Auctionwally's 10 best tips to generate emergency cash with eBay auctions

October 30, 11:27 AMAuctions and Antiques ExaminerWalt AuctionWally

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                     What's it Worth?

 There are two kinds of people who sell online, those that do it as a business, and those who are looking to generate quick cash from items they have hanging around the house. This article is for those who need to generate quick cash, although you may very well find that this is a great way to make a living.

OK, there's no way I can give you a complete course about how to sell online, but here is the least you need to know.

1. Don't listen to all the recent criticisms of eBay, mine included. The company has had it's share of bad press and angry sellers lately, but this is really an issue with experienced eBay sellers, none of it will apply to you. Don't lose site of the fact that you are looking to generate emergency cash only, getting caught up in the recent politics of eBay will only waste your time.
2. Finding the right things to sell is simple, sell the things you can bear to part with. Things that always sell well on eBay are good antiques, collectibles, gold, silver, coins, etc. Things that sometimes sell well are quality luxuries, clothing, gadgets, accessories. (Things that sell poorly are  mass produced, trendy collectibles such as Beanie Babies, Franklin Mint collectibles etc.  If your fortunate  enough to sell while some of these mass produced collectibles are peaking you may get lucky, but it's rare.) That said, the mass produced collectibles will likely sell better around the holidays.
3. I don't recommend getting too caught up in price research, because you can never know if your comparing apples to apples. Let's say you have a 1968 Topps Nolan Ryan baseball card you want  to auction and you find out that someone sold it on eBay for $400. So you start your bidding at $9.99 with a buy it now of $400. This card can sell for over $1,500! The buyer you researched may have had many variables in their auction that you didn't understand. Some of them could be: A reserve that scared most buyers away. (Reserves are revenue killers.)  The card, may have been in a lower grade than the one you have, the seller may have just gotten a few negative feedbacks.  There could be many different reasons your item will not bring the same price, including market fluctuation. Keep focused on what you are selling.
4. Auction, auction auction. If your looking to generate quick cash, an auction is really the best way to go. Start your items with low starting prices and DON'T put a reserve on anything. Item's with high starts generate very little interest and reserved items even less. But a low starting bid on a desireable item, should bring what the market will bear. The auction is eBay's core business product, have some faith in it and it will put quick cash in your pocket. If you don't have the stomach for an auction, there is a fixed price listing, and other sites you can use, but don't expect a high sell through rate.
5. Mentally prepare yourself to take a loss on the items your going to auction. If you insist on making a profit, this venue is not for you, however if you list enough items, some of them will surprise you with how much they sell for.
6. List as many items at a time as possible. This will increase your bidding pool and auctions are all about  bidding competition. 
7. Sell what you can realistically ship in a timely fashion. One of the surest ways to get negative feedback on eBay is to keep people waiting too long for the items they've purchased.
8. Be accurate in your description of what you have and take crisp, clear pictures from several different angles.
9. Keep an eye on your email to answer questions people may have. Usually, the more expensive the item, the more questions you'll have.
10. Be prepared to take at least a day or two to learn about how eBay works before you jump in. I recomment taking the basic tutorial and searching for eBay articles on the sites I've listed in the resource boxes below. As I mentioned earlier in the article, there are many experienced eBay sellers who have blogged about all of the recent eBay troubles. You'll find some of these posts on any longtime eBay seller's blog. Stay away from those articles and focus on the ones that have tips, guides, how-to-sell on eBay articles.

Before you decide to purchase an eBook about selling on eBay, or take free advice, look at what the author has done on eBay, their feedback and how long they've been selling there.

There are tons of people selling eBooks and information about eBay. With all too many of them, the only thing they've ever  done is tell people how to sell on eBay, but they've never sold much themselves! The last thing you need when trying to generate emergency cash is blowing  $49.95 for a "How-to-Do-eBay" book that is a paraphrased regurgitation of eBay's own tutorial!

That said, there are excellent veteran eBay sellers who are able to guide you in the right direction, folks who've been on eBay for years and have made thousands of sales. These are the pros to take advice from.

Will you become a millionaire overnight? Probably not, but eBay auctions are the best  way to generate quick $ for the average person that I know of.

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

                                                                                             Further resources:

AuctionWally.com - Here I now have over 600 self written artilces, appraisals and how to do eBay posts from my 10 years of experience on eBay. To find what your looking for specifically, the best way is to enter your item in the search box at the top of the page. Be sure to select the AuctionWally.blogspot.com button when entering a search to come up with articles within that site only.

Powersellingmom.com Those of you that follow my articles, know I don't make personal recommedations lightly. My friend Danna Crawford the PowersellingMom, is an eBay education specialist with a heart as big as a bowling ball. If you stop by her site, tell her AuctionWally says hello.

The AuctionRebel:  One of the most informative blogs I've ever seen about selling on eBay. Don't get caught up or overwhelmed with the massive amount of information here, take only what you need and bookmark the page for later use. You could spend days on this site!

The AuctionWally Show:  My online radio show. Listen on your PC or download to your mp3 player for free. Search the back archive for shows that apply to your situation.

The AuctionWally Network:  This is a social network of online selling experts and amateurs. It has discussion boards, real-time chat, event postings and more. It's a great place to ask questions and make connections with people who are doing exactly what you want to do, sell online.

Selling Your Valuables in Tough Times: - My eBook based on my 25 years of selling. I cover in depth, eBay, selling to dealers, consigning to live auctions and more. Solid information that you can use immediately. The book is an instant download and costs only $4.95. It comes with a 100% money back guarantee.