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A beginner’s guide to selling online

31 Jul 2015

If you’ve ever held a garage sale, you'll know the thrill of seeing your treasures go to a good home while making some extra money. Selling your goods online is the modern-day equivalent, free from the hassle of people arriving at your doorstep on a Saturday morning. Here’s how to do it.

Many of us have kept old things in the home that we no longer use, even though they may be in perfectly fine working order. Why waste these items when you can sell them online? After all, one person’s trash is someone else’s treasure, as they say.

Here, we take a look at websites like eBay and Gumtree, although there are many other sites like www.buyandsell.com.au, www.quicksales.com.au, www.tradingpost.com.au which offer similar services.

eBay: How does it work?

eBay (www.ebay.com.au) is the most well-known online shopping site for new and used items. You can buy and sell clothes, furniture, books, garden tools, sporting and camping equipment, household items and much more.

eBay is best known as an auction site but you can choose to sell items at a fixed price. As a seller, you will be charged to list your item and must pay a fee when you sell your item, this is calculated as a percentage of the total price paid by the buyer.

eBay has a range of safeguards and policies which you should read before signing up for an account. PayPal, Paymate and merchant credit card are eBay's accepted safer electronic payment methods. All sellers are required to offer at least one of these payment methods. It is free to set up a Paypal account, though there are fees for international transactions.

An introduction to Gumtree

Gumtree has a local classified ad platform and is a great place to find and sell secondhand furniture, books, electronic goods and other household items.

It’s very localised, with most buyers willing to pick up items and pay in cash, which can eliminate the hassle of organising electronic transfer of money and postage.

When listing an item for sale, you set the own price (you can even list an item as free) and decide on the transaction method.

Gumtree doesn’t offer the same sort of buyer protection or payment methods as eBay, though if you have any concerns you can report anything suspicious through the Gumtree website.

Let’s get started

Like most online selling sites, it is easy to create an eBay or Gumtree account. Simply go to the website, click ‘sell’ or ‘create account’, follow the prompts and you could have your listing up in just a few minutes.

Both eBay and Gumtree offer guides to help you get started, but savvy online seller Belinda Jennings has a few simple tips for beginners. The Adelaide mum started her own online shopping business, Australian Baby Bargains (www.babybargains.com.au), after years of being a frequent seller on eBay and Gumtree.

Over the years, Belinda has sold everything from outdoor settings and lawnmowers, to furniture, electrical goods and other household items. And while she enjoys the personal challenge of getting the best price for whatever she is selling, making a bit of extra cash also helps her upgrade household items while saving goods going to landfill.

Buy me, buy me! How to create a great ad

Belinda says the most important thing to remember when writing your ad is to make it attractive to buyers.

“Make sure your title is punchy. I would also put the recommended retail price in the title so people get an idea straight away about the value of what you are selling. If your item is brand new, then put that in the title, as well as the brand name, as lots of people are on the look out for particular brands,” she advises.

“When it comes to writing the description, make sure it’s longer than just a one line. Make it interesting, list all the features, how the item should be used, and do some research on Google for some additional information. Give a good, clear description,” she says.

It’s also important to take lots of photos from different angles so people have a good idea of what your product looks like. Belinda often puts her items against a clean, uncluttered background like a white table or wall and positions a lamp to give extra lighting.

When it comes to deciding on an asking price, Belinda recommends asking for about half of what you paid for it, depending on the condition of the item.

“Do some research online. eBay can be a good indicator of price, you can go on the site and look at similar items that have recently been sold and you can see what people paid for them,” she adds.

However, people may try to barter and pay a lot less than what you are asking for, although if you aren’t happy with this, make it clear in your ad that the price is fixed.

On a site like Gumtree, once your listing is up, you will be contacted by buyers (usually via email or phone number if you choose to list it). Then ask the buyer to pick it up or arrange postage.

If you are auctioning your item on eBay, you will need to organise postage or pick up by the winner of the auction. If you aren’t contacted by buyers within a few days, you might need to reconsider your price as it may be too high.