After you have taken the plunge and bought and sold some items on eBay, give yourself a BIG pat on the back. You did it! But did you notice how some steps in your listing went really well, and perhaps others did not?



This is absolutely normal for a newbie! Don't you love that term, newbie! It is the one time in your life that you can make all the mistakes you want, ask all the silly questions you need to, and nobody cares because you are a newbie!

So you goofed up in a couple of aspects. Who cares? This is a learning experience for you, and the start of something big. Some patience is required here.

You cannot become an auction pro right away. It takes some time to develop the required skills needed to boost your listings and your sales. It also takes experience and knowledge and every time you list something on eBay, you gain more or each.

Listed below are 10 questions to ask yourself after each of your auctions in order to improve on future listings.

1. Did my auction flow nicely?

2. Did I have any problems?

3. Was I receiving a ton of questions?

4. Did I describe my item in enough detail?

5. Did I receive any feedback, negative or positive?

6. Did many people see my auction?

7. How many bid on my listing?

8. Were my pictures complete and clear enough?

9. Did I try any sales techniques that did or did not work?

10. Could I make some changes to improve my next auction?

The answers to these questions can help your next auction immensely. eBay allows you to analyze your transactions and this analysis can give you tips on how to improve your next listing.

Once you have posted your item you can receive e-mailed questions from potential bidders. These questions may be about finding out more details on your item, about postage fees or length of time, or about the colour of the item, or something else.

You should listen carefully to these questions and keep a note of them in a file. They can be your guide to improving your next listing.

If you notice the same questions are being asked over and over again, then you know for next time to include more information about the item. You cannot be too specific on eBay.

This can save you a lot of time, as well as increase your sales. E-mailing each response can be very time consuming, and especially when you begin listing many more items.

Spend less time e-mailing and more time listing, bringing in more money.

Did you get many bids on your item? Do you know eBay keeps track of this and you can easily find out by clicking on your listing or going to your My eBay page.

How many potential buyers have looked at your auction? This is important to know. You can include a "hit counter" that eBay provides at the bottom of your auction that will track this. It is a very good idea to use this feature.

If you received very few visitors then perhaps your title may need some tweaking. If you only had a few bids maybe you did not describe your item clearly enough.

Are you getting the idea that by taking note of what is happening or has happened to each of your auctions, you are gaining experience and expertise to use in your next listing. What you did right, you can continue doing and what you did not so right, you can improve on.

The value of analyzing your auctions is great. You should not be afraid to forge ahead. Once you begin to see your sales soar you will be so happy you did.