When I first started writing this series, I had about four or five mistakes that I had wanted to discuss. But as I started getting into this, I realized that I may not be able to get it all in. Don't get me wrong, it's not like all eBay sellers are terrible sellers. It's just that I see so many senseless mistakes with their listings and leaving a lot of money on the table. So whatever I don't get a chance to get into with this series, I'll discuss it at in later posts.

One of the most common mistakes that I sellers make is that they don't plan ahead when it comes to the day and times of ending their auctions. This is something that experienced sellers are looking out for. They are waiting to snatch up these items at the last minute. The mistake is ending your auctions, when the eBay traffic is at it's lowest peak. Why end an auction at 2 AM, when there is hardly anyone online to see it. The experienced seller also doesn't have to be online to see it end. All he has to do is set up a sniping software program, go to sleep, and wake up to find himself with a new bargain. I hate to say this, but I've gotten some fantastic bargains this way. There is really no set rules for starting and ending times for listing an auction. You will find many "eBay gurus" that will tell you when THEY have had their best success. But the bottom line is you have to know your product and the customers that you are trying to reach.

For example, if you were trying to sell a video game, your target customer might be kids and teenagers. Why would you end an auction at twelve o'clock noon, while they are in school? Or suppose you are selling a religious item. Why end the auction on Sunday morning while church is going on? Do you get my drift? Cater to the times that your customer will be online. As far as the actual days of the week to list, I found a calendar to help you see when the most traffic is online. You can find it at http://auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/calendar/calendar.html .

This next mistake just hurts all over. It is when I look at a listing, and see either a lot of misspelled words and / or poor pictures that go with the auction... or BOTH! That tells me that we have a rookie here. I hope I'm not being too harsh, but you are REALLY losing money when you as a seller do this. If I can't understand what you are trying to say in your listing because you have poor spelling, then I'm going to click away until I can find something that I do comprehend. Misspelled words hurts the eyes. If I can't see the item in the picture that you provided, how do you expect me to bid on it? I, as the buyer can't trust you. You don't care enough about your listing to do a simple spell check. Nowadays all editors come with them. You are trying to sell me a Rolex, and you give me a blurry, dark picture of what could be a Timex. You can believe me when I say, that those same experienced sellers that I mentioned earlier.. they are REALLY looking for you. They can afford to take a chance and get away with a steal. Trust me, I know. That's how I got my Movado watch for $30.00. I resold it for $325.00.I realize digital cameras aren't all that cheap for some of you. But an inexpensive 2 mega pixel camera is still much better looking quality than a $20.00 throw away camera.

So why I am I telling you all of this? Aren't I hurting myself by giving away this information like this? Maybe I am, but I can't make a living based on eBay sellers mistakes. Also that watch that I bought? Well, that was a family member whose watch that I bought. She let someone list the watch for her, and he made some of the same mistakes that I mentioned in this series. I won the auction at a steal, relisted it CORRECTLY, and made her a profit. I'm starting to see this more and more, and it doesn't have to be.

All the seller has to do is take his time and plan ahead. Preview what you are doing beforehand. Learn all you can about how to run a successful eBay auction. And then go out and learn some more. Then when you finish that, GO LEARN SOME MORE. The buyers, the money, eBay, .. all of it, is not going anywhere. You can make a lot more money if you do this correctly.