Everyone has their own opinions about selling their stuff online through auction sites like eBay. And I don’t claim to know everything there is to know about selling on eBay or other online auction websites. However, based on personal experience, research and all the information that I have gathered throughout my career as an online marketer, I can tell you one thing – you can make a lot of money selling through online auctions.

The thing with selling via online auctions websites like eBay is, there are no secrets. Absolutely nothing like what many ‘online marketing experts’ will tell you….as in ‘7 insider secrets of selling through eBay’ and the likes. You have to do some experimenting and tracking in the beginning. And oh, don’t expect an instant success. As with any other types of online businesses, it takes persistence and patience.

When I first started selling my things on eBay, the first problem I bumped into was the problem with tracking. What did I sell and who bought it? And goodness, how much was I going to sell it for?

The first thing you have to do is to spring-clean your home. Find things that you no longer have a use for. Open an excel document on your computer and start listing them down and right next to the item, indicate the price that you are willing to sell it for. This document will be the backbone of your online auction activities.

Then create an account on eBay or any other online auction sites. Most auction websites require you to register with them and (thankfully) most of them give you free membership to open an account with them. Let’s use eBay as an example here since it is THE largest online auction website right now. As a buyer, you don’t get charged a cent and all they need from you is your name, some basic personal information and your email address. For the seller, you will need to place your credit or debit card with them in your account. Your credit or debit card won’t be charged unless you start to sell something online. Ebay charges a fee for placing your product on sale through your website and they also get a commission when you close a sale.

In order to make money from your online auctions, you will need to attract as many bids as you possibly can. But how do you do that? For one thing, let’s start with a good description of your item. If you’re selling a book, provide the potential buyers with good information and insightful views about the book. Maybe you can provide a useful link (or two) to the author’s website or perhaps lead the potential buyer to some raving reviews about the book. A picture paints a thousand words and in terms of online auction, this saying cannot be truer. Provide the bidders with a picture of your product. You should also present your item in a very professional manner, write in simple English so that bidders don’t have to dig out their dictionaries when they read about your products. Give your bidders a guarantee that you are a serious seller and that you will refund their money if the product is not as described.

You probably won’t make a million dollars in a week after starting your online auction business, but if you do it consistently and in a very professional manner, you may be able to quit your day job in the next couple of months.

Once you finish selling all the used items in your home on eBay, you can progress to the next level, and roll out the action plan for your online auction business.