Careers Business Ownership Tips for eBay Beginners on How to Make a First Sale Sign up for eBay and find a product worth selling Share PINTEREST Email Print Hero Images/Getty Images Business Ownership Industries Retail Small Business Restauranting Real Estate Nonprofit Organizations Landlords Import/Export Business Freelancing & Consulting Franchises Food & Beverage Event Planning eBay E-commerce Construction Operations & Success Becoming an Owner By Aron Hsiao Aron Hsiao Aron Hsiao began selling on eBay in 1998 and joined the site's Trust and Safety Department in 2003, helping to resolve buyer and seller conflicts and marketplace rules violations. From 2013 through 2017, he served as senior communications manager for Terapeak, which offers marketplace research and listing analytics to online sellers. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on 05/31/19 If you're a brand new eBay user, you've clearly never made a sale on the site, but that doesn't mean it's difficult to start selling. However, because eBay is such a large, sprawling website with features for buyers and sellers, individuals and businesses, it can sometimes be hard to know where to begin. If all you want to do is make a sale on eBay to earn some extra cash, have no fear. Follow these simple steps to fatten your wallet sooner rather than later. Sign Up for eBay The first step is to join eBay and should be obvious. You can't make a sell on eBay if you're not a member. So, join today and find an item that you'd like to sell or you feel is worth selling. What to Sell It could be anything you think is valuable. For example, a present that you've never used, an impulse buy that you never returned or any gently used product with few signs of wear or tear. It's possible to sell more worn items as well, but your chances of making a sale are higher if you start off with new or almost-new goods. How to Sell Once you've found an object to sell, visit the eBay front page and click "sell" near the top of the page. It will enable you to create an auction listing for your item. Watch your auction listing in my eBay until the listing closes or a sale is made. Receiving Payment If you don't immediately receive PayPal payment, use my eBay to send the buyer of your item an invoice. On the invoice form, be sure to send payment instructions to the bidder if necessary. Wait for payment to arrive, either through PayPal, the most common payment method on eBay or through another method you've specified. Shipping Your Item After payment arrives, ship your item to the buyer or winning bidder. Be sure to contact the member and notify them that their item has been shipped. You may also ship and track the item through eBay. Leave Feedback Leave feedback giving your opinion of the transaction. If it went smoothly, you may not have much to say. If aspects of the transaction bothered you, make note of what they were. Did the item sell for as much as you'd hoped? If not, what can you do to better meet your goals in the future? Do you need to reevaluate your expectations about how much of a profit you can make on eBay? If your expectations weren't met, you should consider signing up for another site like eBay to see how much a similar item will fetch you on that site instead. You may decide to use both sites in the future or stick to the site that you believe will earn you the most cash. Resolve Any Problems Resolve any disputes that arose during the transaction. Hopefully, during your first sale, you won't have any disputes at all. Should a dispute arise, see if you can take steps to nip it in the bud next time. Did you ship your item too late, for example? Be sure not to make the same mistake in the future.