Selling stuff on Ebay

[Raizinman]

Wife and I decided to use Ebay instead of a garage sale. We set up a bedroom with a back drop, table, shipping table, shipping bags, digital camera, and even a mannequin for clothing display. We are just about ready to go, but before we start listing, what are some tips for selling on Ebay? What are your opinions about the below?

1) Any special time or day to have your listing end?
2) Is it better to add shipping and handling into the price and ship free?
3) Always send the item with some sort of confirmation to avoid fraud?
4) Offer a return policy or no return policy?
5) Give feedback after payment or after they leave feedback?
6) Have a ‘Buy it Now’ or ‘Best Offer’ on the page?
7) Is the USPS the cheapest method for shipping?

Anything else to consider?

 

[SunnyD]

8) Bend over and be ready to get scammed.

 

[Squeetard]

Bad decision.

 

[poofyhairguy]

My best tip- print out your ebay screen name on paper and make sure its visible in every auction. It helps me get the max amount as people then trust the pictures.

 

[esquared]

Wife and I decided to use Ebay instead of a garage sale. We set up a bedroom with a back drop, table, shipping table, shipping bags, digital camera, and even a mannequin for clothing display. We are just about ready to go, but before we start listing, what are some tips for selling on Ebay? What are your opinions about the below?

1) Any special time or day to have your listing end?
2) Is it better to add shipping and handling into the price and ship free?
3) Always send the item with some sort of confirmation to avoid fraud?
4) Offer a return policy or no return policy?
5) Give feedback after payment or after they leave feedback?
6) Have a ‘Buy it Now’ or ‘Best Offer’ on the page?
7) Is the USPS the cheapest method for shipping?

Anything else to consider?

1) I usually end it around early evening. Gives me time to respond to their winning BIN.
2) I try to offer free shipping. Lots of people look for it
3) I use USPS/FedEx so I send them the tracking number when shipped.
4) That's up to you.
5) No, I wait until they have received their item.
6) I always sell with But it now
7) For somethings and it depends where. USPS Priority under 3-4 lbs anywhere is generally cheaper that FedEx Ground. Five lbs or over I use FedEx Ground.

Don't listen to the naysayers. I've been selling since 1998 and never been scammed. I have nearly 700 feedbacks, mainly as a seller.

 

[SAWYER]

Anytime I sell on ebay I keep a tab open for the block a bidder page and tab for canceling bids. Anytime a zero feedback person bids I block them and cancel the bid

 

[Pheran]

I've heard that taking a video of you packing and sealing the item into the box can really help if someone claims you didn't ship the right item, but that's secondhand info.

 

[trmiv]

I have good luck selling stuff on ebay. I always try to end stuff on Sundays at around 10:30pm eastern. My only issue with ebay is this:

 

[T9D]

By the time all the fees are done and shipping you'll end up paying them to take it. Or working for less than minimum wage.

At first you're like "oh, well I thought I'd get more but that's not to bad I guess, when I get more popular I'll get higher bids"
Then you see some fees and you're like "well that sucks, but it barely made it worth it, hopefully next time I'll get more"
Then you go to ship it and the fees are always way higher then are quoted and you're like "damn I'm about breaking even, that sucks"
Then you see the paypal fees and you're like "WTH! I basically gave them money to take it!!"
Then you get some person that wants their money back, paypal sides with them but the item never gets returned to you or it's damaged because they were to fat to wear it.
Then you get some scammers who screw you through paypal.
Then you realize all the time it took you to do it and all the gas money you lost and you want to cry in the corner.

 

[rudeguy]

Here are some things to consider:

Auction vs Fixed Price
Auctions can bring in more money. However they can also end with your item not selling for what it should. I normally list at a fixed price with a Make an Offer option. If I'm not getting interest within the first couple days, I know my price is out of line.

Fees
Ebay and Paypal are going to take up 13% plus more for shipping. Figure this is when you are listing your items.

Grief
If you list on ebay, you will have a customer or two who are morons or scammers. Deal with them as quickly as possible and move on. If that means giving a refund and relisting, do it. There is nothing worse than having drama in your inbox for 6 weeks.

Communication with buyers
Buyers love to ask questions, ask for more pics, ask for discounts. I make sure to reply in an informal tone to all messages. I've had some big sales come from taking 2 minutes to answer a stupid question that was already answered in the listing.

