Making a Living on eBay

Making a Living on eBay

I’ve been selling art through eBay for the last 10 months. Here’s what I have learnt so far. It’s not an exhaustive list:

1. You need to be prolific. Most artwork sells for under £100, so you need to be regular in putting up new work.


2. On average, 5 out of 10 auctions won’t end in a sale. Don’t be discouraged by this.


3. Expect eBay and paypal feed to take away 25% of your profits, then expect the taxman to take his 22% of whatever is left.


4. Buy your materials cheap. Given point 2 above, you really need to make as much profit as possible.


5. Don’t charge too little for postage and packing. Charge for postage and materials and add 10 or 15% for your time. Add more if you have a long trip to the post office.


6. Don’t promise next day delivery unless you really can do it. Promise delivery ‘within 3 working days’.


7. Keep in regular contact with your buyers. Send them an email when the auction finishes, when you receive their payment and when you dispatch their work.


8. Put a link to your eBay store in all your emails. Also add a link that adds your name to their Favourite Buyers list. This applies to all your emails, not just emails to customer and buyers.


9. If people send you a cheque, its normally quite safe to dispatch the painting before the cheque has cleared – and its great PR that your customers will really appreciate.


10. Always offer a ‘satisfaction guaranteed’ returns policy.