14 secrets for selling on eBay
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5. Use good photos. Two or three clear, properly exposed photos can really showcase your item. EBay lets you add one photo for free. After that, it charges 15 cents per image.

Tips for good photos:

• Get as close as you can to the item when you snap. If it's a tea pot, you want to be able to see the details in the china. • Show the item from several angles. • Watch the background. One buyer neglected to clear dirty dishes off the table before using it as a backdrop for a photo, says McGrath. Giant turnoff. • If there's a flaw, highlight it. Take a close-up of that chip in the china and mention it in your description. (Something like: "perfect condition, except for this one chip.") It confers credibility and could save having to accept a return from a disgruntled buyer.

6. Write a great description. Lots of detail, plenty of white space and a little romance, says McGrath. It's "your sales pitch."

List all of the details that any potential buyer could want to know: color, age, specs, size, etc. "Then list the benefits," says McGrath. "What will it do for you?"

If it's a collectible, use the accepted and accurate terminology of those collectors to describe age, condition and style, says Prince. "You want to be perceived as knowing what you've got," he says. "And if you don't know what you've got, don't list."

Then "romance the item," McGrath says. If there's a story behind the item, or your use of it, tell it. Something along the lines of: "Bought a stock of these shirts and kept one for myself. I love it. After a couple of washes, they are so soft and comfortable."

Make your description as long as you want. (For some more specialized or technical items, sellers have included up to four pages of text.) But keep each paragraph short and sweet.

"When people are reading on a computer, they're kind of looking at chunks of information," McGrath says. Write "short paragraphs, two to three sentences each, with white space around."

Hot tip: Use lists or bullets when you can.

7. Reread your ad from the buyer's point of view. "Watch your tone in writing your auction listings," says Debra Schepp. She remembers one ad for a tuxedo that specified that if the item was returned it had to be unopened and the buyer wouldn't take it back just because it didn't fit. "That's crazy," she says. "Why would I risk buying a tuxedo if I couldn't take it back if it didn't fit?"

8. Include terms of service. "That's something even a lot of experienced sellers don't seem to include," says Griffith. Provide the information buyers need: What's the return policy? What are the shipping options, and what will they cost? What are the accepted methods of payment? How soon is payment sent? And does the item come with any guarantees?

9. Price it right. The biggest newbie mistake is: "A seller thinks, 'My item is worth $100.' So they start with an opening bid of $100. No one bids. In an auction you need to leave room for buyers to make their bids, which means you have to start well below market value."

While starting with a lower price seems counterintuitive, eBay entrepreneurs swear it's the way to go.