If you have particular skills and experience that are in demand, selling a service on eBay is a potentially lucrative option.

You may want to consider selling a service on eBay if…

* You’re an expert in something that you can promote online.

* You sometimes experience slow periods with your regular eBay auctions and want another stream of revenue.

* You don’t want to deal with the storage, packing, and shipping tasks involved in selling tangible products.

Selling services is a growing area on eBay and there is even a category devoted to it “Specialty Services,” which includes sub-categories such as Advice and Instruction, eBay Auction Services, and Custom Clothing and Jewelry.

Browsing through these sub-categories will give you a good idea of what kinds of services are for sale on eBay (everything from resume writing to party organizing!) and help you take the first step — deciding what service you can sell!

What services can you sell on eBay?

Before deciding on a service that you can offer, you need to consider a couple of factors that will influence this decision:

1. How much time do you have? Providing a service will take up your time, so you need to work how long your service takes to provide and how much time you have to spare as that will limit the number of customers you can take on at once.

Then make sure to take on only as many customers as you can handle. If you take on too many customers at one time, you risk generating negative feedback from dissatisfied customers.

2. How will you deliver your service? Can your service be delivered online (e.g., a resume or logo design that can then be sent by e-mail or downloaded by the buyer) or by mail (a custom-made item like a wood carving)? Or do you need to provide the service in person such as cooking, house cleaning, guitar lessons, or landscape gardening?

You will obviously have a larger market if you can deliver your service online or by mail than if you restrict yourself to your local area by offering a personal service.

With these factors in mind, the best way to decide what service you can offer is to ask yourself what skills and experience you have to offer. Here are some examples of services that can be sold through eBay that may spark some of your own ideas:

* Translation services
* Resume writing
* Life coaching
* Antique valuations
* eBay selling advice
* Computer repairs
* Web design
* Research services
* Personal fitness training
* Video editing
* Business card design
* Musical instrument lessons
* Interior design
* Market Consulting
* Custom-written poems
* Customized clothing
* House-sitting

How to sell services on eBay

Selling a service on eBay is slightly different to selling a tangible product. You need to think a little more “outside the box” when it comes to deciding in which category to list your service and how to best describe your service in your auction listing.

You could list your service in an eBay Specialty Services category. However, it’s debatable how many eBay buyers are actually aware of it. In fact, many eBayers may even not consider looking for a service they need on eBay!

So, the secret to finding the right category is to think about the needs of your target audience and then try and work out where they could be hanging out on eBay. For example, if you repair watches, people with broken watches may be looking for parts in the Watch Accessories/Parts category or they may be looking for a new watch in Watches. Or if you design web sites, someone who needs a web site may be thinking of learning more about it by buying a book on the subject from the Computing/IT/Internet sub-category of the Books category on eBay.

While listing your service in a related category is an excellent way to get your auction in front of potential customers, it doesn’t hurt to also list it in eBay’s services category. Listing in two categories increases your fees, but it also increases your auction’s exposure on eBay.

And remember: Credibility and feedback are even more important when selling a service on eBay than when selling a product. That’s because, when you’re selling a service, YOU are the product. You need to sell yourself — and convince potential customers that you are the best person for the job.

By detailing the experience that proves you’re capable of providing the service in question, and by highlighting your positive feedback from satisfied customers, you’ll be well-positioned to sell your service on eBay.

For more tips on how to discover what products are the *hottest* sellers…how to attract TONS of bidders to your auctions… where to find products you can resell for HUGE profits… and MORE! Click Here!
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