E-commerce has bucked the recession. Not only have online sales not fallen, they have grown. In some sectors, the IMRG, an online monitoring body, says that web sales have experienced double-digit growth at a time when High Street shops are feeling the pinch. It’s proof that despite the worst recession in living memory, consumer passion for e-commerce is deepening.

Roughly 20 per cent of consumer spending is happening online.
Is your business getting its share? If you haven’t taken the plunge and explored e-commerce as an outlet, eBay is a good place to start. Even if you’ve previously dismissed it as a tawdry flea market, you may be surprised at how it has changed. It’s increasingly positioning itself as a professional marketplace for enterprise sellers. Here are 10 top tips to help you make a net gain from selling online.

1. Find your feet
If you haven’t experimented with e-commerce before, start with eBay. It’s the perfect place to learn and make mistakes because you can’t go too far wrong. Use eBay to find proof that you can make online selling work for you.

2. What do you want?
Be clear on what you want to achieve. Set objectives and targets so you can measure success. It’s a great venue for sale items and liquidating stock. But you can equally profit from buying lines especially to sell on eBay.

3. Start small
Go slow until you’ve found your way. Start with a few, easy-to-post items and learn about eBay before boosting your range and prices. Don’t stake too much on your first eBay bet.

4. Sell like you mean it
The eBay marketplace is a jungle. It’s competitive and you’ll lose out unless you have top-notch listings. Craft fabulous item titles, make impeccable pictures and write descriptions that tempt buyers. Be truthful and honest—amateurish listings don’t cut the mustard. Look professional from the start.

5. Who’s in charge?
If you have a team, be clear that eBay is a vital and potentially valuable new sales channel and have someone in charge that’s capable. Lots of eBay enterprises fail because the boss doesn’t get the right person to take the lead.

6. Be quick off the mark
Buyers have come to expect great service. Dispatch orders quickly—preferably within 24 hours of payment—and make sure you reply to your emails and other communications swiftly, too. The quality and speed of your replies and dispatches has an impact on customer feedback.

7. Put a lid on postal costs
Understand what postage and packaging costs and make sure you factor it in to your costs where necessary. Some eBay categories require free P&P and profiting from carriage fees is bad form.
        
8. Loyalty means profit
When you’re building your eBay business, encouraging repeat buyers is important. Once a buyer trusts you as an online seller, they’re likely to keep coming back. Offer discounts and incentives with every dispatch and cross-market complementary products.

9. Get your name out there
Use Twitter, Facebook, blogs and every channel you can to talk about what you’re selling and link to your sales. Tell everyone. There are no prizes for shyness.

10. Keep growing
When you feel like you’ve got eBay licked and your sales have momentum, start examining other e-commerce channels. Check out Amazon, which is proving a highly successful outlet for all types of goods. Start building your own website. This is more difficult and a harder slog than plugging into an existing marketplace, but it’s potentially more rewarding. What are you waiting for?

Dan Wilson is the author of Make Serious Moneyon eBay UK, £12.99, published by Nicholas Brealey Publishing, www.nicholasbrealy.com