Going through my first eBay auction (selling) -- Any tips?

[UNCjigga]

Okay I'm selling something for the first time on eBay (PM me if you're interested) but I'm scared about doing all this!!! How do I setup my auction??? Will people be afraid to bid since I only have 1 feedback? (I bought a ThinkPad from ibm.auctions!

Any tips on how I can avoid trollers? I want to be flexible with shipping (I have access to UPS, DHL, FedEx, Airborne accounts through dad's reseller business) but I haven't figured out how much shipping will cost etc. I'm also not sure if I can use the verisign credit card thingy at dad's work, so for now I'm only accepting payments through BillPoint (not using PayPal--is this bad?)

Please please PLEASE help me! I want this to be a success!!! Mebbe I should've put the item up in FS/FT before going to eBay--now that I think about it I trust you guys more!

 

[andrey]

Make a well-designed ad, describing the details of the product you're selling and let it go.

Once the auction ends, ask the highest bidder for the ZIP code in order to determine shipping charges and once that is done, pack your product and ship it. That's it. Don't make it sound more difficult than it is, really!

If you're afraid to do this on eBay, we have a great "For Sale/Trade" section on AT here as well

 

[b0mbrman]

For shipping, just pick one that's convenient for you and go with it. A lot of people are scared away when you say that they'll have to pay "actual shipping costs." Ebayers are confused by choices, trust me.

If you're afraid to do this on eBay, we have a great "For Sale/Trade" section on AT here as well

Agreed You'll definitely get less money but you'll avoid quite a few hassles

 

[UNCjigga]

I thought about the FS/FT, but since my item is a computer peripheral I figured I wouldn't get as much money, plus its harder to track people down (trolling still happens )

Edit: BTW, it is a Visiontek Xtasy 6564 GeForce3 Ti200

 

[CanOWorms]

You can probably make shipping $10-$15. 99% of the time eBay people don't even look at shipping prices. Be sure to include text on how you'll ship, accepted methods of payment, how much shipping costs, and if you ship internationally. Try to include a picture, too. Go to Amazon.com if you don't have a picture

 

[Rage187]

I look at it this way..


If I want to sell something on Eb@y, it usually takes 2 solid hours making a Good ad..

Then a few more days for the item to sell, a few more to make contact, more for payment/shipping..

Blah blah blah..



My time is money, even if I sell it for $40 cheaper on the FST forum, I still saved a hell of alot of time..


I hope your time is money too.

 

[UNCjigga]

Umm, how long does it typically take for my listed item to show up when browsing categories or doing a search??? I can see the auction page through the direct link but it doesn't show up when I search it or when I browse categories...

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

Any tips on how I can avoid trollers?

Yeah, get them to pay first through Money Order.

 

[Ns1]

<< Umm, how long does it typically take for my listed item to show up when browsing categories or doing a search??? I can see the auction page through the direct link but it doesn't show up when I search it or when I browse categories... >>




within an hour, don't worry about it

most bidding happens within the last 20 minutes of auction end anyway


link to one of my pervious auctions

 

[CanOWorms]

Wow, you must type slow 2 hours for 1 ebay listing? :Q

I think it's pretty easy and saves time to put stuff on eBay. It only takes 2 minutes to make an auction listing for me. I don't make spectacular auction ads, but people on eBay don't tend to care about that. Just have a picture of the item, describe the specs, etc. I just copy stuff directly from the manufacturer's website. Maybe if you're a newbie you might need a good looking listing.

And with the new eBay checkout feature, some people pay right after they win the auction. Saves a lot of time, but you do lose a little percentage.. but my time is money, too, so losing that little percentage is worth it to get my money immediately and ship the item the next day.



<< I look at it this way..


If I want to sell something on Eb@y, it usually takes 2 solid hours making a Good ad..

Then a few more days for the item to sell, a few more to make contact, more for payment/shipping..

Blah blah blah..



My time is money, even if I sell it for $40 cheaper on the FST forum, I still saved a hell of alot of time..


I hope your time is money too. >>

 

[UNCjigga]

WTF my auction still doesn't show up!!! I'm payin' for 10 days but it looks like I'm only getting 9 mebbe...what gives?

 

[Ns1]

haha jigga, 10 days is a waste of your money

 

[joshg]

well first off it probably says 9 days, 23+ hours (basically like 9 days, 23 hours, 50 minutes or whatever, meaning your auctions lasts total of 10 days, but it's already going for 10 min, so that's how much time is left)

I have a question for the rest of you, is there any way to set it to where you only allow people to bid if they have a feedback rating of at least like +1 ?

 

[UNCjigga]

10 days cost only 10 cents more, how is that a waste? I figured I'd give it 3 extra days for some moron to drive the price up...

Anyways, can anyone answer me why it doesn't show up when I search for words that are clearly in the auction title? It doesn't even show up when I browse the category!!

 

[badluck]

Hey, your auction won't show up until the next time they update their database. This can take up to 5 hours. Believe me. PM me and I'll give you some tips and ideas...

10 day auctions are a waste of time. The reason, your item won't get bid in excess of the current going rate for your item. The only way it will get more than the going rate (you can find the going rate by searching through the completed items) is if a few people try to out-bid each other. Some people will do whatever it takes to get something they want.

Anyways, PM me if you want.....

 

[erikiksaz]

Try to set it so that your auction ends on a Sunday. Someone said that ebay is usually pretty loaded on Sundays.