If you’re like most people I know, you love to make money by listing items on Ebay, but you’re nervous that your item won’t sell and you’ll be stuck with the insertion fees. Insertion fees are higher for more expensive items; and even if they’re low, they can really add up when you 1. list  several items or 2. you re-list an item several times because it doesn’t sell.

How to Avoid Ebay Insertion Fees

1. Currently, Ebay allows sellers up to 100 free listings per month–provided the items are listed as auctions with starting prices of 99 cents or less. (You’ll still pay final value fees if your item sells).
2. For items you want to list for more than 99 cents, wait until Ebay runs a free insertion fee promotion. Ebay runs these specials every so often–several times a year, in my experience. (They ran a “Free 100 Listings per month” for a couple of months before Christmas. Now, Ebay is running a special that allows you to list 100 items for free (no insertion fee) from January 25 to February 8.
3. Try an online sales venue other than Ebay. There are lots of options out there for selling your stuff–some of them better than others. Ecrater is my current favorit–and it doesn’t charge you for listing items–and, they don’t charge any kind of final value fee. They may not have the built-in customer base that Ebay does, but you can list your stuff on Ecrater and not have to worry that you’ll be racking up fees–and that’s a really good feeling.

What’s the Drawback to Waiting for Ebay Free Listing Promotions?

For one, I’ve never been a big fan of leaving my success, no matter what the arena, in someone else’s hands. So waiting until a listing sale goes against my personal grain. That being said, it’s important to realize that there can sometimes be a substantial learning curve to becoming a successful seller on Ebay. There’s lots to learn when it comes to what sells well and what categories of items are flooded. So if you’re just starting out, it’s not a bad idea to hold off on paid listings until you’ve practiced for a while with the free listings.

Note that Ebay often requires that sellers meet certain criteria to take advantage of Ebay’s free listing offers. For the current promotion, sellers must have sold 10 items on Ebay and have at least a 4.5 feedback rating out of 10. But if you’re new to Ebay, don’t let this discourage you–just go ahead and start listing items for 99 cents (currently free to list first 100 items per month) or less; once you’ve sold ten of these items–assuming you’ve provided excellent customer service and have an acceptable feedback rating–you’ll be ready to take full advantage of Ebay’s next free listing promotion. (According to Ebay’s website, this promotion is not valid for sellers who already have a storefront on Ebay.)

Questions? Comments? Let us know!

You should check Ebay’s website for details on promotions and listing fees, as they can change their rates at any time, without prior notice.