eBay Loans and Advice for eBay Seller Success

The UK’s e-commerce market is worth a huge £60 billion and is being pushed along by people shopping on their phones and tablets. So-called m-commerce is making online retail easier and quicker for sellers and shoppers alike. But competition is fierce, especially on platforms like eBay, where many small businesses head to sell their goods.

Whether you’re an eBay retailer selling shoes, sports equipment or TVs, you’re probably always looking for tips to help grow your online business and stay a few steps ahead of your competitors. Here's the good news: you’ve come to the right place! Below are some bits of advice to give your eBay business a boost.

1. Apply for an eBay loan

Have you ever thought about getting an eBay loan? This type of small business funding can provide essential financing to boost cash flow when times are tight and the loan can be used to take advantage of special offers on stock, to market your business or to lease storage space.

Fleximize offers a range of flexible business loans for eBay sellers. Simply fill in an online application which only takes a few minutes.

2. Use eBay SEO

When writing your descriptions, think about what customers are going to be typing into their eBay searches. It’s all well and good writing an awesome item description like: “Rare Signed Copy Eminem’s The Slim Shady”, but missing out keywords ‘vinyl’ and ‘album’ could lose you loads of collectors who could drive up your auction price.

You should also read eBay’s SEO Guide for other tweaks you can make to boost your visibility.

3. Offer free postage

Offering customers free postage, not only makes your offering look more attractive, but it also makes you look more generous and boosts your eBay seller reputation. It also supports your ranking on ‘Best Match’ search results, which is essential in customers finding you. It helps you be more competitive, even if you only offer free shipping on higher value items. More information is available on this seller’s article on eBay.

4. Choose what you sell

If you’re into Japanese car parts, sell those. If you’re into vintagelace curtains, then they’re the items you should be selling. Why? Well, it’s always easier to sell effectively when you’re passionate and knowledgeable about something. In fact, this is true in face-to-face sales too!

If you prefer to take another route to choosing your specialism, then research eBay channels to see what sells, and what doesn’t. Note what sellers are doing to boost sales, and the brands or value of the items they have for sale.

5. Choose when you sell

Your selling strategy is not just down the how great your products are, or even how amazing your descriptions are. No. Timing can heavily influence how well you do too. Before you sign up for an eBay seller account, look at factors like:

When sellers’ items are sold – is there a particular day and time of day that certain items seem to do well? When are you most likely to get more customers seeing your product? An easy mistake to make is missing that important window.

For example, more people are more likely to bid on a contemporary vase on a Saturday evening when they’re browsing on their mobile at home, rather when they’re at work on a Tuesday morning or picking up the kids from school on weekday afternoons. So, adjust your auction end time to catch that shopping traffic.

6. Check into the eBay Seller Centre

The eBay Seller Centre is a hub of must-know information for all types of e-commerce businesses registered to the site. You can get advice on anything from using auction-style or fixed-price listings to relisting an unpaid item.

If you need more information on eBay loans, give the team at Fleximize a call on 0207 100 0110, or apply online today to for fast e-commerce funding.

Or invest in a copy – digital or paperback – of eBay for Dummies, which is a fantastic resource if you’re new to this. And yes it’s available on Amazon. The irony wasn’t wasted on us either!