Selling Children's Clothing on Ebay - By Robyn Johnson

I have really learned ALOT in my short time selling on Ebay. I don't claim to be an expert, but after less than one year, I am now a Power Seller, and I have over 100 items selling in my store, Dragonflies and Ladybugs. These are some of my tips and tricks that I have learned along the way. I hope that I can help you like so many of you have helped me!!!!

1. Research, research, research!!!!

It is really important that you research the items that you are interested in selling. This tells you a lot! What is hot and what is not. What items are going for, what people are buying, and whether or not the market you are interested in is already saturated with sellers. Ebay has new features that allow you to look into the past at what items have ended at. You can also learn how to be competitive with your fellow sellers.

2. Join Paypal.

If you have not already, it is a "MUST" to sign up with a paypal account in order to sell on Ebay. It is a really safe way to do business. I was leery at first, but now I am very comfortable with doing business this way. BE CAREFUL: do not answer any e-mail that appear to come from Paypal. I did this and it was a "spoof" e-mail. If you are unsure whether or not an e-mail is legitimately from Paypal or Ebay, sign into the site through your server, not through the email, or contact support and ask.

3. Invest in a Decent Digital Camera:

Most of you may already have a digital camera, but if you do not, there are a lot out there for a reasonable price. I have a Kodak Easyshare CX7300. This is not an expensive camera, but you should have at least 3.1 Megapixels in order to produce halfway decent photos. A picture is worth a thousand words. I know that I will not even look at an auction if the picture is of poor quality.

4. Take Good Photos:

This brings me to my next important tip, take the time to take good photo's. First, you should purchase a white and black poster board. This provides you with a good background for your items. You really should not take your photo's on your bed, carpet, or table. It looks more professional to have a clean and non-distracting background for your items. Posterboard looks the best, a white sheet would work too, just make sure it is pressed. I have made that mistake, and some of my pictures do not look as good as they should. Finally, make sure you take the pictures in the right kind of lighting, they will look better to your potential buyers.

5. Honesty is the BEST Policy:

Set up a clear, concise, and honest description. If your item has even a tiny flaw, make sure to notate it in your auction. This will save you the hassle of an unsatisfied customer on the receiving end. Also, I learned that what may seem like "Excellent Condition" to you, may not be the case for others. Be careful when listing something used as LIKE NEW or in Excellent Condition. I consider an item to be in Excellent condition when it has never been washed or washed and worn maybe one time. Other than that, I would describe used items as Good Used Condition or Lovingly worn. I try not to sell anything that would be considered fair or less than good.

6. Use Professional Auction Tools:

You should invest time researching some of the auction listing tools that are on the internet. I have provided you with a lot of resources on my Sell on Ebay page that will give you the tools to produce a professional looking auction. I highly recommend The Sellers Sourcebook and Auction Insights.

7. Join Ebay Selling Forums:

Ebay gives you a lot of selling tools and allows you to join in on a variety of community forums and classes. Take advantage of these resources, other, more experienced sellers can be of help. Some forums that I recommend using to advertise your auctions and search for other auction sellers are:

1. Coupon Chix

2. Once Upon a Life

3. Here Comes The Stork

4. WAHMS United

5. Just Between Moms

8. Selling Times and Dates:

When you list your auctions is equally as important as everything else. I learned early on that on what day and time I listed my auctions had an impact on my sales volume. I found that starting my listings on Monday and Thursday evenings had the best results. This may not work for your items, so you will need to experiment a little with this. In addition to your listing days and times, the seasons for selling is also important. This is especially true when you are selling clothing and gifts. Here are some GENERAL seasonal Guidelines for you to follow when putting up your listings:

· January-March: Get your spring and summer clothing items up and running. Easter is approaching, so any cute dresses and Easter outfits will sell well at this time. If you sell wholesale lots, I would recommend saving your summer outfits for the buyers to get their hands on. · April-June: Still sell Summer items, break out the 4th of July items, but start to run SALES (shipping sales are always a winner!!!), because you want to clear out your inventory to make room for Fall/Winter clothing. · June-September: I would start putting up your fall outfits and Back To School items. People start gearing up for this time of year. June and July are typically slower months due to vacations, and people already have obtained their summer items earlier in the year. · September-October: Put your Fall/Winter Clothing up for sale, give shipping discounts, etc. Start listing Halloween Costumes in September, and start listing alternate items like toys, games, dvd's, etc. in November for Christmas.

9. How To Buy NWT Gymboree and Name Brand Clothing:

It is really hard to purchase a large volume of NWT clothing, and I can personally vouch for this, because I have made ALOT of mistakes this past year, and I have lost a lot of $ in the process. These are my recommendations gained from my own mistakes, but you can create your own method for obtaining your inventory. · I applied for a Gymboree Visa Card, which allows you to get 5% off all of your Gymboree purchases, even during sales, apply online anytime. · Join mailing lists, like Gymboree's Circle of Friends. They will email you all the sales prior to, and they will email you online coupon codes, which can save you a bundle. · Buy sale items only, get your 5% discount, and buy when they are offering Gymbucks! This way, you can shop again, getting more inventory for your buck!!!! Just think that if you have $50 in Gymbucks, you can get $100 in inventory for only $50, this is 1/2 off. And, if you only shop the sale rack, then you will DEFINATELY save more!!! · Finally, if you must buy lots online, here are some sellers that I recommend:

1. Special Delivery

2. Dragonflies and Ladybugs

3. K and Bs Closet

4. Here Comes The Stork

5. Gymboree Goddess

These sellers put GOOD quality lots together for reasonable prices, and they usually offer either FREE shipping or a shipping discount. I have bought from a lot of other seller (s), whom I will not mention here, that don't put fair lots together, they give you a lot of duplicates, unsellable sizes, and single pieces which are harder to sell separately. What you want to look for are the quality and prime selling sizes: 12-24 months, 2T, and 3T, some 4T. Anything under 6 months and over 4T are Harder to sell. You would like to have outfits and dresses. Items like shorts, tops and leggings that don't match can be harder to generate a profit. You would like one or two Boys outfits and no more!!! Unfortunately, boys clothing is not as popular as girls clothing. Although it is cute, it is harder to move in your store. If the seller puts boys clothing in your lot, request that they give you a full outfit, if they allow it. Also, no seller should include socks, hats, or hairbands in the RV of their lot, if they do, don't buy from them!!!!!

10. Hidden Treasures:

Believe it or not, my best money making items have been my Used and Gently worn Name brand clothing. You can find a lot of "gems" in thrift stores and local garage sales. You would not believe what people donate. I have found Oilily, Hannah Anderson, Gymboree, Janie and Jack, and Baby Lulu at Thrift Stores and Garage sales, paying only pennies and selling for over $20. Which comes out to a huge profit for you!!!! Some highly recommended thrift stores are:

1. Goodwill

2. Savers

3. Salvation Army

4. American Thrift Store

I would recommend going through your Yellow Pages, finding all your local thrift stores and hitting them all on a monthly basis. Remember, thrift store inventory changes daily and weekly, so you have to be diligent and patient. You must go frequently and search for these hidden treasures.

11. Auction Listing Write Up:

It is very important that you take the time to write up a clear and concise auction listing. Make sure to include as much information as you can about your item, and most of all, be HONEST. It is better to list all the flaws than to try to "mask" them. I have had some sellers tell me not to say that something does or does not have "stains", they claim that it is up to the buyer to ask further questions. I have not found this to be the best for me. I like to list EXACTLY what is wrong.

Robyn Johnson http://www.themomscafe.net

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