I am an eBay noobie

Q: I want to sell my father’s old train collection. I know about eBay but I’m really an eBay noobie. Can you give me some advice on how to best sell the trains on eBay?

A: Whenever I want to sell something on eBay one of the first things I do is look at past and current eBay listings for a similar item to the one I’m selling to get a feel for what the eBay market is paying.

To do this, just go to eBay and use the search box at the top of the page to enter a few key words that describe what you are selling. The search results will display a list of current listings that match your keywords. You’ll need to be specific. For example, don’t just enter “trains” for your search if you have a specific brand of trains. Better to enter “Lionel trains” to get more accurate results.

If you want to search listings that have already been completed, you’ll need to use the advanced search and check the “Completed listings only” checkbox.

My advice for selling your item is simple. Be honest, give lots of detail and always include one or more pictures of what you are selling. If one of your trains has a big scratch down the side, don’t try to hide it. If you aren’t sure if all of the trains work then say so in your listing. If you deceive people it will only come back to haunt you and could result in your account being permanently removed from eBay.

One other thing you might want to try is going with a low starting bid. Often I list my items with a starting bid of $0.99. This serves two purposes. One, it minimizes the listing fee charged by eBay and two, it attracts many more buyers.

Here’s a perfect example of this strategy. I helped a friend sell a wireless data card on eBay. He said he would be happy with $40 or $50 for the item but he didn’t want to take the risk listing it for $0.99 so we both agreed to list the wireless data card with a starting bid of $40. The auction ended without a single bid on the item. I convinced my friend to try it my way and re-listed the item with a $0.99 starting bid and the item sold five days later for $49.

Just be careful because if there is not a high demand for your item you may end up only getting one bid for $0.99 and you will be obligated to deliver the item for that price.

This post was originally broadcast Friday, September 7, 2007 on Tech Talk with Noobie, a weekly radio show on WCBK 102.3 FM in Martinsville, Indiana. Tech Talk with Noobie airs every Friday between 11:30 a.m. and noon. If you have a question you would like Noobie to answer on the air, simply e-mail your question to .