I'm going to be brave & start listing DD's clothes on ebay; can anyone give me tips?

[KatyMac]

It's to raise money for DD's dancing

are clothes best on someone or on a flat surface?

How much does it cost if I don't sell it?

Are there any tips or hints to make things more acceptable?

How do I work out postage?

I feel like it's a whole new world

I also have some books - is it worth trying to sell them?

The tips that work for me are:
Photo in daylight. I photograph flat but don't think it matters that much.
Books sell fine and you could also sell these on Amazon.
Wait for a free listing weekend or you can list up to 100 items free with a start of 0.99p
Write a good description including : colours, any stains or tears, whether item has been washed, where you bought it etc. Worth taking the time and don't tell fibs!
There is a postage workout thing on eBay and remember to include cost of your packaging. You can buy v cheap polybags on eBay or save any that you receive yourself.
Lots of UK stores such as gap or next sell really well with an International listing.
Start your bidding low and look at similar items that others are selling.

Thanks for the tips

I'll have a go

Most ebayers prefer clothes to be laid flat or hanging on a door from a hanger. Definitely clear photos for detail. General concesus is not on people! Im a regular on the community boards and this always comes up.

how much it costs if it doesnt sell depends on how its listed. There is a list of fees in the help pages but starting at 99p (unless you are a business seller) is free. Be aware that if it sells at 99p you are are obliged to sell for that too. Start items at a price you are willing to sell for. Take into account the fees that come off not only for ebay but also paypal. Something selling at 99p may only profit about 30p!

Be fair with postage costs. check royal mails website and use a pair of scales. I use kitchen scales. Be descriptive. Mention any holes or flaws, state the label of item and always wash clothes before sending as its an ebay rule.

Books may do well but do remember listing fees are slightly higher for media items.

sorry also state the size on the label but give accurate measurements. My measuring tape practically lives next to the laptop lol.

sorry I didn't get back to thank you sooner,

I really appreciate the advise

OK I never got round to this but I have just taken hundreds of photos

So I will start listing tomorrow I guess; I'll download the photos tonight & sort them

Download and use turbolister then you can use a template, list quickly and then send all your items to eBay to go live at the optimum time. I always aim to have items ending at 8.30pm-9pm to attract the most bidders.

Thanks for that

I'll have a go; I wonder what day is best?

I wouldn't have items ending over the bank holiday evenings as many people away or out socialising.

So maybe I should aim for the second weekend in May - Sunday 8th? or Monday 9th?

Ive just started selling on ebay, listed 11 items, sold 10 (the book didn't sell).
Defo recommend waiting for free listing if you have loads & have everything organised & ready just to sell, but maybe do a few listings before to work out how it all works etc...
I have just tried to reconcile the paypal fees & haven;t a clue how they are worked out .
Get your postage fees all worked out. Weigh everything on scales & cost it.. the royal mail website will tell you exact costs. I was stung with more expensive charges than I thought, but people hate to pay lots more for P&P than the cost of the stamps & may leave neg feedback as a result...so get it right & dont estimate like me.
If your paypal account is not already been checked & verified, start doing that now. Once you give Paypal your bank account details, they put 2 small payments into your account at their cost & get you to verify the amounts...this took days!!!! & stopped me being able to list more than 10 items which was very annoying as it was a free listing weekend.
Buy cheap plastic bags from one of the ebay sellers for sending clothes
List any faults/ slights marks & stains with anything you sell, be very truthful or teh buyer will complain.
the ebay iphone app is good too
I hope this helps you...I posted here a couple of weeks ago asking the same
& should have listened to the advice more

I use my paypal to buy, do I need to do anything else with it?

My scales are a little basic

I thought I would package everything (unsealed) & weight them them using the PO website to get prices

So could I do the turbolister thing then wait for a free listing weekend?

yes get everything listed and ready in turbolister and then when you are ready send it all to ebay

Once you have listed 10 things you need to get verified go to the paypal website and start this process.... You can have a paypal account, buy loads using it etc but ebay will not let you list more than 10 items until your bank account is verifiedby paypal (eBay owns paypal)

That sounds good

OK - so maybe I need to do 10 things straight off & then get the turbo thing & wait for a free listing weekend

Or can I just do one or two things?

Does it have to be 10?

you can do a few, but once you hit 10, they won't let you list until your paypal account is verified, which I found took 4/5 days...

So will it be verified after I have done a couple or do I have to do 10?

Sorry I have a cold & I'm being a bit dim

You can only do up to ten whilst you are unverified. Once you reach ten, you won't be able to any more until your verify.
You can verify your account now, you don;t need to do your ten first. The sooner you verify the better.

Tips with clothing - if I'm buying children's clothing, postage bumps the cost up quite a lot. So I always look at a seller's other items. If they have listed ten items of boy's clothing in the same size in a similar style (ie bright colours VS mini adult type clothing VS 'fashion'/designer stuff VS very "boy" colours ie pale blue + various shades of sludge) and the same season (so not shorts listed with a thick jumper) then I'm likely to also want something else they are listing.

If your items are e.g.

Pink Boden dress age 4-5
3 t shirts with rude slogans age 2-3
Designer shirt age 2-3
Swimming costume in lime green age 6-7
Winter coat age 4-5 in black

these aren't all likely to appeal to the same person. Because postage bumps the cost up so much, I quite often bid more for items where I'm also watching another item the seller has. And if I only like one item something has I might not bother to bid at all if I'm watching multiple items from other sellers - I get a bit carried away so I have to narrow it down somehow :)

Good luck, hope things sell well.

someone has

How do I verify my account - through paypal or ebay?

As bounty007 said earlier in this thread. Go to the Paypal website and start the process there.

Ok, sorry I missed that - I went & had a go; we will see what happens