Here are some tips to help you make your selling on eBay efficient and effective. Also visit our Seller Central for practical tips for international sellers.

Listing your item

• Make sure the item is legal and allowed. If you are not sure that your item is allowed, check eBay's policies on prohibited, questionable and infringing items (see Knowing eBays Rules for Sellers).

• Take one or more pictures of your item in a well-lit area. Effective pictures that are sharp and bright will help sell your item. Evenly distributed artificial or natural light is better than a cameras flash for most items. A tripod steadies your camera and ensures your picture will be in focus.

• Choose the most specific category available. This will help buyers find your item. Use the Suggested Categories feature to have eBay suggest categories for you.

• Imagine you were the buyer when you prepare the title and description for your listing. What would you want to know about the item? What are its most appealing characteristics? What words might buyers use to search for your item? Keep the item close by in case you need to add information to your description. (see Writing a Good Title and Description).

• Save time by composing your item description in a word authoring program first, and then pasting it into the item description area in the Sell Your Item form. Be clear and complete, but use short sentences that are easy to read. Including specific details about the item, such as dimensions, postage, and payment etc. may help reduce the number of email questions you receive about your item.

• Plan your pricing strategy. Look at similar completed eBay listings using the completed listings search. You can also visit online stores that sell similar items and ask friends to help determine what the item is worth. This will help you set your starting price or your Buy It Now price.

• Consider registering for selling-related services before you begin the Sell Your Item form. If you want to open your own eBay Store, see eBay Stores Overview.

Communicating with buyers

• Ensure that you attract the ideal buyer for your item by selecting buyer requirements and buyer management tools including the blocking buyers feature.

• Know about your buyer by checking the bidder's or buyer's Feedback Profile, including feedback comments from other sellers (see Knowing Your Buyer).

• Be sure that your contact information and email address are correct and up to date. Check your personal information to make sure it is correct. Also, check that any "spam" blocking software you have installed does not limit a buyer from communicating with you.

• Plan for alternate computer access. If you have computer or connection problems, or need to be away from your computer, you can access your eBay account using any computer with Internet access. For example, you can monitor your items through the "My eBay" page using the computer at your friends house or your local library (See Managing Selling with My eBay).

Expand your selling options

• Explore listing upgrade features to distinguish, promote and enhance your listing. Listing upgrades include improving the visual appeal and effectiveness of your listing by adding attractive themes and layouts, adding pictures, and enhancing your listing's pictures.

• Use Selling Tools to list more items and automate seller tasks.

• Offer PayPal as a payment method, the preferred payment method of millions of buyers and sellers on eBay. PayPal is a fast, easy, and secure way to accept credit card or checking account payments on eBay. You can sign up for PayPal before you list your first item for sale, or when you list your first item Learn how to sell using PayPal.

Important note for cross border trade sellers:

To keep eBay a safe place for both buyers and sellers, and to sell globally, you are required to:

• Confirm your identity

• Offer PayPal or an approved merchant credit card account as an accepted safe payment method for your items