advertisement
Selling on eBay – I accept the eBay challenge
eBay* recently asked me if I would be up for a little challenge. As a yogi, I’m basically rather resistant when it comes to the terms “competition” or “comparison”, because in yoga I learn and teach the complete opposite, but the idea of the challenge gave me a little motivation for even more successful selling on eBay But I liked it so much that I immediately wanted to try it out. After all, every now and then a yogi is allowed to face a small challenge, and the openness to trying out new things is also very yogic.
So the eBay Challenge should look like this: at the beginning I thought about what exactly I would like to sell on eBay at the moment. I immediately thought of a few illustrated books and coffee table books that I already know inside out and that are only left in the apartment to collect dust. Since I like to buy new (used) illustrated books directly from the proceeds of my “read” illustrated books and magazines on eBay and at the same time leave my own copies to someone else, the choice of topic, namely “Selling books”, for the eBay Challenge was relatively quick met…
Parallel to me, another blog, namely Stadt, Land, Mama*, also sells books as part of the challenge on eBay. In this way, we can look back and see who was more successful with which tips and tricks.
Set realistic sales goals and compete against each other in the challenge
Now I set myself a realistic goal of what I wanted to receive as a total for my 5 selected books. I imagined around 30 euros for total proceeds as the books were already used and – although rare – outdated copies. I could also get a great new illustrated book on eBay for 30 euros. I currently have the book “Great Yoga Retreats” from Taschen-Verlag on my watch list, for which I would like to use my proceeds.
At the same time, the Stadt, Land, Mama* blog also set itself the goal of selling its own books and competed against me in the eBay Challenge. Who do you think reached their goal in the end? What worked well and what maybe less well? And what would I do differently next time? I’ll talk about that at the end of this post…
eBay – the perfect platform to sell things that are no longer used
But why do I actually use eBay? Well, for me, eBay is simply THE online marketplace for selling my unused treasures*. There are always people here who are looking for something that I currently no longer need and would therefore like to sell.
eBay is a platform for constant give and take. I sell what I no longer need and buy what I need instead. And thanks to this eternal cycle, selling and buying on eBay is particularly resource-friendly and sustainable.
Selling on eBay is easy, safe and rewarding.
Selling on eBay is just fun because, unlike eBay classifieds, there are no annoying price negotiations with potential buyers, you have a variety of shipping options to choose from and you can print out pre-filled shipping labels directly. Payment is processed directly via eBay and there is seller protection, which I think is very good if, contrary to expectations, something goes wrong. In addition, the free choice of the form of the offer (auction, fixed price or price proposal) always allows the best result to be achieved, depending on the product – it just takes a bit of instinct.
And, as already mentioned, I give unused things a second life by selling them on eBay, which is much more sustainable than just throwing away unused things and buying other things new.
With the eBay bonus program “eBay points for private sellers*,” you can also save money the next time you shop on eBay. By the way, I have already reported on the topic of bonus points in this blog post. Feel free to take a look again, there I explained the advantages of the eBay bonus points program in a relaxed manner.
My 3 top tips for successfully selling books on eBay
But now to my current topic “Selling books successfully on eBay”. Personally, I don’t find it that easy to sell used books, because in my experience many potential buyers are cautious at first and often prefer to buy new books that are still in their original packaging. But these tips work best for me…
Tip 1: Upload lots of photos of the book, both front and back, as well as any quirks, stains, creases, and other blemishes. Also offer a “look inside the book” so that potential buyers can better imagine what kind of book it is (especially exciting with illustrated books and magazines).
Tip 2: Include an accurate description of the title, author, publisher, year of publication, language, ISBN number, and the exact condition of the book.
Incidentally, eBay often offers a pre-filled template if the book has already been sold on eBay before. You can then use this as a guide, but you should always check carefully whether the template is really the exact same book and also go into the special features of your own copy.
Incidentally, the note “non-smoking household” is also important information for me, especially with used books, which should not have an unpleasant odor of their own.
Tip 3: For books, it pays to offer a free shipping option, as books are often also shipped for free on various other online platforms. In my opinion, this option motivates potential buyers to bid on the book.
Who got closer to their sales goals – the blog “Stadt, Land Mama” or me?
Before the eBay Challenge, I had set myself the goal of earning approx. 30 euros with my 5 illustrated books and magazines in order to buy a new used illustrated book. In the end, however, I was totally surprised, because I made a total of €102.50 (less shipping costs) with my books. So I was really pleasantly surprised here and I think that on the one hand I have made a good selection of books and magazines (rare editions that can hardly be bought anywhere anymore), on the other hand my tips for selling books on eBay (see above) also worked really well and led to good visibility among potential buyers.
The blog Stadt, Land, Mama* had put together a package of seven books for first-time readers and put them up for auction for €7.00 with an option to buy it now for €12.00. Ultimately, the children’s books were unfortunately only sold for €7.50 per auction – but at least another family could be made happy in this way. The learning from this is certainly that books are sold very differently and high-quality illustrated books, for example, sell much better.
The eBay Challenge: my conclusion
Although, as a yogi, I’m not really a big fan of challenges, I really enjoyed the eBay Challenge and it really motivated me to do my best when it comes to selling books on eBay. I’ve selected rare copies of illustrated books and magazine editions for sale, I’ve taken great pains to photograph the pictures, I’ve thoroughly compiled all the necessary information about the books and, I think, with the free shipping option, I have an additional attraction for potential buyers offered to buyers.
So in the end I was really surprised and I clearly exceeded my goal, which motivates me for the future to sell my unloved treasures on eBay and to buy other things on eBay that I really need.
*Paid cooperation: this post was created in cooperation with eBay
