Listing items in the wrong categories is against eBay's rules

eBay will remove any auctions that are wrongly categorized. They do not often actually do this, but it is not worth the risk. Especially since breaking any rules can cause them to penalize your account, including losing PowerSeller status if you have it.

eBay will suggest categories for you when you sell your item if you type in a few words to describe the item on the category selection page and click 'search'. You can make the best of this feature by typing in exactly what your item is, with brand name and model number (if any), so that eBay can find the best category for you. If that does not work for you, then search yourself for items like yours, and pay attention to which category most of them seem to be in.

You can see the item’s category near the top of its description page. Try different words and see which ones come back with the most results. You can also browse through all the available categories from eBay's front page.

Remember that the more specific the category is, the better. Use as many subcategories as are appropriate. Do not worry about your item as it will still appear in the main category, as well as subcategory, because items listed in subcategories are always listed in every category above.

Take some time to look through all the categories and get familiar with eBay. For a small extra fee, you can list your item in an extra category, to increase the number of potential buyers who will see it. This is not always worth it, though.

Some items only really fit properly in one category and listing them in extra categories is just a waste. Once you know where to list your item, the next step is to write your auction's title. The title is the most important thing about your auction.

The difference between a good title and a bad one can be the difference between $10 and $100. PowerSellers are the people on eBay who have made it. You have probably seen these people around. And to succeed on eBay, you want to think the way they do.

eBay gets to decide who can be a PowerSeller and they have strict requirements. To get in at the minimum PowerSeller level, you must have a feedback rating of at least 98% positive and sell at least $1,000 worth of items every month for three months in a row. There are different levels of PowerSeller: $1,000 is bronze, $3,000 is silver, $10,000 is gold, $25,000 is platinum, and $125,000 is titanium.

If PowerSellers ever fail to meet the required amount of sales, or their feedback falls below 98% positive, then they lose their PowerSeller status. In short, the only people who get to be PowerSellers on eBay are the people who have been successful for a good while and are on track to stay that way. The Shop and the Marketplace are the most important parts of understanding how PowerSellers think.

They do not see what they are doing as being some random bazaar, or a hobby. Instead, they see themselves as a business. If you run a stall in a marketplace, the chances are that you have a general area of business, but you mostly just sell whatever you can get your hands on that week.

This might be fun, and when you have a good week, you will have a really good week. But it is no way to run a real business in the long-term. PowerSellers think far more like shops. They sell the same things again and again, every week, regular stock for regular customers.