Listing an auction on eBay is as simple as ordering food from a Restaurant menu. All the same just like ordering food you need to consider all options available and select the option that you like the most to make your auctions effective. Not to forget cost is a consideration for most of us when eating out. Similarly as an auctioneer you want to keep the cost of hosting an auction at the minimal. Clicking the sell link on my eBay page and entering your product information and filling all text boxes is very intuitive and we all can do it but I want to share with you some considerations to think about when auctioning at eBay.



1) Carefully word your description as that is the portion most of the readers go to get details about your product. You can make it colorful and creative but make sure you make it very informative and clear. Subtitles are charged but are useful as they show as some text below the auction so it can sometimes serve as good differentiator when looking at many auctions.

2) There are additional paid options like gallery, bold, border, gift, additional photos, layout. They cost you but you need to be creative to make sure you look different or stand out among other auctions. Don't forget that if you are selling iPods for example there will be 100s of iPods auctioning along with you. Your ability to differentiate yourself from the herd is the key to success. The options I will recommend you are subtitle, gallery, border and layout. Other options are worth trying too. Subtitle is effective as it shows immediately below the subject when viewing your product along with other products in eBay. It can be a powerful differentiator. Do keep in mind that there is a limit of 60 characters or so at eBay. Gallery enlarges your product image when the buyer mover his/her mouse over the product. That definitely attracts attention. Border option will show a border around your auction when seen along with other auctions. It is cheap and makes the auction stand out. Layout option allows you to select from layouts provided by eBay and makes the auction enticing when the buyer decides to view the auction.

3) Start price in an auction is the price at which the auction starts. Depending upon the start price eBay will charge you for the auction. Keep it low but not too low as you want a dignified start for your auction. Setting a start price which is 10% of your expected price of sale can be a good benchmark. Reserve price and buy it now price are important and decide the final selling price. Reserve price like start price decides the charge eBay levies on you. Your product will not sell below the reserve price so it contains your risk of selling lower that cost price but setting it too high discourage prospective buyers.

4) Make sure you give them shipping auction like USPS, UPS etc. And mention a reasonable shipping price. eBay sometimes cancels your auction if you mention a very high shipping price.

5) Clearly document your return policy and return days.

Once you are done with all this eBay will tell you the total cost you will be charged for listing. Don't forget that you will be charged something more when your item finally sells. The eBay charge comes to approx. 3 % of your selling price. This information should be good to jump start your eBay auctioning initiative. Please look at eBay for the latest charges.