"Wed encourage sellers to have a go themselves before paying costs to a third party，" Szyszkowski recommends.

If youre selling your old granite kitchen worktop and need it out before getting a replacement， then an auction has an absolute deadline. But if you have， for example， a technical piece of equipment that is very specialised， it is worth offering as a Buy It Now for two monthbuy designer bags for lesss， because the chance of multiple bidders upping the offer is slim. A 1，000 Chesterfield so from Harrods up for auction at 99p may only get 10， according to Brackin， so offer as a Buy It Now purchase. In contrast， for a "busy marketplace" item， like an iPad， a 99p auction will reach a good price.

The perfect picture and listing

Sunday evenings are the busiest time on the site， Szyszkowski says. End your auction then and youre most likely to get the highest number of people browsing and bidding. Exceptions to the Sunday night rule include industrial and business items， which sell better during the week.

The best time to sell

Extras you should offer

Best postage and packaging options

Keep your wits about you: most scammers wont be as obvious as the occasional scallywag roaming eBay offering to pay via Western Union for goods that theyd like shipping to Lagos. Online， there are tales of people taking delivery of goods， using them， then returning them and asking PayPal for a refund. Also， there are reports of people tampering with auctions by top bids with no intention of buying. Inform eBay immediately should you suspect that you have run into an unscrupulous user.

The ct is， eBay started out as an auction site， but now more than half of all items are sold at a fixed price.

Guide to eBay: How to make it pay - Technology &buy designer，Over the last three months， Jimmy Choo Hobo bags sold for between 68 and 500， Hermes ties from 3 to 97 and high-end Concept 2D rowing machines from between 450 to almost double at 870. Set up in 1995 and now the worlds bGuide to eBay: How to make it pay - Technology &buy designeriggest online auction site， eBay is used by 17 million people in the UK each month and has become a mirror for our culture: with Black Swans release， sales of ballet shoes rose by 54 per cent.

Is it worth getting a third party to sell your gear?

Tricks used by unscrupulous eBayers

Crucial in achieving a high price: clarity for both pictures and descriptions. Ruth Szyszkowski， eBay spokeswoman， says: "You dont need to be David Bailey – just ensure the picture is clear， in good light and shows the item as true-to-life as possible. Take a few different angles and include pictures of ults or defects."

Now is the time to get rid of sapphire rings， with sales over the last fortnight up 40 per cent on February last year. But if your item doesnt happen to fit conveniently with the nations latest interest or catch the eye of a certain Mrs Blair， there are still ways of increasing your chances of selling at a good price.

Self-christened "trading assistants"， companies such as Stuff U Sell， take commission from 20 to 50 per cent. They say they help people moving home， or who havent got time to self-eBay. And they achieve high prices: a Mulberry Bayswater clutch bag， selling for an average of 140 over the last three months from a bargain 12 to a heady 455， sold for 400 with Stuff U Sell， while a rowing machine averaging 695 reached 815!

Theres an art to bidding an eBay goodbye to possessions and a significant difference in price for items from effective sellers， compared with their less-successful online neighbours.

"When buyers search items， they can sort results by price plus postage， so items with free or low postage costs rank higher. Even if you offer free postage， buyers appreciate the option to pay to get items quicker."

Is it better to use "Buy it now" or hold out for a full auction?

Also， the item description should be detailed. Lisa Rodgers， 36 – an eBay n who has successfully sold items every month for the last five years – says: "Condition is really important. I wouldnt be inclined to buy baby clothes from a home with smokers or pets， so I always mention this in my descriptions."

"Listings with free or multiple-item discounts encourage buyers to purchase additional items，" Szyszkowski says.

For designer gear， certificates of authenticity and dustbags can make the difference and earn you a sale 脑血栓中风脑栓塞与脑血栓、脑梗塞之间的关系， Szyszkowski says， but most important is to be clear about what you are – or arent – offering.