Before you start listing items, it's important to get the business details under control. Think about your company policies. Here is a copy of the blurb we put on each of our eBay listings. This is a work in progress. Every time something new comes up, we revise the blurb. I keep it in my word processor and paste it at the end of each new auction.
All of our products come from a totally non-smoking environment. No reserve. International sales are welcome, as long as you send US funds. We prefer PayPal. We also accept money orders.
Buyer to pay actual shipping charges, insurance (on anything breakable or auctions of $20 or more), and delivery confirmation, all rounded up to the nearest dollar. For large items, such as bicycles and exercise equipment, we also charge a $5 packing fee--it takes over an hour to pack up these items, plus a trip to town to get the boxes.
Personal Checks?
You have 3 options:
1) Don't accept them
2) Take them and hold them until they clear
3) Take them and ship immediately, trusting people until you get burned.
When we started, we used a combination of #2 and #3. We held checks for $20 or more, and shipped, immediately on the smaller checks. We always checked the feedback rating of the buyer. If the customer still had the "new member" icon, less than 50 positive feedback, or anything negative about payment, we held the check. Feedback looms LARGE on eBay. It's our best protection against bad checks or getting stiffed altogether.
International Sales?
We did when we started out, but dropped that feature, recently. If you do decide to go international, be sure to only accept U.S. funds. Even money orders from Canada can take forever to clear. *NOTE: Shipping to Hawaii and Alaska can be outrageous. Check shipping quotes very carefully to these states, especially for very large or heavy items. Our problem with international sales was shipping. If you're off by even a pound, in your weight estimate, you could lose all your profits to international shipping charges. Also, most countries don't offer insurance. We're holding our breath right now over a guitar we sent to Israel. No insurance, no tracking. All we can do is hope for the best - NOT A GOOD BUSINESS PRACTICE. The final problem with international sales is that the post office won't even start a trace on a missing shipment for 2-3 months. Most customers aren't that patient, so you'll have to deal with the "where is my item" emails, and the risk of credit card charge-backs and negative feedback. This is another area where you'll have to decide for yourself if it's worth the risk.
Shipping?
You have 2 basic options for shipping--the post office (USPS) or a shipping company like UPS or FedEx. You should make this decision before you start listing, so you're ready for questions. Another consideration is handling or packing fees. We discovered that as a general rule, people who buy high-priced merchandise don't mind the extra fees. If you're selling low-end bargain merchandise, it's another story. Those folks will quibble over a few pennies.
Most beginners start with the post office, then switch to UPS or FedEx when their volume picks up. For more information about post office shipping, please read Shipping by USPS. To learn more about the other carriers, please read Shipping by UPS or FedEx.
Guarantees and returns?
When you're starting out, it might be a good idea to offer money-back guarantees, on small items, and put that fact right in your blurb. eBay also gives you a check box for that feature in their listing forms, now. Eventually, your good feedback rating will give your buyers confidence, so this policy won't come up very often.
Warning: Buyers almost always expect you to pay shipping on returns, so be careful with guarantees on large items or international orders. A dispute over a shipping refund could undermine your generous return policy or refunding expensive shipping could put your in a financial hole, so think this through, carefully. Unfortunately, these things happen more often when you're new and still learning how to package items, properly.
Now you have your eBay account, your PayPal account, and your policies and procedures set up. It's time to start listing. Read Your First eBay Listings for more information.
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