EBAY! Whats the scene like nowadays?

[meltdown75]

I think your blurb sounds fine. I did a lot of buying and selling of collectibles and other items similar to what you are selling although it's been a couple years. Mainly I just use ebay now to buy tickets to sporting events on short notice (and for really cheap).

If you just want to get rid of the collection and don't care about your profits, you could list the items as a lot and not individually... personally this is what I would do in this situation. Listing individual items is tedious and takes more time (more photos, more "blurbs" ). I must say though, that having a bunch of items listed at once is kind of fun because you are always watching your views and bids.

Good luck...

 

[Mide]

I've been using Ebay for close to 11 years now. When it first stated out it was great but it has since dwindled. Here is what changed:

1) Fees. They have risen their precentage fees quite a bit so if you do sell something you'll get axed a good amount profit per transaction.
2) Paypal. Since Ebay now owns Paypal, they have direct control meaning that paypal's fees are also higher. Also they seem to cater to the buyer so if someone buys your stuff, you send it, they can just push a button to have their money sent back to them. You have to jump through a bunch of hoops before you can "prove" that you actually did send the item. On the same note, they can just go into your connected checking account and take money out if they think you owe it to them.
3) Nobody really uses the "auction" system anymore. It is normal to have a bunch of "buy it now" prices placed on an item and only a few auction-type of postings. A lot of this is because of Bing's 8% return on 'Buy it now'.

So if you want to use Ebay be ready to get charged a ton of fees. I would also recommend just putting down a "buy it now" price instead of doing auctions.

 

[gaidensensei]

It has went down big time. I too am from the early days, 1998.

The buying audience isn't as big anymore, you can't look to get big bucks fast unless either you have an uninformed buyer / misclick, or the collectors (very rare). The rest of the stuff non-clothing / mandatory stuff are priced competitively.

Always factor in the Final Value Fees along with paypal fees.

Not sure for the books and old memorabilia you have, but for electronics it's usually like this:

List the item:
~10 cents with fairly little options to ~a few dollars after choosing a bunch of various options

Ending fees:
8% of the auction ending price (not including shipping fees). The % is dependent on what you're selling I think, but I'm not sure on this as I always stuck with electronics related categories.

Paypal fee: Transactions under $1000, total payment amount * 2.9% + .30 cents.

So if you sold a book on ebay for $100 bucks and added $5 to ship it, breakdown of your fees:

Initial listing cost: $0.10 cents up to how much extra options you added
Final fee: 8% of $100 = -$8.00 (but you can use the bing thing Mide mentioned)
Paypal fee: (2.9% of $105) +$0.30 = -$3.34

Gross: $105 - actual shipping cost:
Net: $105 - actual shipping cost (probably around $2.50 first class, total package must be under 13 ounces to qualify) - ($11.44) = you earn $91.06

So price things accordingly to how much you want to make total, not the expected price if you want to come out positive.

Bidding wise for auction styles, lots of people bid the last 48 hours and some still bid the last minute. It gets heated if it's something people really want.

 

[PingSpike]

I stopped shopping on ebay when I saw all the used computer shit was selling for 10% over what I could buy it new.

 

[gaidensensei]

Here is the search term for seeing prices of your kind of stuff, not sure if it's the right term.

You have to be a currently registered member or logged in to see that link.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

A comment regarding shipping for books. Books (as well as CDs and DVDs) qualify for Media Mail rates. Any books under 8 ounces, send First Class. 8 ounces or over, send as Media Mail.

 

[shortylickens]

Here is the search term for seeing prices of your kind of stuff, not sure if it's the right term.

You have to be a currently registered member or logged in to see that link.

"D&D 3.5" returns results most like what my stuff is.

 

[shortylickens]

Also, it looks like I can use Paymate or Propay instead of Paypal.
Would that be a good option for a new guy starting to sell stuff, or does it make people wary?
Would I also have the same problem with folks being able to steal back their payment after I ship the goods?

 

[gaidensensei]

Never tried using any of those alternative payments, when it came to no paypal then it was either WU, cash or money order by mail. I kind of teether on checks unless the person has high feedback.
With paypal, if the buyer has a problem, usually 95% of the time initially the buyer is right. So the funds get frozen and they launch the investigation following the buyer's case.

If it's a really expensive item you should get signature confirmation of some sort, it costs $1.95 extra with USPS. That way you have proof the item was delivered. Delivery confirmation only proves that the item went to the area code.

Paypal is like the credit card of ebay now, seriously.

The one really good benefit about it is that once you receive your payment, you can print your own shipping labels with the USPS from your own home. All you have to do is get the total weight, punch in dimensions (if package), choose your options and you can just deliver it to the post office on the pronto. No need waiting in line and filling in info.

That's one of the good perks of paypal.


Regarding buyers, I find most of the ones who ask questions are often never the buyer/winner. They seem to be the ones that want it for cheap. This is largely YMMV as it depends of course. Usually the buyers I have no problem with are the ones who buy, paypal payment is done on their own 5 minutes after, and I ship it out and they're happy then leave the feedback. No communication at all.

 

[Eli]

Dude anyone who claims that Amazon is better for sellers than eBay must be freebasing fat rocks of crack from broken lightbulbs dipped in pcp

LMFAO!

