Selling on EBay. What do I need to know? (Vanity)

[LuLuLuLu]

We've got some antique and other stuff that we don't use and don't want, so I've decided to sell it on ebay. I know I need to do some research to set reasonable reserves, but I'm wondering if there is anything else I need to know?

One thing that concerns me is the seller's rating. Years ago I bought things on ebay, and so if I long in with the same user name (assuming I can remember it), will it be detrimental that I have no feedback as a seller?

Another concern is the whole Paypal thing. I've read horror stories.

Help me out here, folks. I'd like to hear the good, the bad and especially the ugly of selling on ebay.

Many thanks in advance.

[Graymatter]

Let me take that back. It was worth the agony. I bought a nice house with the money I made. But I wouldn't do it for a second house.

Stick to items that people can get in the mail. No personal pickup, cash when they get there, tire kicking and inspection of item won, or any other ifs-ands-buts. Let buyers know that if they win the bid they must honor their bid. Specific time by which payment must be made. Questions welcome PRIOR to bid.

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[MACVSOG68]

As some have mentioned here, feedback is important, but it's the % more than either the number or whether it's buyer or seller feedbacks.

I use Paypal for both buying and selling. The benefits definitely outweigh the costs because most buyers want the ease of use and immediate payment, rather than having to either write a check out or go to the bank and get a MO. It does cost, but you can look at the fees and determine if you want to use it. I recommend it so as not to run off potential customers.

Don't use shipping for additional profit. Buyers are pretty knowledgeable, and will resent a $8 to $10 shipping charge for a $2 shipping expense.

Stand behind what you sell.

List it properly (in the right category and item specific area), and always post a good photo, either with a scan or digital camera.

Always answer emails promptly and notify buyers immediately of their win and shipping.

Pricing can be tricky, but personally I hate reserves. Look for similar items in sold category and price accordingly. Start reasonable, but at a point where people see it as a nice deal. Auctions should always start low or they are not really auctions. Sometimes you lose a little, but if you are a good seller with a good listing, you will win a lot more.

Good luck.

[Lokibob]

All of the above is excellent advice.

I had forgotten that new comers to Paypal have a limit on transactions. I would hold off on putting your antiques up for auction until that limit is lifted (I think it is 3 months). Meanwhile do some buying and selling, nothing serious.

I understand that "the UPS store" is opening a sellers assistant section, where you drop off the items, they take care of the e-bay stuff including selling for a fee. That might be the way to go.

An e-bay seller assistant generally get 15% of the sale price after all fees have been paid. Fees on e-bay vary.

Old coins are a difficult market on e-bay.

bob

[arasina]

If you hadn't set your opening bid at $125 you may have gotten some bids and not have had it end up in the trash. You could've set a reserve of $100 or thereabouts for the least you would accept. Many people won't bid if your opening price is too high.

[abner]

It is worth what a seller will pay.

This is true, but if you need to get more than that, your price should reflect that. The listing fees can be much less to lose than an item that you lose a lot more on.

[Valpal1]

When choosing your opening bid price, pay attention to where the listing fee breaks are.

Listing an item for 9.99 costs half as much as listing an item at 10.00.

Same thing for 24.99 and 25.00.

Use the completed items search to find what comparable items sold for in the last two weeks.

Choose your shipping method before hand. Weigh your items so you know your shipping charges. State flat rate shipping or using the shipping calculator so buyers can determine their ship costs by zipcode, this gets more bidders. It's okay to add a reasonable handling fee for packing materials, etc.

Mystery ship costs lowers bid numbers.

If a seller is to lazy/disorganized to predetermine ship costs and methods, they are also likely to be poor packers and slow shippers.

Good photos are really important in the antique/collectibles category and you may need several from various angles or to disclose flaws. If your item(s) require multiple photographs, a listing service with photo hosting will be cheaper than using ebay's photo service in the long run, especially if you have 100's or 1000's of items to sell. Try sparedollar dot com for low volume selling. If you plan to expand to serious full time selling you will want auctionwizard or auctionworks that can handle real volume selling

I don't use them, but I sell in a category where only the one free picture provided by ebay is necessary. I have seen them recommended by other sellers who need more.

Paypal is okay in my book for average dollar sales. I would not use them for selling high dollar jewelry or electronics as they don't have comparable fraud protection/dispute resolution to real merchant accounts.

If you can't spell, then be sure to spell check your descriptions and titles as mispellings will effect the search engine and reduce your total exposure, you will be totally dependant on luck if you spell keywords wrong. In fact, be sure you know what you are actually selling and research the best keywords to use in describing it to maximize search engine exposure.

Being honest, accurate, original, pleasant and even humorous in your descriptions is worth money, so polish your writing persona.


Best of luck to you.

[tiamat]

When you go to set up your auction, don't load it down with too many graphics. Takes too long to load and people leave.

One or two clear pics should suffice.

Consider using a service like Andale.

I do not, but I know people who like them.

If you decide to risk accepting persoanl checks, NEVER EVER send the item til the check clears.

I accept only MO and PayPal.

