One of the toughest questions facing novice eBay sellers is how do I price my items?

Many eBay experts say the best price at which to start an action is at a minimum bid of one cent as this will attract the most bidders. This can be a good strategy if you know your item is particularly hot. However, it can also be a bit of a gamble, Suppose you put up an antique brooch worth, you believe, $150 with an opening bid of one cent.

Unfortunately, it turns out there just isn't much interest in the brooch and the final bid is $15.99. This means, like it or not, you're obligated to sell that $150 brooch for $15.99. Ouch.

A second way to price your items is with a reserve bid. You can set this at the lowest amount you'll take for the item. For example, you could start the auction for that brooch at one cent but with a reserve price of $100.00. This way, you won't have to sell until the bidding reaches at least $100 keeping you protected.

The downside of a reserve price is that many bidders may pass up a reserve auction in favor of one where they believe they have an opportunity to buy a comparable item at a really great price.

A third option is to set the minimum bid at a price you know is fair but that will attract bidders. The best way to determine this price is to find an auction for a comparable item. Let's say you would like to sell Olympus Stylus 500 digital camera. Step one is to go to eBay and search on Olympus Stylus 500 five megapixel camera. When the page of listings opens, scroll down until you see Show only. One of the options below it is Completed listings Check this box and then select Show items.

eBay will then display a list of all completed auctions for the Stylus 500 in the past month, including the price for which each camera sold or didn't sell. If the listed price is green, this is what the camera sold for. If it's red, the camera did not sell at the stated price usually because the reserve price was not met.

Make a list of say 10-15 of the prices for which the camera actually sold and then compute an average selling price. This will tell you about what you can realistically expect to get for your item.

This average selling price can also help you determine a Buy it now price, which is a fourth way to price an item. For example, if you find that the average selling price for your Olympus Stylus 500 is $199, and you can sell it at $170 and still make a nice profit, you might try a Buy it now auction at $170.