Selling limits
If you are just starting on ebay, your selling limit will be very low. If you need to list more items or (usually) have a higher dollar limit, call them. You get someone in the US who is actually helpful.

 

[JamesV]

The only things I'll sell on Ebay anymore are cheap items like movies. I have a lot of expensive items to sell, but I'm dreading being out of the item and the money if some scammer wants to say he never got it.

A poster above mentions taking a video of you packing, but then the buyer could say it was a different box, and they would not even need a pic to prove it.

Ebay needs some serious changes to bring back sellers imo, or some way to guarantee a seller won't be scammed. Like pack your item at a UPS store and have the clerk verify what you put in the box (will never happen, but only thing I can think of).

If you do decide to sell, make sure you set 'only US buyers' and understand all the options; if not be prepared to have to ship a $10 item to China for $40.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Wife and I decided to use Ebay instead of a garage sale. We set up a bedroom with a back drop, table, shipping table, shipping bags, digital camera, and even a mannequin for clothing display. We are just about ready to go, but before we start listing, what are some tips for selling on Ebay? What are your opinions about the below?

1) Any special time or day to have your listing end?
2) Is it better to add shipping and handling into the price and ship free?
3) Always send the item with some sort of confirmation to avoid fraud?
4) Offer a return policy or no return policy?
5) Give feedback after payment or after they leave feedback?
6) Have a ‘Buy it Now’ or ‘Best Offer’ on the page?
7) Is the USPS the cheapest method for shipping?

Anything else to consider?

Depending on how much stuff you have, be prepared to spend a lot of time trying to do everything you can to have a successful auction, only to realize that it was not that worth it.

If the fees from ebay and paypal combined weren't so much, it'd be more worth it, but the fact is they take over 10% in your gross sales. And you're probably already not making that much from used items to begin with.

 

[Raizinman]

I considered much of the above but from my perspective I would rather have a small percentage of an item and clean up my basement and garage (both parents and step parents died and we inherited their households). So just to slowly start getting rid of all this junk and make a few dollars at the same time is a good trade off.

 

[T9D]

I considered much of the above but from my perspective I would rather have a small percentage of an item and clean up my basement and garage (both parents and step parents died and we inherited their households). So just to slowly start getting rid of all this junk and make a few dollars at the same time is a good trade off.

It's seriously a crap load of work though. And would take forever. It's better to just donate it and take the tax right off. Probably make more money that way. And it will all be gone in a weekend. I wasn't kidding either when I said you could lose money on ebay. I've gone through all this numerous times. In the end half the time I just give stuff away or throw it away now. Only sell on ebay if it's a higher priced item and craigslist didn't come through.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I considered much of the above but from my perspective I would rather have a small percentage of an item and clean up my basement and garage (both parents and step parents died and we inherited their households). So just to slowly start getting rid of all this junk and make a few dollars at the same time is a good trade off.

That is what Craigslist is for. I use Ebay to sell old electronics to placate my wife when I want to buy new electronics.

 

[slayer202]

I was going to start a thread, never got around to it, but I recently had someone try to do a credit card chargeback and I actually won! I believe it was something I shipped to Canada. Provided tracking which included a delivery signature. I was shocked

 

[JMapleton]

I've sold almost $50k worth of stuff on eBay in the last 18 months. Was never scammed once. I sold high end stuff, mostly items worth about $1k a piece. But I purposely never sold international. I used to do fraud research for online orders for an internet company, so I know what to look for, but I didn't notice anyone trying to scam me.

And yes, I paid a lot in fees. But look at it from a business perspective, if you are a business, you will often spend much more than 10% of your revenue in advertising, especially if you're an online business.

 

[T9D]

I've sold almost $50k worth of stuff on eBay in the last 18 months. Was never scammed once. I sold high end stuff, mostly items worth about $1k a piece. But I purposely never sold international. I used to do fraud research for online orders for an internet company, so I know what to look for, but I didn't notice anyone trying to scam me.

And yes, I paid a lot in fees. But look at it from a business perspective, if you are a business, you will often spend much more than 10% of your revenue in advertising, especially if you're an online business.

There is a big difference between selling $1000 item and selling a hundred different $5 shirts or something. Totally different game. And the scams or bad buyers are no joke, we read about them all the time. Trust me, you beat the odds, but then all the sudden you can get 3 or 4 bad buyers and it ruins everything.

