Every Reseller Should Have an eBay Presence
eBay has been a cornerstone of online resale since its launch in 1995, and it remains one of the most important platforms for secondhand and vintage goods today. With over 1.7 billion active listings and more than 133 million users worldwide, eBay continues to deliver massive reach and buying power. It ranks as the fourth most-visited e-commerce site in the U.S., attracting 100 million unique monthly visitors.
That’s 100 million potential customers for your products.
Resale businesses of all sizes, from local thrift stores to secondhand warehouses, can benefit from utilizing eBay to grow revenue and move inventory. If resale is part of your strategy, eBay should be too.
Upright Labs helps sellers make the most of eBay through powerful automation and inventory tools. As an official eBay integration partner, we make it easy to manage listings, track performance, and sell across multiple channels. Our software, Upright Lister, helps you list and sell faster with data-driven solutions so you can scale with confidence.
If you’re ready to grow your business on eBay, here are five essential tips to help you get started and set up for long-term success.
#1 Create High-Quality Listings
A great eBay listing not only displays your product, but it also builds trust, improves visibility, and increases your chances of a sale.
Keyword-Rich Title
Start with a keyword-rich title that includes the brand name, item type, size, and condition. Buyers often search with specific terms, and eBay’s algorithm rewards titles that match those queries. Think like a shopper: “Nike Air Max 270 Men’s Size 10 Running Shoes Black/Red” is far more effective than “Men’s Sneakers.”
Item Description
In your item description, be as detailed and transparent as possible to boost buyer confidence and reduce returns. Include relevant info like dimensions, materials, condition notes, features, and any flaws. Use bullet points to make the information easily digestible and easy to scan.
Writing strong item descriptions can take time, especially when your team is listing upwards of a hundred items a day. Upright Lister’s Builder Templates help simplify this process. These templates use structured input fields that automatically build consistent, detailed descriptions based on what your team selects. They reduce errors, save time, improve quality, and ensure your listings meet marketplace requirements.
Uploading Photos
Photos are critical. eBay allows up to 24 images per listing, and you should take full advantage of that when possible. Use natural lighting, a clean background, show the item from multiple angles, and capture any imperfections. High-quality, well-lit images make a listing stand out and help customers feel confident in what they’re purchasing.
List Frequently
Instead of uploading inventory in bulk once a week, aim to list new items daily. eBay’s algorithm favors active sellers, and consistent activity tells the platform that you’re reliable and engaged, leading to your items showing up higher in search results.
#2 Pricing Strategy
Your pricing strategy is essential to attract buyers and move inventory efficiently. On eBay, you have two options: Auction or Buy It Now (BIN).
Auction
Auction-style listings can work well for rare, collectible, or in-demand items. They allow the market to determine the final price and can spark bidding wars that drive up the sale amount. You can select from 1, 3, 5, 7, or 10-day durations, and unsold items can be automatically relisted by eBay.
Given the short durations, auction listings help move inventory faster, averaging 9.3 days to sell an item. In contrast, BIN listings last an average of 21.8 days. The longer an item sits on a shelf, the more it costs your organization in storage and space. Auctions can help free up that space and make room for new inventory. If you are limited on space, auctions may be your way to go.
Auctions have also been generating higher sale prices in recent months. The average price per item increased 1.75% from Q3 2024 to Q4 2024 and increased 4.6% from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025, showing an overall 6.4% growth in this increasingly popular listing style. However, despite this upward trend, the best revenue option for the majority of sellers will likely be with BIN listings.
Buy It Now (BIN)
We’ve analyzed thousands of products listed through Upright Lister to compare performance across pricing formats. Our results from Q1 2025 show that the average price per item (PPI) is higher in BIN listings than auctions. For example, musical instruments sell for more than double the price in BIN than in auction. Even the highest earning category in auctions (jewelry) still makes nearly $25 less than what it could make in BIN. See the charts below for more information about Q1 2025.
On eBay, 88% of sales happen through BIN listings. This format works well for high-volume, lower-value, or evergreen items where buyers are looking for quick and predictable transactions. BIN gives you more control over your pricing, but it requires market research to determine a fair price.
You can use eBay’s “sold listings” filter and tools like Product Research to explore similar items, average sale prices, and market saturation.
Upright Lister users can streamline their research and stay competitive with robust reporting tools and automated repricing based on real-time market trends.
Just keep in mind that BIN listings can tie up warehouse space for longer periods. If you’re managing limited shelf space or paying per square foot, faster turnover through Auction might be a better fit operationally and financially.
Inventory Turnover Goals: Choose What Works for You
There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy. Every organization has its own mix of products, storage constraints, and listing workflows. If your goal is to maximize revenue, our data shows BIN is the better-performing format for resale businesses. If your goal is to move inventory efficiently and reduce storage strain, Auctions would be the better strategy.
We recommend experimenting and reviewing your performance by category to find the right balance. The more informed your pricing strategy is, the more your resale operation can grow.
