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Communication, communication, communication
Respond quickly and honestly to all questions sent by e-mail and use the
contact to establish a good relationship. Don’t let more than 24 hours
pass without sending a response. If a bidder makes a reasonable request
about payment or shipping, going along with that request is usually
worth it to make a sale. Remember: The cus-tomer is always right! (Well,
some of the time, anyway.)
Be a buyer’s dream
Just because you’re transacting through the computer doesn’t mean that
you can forget your manners. Contact the buyer within three business
days - within 24 hours is even better. And keep all your correspondence
polite.
 Marketing
For Dummies will give you a few wise words on keeping your customers
happy - as well as nifty ways to attract new ones.
Plan your delivery
The best way to avoid delivery problems is to do your homework
beforehand, determine which method is likely to work best, and spell out
in your item description exactly how you intend to send the item. Many
sellers say ‘Buyer pays actual shipping, handling, and insurance’ in
their item description, and that’s what they charge, although they can
make allowances if the buyer wants a specific method of delivery within
reason. Here’s how to handle the whole process:
1. Plan your delivery method before you list your item.
Good planning means that last-minute surprises are less
likely to arise while your buyer waits impatiently for the item!
2. After the auction, get the package ready to send.
Use good packing materials and sturdy boxes to prevent
disaster. Broken or damaged items can lead to
reputation-damaging, negative feedback. Pack as if someone’s out
to destroy your package (or as if you had made this purchase).
Your buyers are sure to appreciate the effort.
3.
Know your postage options.
Within the UK, the vast majority of eBay items are sent via
Royal Mail. eBay.co.uk For Dummies offers more advice on
postage.
4. Before quoting the postage fees to your buyer, make
sure that you include all appropriate costs.
Charge a nominal handling fee (up to ?1 isn’t un-reasonable)
to cover your packing materials. You should also include any
insurance costs and any de-livery-confirmation costs.
 Some eBay scam
artists inflate shipping and handling costs to make added
profit. Shame on them! The buyer twigs after one look at the
postage on the box. Chances are they won’t be buying from you
again.
5. E-mail the buyer and congratulate him or her on
winning.
Make sure you’re both talking about the same time-table. If
the buyer balks at either the price or the de-livery time, try
working out an option that will make the buyer happy.
6. Send the package as soon as you’ve been paid.
An e-mail stating that the item is on its way is al-ways a
nice touch, too. That way, buyers can ea-gerly anticipate the
arrival of their goods.
Listen to feedback
Never underestimate the power of positive feedback. Your reputation is
at stake. Always generously dole out feedback when you complete a
transaction. Your buyers will appreciate it and should return the
favour.
Keep tabs on your cash flow
The best place to keep an eye on your eBay accounting is your My eBay
page, your personal nerve centre that lists all your eBay activity.
Here’s
a checklist of what to watch out for after the auction closes:
* Keep watch on how much you’re spending to list your auctions.
You don’t want to find out that you spent more money setting up and
listing your item than you got for selling it.
* Make sure you get refunds when they’re due. Collecting an
outstanding refund could make the difference between winning and missing
out on that porcelain pig you’ve always wanted to bid for.
* Double-check your figures to make sure eBay hasn’t make mistakes.
If you have any questions about the accounting, let eBay know.
If
you’re selling on the side starts to become a business there are Dummies
books to help you along the way. Take your pick from Starting an eBay
Business For Dummies, Starting a Business For Dummies, and
Under-standing Business Accounting For Dummies.
eBay Fees? What eBay Fees?
Selling at eBay is like any other small business: you’ve got to
speculate to accumulate. To rake in the cash you have to cough up a
small initial outlay.
Every auction is charged an Insertion Fee. There’s no way out of it. The
fee is calculated on a sliding scale based on the minimum bid (your
starting price) or on the reserve price (the secret lowest price that
you’re willing to accept for your item).
Table 9-1 explains eBay’s Insertion Fee
structure.
Table 9-1 Insertion Fee Charges
If your minimum bid or reserve is The
Insertion Fee is
1p to 99p
15p
?1 to ?4.99
20p
?5 to ?14.99
35p
?15 to ?29.99
75p
?30 to ?99.99
?1.50
If you set a reserve price for your item, eBay bases its Insertion Fee
on the reserve, not the minimum bid.
So, what does the Insertion Fee buy you on eBay?
* A handsome auction page for your item that mil-lions of eBay members
can see, admire, and re-spond to with wallets at the ready. At least,
that’s the idea.
* The use of eBay services to ease your auction ex-perience. eBay.co.uk
For Dummies tells you more about the services eBay offers.
Here’s a list of the other fees eBay may charge:
* Insertion Fee for a Property listing: All listings in the Property
category have a ?35 Insertion Fee, plus an extra ?2 for setting a
reserve price. There is no Final Value Fee in this category.
* Insertion Fee for an eBay Motors listing: Brrm brrm, ?6 please.
* Reserve Fee: This is the extra fee you pay to set a reserve price on
your auction. The fee is refund-able if the item sells.
* Final Value Fees: A percentage of the final sell-ing price, from 1.75%
to 5.25%. The higher the fi-nal value, the less you pay.
* Optional Fees: For assorted extras such as bold lettering.
Watch Out for the Tax Man
Whether in cyberspace or real life, the Inland Revenue is just as
interested in getting its slice of your profits.
The truth about eBay and income tax
eBay is like a car boot sale, and you don’t have to pay in-come tax on
boot sales.
Hmm. And the alcohol in sherry trifle doesn’t count.
Sadly, someone’s wishful thinking has grown into a widely-believed urban
myth. The fact is that if you make a profit on selling something,
whatever it is, the sale counts as income and you’re liable to pay tax
on it. Most people never make any money at car boot sales because they
tend to sell things for far less than they paid for them. However the
opposite is often true of an eBay transaction.
The Inland
Revenue is only too aware of eBay. The UK’s data protection laws prevent
eBay from handing over sellers’ details but, with the Revenue’s
inspectors on the prowl, it’s just not worth the risk of getting caught
- and having to cough up back-dated tax on every eBay sale you’ve ever
made.
We contacted the Inland Revenue for the official word on eBay. They told
us that even if you make as little as 50p on any eBay sale after all
your expenses (the cost of the item, eBay fees, P&P charges) you still
have to de-clare it as income on your annual tax return. Even if you
lose money, you may have to prove it to the Inland Revenue, especially
if you’re running a small business.
 You
don’t have to pay income tax on the first ?4,745 you earn each year. But
if you have a full-time job, your salary probably exceeds this tax-free
allowance and any-thing you earn on eBay will count as taxable income.
If you’re in doubt about eBay and taxes, talk to the Inland Revenue or
an accountant. Visit the Inland Reve-nue’s Web site at
www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk or call their Helpline on 0845 915 4515.
You
may find Paying Less Tax 2005/2006 For Dummies a useful read for
staying in the Inland Revenue’s good books.
This and VAT
Value Added Tax is basically a tax on shopping. The good news is that
you don’t even have to think about VAT unless you sell a lot of stuff at
eBay. By ‘a lot’, we mean ?58,000 of it. A lot.
Still reading? Lucky old you. Your next step is to register for VAT with
HM Customs & Excise, who collect the spoils from you once a year. To
find out more, con-tact the HM Customs & Excise National Advice Service
on 0845 010 9000.
(The
above is an extract from eBay.co.uk For Dummies)
|
An
extract from the free minibook eBay.co.uk tips for Dummies - which
itself is an extract from eBay.co.uk For Dummies
