Learning to sell on eBay is like learning to drive a car.
How will you get paid?
On eBay there is a payment processor called PayPal. If you are going to be selling at least fifty
lots I would use it. It makes it easy for people to pay and I think increases, at the margin, what
people bid. I know that if a seller requires I pay by check I specifically look to see how many lots
they have sold and what their feedback is. If I have the slightest doubt I pass. The downside of
PayPal is that it isn't free. To compensate you may want to buy some eBay stock before you begin
selling. All in all PayPal is worth the cost.
Listing Period
eBay virgins know how to save money. They list for only 3 or 5 days because it is marginally cheaper
than 7 and 10 day listings. Go with 10 days. You are looking for exposure. Give yourself the
opportunity to get some. If the lot doesn't sell you can relist but it's not free. Give yourself the
best chance now.
When do I start my listing and when does it end?
I personally think listings should end on a Monday or Tuesday if I'm selling and Wednesday or Thursday
if I'm buying. Mid-week seems to be quieter and the prices lower when the auctions end later in the
week. For ten day auctions if you start them on Friday or Saturday they will end on Monday or Tuesday.
Don't end them on Monday if it's a holiday. The world is full of people who say "I would have bought
it but..." So you're thinking it doesn't make a difference really because you can bid anytime while
the auction is underway. True but I have lost too many lots by leaving an early bid. I don't do it
anymore. You will see me for the first time just as the clock expires. I'm not interested to give
other bidders a moment to think about whether they're willing to increase their bid. TOO LATE! For
sellers this means that you are going to relive, with each eBay lot, the military adage "Hurry up and
wait."
Use the optional visitor counter to see [and show] the traffic count on your listing. As an eBay
seller you will also be able to see how many people are TRACKING the listing. It will be visible in
your eBay seller's control panel. You may not have any bids yet but you can see what the flow
is. With experience you'll sense what is happening.
Most eBay sellers seem to take a philosophical approach. They post ten items and some do well, some
okay and some badly. On average they do fine. If you did a thorough listing, started it at the
appropriate time and obtained only a fair result chances are the market value is simply less than you
expected. The listing sites may have it posted higher but if in three months those listings are still
there who is to say the price you received isn't the right price.
Best of luck if you decide to try it! Its great fun and I'll be bidding on some of your items if they
fit my collecting and research interests.
Editor's Note: This article has generated several Letters to the Editor. To see them, Click here.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
