Any good tips for a first time seller on ebay?

[Jugernot]

I'm going to sell a Turbo Grafx 16 on Ebay as I figure I could get like $20 out of it. But, I've never sold anything on ebay before. I was wondering if you guys had any good tips for me?

I've been a buyer for like 7 years, but only recently started thinking about selling something. Are there any loopholes that I should know about, etc?

Thanks guys!

btw, here is what I was gonna post on the auction page : http://ideal.infoinsights.com/~joe/tb16/

 

[psianime]

Start auctions $.01-$9.99 with no reserve.

Set shipping at a reasonable cost, make sure you make a few bucks off shipping.

Make sure you put a lot of description on ur page...

-psianime

 

[everman]

wow I remember those things.

 

[Led Zeppelin]

Originally posted by: psianime
Start auctions $.01-$9.99 with no reserve.

Set shipping at a reasonable cost, make sure you make a few bucks off shipping.

That's the problem with eBay right there, dishonest sellers always trying to scam the buyer with overinflated shipping costs. You can't really be that desperate for the extra five bucks, can you? I personally never bid on an item where the seller is out to make money in shipping.

 

[Jugernot]

Originally posted by: LedZeppelin

Originally posted by: psianime
Start auctions $.01-$9.99 with no reserve.

Set shipping at a reasonable cost, make sure you make a few bucks off shipping.

That's the problem with eBay right there, dishonest sellers always trying to scam the buyer with overinflated shipping costs. You can't really be that desperate for the extra five bucks, can you? I personally never bid on an item where the seller is out to make money in shipping.

I'd have to agree... why make profit on the shipping?

 

[John]

Originally posted by: Jugernot

Originally posted by: LedZeppelin

Originally posted by: psianime
Start auctions $.01-$9.99 with no reserve.

Set shipping at a reasonable cost, make sure you make a few bucks off shipping.

That's the problem with eBay right there, dishonest sellers always trying to scam the buyer with overinflated shipping costs. You can't really be that desperate for the extra five bucks, can you? I personally never bid on an item where the seller is out to make money in shipping.

I'd have to agree... why make profit on the shipping?

What most of you fail to realize about the "inflated" shipping is the fact smart people, like me, build in the ebay fees, paypal fees, and shipping cost to make it a combined shipping & handling fee. Pass the fees on to the buyer, not the other way around. In addition, it's up to the buyer to determine if he agrees with the fees and not your typical AnandTech ferengi.

 

[boyRacer]

Wow... id keep that just for nostalgic reasons... ...don't know that many people with that thing. Hmmm... the TurboDuo was cool though.

 

[Jugernot]

Originally posted by: boyRacer
Wow... id keep that just for nostalgic reasons... ...don't know that many people with that thing. Hmmm... the TurboDuo was cool though.

I'm getting rid of all the crap I have been keeping for nostalgic reasons.... it just takes up too much room. I'll never play it again and I doubt it'll ever be worth anything.

 

[Led Zeppelin]

Originally posted by: John

Originally posted by: Jugernot

Originally posted by: LedZeppelin

Originally posted by: psianime
Start auctions $.01-$9.99 with no reserve.

Set shipping at a reasonable cost, make sure you make a few bucks off shipping.

That's the problem with eBay right there, dishonest sellers always trying to scam the buyer with overinflated shipping costs. You can't really be that desperate for the extra five bucks, can you? I personally never bid on an item where the seller is out to make money in shipping.

I'd have to agree... why make profit on the shipping?

What most of you fail to realize about the "inflated" shipping is the fact smart people, like me, build in the ebay fees, paypal fees, and shipping cost to make it a combined shipping & handling fee. Pass the fees on to the buyer, not the other way around. In addition, it's up to the buyer to determine if he agrees with the fees and not your typical AnandTech ferengi.

I love when sellers charge "handling" fees or charge inflated shipping fees. I always request a receipt for the costs the shipper had to pay. If they don't want to give me one, I know they're being dishonest and I steer clear of them. As for Paypal fees, did you ever think that if it wasn't for Paypal, maybe you wouldn't get as many bids on your auction? Then you pass the fees down to the buyer?

 

[John]

Originally posted by: LedZeppelin
I love when sellers charge "handling" fees or charge inflated shipping fees. I always request a receipt for the costs the shipper had to pay. If they don't want to give me one, I know they're being dishonest and I steer clear of them. As for Paypal fees, did you ever think that if it wasn't for Paypal, maybe you wouldn't get as many bids on your auction? Then you pass the fees down to the buyer?

If you don't agree with the terms, don't bid....it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. By chance do you kick tires for a living?

 

[iwearnosox]

Sell it buy it now for $5 with a $75 shipping fee in small letters.

 

[Led Zeppelin]

Originally posted by: John

Originally posted by: LedZeppelin
I love when sellers charge "handling" fees or charge inflated shipping fees. I always request a receipt for the costs the shipper had to pay. If they don't want to give me one, I know they're being dishonest and I steer clear of them. As for Paypal fees, did you ever think that if it wasn't for Paypal, maybe you wouldn't get as many bids on your auction? Then you pass the fees down to the buyer?

If you don't agree with the terms, don't bid....it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. By chance do you kick tires for a living?

