See sales jump 30% on eBay

eBay manager Azita Qadri reveals all

Increasing numbers of businesses are realising the potential benefits of selling items on auction website eBay. And, with its ready-made market of more than 157 million international users, it could give your business an additional sales channel.

Azita Qadri is small-business manager at online auctioneer eBay. We asked her how easy the site is to use and what rewards it can bring to small firms.

How easy is it to sell on eBay?

Azita Qadri (AQ): Very simple. Visit the online business centre, which guides you through registering. Set up a Direct Debit to pay any fees and then put your slowest-selling stock on the site.

I'm not very technological!

AQ: You need to be able to use the Internet, have a working email address and use of a digital camera. If you're not sure what you're doing ask someone to help, maybe a friend or one of your staff.

What can I sell?

AQ: There are some things you can't trade on eBay. Most things can be sold though - it's a challenge to find something that can't.

What's an 'eBay shop'?

�Many who open an eBay shop see a sales jump of 20-30%�

AQ: You can open an eBay shop when you have ten pieces of customer feedback from your transactions with other eBay users. This allows you to organise your merchandise as you wish, then buyers can search all shops for the items they are looking for. One advantage is that they can appear in internet searches, so buyers can find you this way, and you also get a URL to use in your marketing materials. Many people who open an eBay shop experience a jump in sales of 20 to 30 per cent.


	��Get free marketing training from Small Business+

What does it cost per item?

AQ: It costs between 15p and �2 to list an item. A fee of between 1.75 per cent and 5.25 per cent of the final price is then applied if the item sells.

Can I increase my chance of selling?

AQ: You can pay extra to get to the top of listings, for example, but we would advise newcomers to get good at selling the normal way before they do this. Search the site and see what people selling similar items are doing and what seems successful. It doesn't make sense to list 20 identical items simultaneously, which appear as identical listings one after the other. The art of selling is to list a variety of items or to stagger identical items.

How can I take payment?

AQ: You can open a PayPal account for free to transfer money between accounts, although there are charges involved. To take card payments without PayPal we would advise taking the details over the phone so they can't be intercepted. You could also take cheques or accept wire transfers.

What next?

•	Read more about running an eBay shop and get in on the action.
•	We've all heard horror stories of people being ripped off on eBay, so here's how to make the most of those eBay opportunities safely.
•	Keeping customers happy and coming back - free marketing training with Microsoft Small Business+. Sign up and try it now >
•	Try our free newsletters for more hints and tips to help you do business better.