Posted on 04/07/2018 4:27:59 PM PDT by mdittmar
Selling on Ebay,My Experience. It's not easy. Posted a thread a while back about what will you do when you retire.
I'm going to buy stuff to resell on Ebay.
I've already started so I can get the hang of it. I'll say one thing,it ain't easy,It's work,but I enjoy it.making mistakes but figuring things out as I go.
If you enjoy junking,it may be for you,but those Youtube videos leave alot out.
Trust me, I pay and pay and pay and pay since I have both kinds. Willys and AMC.
Being a working stiff and the entire maintenance/repair department has made progress kind of slow.
I stay debt free these days and buy parts, supplies, and tools when I can. Other than the big jobs such as engine/transmission swaps, I can do most work myself. Maybe not great but works.
As much as I’ve knocked Harbor Freight, some of their hand tools have held up very well with me trying to break them sometimes.
The Willys:
https://cjneil82.smugmug.com/1965-Willys-CJ5-Project/
The CJ7
https://cjneil82.smugmug.com/CJ7-Works-In-Progress/
Some folks just Like having Their
Panties in a wad All the time and
Have no sense of humor.
Some jokers here get So twisted up
They can’t let a small thing Go!
Just get OVER IT mall COPS.
You said your piece...
Move On ...Please.
Then pull the Zippo!
Having done both buying and selling on EBay, I agree it is easier to get rooked as a seller than as a buyer.
Still, it is good way to get rid of hobby stuff like mountain bike and camera gear.
.
The problem with Harbor Freight isn’t durability.
Its that they leave out the most important sizes! (15, 16, & 18 mm)
The WEIRDEST sale I ever did on eBay was when I sold a bio book about Gene Roddenberry to..... Gene Roddenberry Jr. What? Like he didn’t already have that bio about his father on hand?
My experience with EBay: It is unethical. I use to list 2 products. Both were unique, handmade, and consistently the same measurements. One was small (3 oz.) and could be shipped via the post office. Shipping prices typically were accurate and consistent. The other product had to be shipped Fedex due to size 30lb. 27x21x17. The shipping price is estimated. More often than not, the true cost was higher because of ‘Additional Handling fee - $12.00’. The additional handling fee is generated if Fedex verifies the weight and measurements. The fee is charged even if the dimensions and weight are correct. The seller cannot contact Fedex to complain. Many companies use this practice to generate extra fees.
Marketing: Both items I sold were unique. Most sellers do not realize that their items can only be found by searching Ebay’s website. Only ebay store owners benefit from a google search which costs @$25/month. For example: if you put the hope diamond on ebay and you are not a store owner, Google will never show it despite it being one of a kind.
Scams: Always ship to the billing address. If a product is shipped elsewhere, the card holder can refute payment and win. This has happened to me several times, customer always wins despite requiring a signature and ID. FYI, the card holders name is NOT verified during processing, only the address and zip.
Fees: ebay charges 10% and paypal charges 3% of the selling price and shipping charged. Ex. $25 item and $5 shipping, $30 total. Fees - $3.90. If one sells $20,000 and 200 items per year, then you will recieve a 1099 so you can give the IRS 25% as well.
Complaints: ebay and paypal will side with the customer. Plan on it.
Workarounds: Buy a domain name containing your product in it. Ex. www.hopediamondforsale.com. If the consumer types in google “hope diamond for sale’, your domain will be high on the list. Make a video of the Hope Diamond titled ‘Hope Diamond for sale’. Put your website in the video. Create a one page site with a ‘buy’ button and use Stripe to process your payments (flat fee of 2.9%). Host the site on Siteground (reliable and cheap $40 per year). The purpose of the video is for search results. Search engines show the top results for websites, videos, and images. Videos are easier to rank in if unique.
I hope this was helpful, if not - I tried :)
I got hooked a few years back buying
Collectable hunting knives on eBay.
Have never sold any..ebay or other venues.
I check prices now and it looks like I
Got some good deals for the future!
Swap meets ..maybe a gun show for me.
Who do you think you are, humblegunner?
WOW...good info.
They’ve gotten me there.
bump
Ping!
Yeesh. It is listed under chat.
A great deal of work.
Three bits of advice.
1. Always ship with a tracking number.
2. Always respond to complaints promptly. Ask for pictures of the problem.
3. Take a picture of the product beside the address label, the product with packing in it's open box and the package sealed up. This provides back up for when someone complains that you did not ship the correct product or you did not pack it properly. It will not totally keep you out of hot water but it does help.
Last thing, (so it is four bits) check your work. Check it again. If you can have someone else check what you did. You will make mistakes, but this cuts down radically the number you will make.
I actually sell product on eBay.
They’re hobby / niche items that aren’t worth getting a Universal Product Code for, which Amazon is now mandating.
So I need to sell through our website, which Google is going to rank well below anyone else, and eBay.
I understand Amazon demanding UPCs so they can track what is sold and by whom, including killing sales of illegal, counterfeit or contraband products. But it is frustrating to be crowded off.
I have a friend from high school doing this (class of ‘89). He left a corporate job at 30 and dove into ebay. He and his wife live very comfortably with their several canine kids.
I had several books published small press. I wanted to save a few copies to give to friends and family. I wonder if that’s the reaction the handlers had of shipping book by X to X.
I’ve also found that using Paypal as a payment option can vet out potential problems. If you can’t pay via Paypal, such as being located in Turkey, you probably can’t pay any other way, either.
“half-bay”
What’s half-bay? I used to use half.com which was an eBay company, but they shut it down.
What Amazon program is that. ..?
Thanks in advance.
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