I'm about to put my very first item for sale on ebay, advice welcome

If you have the tickets in hand it should be more reassuring for buyers.

You can certainly offer local pick up but avoid the use of the word cash in the listing as this seems to be causing listings to be pulled.

Obviously you will only want to accept cash on collection - if the buyer pays by Paypal on a collection item you will be unable to prove delivery and would be open to an item not received claim if you happen to sell to a dishonest buyer.

Ebay have suggested that you should write “Please contact me for payment methods to pay upon pick-up”

See this thread on Q&A - look for the posts by the community manager.

http://forums.ebay.co.uk/thread.jspa?threadID=1200319821&start=80

What sort of value are the tickets? Make sure you send by an appropriate postal method. If they are time sensitive you should use special delivery.

Some people are put off by a low feedback seller (especially on high value items) but all you can do is describe your item fully and accurately. Make sure you start the auction at the lowest price you are willing to accept.

Good luck.