I don't bid if I don't agree with the terms, because there's plenty of honest people out there, no need to deal with the sellers like yourself that try to squeeze blood from a stone. Just an FYI, I never charge shipping on any of my items, hence my perfect feedback, and I've never ever had a problem selling an item, and making a profit, even with the 'exhorbinant paypal fees and shipping costs".

 

[LordMagnusKain]

i let the buyer know, if they ask, that i'm just trying to avoid paying more to e-bay, thus the jacked-up ship.

oh, and a tent will sell for $60 with $30 ship, or $70 with free ship... you do the math.

that might explain my perfict feed back as well.

 

[TommyVercetti]

What is wrong with passing fees onto the buyer? Every single business does it. You don't think the grocery store is charging you extra money for storing, stocking and handling the item?

 

[vegetation]

I love when sellers charge "handling" fees or charge inflated shipping fees. I always request a receipt for the costs the shipper had to pay. If they don't want to give me one, I know they're being dishonest and I steer clear of them. As for Paypal fees, did you ever think that if it wasn't for Paypal, maybe you wouldn't get as many bids on your auction? Then you pass the fees down to the buyer?

Please come mow my lawn. It only costs about 50 cents in gasoline and $1 in maintenance costs. I'll pay you the $1.50 to do it. Labor is free right?

 

[chowderhead]

You have too much text in your description. People who are looking at T-16 systems already know what they want.
You need to take a picture of your actual system and describe its condition, etc.
Your shipping details should contain more information. Do you ship to Canada, do you gurantee against DOA, etc. Look at other terms of auction for good examples. I would say use a flat fee for shipping. It take too many emails to get the actual shipping calculated in my experience.

Look at the completed auctions for T-16 systems. The typical is $20 to $45 (if you have the box). Sometimes, it is as low of $10. So I would say start at a price you are comfortable with selling the item for or use BIN as your selling price.
It is not worth too much of your time if you will only end up with $10 +shipping for all the work and hassle. Remember your ebay/paypal/shipping cost and figure those into your ultimate price/ charges.

Good luck.

 

[John]

LedZeppelin, I've sold more on this forum, eBay, and elsewhere than you will ever sell in a lifetime, so please do not preach to me about "ethics" and "what you feel is right". I'll flip you a 20.00 bill to come pull weeds in my flowerbed since you seem like an honest guy.

 

[FeathersMcGraw]

Originally posted by: John

What most of you fail to realize about the "inflated" shipping is the fact smart people, like me, build in the ebay fees, paypal fees, and shipping cost to make it a combined shipping & handling fee. Pass the fees on to the buyer, not the other way around. In addition, it's up to the buyer to determine if he agrees with the fees and not your typical AnandTech ferengi.

Of course, smart buyers look at, say, $5 for USPS Priority Mail shipping for a DVD and think, "hmm, inflated shipping cost", and typically move on to the next auction, assuming that the item is somewhat common.

But as a seller, you probably don't want those sorts of bargain-hunting buyers looking at your auction, anyway. I can definitely see the profit potential in trolling for people who don't read the fine print.

 

[MrBond]

Of course, smart buyers look at, say, $5 for USPS Priority Mail shipping for a DVD and think, "hmm, inflated shipping cost", and typically move on to the next auction, assuming that the item is somewhat common.

$5 for USPS Priority for a DVD is NOT out of line. A lot of people don't realize how expensive shipping can be. I had an AT'er from FS/T ship me a linksys router from california to ohio, $10 for priority and the package wasn't all that heavy

 

[Led Zeppelin]

Originally posted by: John
LedZeppelin, I've sold more on this forum, eBay, and elsewhere than you will ever sell in a lifetime, so please do not preach to me about "ethics" and "what you feel is right". I'll flip you a 20.00 bill to come pull weeds in my flowerbed since you seem like an honest guy.

Sounds like you need the money more than I do based on the way you scam your potential buyers for 50 extra cents to cover your Paypal fees. If that makes you feel good, continue your unethical business practices.

 

[FeathersMcGraw]

Originally posted by: MrBond
$5 for USPS Priority for a DVD is NOT out of line. A lot of people don't realize how expensive shipping can be. I had an AT'er from FS/T ship me a linksys router from california to ohio, $10 for priority and the package wasn't all that heavy

$3.85 for Priority (2-day) Mail gets you up to 2 lbs, flat-rate within the continental US, unless the package is somehow oversized, and a DVD is neither of those things. Granted, $5 is only $1.15 more than cost, but it's still nearly a 30% markup (alternatively, the cost of insurance).

 

[John]

Originally posted by: LedZeppelin

Originally posted by: John
LedZeppelin, I've sold more on this forum, eBay, and elsewhere than you will ever sell in a lifetime, so please do not preach to me about "ethics" and "what you feel is right". I'll flip you a 20.00 bill to come pull weeds in my flowerbed since you seem like an honest guy.

Sounds like you need the money more than I do based on the way you scam your potential buyers for 50 extra cents to cover your Paypal fees. If that makes you feel good, continue your unethical business practices.

So you classify people/businesses as a "scam" if they add over .50 cents profit on shipping? You need to wake up out of your little dream and face reality. Reputable businesses do this each and every day.