The kit our builder picks for a typical eBay seller. Change the answers to fit yours.
Storage
Holds tubs or boxes floor to ceiling in a small footprint.
Label printer
A compact thermal printer for your first few hundred labels.
Each step in the order you'll need it.
You list items with photos, a title, item specifics and a price, either as an auction or Buy It Now. Buyers pay through eBay, and you ship the item and add tracking.
eBay covers almost every category, and its seller standards reward regular listing and on-time shipping. Fees change and vary by category, so check eBay's help pages.
Use a light box for small items, or a plain wall with two soft lights for bigger ones. Take a full set of photos, including flaws, because eBay buyers can return items not as described.
Fill in every item specific. Buyers filter by them, so a listing without them drops out of filtered results.
Give each shelf or bin a short code and put it in the custom label field on the listing. It shows on the order, so you can pick without searching.
Store similar items together and keep the codes simple. Stock spread across many places goes missing.
Kit for this step
You can buy labels through eBay or use Pirate Ship, which can import your eBay orders. USPS Ground Advantage covers most packages under a few pounds, and UPS Ground often wins on heavy boxes. Cards under $20 can go by eBay Standard Envelope.
Weigh and measure every package. Set your shipping options from real weights, and set a handling time you can meet every week.
eBay tracks whether you ship within your stated handling time and upload tracking. Late shipping counts against your seller standards.
Choose a handling time that fits your week, and pack orders the same evening if you can.
eBay Live is eBay's livestream shopping, on the website and in the eBay app. You show items on camera, buyers bid in short auctions or buy at a set price, and eBay charges the winner when the auction ends. You then ship each order as a normal eBay sale.
Selling live needs eBay's approval. You apply through eBay, and it has been adding sellers and categories, with trading cards, coins, toys and sneakers among them. The seller sign-up page lists who it is onboarding now.
A listing-only shop needs a photo corner and a packing desk. A live show adds a phone or camera on an overhead arm, steady lights, a clip-on mic and stock laid out in show order, and you pack the winners after you stop streaming. Check eBay Live's help pages for current fees before your first show.
Kit for this step
Photograph in one session, list in another and pack in a third. Keep packing supplies stocked by size near your printer.
Cross-list items on Mercari or Poshmark if they fit, but remove them everywhere as soon as one sells to avoid selling twice.
Each one costs you money or reviews, and each has a fix.
Complete kits for one kind of seller, costed and laid out.
Step-by-step help for the jobs that come next.
To sell on eBay, you list items with photos and specifics, set a price, and ship the order yourself or use eBay's shipping service.
At 50 orders a week, finding stock takes longer than packing it, so a coded shelf and fast packing station become essential.
Straight answers to what sellers ask about this.
eBay labels carry discounted USPS, UPS and FedEx rates, come out of your earnings and upload tracking for you. Pirate Ship is free to use and helps once you sell on several sites, because it imports orders from more than one marketplace. Both print 4 × 6 in labels on the same thermal printer.
Yes. eBay's custom label field (SKU) is private and shows on the sold order. Put a code like B3-02 for bay B, shelf 3, bin 2, and the sold notification shows the location.
For most categories, a final value fee of about 13.6% on the total amount of the sale, including shipping and sales tax, plus a per-order fee of $0.30 on orders of $10 or less and $0.40 above that. Some categories, such as trading cards and sneakers, have their own rates. Check eBay's selling fees page before you price.
Buy It Now suits items with a known price. Auctions suit rare items where demand is uncertain.
eBay issues Form 1099-K to US sellers whose payments pass the federal reporting threshold, and some states set a lower one. A 1099-K doesn't mean you owe tax on every dollar, since items sold at a loss aren't income. Read the IRS guidance or ask a tax professional about your case.
Use as many as it takes to show the item from every angle, plus any flaws. Clear photos cut questions and returns.
Yes, if eBay approves you. eBay Live started in the US and has been adding sellers and categories, with trading cards, collectibles and sneakers among them. Apply through eBay's Live seller page, and check its help pages for current rules and fees.
