How to Go Out of Business on eBay
The dynamics of going out of business on eBay are different than for a brick-and-mortar store. Instead of sending out flyers and placing advertisements, you must select the keywords that search engines are looking for to attract buyers. If you have a lot of unlisted items, closing an eBay business can be rather labor intensive. Since it will take at least a few months to close out all of your merchandise, you can pace yourself.
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Instructions
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Use Turbo Lister 2 to list any items which you have not yet listed. If you have an eBay store, use store inventory format whenever possible, and use auctions only to attract buyers to your store. If you don't have an eBay store, start all your auctions at the lowest price you're willing to accept. List as often as you can, placing lower value items in lots. Avoid fixed price format.
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State in the new listings that you are going out of business. Provide links to similar items you have listed.
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Describe your combined shipping policies within your listings. Give your buyers a clear idea of what shipping price they will pay for multiple purchases.
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Use markdown manager to create one or two sales if you have an eBay store. Schedule the sales to last for a week. Reduce the prices of higher priced items between 50 percent and 75 percent. Ensure that the final item price will be $1.00 or higher once the sale is applied. Select the check boxes to send an email to the subscribers of each of your eBay store newsletters to let them know you are closing and are running a sale.
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Repeat the sales as necessary to sell off your old merchandise. Gradually lower the prices of all the items in your eBay store.
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Use the Google Base Store Connector to upload your eBay store inventory items to Google Base. Repeat this process every time you list items in your store.
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Tell the world about your going out of business sale on your eBay blog and About Me page. If you have them, also talk about your sale on your MySpace page and blog, as well as your Blogger blog and Squidoo lens.
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Close your eBay store, if applicable, when you have fewer than 200 items listed. Sell the remainder of your items at auction in lots. If anything you can't use doesn't sell within a few weeks, give it to charity. For example, donate unsold books to your local library or call the Salvation Army to pick up general merchandise. Be sure to get a receipt for the donated items so you can deduct their cost on your next tax return.
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Tips & Warnings
Use the Google AdWords tool to find out which keywords people are searching for.
You can forego auctions altogether and do an eBay store-only closeout sale. It will take longer to go out of business, but you will save time and energy and your items will sell for better prices.
Don't close your eBay account when you go out of business. Your feedback rating will be useful if you decide to buy or sell on eBay in the future.
