Selling on Ebay

[Muse]

I just started my first Ebay auction. I've been bidding on Ebay for years. I bid on an item (and won it) a few months ago and the seller said he didn't accept Paypal because "of a few bad apples" (I actually won that item for the minimum bid of $1, paid $5 shipping and sent the seller a check). What could he have meant? I figured that Paypal would be a safe way to do business for Ebay sellers. How did this guy get burned? My item is just a DVD that will probably sell for less than $10, so I figured I'd just do Paypal for a payment type. What's the scoop on this? Thanks!

 

[jimikim]

Errrr....maybe you shouldn't be on eBay....let alone sell on it...

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: jimikim
Errrr....maybe you shouldn't be on eBay....let alone sell on it...

Gee. Why? Planting seeds of doubt, are we? Surely, there must be more fertile ground.

 

[jimikim]

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: jimikim
Errrr....maybe you shouldn't be on eBay....let alone sell on it...

Gee. Why? Planting seeds of doubt, are we? Surely, there must be more fertile ground.

I dunno...you just seem like the type of guy that would get taken advantage of...

 

[KarenMarie]

Ok...

Paypal... If you accept paypal, you will have to pay a fee. I think it is currently $0.35 +3.2% of every transaction. If you do not transfer the money into your bank account IMMEDIATELY, the buyer could do a chargeback and paypal will Freeze ALL your money, not just what the buyer paid. It is a nightmare to sort that out.

I have used paypal over 300 times... as a seller and a buyer and have only ever once had a problem. I bid, I won, I paid and the seller disappeared... she emptied the account first, so I got nothing.

Just make sure you read all the rules first.

 

[CanOWorms]

I've sold thousands of items on eBay and nobody tried to scam me out of money when they used paypal. I did get a chargeback once (their item was defective so they filed a thing with Discover just in case) and they froze the funds they transfered to me, not ALL of my money. But I refunded the person's payment, and gave the info to paypal and I got my money unfrozen.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: jimikim

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: jimikim
Errrr....maybe you shouldn't be on eBay....let alone sell on it...

Gee. Why? Planting seeds of doubt, are we? Surely, there must be more fertile ground.

I dunno...you just seem like the type of guy that would get taken advantage of...

Why? I don't think so, particularly. Hey, man, I was born in Manhattan. I'm not exactly a sucker! Besides that, I understand Ebay pretty well. That and knowing the value of a dollar are the bottom line.

Thanks for the info, folks, that is the last two posters who not only had something to say, they had something of real value to say! I feel way better about this knowing what you have explained.

BTW, the Paypal payment terms are something like this at the moment:

The first 0-$25 5.25% of selling price
$25-1000 3.25%
$1000 and above, 1.5%

The above isn't accurate, it's just ballpark kind of stuff. Go there for the accurate figures.

 

[RossMAN]

Yes it can be safe for the seller as long as you read Paypal Seller Protection Policy and follow it.

 

[shopbruin]

i used to work for an ebay based company.

the main gripe with paypal is of the fees. the other is that it can be way too easy for the money to be taken and for chargebacks to occur. but if you follow the paypal protection policy (i.e. ship only to confirmed addresses WITH TRACKING) you shouldn't get burned as much.

i've seen money charged back from international sellers because the account was deemed stolen.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: freesia39
i used to work for an ebay based company.

the main gripe with paypal is of the fees. the other is that it can be way too easy for the money to be taken and for chargebacks to occur. but if you follow the paypal protection policy (i.e. ship only to confirmed addresses WITH TRACKING) you shouldn't get burned as much.

Oh, I guess I'll have to pay Paypal a fee as well as the Ebay fees, huh? Ebay has two fees: a posting fee and a fee when the item sells. There are a ton of other optional fees, things like using bold in the posting and a host of other options, but I didn't bite on any of that stuff. The item I'm selling was surprisingly easy to set up. They had a stock set of nice things to say about the item, including a graphic - it's a common sort of thing, a popular DVD movie.