I've made thousands selling on eBay as a side hustle – it takes no time but you must follow my 10 rules
SUPER eBay seller Danielle Raine has made thousands selling items on eBay.
Over the last 21 years, the 37-year-old, from Preston, has sold everything from Lipsy dresses to food processors and even cardboard boxes.
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She works full-time as a buyer but her eBay selling nets her about £2,000 a year on the side.
The 37-year-old says she has a 'one in, one out' policy for her clothes so she'll often try to declutter by selling on eBay before buying new items.
Whether you're looking to make a profit or you're just wanting to declutter like Danielle, these are her tips on making more as an eBay seller …
Don't upload everything all at once
If you're doing a big clear-out you might be tempted to blitz everything all in one go.
But Danielle says it actually pays to spread out when you're uploading items on your profile.
That's because the eBay algorithm rewards frequent uploads.
So if you have 10 items to sell, it might be best to upload two items a day over five days rather than all 10 in one day.
If you're a frequent uploader then eBay will push what you're selling to more buyers, Danielle says.
Know when the best times to upload are
It's not just about how often you upload items - it's also about when you do it.
Danielle says she always uploads items in the evening because her listings get more attention.
CHANGES AT EBAY
'You get more people looking because they've come home from work and they might be chilling in the evening,' she says.
If you're selling your items using eBay's auction feature then you should also set the auction to end in the evening so people will be available to place bids.
Danielle reckons that about 7pm is the sweet spot for posting.
She also tries to upload more items at the end of the month near pay day as people are likely to have more money to spend.
On a typical week she sells about two items but near pay day it increases to about 10.
Use the Buy It Now feature
If you've used eBay you'll know that some items are listed as auction-only while others can be bought instantly through Buy It Now.
The auction-style feature means items can increase in price dramatically as bidders fight against each other for them.
But Danielle says she always lists items as Buy It Now because shoppers have got used to fast delivery services like Amazon Prime and 'want things now'.
Research how much similar items have sold for
If you're not sure what price to set your items at, it's worth looking at what other items have sold for.
Danielle says she always does this before selling an item.
When you go to search for an item, you can filter it by sold and completed listings only.
'Usually if it's selling for about £10 then I'll put mine up for £7 or £8 because then I think it might sell a little bit quicker,' Danielle says.
Make your listing more attractive
One of the best ways to catch buyers' attention is to take good photos of what you're selling.
Danielle says she takes pictures on a white background, such as against a doorframe, and makes sure there isn't any clutter visible.
'As a buyer myself, I wouldn't like it if there's clutter in the background, if it's on dirty carpet, or if there's feet in there,' she says.
She tries to take as many pictures as possible to show off the item - and she'll make sure the description has plenty of detail too.
For example if she's selling clothes she'll often put the exact measurements in rather than just the size.
She also makes use of eBay's AI description writer.
'I don't use that as the only description, I use it to add to mine, but I think that helps with keywords,' she says.
Don't skimp out on the packaging
Danielle says you should take extra care with packaging anything you've sold.
'I send quite a few things out in a box because you don't know how things are going to happen in transit and then at least you're covered if anything goes wrong,' she says.
She also buys mail bags which she says look nicer than sending an order in a carrier bag, and can mean you might get better feedback from buyers.
The 37-year-old says she buys packs of 100 mail bags for £5.
You can also get cardboard boxes for free if you pop to a local shop, or you can keep hold of any boxes your own online purchases are sent in.
Post promplty
Shoppers expect their buys to arrive quickly, so Danielle says you should post as soon as you can to get good feedback.
She always aims to post by the next day.
You should look out for Royal Mail lockers near you as these are open 24/7 so you won't need to wait for your local Post Office to open or have to join a queue.
Protect yourself against dodgy buyers
Danielle takes several steps to make sure she's covered if a buyer makes a false claim.
She says some buyers will 'try their luck' and try to claim an item hasn't arrived so she always chooses to track the postage.
Recently a buyer said their parcel hadn't arrived but when Danielle phoned up eBay's customer service they told her not to worry as she had got tracking on the item.
Some sellers also film or take photos of themselves packaging up any expensive items they're selling as proof they've been packaged securely, in case someone claims their purchase was damaged in the post.
Danielle also avoids negative feedback from buyers by being upfront about any imperfections on the item and including pictures in the listing.
'So if anybody disputed anything, I can say, well, it was already in the listing,' she says.
Challenge any unfair feedback
Danielle says it helps to have good feedback from buyers as it will make you look more reliable and trustworthy.
But sometimes buyers can leave unfair feedback that damages your overall rating.
You don't have to put up with this though - you can have negative feedback removed if eBay decides to side with you that it's unfair.
Danielle says she recently had neutral feedback removed after a buyer complained that their item wasn't the exact dimensions they wanted.
But when Danielle contacted eBay's customer service team, they agreed to remove the feedback as she had been clear in the item's description that she had given 'approximate' dimensions.
'eBay's customer services are very fair. So they will look at it. It's not a bot looking at it - it's a real person who will evaluate it,' she says.
You can either contact customer services by phone or by web chat.
Invest in a label printer
If you're going to be selling frequently, Danielle recommends getting a label printer to print out your postage labels.
She says this has made the process much easier and saved her money in ink and paper.
Although there was an upfront cost of £75, she says she's made her money back because of how much she was spending on ink and paper for her printer previously.
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