I've never had a problem with PayPal.

Don't leave a negative feedback unless you MUST... people WILL ding you back.

If you get an e-mail claiming to be from eBay OR PayPal, claiming that you need to "update your account, click HERE" don't do it! It's a spoof.

If you have a doubt about your account, go through eBays fromt door and check THERE to see if there is a problem.

Oh. And send the spoof e-mail to Ebay or PayPal's fraud department.

I do eBay off and on for the last three years. I've only gotten stung once, and not too badly.

[af_vet_1981]

As I pointed out, a single Jaz media, new in wrapper, was ~$100.

I remember when an Apple II computer new in a box was $3000. I remember when computer games cost ...

An item is only worth what a willing buyer and a willing seller agree it is worth.

Not worth $125?, the controller and cable were worth that much.

Nope, if they were you would have kept or sold them and not thrown them in the trash.

[luvbach1]

I've had probs with PayPal.
Having an eBay history is preferred so see if you can get old history restored.

Here is something to watch for: When an item is described as "as is" it means the description is often not to be believed because what seller is telling you is that he expects you to accept whatever is wrong with it, no matter how it was described, simply because he stated "sold as is." Case in point: Nikon Camera was desired as "Doesn't work but I can't see a mark on it, sold as is(notice he did not say there were no marks on it, but that was deliberately deceptive)". I bought it for a price that proved to be at least $100 too much. When it arrived I immediately noticed an obvious dent on a corner that had removed paint, exposing bare metal. Seller must have seen it. The camera had been dropped and that was why it didn't work but the seller tried to insulate himself from his dishonest description by adding the "magic" words "sold as is." Camera was repaired at a cost of $125.I gave him a neutral rating when a dissatisfied was called for. He complained bitterly for having given him that.

[babaloo999]

Yeah, I was looking at one video card that ended up selling for 99 cents--it's useless without the cable. I saw the same card listed by someone else with a starting price of $145. People should do a little pricing on ebay before they list "old" items like these.

[Graymatter]

Ah, depression glass and stuff...There are some real fanatics out there, for that. Collectible glass, pottery, housewares---I've seen some bitter end buyers bid ridiculously high on these things.

Cookbooks, now, I think not. Maybe a real good condition book that's 50+ years old, but otherwise, don't count on it. Experienced and pro booksellers on ebay and elsewhere can always undersell you.

[babaloo999]

That aution was also for the card only, no cable.

[Sefton]

I've never had a problem with pay-pal and as a buyer feel much more comfortable sending payment this way then with personal check or money order. I get very anoied by sellers that won't except. Charge me extra handling but let me use pay-pal! I would suggest linking to an account with limited funds used only for internet transactions as protectection. This seems reasonable for any electronic transfers.

[MizSterious]

I would try to sell your cookbooks on eBay as you planned. Amazon.com and sometimes half.com (which is an eBay company) are better for the buyer than the seller as near as I can tell. I generally find books selling on eBay at roughly twice what they sell for on amazon or half. Part of it is "bidding fever"--once someone bids, they are intent on "winning" at any price. I've seen some used books sell on eBay for the same price or MORE as buying the books new!

I am thinking of selling a few things on eBay too, so I am enjoying all this wonderful advice too.

[luvbach1]

Actually,I've had no probs with PayPal, except for the rather high fees. That was a typo. Sorry.

[sinkspur]

PayPal is a necessity.

I buy EVERYTHING I need on ebay, but I won't buy from someone who doesn't use PayPal. Won't even bid.

[arasina]

I sold vintage lingerie on eBay last year and was quite satisfied with the results. I took a break from my eBay auctions because sales there have been a little slow overall for the past 6 months or so.

I have never had a problem with PayPal and since they became a part of eBay things run a lot smoother. eBay and PayPal were both very helpful last year when some awful person hijacked my eBay ID and attempted to sell non-existent computers.

You may want to try auctioning off one or two items and see how you like it. I thought it was great fun making money from something I enjoy in the first place and I loved creating the ads for my auctions.

If you want to do some research on how well antique items like yours sell, do an eBay search and look at "completed items" --- auctions that have ended. You will be able to determine what a good starting price is and how much you may be able to set for a reserve and ultimately get from the sale. I would recommend using plenty of good photos of your items in your auctions. Pictures make a huge difference for both the buyer and seller.

[Skooz]

Know how much the items you are selling weigh. You may want to get a scale for weighing packages (I use a postage scale at work). You can then visit the USPS website (USPS.com) and properly calculate the correct postage.

That way you'll know exactly how much it will cost to ship.

[MizSterious]

" Don't use shipping for additional profit. Buyers are pretty knowledgeable, and will resent a $8 to $10 shipping charge for a $2 shipping expense."

No kidding! That is my one major pet peeve on eBay! Once I got burned because I didn't read the small pring--in fact, it never occurred to me that someone would ask for $10 to ship a book via media mail. Ever since, I check the "shipping" rates for sure.

I know I'm not the only one who checks it--often, I'll see one of those kinds of sellers offering something at a pretty good price otherwise, and no bids. Serves them right.