#3 Shipping and Returns
Delivery Methods
Free shipping is a proven way to boost visibility and drive conversions. 71% of eBay purchases include free shipping, and listings with it are favored by eBay’s Best Match search algorithm. If offering free shipping across all items isn’t feasible, consider promotions like free shipping on orders over $50 as this can also be effective in driving traffic and sales. Just remember to factor shipping costs into your item price to protect your profits.
Calculated shipping lets eBay determine the shipping cost automatically based on the buyer’s location, package size, and carrier. This ensures buyers pay a fair rate and takes the guesswork out of pricing.
Flat rate shipping is another option. You set the price the buyer pays, and cover any remaining costs.
Finally, for local customers, you can bypass shipping altogether by setting your listings to “Pickup Only.” This option eliminates shipping logistics entirely.
Returns
eBay allows sellers to set their own return policies, although it is suggested that sellers do offer returns. Accepting returns can increase buyer confidence and improve conversion rates, especially for first-time buyers. The likelihood of customers choosing to return is low. In 2024, the average return rate for e-commerce was only 16.9%.
However, it does add some complexities and costs that sellers need to be aware of and prepare for. Consider your team’s bandwidth for handling restocking, refunds, and customer communication before offering returns. If you prefer a “no returns” policy, ensure your listings are accurate, detailed, and backed by strong seller feedback to maintain buyer trust.
No matter what you choose, eBay’s Money Back Guarantee protects buyers if an item doesn’t arrive or doesn’t match the listing. This makes transparency and accuracy always a must in listings!
Ultimately, your shipping and return strategies should reflect what’s sustainable and realistic for your business.
#4 Strengthen Your Seller Reputation (and Earn Top Rated Status)
A strong seller reputation is a valuable asset for growing on eBay. It builds buyer trust and plays a major role in your visibility, conversion rates, and long-term success.
72% of buyers say they only purchase after reading positive reviews. On eBay specifically, 20–30% of satisfied buyers leave feedback, whereas unhappy buyers speak up 90% of the time. That makes it critical to deliver excellent service and exceed customer expectations.
One of the best ways to build credibility and gain an edge is by achieving Top Rated Seller status. eBay rewards consistent, high-performing sellers with enhanced visibility, seller protections, and access to exclusive benefits. This includes the Top Rated Plus seal, which is a visible marker on individual listings that boost trust and conversions even more.
To qualify as a Top Rated Seller, you must:
- Have an active eBay account for 90+ days
- Complete 100+ transactions and $1,000+ in sales to U.S. buyers over 12 months
- Maintain low defect and late shipment rates
- Upload tracking promptly and resolve customer issues effectively
To earn a Top Rated Plus seal on individual listings, they have to have:
- One-business-day handling
- A 30-day or longer free return window with money-back option
St. Vincent de Paul’s E-Commerce Strategy
Learn how one secondhand organization went from no e-commerce experience to Top Rated Seller status at the first available opportunity.
Building your seller reputation takes time and diligence, but it pays off. High ratings, fast handling, and great customer service can turn one-time buyers into loyal customers and help you stand out in a crowded marketplace.
#5 Scale with Inventory, Automation, and Analytics Tools
As your eBay store scales, managing listings, inventory, and fulfillment manually can slow you down and limit your growth. Utilizing the right tools can make all the difference on your bottom line. Upright Lister is our all-in-one software solution to help you list faster, stay organized, and operate more efficiently so that you can scale your eBay business with confidence.
Upright Lister seamlessly integrates with eBay, as well as other top marketplaces like Shopify, ShopGoodwill, and Amazon, to make it easy to manage listings across multiple sales channels.
Our comprehensive software makes scaling easier with:
- Seamless Inventory Management – Real-time inventory tracking, scannable shelf locations, and mobile access via iOS and Android.
- Customizable Listing Workflows – Quickly list products with automated pricing, relisting, and purging features.
- Streamlined Pick and Pack – Eliminate packing slips, track employee actions, and handle multi-item orders efficiently.
- Integrated Shipping – Ship with one click, compare rates in real-time, and fulfill orders from multiple marketplaces simultaneously.
- Advanced Analytics & Reporting – Access dashboards, export data, and receive alerts for bottlenecks and growth opportunities.
Upright Lister is trusted by top secondhand resellers for its ability to reduce manual work, increase accuracy, and drive profitability. Whether you’re looking to launch your e-commerce operation, expand your presence on eBay, or optimize workflows across all your sales channels, Upright is here to help.
And if you’re ready to scale your e-commerce operation, talk to our team about implementing our Professional Services offerings to facilitate growth this year.
Ready to Grow on eBay?
Selling on eBay is full of opportunity when you have strategy, consistency, and the right tools. Focus on high-quality listings, pricing strategies, clear shipping and return policies, building a strong seller reputation, and scaling with software solutions. These five tips can help you gain visibility, increase buyer trust, and boost your resale revenue.
Tools like Upright Lister make it easy to manage your eBay presence. From bulk listing and real-time inventory tracking to automated pricing, shipping, and analytics, it streamlines every step of your eBay workflow so you can sell more, faster, with fewer headaches.
Want to see how Upright Lister can power your eBay growth? Schedule a demo below.
