Making Money with EBay–Getting Your Seller Acount Up and Running
If you are like many people sitting on the fence with eBay, you may have thought about jumping into the arena of eBay selling (or perhaps selling on other auction sites) but been put off by the process of signing up.
anyone who has ever tried to sell anything on eBay knows that the key to getting started is to create a seller account right now. What I’d like to do in this post is revisit an article that I’ve distributed for publication on other venues. If you have come here seeking advice, perhaps this may help.
Basically, the faster you set this account up the faster you will start selling and making money. Fortunately, eBay shows you in clear
detail every step needed to get started. Nevertheless, the process might seem complicated, and although the thought of running your first auction might seem daunting, it is really very easy. In this article, I want to show you just how easy it really is, and so I’m going to outline the essential steps of the process so that you’ll know exactly what to expect when you click on the Registration link.
Step 1 It is really easy to get started by setting up your account. Of course, there are many tips and tricks to being successful, but getting started is easy, and here is how. The first step is simply to register as a buyer. Right at the top it will say, “Welcome! Sign in or Register.” Click on the tiny, red “Registration” link and follow the steps.
Step 2 After that, set up a PayPal account if you do not already have one. You click on “Register” and follow the steps. Many people really dislike PayPal, but I’d recommend you creating an account regardless, unless you strongly object to it on principle. And by the way, eBay owns PayPal, but that’s another issue.
Step 3 Next, you create your seller account. Again, at the top of the page on the right is a link that says, “Sell.” Click the “Sell” link and follow the steps. Or, put the mouse cursor over the My eBay menu item in the top right part of the home page and click the “Selling” link in the drop down menu. This will start you on the step-by-step path to creating your seller account.
You may be asked to log in again, and then you will follow the steps that result in your seller account. The steps are largely concerned with verifying your identity, and to do this, eBay will want either credit card/debit card information or bank account information. Neither your card nor your bank account will ever be charged for anything unless you specifically authorize eBay to make deductions to pay seller fees (we will talk about this later). Your card and account information will only be used for verification purposes. If you choose to leave a card on file, then you will be asked questions that concern your card information. If you choose to list a bank account, you will be asked questions that identify your account, such as account number, routing number, and name of bank.
Step 4 Paying seller fees. Because the use of eBay as a seller (not as a buyer) requires the payment of certain fees, it is important to tell eBay how you those should be paid. As a beginner, I do not think it is necessary to enumerate each individual possible fee. The fees that will most immediately concern you are the insertion fee, final value fee, optional fees, and Buy it Now fee. There are other fees such as Best Offer, Reserve, and Fix Price auction fees, but I don’t think it is important to discuss them at this point. What is important is how you want to pay any fees that you choose to incur. EBay give you the following options: credit or debit card, PayPal, bank account deduction, or business check.
Step 5 It is now time to select how you want buyers to pay you. When buyers make a purchase, eBay routes them to eBay checkout because checking out through eBay is required. Even though eBay check-out is mandatory, you have some control over how your buyer makes payment. Because eBay requires that you give your customer at least one merchant credit card option, you have the choice of PayPal, Money Bookers, Pro Pay, Paymate, or if you have your payment gateway, eBay will route your customers there after check-out. PayPal is a popular payment option for sellers in countries allowing it, and I’ll remind you that in order to accept payment through PayPal, you must have an account. I would recommend setting up a free business account.
Step 6 Your About Me page. Even though you can now launch your first auction, I would recommend holding off until you have set up your About Me page. Now that you are registered, go to your My eBay, click on the Account link on the upper left part of the page, and then click on Business Information. At the top of the page there is a box titled “Account Information.” The last item says, “view my About Me page.” Click on the Edit link over to the right, and you will be taken to the set-up manager. Don’t worry; all you have to do is type in your information and add any optional images and eBay will do the rest. However, you also have a custom .html option if you want to code your own custom version of the page. The About Me page is important because buyers go to that page to find out more information about you and your business. If you are new to this, the page is a perfect opportunity to start building trust with your customers. At any rate, don’t underestimate the value of this resource.
Step 7 During your seller account creation process, you will be asked if you want to do ID Verify. This is an optional step that requires a $5 payment, but I feel that it is important enough to mention. ID Verify is a process for confirming your identity and is important because buyers pay attention to any and all information reinforcing your legitimacy. Also, ID Verified allows you to open an eBay store, and list with Buy it Now and Best Offer options or list using the Multiple Item and Fixed Price auction formats. Buyers know whether or not you are ID Verified because of the icon in your profile.
These are the basic steps. This information is all on the eBay site, but I wanted to present it here to give you advance familiarity with the registration and account creation process. EBay has and is undergoing a great deal of change, which has caused a lot of controversy as to how viable an ecommerce selling venu it is. How well this can work for you will be something you’ll have to decide for yourself as your experience with eBay grows. Later on, in a separate post, I plan to provide some alternatives to eBay. However, inspite of the controversy, eBay is still the hottest auction venue in town. Still, there are other sites you may be able to leverage to your advantage.
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Thanks, that’s really helpful as I didn’t fully understand the ID verification process – brilliant!