Awesome.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Also, it looks like I can use Paymate or Propay instead of Paypal.
Would that be a good option for a new guy starting to sell stuff, or does it make people wary?
Would I also have the same problem with folks being able to steal back their payment after I ship the goods?

Eh. I really don't know why some people are making the "steal back" claim. My wife and I have done eBay for over 10 years. We ship, on average between 100 - 150 items per week. We have close to 6000 feedback. We have never had anyone try to "steal back" their payment after an item has shipped. In fact, it can't happen.

A buyer could file a claim saying they never received an item. We help to prevent this by including Delivery Confirmation on any shipment $25 or more. We have had rare cases where a buyer claimed an item was not delivered, but it is extremely rare. Out of the thousands of items we have shipped over the years it has happened maybe twice. More often you'll find that a buyer makes the claim because of their own stupidity, like they moved recently and didn't update their address. In those cases the buyer won't be given a chargeback by PayPal.

Some in here would try to make you believe that nearly every eBay buyer is out to steal your stuff. That's simply not the case so don't buy into that fearmongering. It's bunk.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Have you tried craigslist yet? You never know if there is someone looking for that geeky shit, no shipping fees, and cash in hand.

 

[gaidensensei]

Yeah, about that paypal stuff. I personally don't really experience the "deep shit" stuff that everyone on paypalsucks / whyyoushouldnotusepaypal .com sites.

If they're a new person then yep, you want to be extra sure that their address is exact as printed..

Domestically, I have the same experience as Tasteslikechicken. I don't recall really if there were ever really problems with US addresses. The only "non-received" issues I had were apartment addresses so probably someone stole it from their door or something like that.

The only issue that I can understand is if you ship it international, there are problems sometimes with their addresses.
If they've bought things in the past w/ high feedback then no problem, their address is usually OK enough if unconfirmed.

International though, usually are willing to pay a bit more since they can't get that stuff in their place.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Some may not be aware of this, but for International shipping you can actually track a package on USPS.com, using the customs declaration number, to many countries. USPS tracking isn't as fine grained as UPS or Fed-Ex, but it will show when it leaves the US, when it enters and leaves customs in the receiving country, and when it was delivered. Not all countries provide that information, but quite a few do.

 

[Modelworks]

Mostly stores and Chinese crap.

I miss the old days of ebay when it was primarily individuals selling things they had like a huge garage sale.

 

[Ns1]

Mostly stores and Chinese crap.

I miss the old days of ebay when it was primarily individuals selling things they had like a huge garage sale.

search filter -> used

 

[Modelworks]

I stopped shopping on ebay when I saw all the used computer shit was selling for 10% over what I could buy it new.

True.
My pet peeve is people that sell broken items or things that need repair for about $5 less than retail.

32" LCD HDTV, screen cracked, $400, As is

 

[gaidensensei]

I miss the old days of ebay when it was primarily individuals selling things they had like a huge garage sale.

Me too, but I'm willing to bet it's because of last minute bidding that killed the spirit of ebay.

I'm guilty of doing it too, but alas I want a cheap deal at times as well..

 

[Modelworks]

search filter -> used

Doesn't matter. Most people that sold things like that have left ebay. The used selection is pitiful now.

 

[Ns1]

Doesn't matter. Most people that sold things like that have left ebay. The used selection is pitiful now.

Well then you're not looking hard enough cuz I still buy a ton of shit on ebay.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

i stopped using ebay and paypal long ago due to the amount of fraud--people taking money and not sending items or doing a bait and switch. i was defrauded many times and they never once recovered money for me or suspended the bad sellers' accounts. ive never sold there. i havnet used them in 10 years and dont miss it at all. because of this thread i just went and checked it out and it isnt even an appealing site. just over priced stuff you could get elsewhere (90 seems to be the going price for a pentium 6300). god i would never want to deal with them or paypal again. and you can bet ill be voting against whitman for president in june

 

[gaidensensei]

i just went and checked it out and it isnt even an appealing site. just over priced stuff you could get elsewhere (90 seems to be the going price for a pentium 6300)

I think you're doing it wrong, I was selling an E6300 wolfdale, not conroe like a month ago. It runs around $50-60 used there.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

i dont see any selling for that price. maybe i dont know how to use their filters anymore. anyway it wouldnt be worth the risk of doing business with them anyway. be sure to vote for poizner next month

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

WTF is with the vote for ... Stuff?

I like eBay. I bought alot of parts for my motorcycle at half the cost you'd pay anywhere else. I needed a right side fairing. Dealership wanted $450 without decals. Found one on eBay $175 shipped oem part with decals. Replacement mirrors $40 shipped. Dealerships wanted $80. It's great for finding those hard to find parts. Instead of scrounging around motorcycle shops around the metroplex you look on eBay find what you need and ship it to your door.

 

[shortylickens]

HOLD ON!
I just went to paypal and they are asking for something I didnt see the last time (granted that was many years ago) but in addition to my check card they also want all my bank info. Is this needed if I want to sell stuff and collect money? Cant I just leave the money I make from ebay IN my paypal account, to buy stuff elseware?

If yes, would propay and that other one also require the same info?