Tips for online sellers

Going once. Twice. *click* Sold.

How to get the most out of online auctions - without getting addicted.

LL KINDS of people are doubling and tripling their incomes on eBay, the Web's biggest auction site. Glenn Wright, a successful building contractor in Bothell, Wash., will make seven figures this year selling a stash of antique fruit-crate labels he and a partner had sat on for years.

I've never been one for garage sales. But selling a few items on eBay? That might be a good way to get rid of "good" junk and make some cash.

Step 1 was to register at www.ebay.com, giving the basics: name, address, phone number, e-mail address. As I waited for confirmation, I surfed some auctions. The product mix was one-third tag sale, one-third antique mart, one-third odd-lot store. Everything from Beatles memorabilia to can openers had multiple bids.

I had two offerings. My first lot was a pile of clothes: two dresses and a skirt that had never fit. I listed them as "My fashion faux pas, your fashion finds!" (Exclamation points are important.) My other lot consisted of four picture frames: "Whimsical frame collection, worth a look!" I priced each lot at $10, little more than a guess.

The hardest part was figuring out how to attach photos (eBay's onsite tutorial helped). I borrowed a friend's digital camera and paid another site (www.pixhost.com) 50 cents an image to store my pictures. All in all, I spent $8.50, including $1.50 per listing - eBay runs on a sliding scale based on the price of your item - and a few bucks for extras such as bold type. (After the transaction is over, eBay e-mails you an invoice you can pay by check or credit card.)

Then, I waited - and not patiently. Every few hours, I'd log on to check the status of my items. A day went by. A night. Another day. Frustration was setting in when I got e-mail from an eBayer named Cyd. "Go in and change the title of the auction to include the label names," she advised. "You'll get more people looking."

Wright, the fruit-label millionaire, notes that first forays on eBay usually aren't too profitable. Only after you've completed a few transactions and gotten written feedback on your reliability will many shoppers give you a look. (Most transactions involve payment by personal check from buyer to seller, so reliability is key.) Also key, Wright says: paying $99 to list your item as a "featured auction," taking it to the top of the site. Of course, with $10 items, it wasn't worth it for me. But if you have many copies of your items, it's smart. And there's an art to writing listings: Make them incredibly blunt. Wright unloaded dozens of copies of an unattractive fruit label by putting "ugly" in the title. "Buyers ate it up."

I adjusted my listings, adding more details about the frames and changing the title of the clothing lot. It was partly successful. The frames simply sat there and expired. But a day later, I had a bid on the clothes. Then another. Finally, three. In the end, they sold for $15.50, netting me a whopping 7 bucks. The buyer sent me a check for the items, plus shipping costs, and I sent her the clothes after her check cleared.

Sure, eBay has pitfalls. Great stuff is available, but you have to work to find it. And there's so much stuff that it can be hard to get into the swing of buying or selling if you're not an experienced shopper. Still, as one friend pointed out, "It beats putting your junk on the curb."

Tips for sellers

Post the best possible photos of your objects.
Color is better than black and white.

Group your items.
To buyers, volume represents value.

Be honest.
Use good "key" words: label names, age of item (if an antique), colorfully blunt descriptions ("ugly").

Be efficient.
Answer potential buyers' questions promptly; handle sales quickly. Buyers give you "feedback" ratings, letting others know how reliable you are.