With that being said I've sold off and on through ebay for 15 years. Maybe a couple hundred items or so. Never had a scammer or major problem. But I can tell you with large lots of small things it just isn't worth it. And many times I've taken far to many losses after all the fees and shipping costs. In the end all the effort isn't worth it for certain things.

He can give it a shot and see how it turns out. Maybe he'll waste a month and make a couple hundred dollars. That's fine for some girl living in a single room with roommates and living off government benefits but not for most normal people. But that's who you're competing against. They are happy to get that but I'm not. I'm just talking from experience too, trying to save him the hassle and money. Donate to goodwill, take a nice tax write off and be done with it. I've been there to many times.

 

[JMapleton]

There is a big difference between selling $1000 item and selling a hundred different $5 shirts or something. Totally different game. And the scams or bad buyers are no joke, we read about them all the time. Trust me, you beat the odds, but then all the sudden you can get 3 or 4 bad buyers and it ruins everything.

With that being said I've sold off and on through ebay for 15 years. Maybe a couple hundred items or so. Never had a scammer or major problem. But I can tell you with large lots of small things it just isn't worth it. And many times I've taken far to many losses after all the fees and shipping costs. In the end all the effort isn't worth it for certain things.

I could be wrong, but I would imagine it's the sellers who sell the larger items are the ones more likely to get scammed. Who scams someone over a $5 charger cable or used pair of pants?

 

[Staples]

I rarely sell stuff, let alone on Ebay.

Too lazy to ship stuff and usually only end up with a small profit. (So I dump stuff at Goodwill most of the time).

But for the guy aboce recommending taking a tax deduction, I use Turbo Tax and I'd need a hellava lot of donations (like 12k to even affect my tax return). Married with two children. May be less for you.

 

[Sonikku]

The only things I'll sell on Ebay anymore are cheap items like movies. I have a lot of expensive items to sell, but I'm dreading being out of the item and the money if some scammer wants to say he never got it.

A poster above mentions taking a video of you packing, but then the buyer could say it was a different box, and they would not even need a pic to prove it.

Ebay needs some serious changes to bring back sellers imo, or some way to guarantee a seller won't be scammed. Like pack your item at a UPS store and have the clerk verify what you put in the box (will never happen, but only thing I can think of).

If you do decide to sell, make sure you set 'only US buyers' and understand all the options; if not be prepared to have to ship a $10 item to China for $40.

Imagine what Ebay would be like if not for the Chinese.

 

[T9D]

I could be wrong, but I would imagine it's the sellers who sell the larger items are the ones more likely to get scammed. Who scams someone over a $5 charger cable or used pair of pants?

You run into a lot of cheapskates and idiots at the lower priced items. People who can't read, are complete morons, and screw things up, send something back that they ruined, don't understand the return policies or paypal, take way more of your time than necessary, don't bother to do things right and even if it's their fault just go ahead and do a reverse charge. If you handle them with kid gloves and ridiculous amount of patience and spell everything out for them, hold their hand the entire way, you can usually avoid a problem, but it aint worth it.

At higher priced items like I try to stick with anymore you get people with more money who do research, actually read the listing, and know what they want and what to expect. They don't hassle you non stop with dumb questions or problems. And so don't end up with a complaint so much or a problem or chargeback or paypal reversal. (sometimes I read about the seller dispute forums just to get angry, go there and you'll never want to sell anything ever again).

 

[BUTCH1]

As mentioned it all depends on the item your trying to sell, if it's large and shipping would be a deal-breaker than CL is the better option. In reality there are always risks with Ebay or CL, sometimes on CL someone will want the item then never show up but I have sold 8-10 things on CL without issue, I list a low price and add in "firm" in the listing and it seems to have worked well for me. Where Ebay comes in handy is when there are no local people who would be interested in what you want to sell, as an example I found an old pair of speakers in someones trash, both woofers were torn up badly, these were HPM-100's though, and a lot of people are into '70s, early '80s electronics so I listed and sold the midrange, ribbon tweeters, and X-overs and sold them all, wound up with about $175 in all. Yea, I had to pay the Ebay fee's but I never would have sold these items on CL locally.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Imagine what Ebay would be like if not for the Chinese.

Amazon basically.

 

[pcslookout]

Horrible idea.