How to sell things on eBay (2023)

eBay is one of the largest multinational e-commerce companies, connecting buyers and sellers in more than 190 markets worldwide. eBay is a popular platform for selling online, focusing on consumer-to-consumer (C2C) and business-to-consumer (B2C) sales. You can buy and sell various items on the platform, from clothing, furniture, electronics and more!

If you want to learn how to sell things on eBay, read our guide for information on listing items, shipping advice and how to integrate your store with Shipping Manager.

So, let’s dive straight into our guide to selling on eBay!

Why sell on eBay?

As a recognised and reputable platform with a captive audience, selling on eBay has many benefits, including:

• Access to a ready-made, captive audience; eBay currently has 133 million buyers worldwide
• You can sell a range of different types of products – there are approximately 1.8 billion live listings
• Simple and easy-to-use interface
• Choose from auction-style listings or instant ‘buy it now’ options

How do you sell on eBay?

Whether you’re an individual looking to make some extra money selling preloved goods or a business wanting to dive into eCommerce, it’s simple to start selling on eBay. The first thing to do is to set up a personal or business eBay account.

If you’re a registered business seller, you should create a business account for selling a large number of goods. However, you can change from a personal account to a business account later if required.

Other things you’ll need to do is:

• Choose a username: must be at least six characters long and cannot include profane/obscene language or violate any eBay guidelines
• Set an automatic payment method: choose from PayPal or credit/debit card
• Customise your profile: you can add a profile picture, cover photo and text description

What not to sell on eBay?

Even though you can sell most items on eBay, some products are restricted or completely banned. Like on our website, you can find a list of Prohibited & Restricted Items on eBay’s website. For instance, alcoholic beverages can only be listed and sold by eBay-approved sellers. To become eBay-approved, you will need to follow additional procedures.

How to list an item on eBay?

You can start creating a listing once your profile is set up and ready to go. It’s pretty simple, as eBay will guide you through each step. Here are six key things to remember:

1. Tell eBay clearly what you’re selling

eBay will recommend terms that are often searched to help set your listing up for success. However, it’s important to be as descriptive as possible.

2. Upload high-quality photos or videos

For the best chance of selling, take multiple photos of your item from different angles in good clear lighting on a plain background.

3. Write a clear description of the item

Describing your product accurately and truthfully helps to build trust with a potential buyer. It can be the thing that secures the sale. Include things like item condition and extra details that might have been missed in the general specifics section.

4. Price your item competitively

The cost of an item is one of the most critical factors in buying and selling. eBay will recommend a price based on the recent sales of similar listings, but you can also keep an eye on similar items too.

5. Set up shipping details

The seller decides how they would like to send their sold items, whether this is via courier or local pickup. With Interparcel, you can sync all your eBay orders with Shipping Manager and choose your preferred courier service.

6. Specify your selling preferences

Ensure you set your preferred payment method, location and returns policy etc. You can also list your item nationwide or internationally to reach more buyers.

How much does it cost to sell something on eBay?

Like most online selling platforms, eBay charges a small fee when you sell an item. The fees differ depending on whether you have a Personal or Business profile:

• Private sellers can list items for free (35p listing fee for any listings over the free monthly allowance of 1,000)
• Final value fee is 12.8% of the total sale amount plus a fixed change of 30p per order
• For Basic eBay Shops, in addition to 1,000 free listings, you receive an extra 100
• Final valuable fee is a variable percentage of the total amount plus a fixed charge of 30p per order

Sometimes, eBay offer 'free listing weekends' where you don't have a to pay an insertion fee or promotional offers. It's worth keeping an eye out to save those extra pennies.

It’s worth comparing online platforms such as eBay, Etsy, and Not On The High Street etc., to see what is best for you.

Integrate your eBay store with Interparcel

Learning how to sell on eBay is just the beginning of your e-commerce journey. Once you’ve sold a few orders, you’ll want to process and dispatch them immediately. You can integrate your eBay store with your Interparcel Account to make things easier.

Connecting your eBay store with Shipping Manager makes shipping parcels even easier. You can fetch all your eBay orders and fulfil all in one place. Our video explains how to integrate it in a few simple steps. If you run multiple eBay stores, you can integrate each and benefit from our time-saving tools.

Send your sold eBay items with Interparcel

We hope this article explains how to sell things on eBay.

Enter your parcel details into our online quote tool to compare and book an affordable courier service. If you already have an eBay account, integrate with us today and start saving on parcel delivery.

Please speak to our friendly Customer Service department if you require assistance with your Interparcel bookings.

Disclaimer: the information in this article was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change. eBay policies and advice are available on their website.