Hi I'm in Canada - what is the best way to start selling - free ads?

[abcwizard]

I'd like to start selling but I want to avoid mistakes from 'trial and error' listings. How do the free ads work and are they available to Canadian sellers to use all of the time or are they only available sporadically?  I've been wondering about this for awhile but therre is no mention that I can find on the ebay site.

[pierrelebel]

Fees vary depending on what you sell.

Spend some time understanding the fee schedule:

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/fees.html

In addition, usually twice a month, eBay may offer a special promotion to some sellers (not all).  Most promotions are offered "by invitation" (appears to be random) to qualified sellers.

If the items you want to sell are worth something, then you should not have a problem paying a few cents to list them.

Good Luck

[femmefan1946]

Listing fees are low enough that you can put up an item for a month for less than the cost of your time* preparing and uploading it.

Avoid some common mistakes of new sellers.

Don't open bidding lower than the price you would be content to get.

Use as many free pictures as you can.

Describe as if you have no pictures. Picture as if you have no description.

Don't guess at the shipping cost. Weigh and measure your item and choose your shipping service carefully.

Don't ship overseas until you understand shipping. Don't ever ship overseas by Surface.

Keep your Terms of Sale simple and friendly.

Ship promptly.

Leave feedback immediately.

You will see a lot of sellers posting here for advice on bad transactions. Remember that no one posts about good transactions which are the vast vast majority.

*The minimum wage in Ontario is 18 cents a minute. In two minutes of developing your listing you will  have 'spent' more than the listing fees.