for this type of payment. 

Hot Tips

Your User ID for your eBay account is displayed when you sell items, so choose one that is relevant and certainly not offensive.

Replace letters for numbers in a password. For instance, a password such as ‘London’ could replace the ‘o’ for a zero to become ‘L0nd0n’.

There are So Many Ways to Sell Online!

Text is from How to Make Money on the Internet by Rob Hawkins (Flame Tree Publishing 2012). Available at all good bookshops, Amazon, and direct from the Publisher.

Coming Next:  Sell on eBay Fees