The Internet and many social networks are full of stories about people making six-figure incomes selling almost anything on eBay. Hordes of newcomers with the same dream are flocking to eBay and many fail to sell anything. With eBay's ease of use and seemingly simple auctions, new sellers often forget that successful eBay sales need to follow typical offline business techniques.

The first task you need to complete before you do anything else is to register on eBay as a seller. If you are already registered as a buyer, just login and click on the Sell tab and you will be ready to sell on eBay.

Your next step is to research your eBay competition and notice how they are presenting products that are similar or the same as your products. You need to notice five important aspects of your competition's auctions:

#1...The categories your competition lists their products in

#2...Their listed prices or minimum bid

#3...Their product descriptions

#4...The photos of their products they are selling...quality, size, number of photos used

#5...Shipping destinations and price

When you know where your competition is posting their auctions, you will be able to choose which auction categories are suitable for your auctions. What you have to do is make your products easy to find or you won't have any interest or sales. Checking out your competition is a good way to find the most lucrative categories for what you are selling.

If you are initially undecided, eBay can suggest categories for your first considerations when you are listing your products for auction. You will also get suggestions for subcategories and be given the opportunity to add your auction to other related categories.

Your most important sales technique is the quality of your auction titles and product descriptions. If you don't grab your viewer's attention and get them to bid on your auction, you are wasting your time and money. eBay indexes items for sale by their auction titles, so make sure your titles contain real keywords and are not stuffed with terms those looking for your products will not use to search.

In the past, many sellers used wasted terms to gather attention to their auctions, like "WOW!" or fancy versions of "LOOK." eBay, like other online applications, is now populated with more reliable and knowledgeable sellers. Don't waste a word in your titles. Use uncomplicated, descriptive words that buyers might be using to find auctions like yours.

Make your text descriptions as accurate as possible, including every facet that will make your auction stand above the others. Don't forget your research on your possible competitors. Read their descriptions and make yours better or more interesting.

For a small cost, you can add bold text and highlighting to your titles and descriptions, all of which add interest to your text and will draw the eyes of those searching for your products. eBay actually will share ways to make your listings more noticeable. They do, however, charge for the service.

eBay is way too much of an Internet powerhouse to ignore if you want to sell products of all sorts; used items from your garage or attic to collectibles and items you've purchased to resell. You need to learn how to use eBay the right way, however to avoid getting your fingers burned. So take my advice and seek out a successful seller who will share their techniques and provide helpful advice to guide you on your way.