Looking for a good resource on how to sell on ebay

[CyndiLooWho]

So, I have two needs here - to get rid of some of the stuff in the house, and to make some money to help pay for vacations and such. Now that I have 2 scouts and a scoutmaster in the house, our disposable income is being eaten up by gear, fees, and the dream of high adventure.

So, I have things that I know we would buy off ebay (Lands' End parkas and raincoats, Keen sandals, motorcycle parts, etc). I would like to try listing some things and seeing if I can pull in $100 or so each month. That would cover the bulk of our scout expenses. If I could figure out how to make more, that would be even better, as it would keep me from looking for a pt job to cover things like vacations and all the stuff that teen boys need (eg: band fees for HS - $300 upfront and another $1200 to be raised by the teen - each year ).

What is the best way to start and is there some type of primer for newbies out there? I'd really appreciate any insight you guys can share with me.

 

[Dizisfun]

Someone in the county I live in actually started a facebook page. It's kind of like a facebook yard sale thing, for lack of a better way to explain it. People list items they have for sale, if someone is interested they let the seller know and they meet up at a pre determined location. You should check to see if your area has something like this. There are no fees involved to join the group.

 

[nichanda]

I've only sold a little bit on ebay and that was a few years ago. I found the the ebay fees really eat up a lot of your profit. Make sure to research the ebay fees (and paypal fees) before you set your price, to make sure you are going to get a profit. The higher your starting price, the higher the fee is for the item. For me, it just wasn't worth the hassel. Plus I ran into people who didn't pay or weren't honest, so that made it a little worse for me. Make sure to always purchase the shipment tracking option when you mail your parcel, because if you don't, they could say they never received the item and you lose the money automatically.

If this is your first time selling, do some research about Paypal holding the payment. I seem to recall this happening to me. I think they held the payment from my first bunch of sales for a month or more.

Also, don't set your price low, expecting to get a ton of bids that way. If you set a jacket at $5.00 starting bid, it may very well sell for that because only one person bid.

In Canada, we have Kijiji, which is free online classified ads. When I need to sell something large (furniture, etc), I sell it on there and meet the buyer in person. I think Craiglist is very similar in the US.

Dizisfun - we have the same thing here. There is a facebook group called _______ (name of town) Buy & Sell. People post their items on there where many people can see them. I like this a little better than kijiji, because it's local and I often know the person I am buying from/selling to. I don't have to travel out of town to buy (or sell) something I've found on there. I've bought and sold alot of items this way. It's fantastic.

 

[LuLuO]

Yes, look for Facebook yard sale groups. I have done really well there.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

Good points, thanks

I do sell a lot of my kids' stuff on consignment at several twice-yearly sales held by local churches (I price and tag them according to their rules; I get 70% of the selling price back); I list large items on Craigslist; and I've sold a few things on our neighborhood's fb page. But I have things that I know won't move well that way, but would be a good fit for ebay. So I'm willing to give it the old college try. I'm also going to try geartrade.com for some of my dh's / ds' outdoor gear.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I started selling on eBay in early 1997, but stopped a few years ago. The fees have become so high that it is just not worth the effort for me.

If you do want to sell, make sure you read and understand the rules for selling and shipping so you don't end up making a costly mistake. I would recommend selling your things locally instead (craigslist, garage sales, consignment shops, etc.).

 

[4littleones]

I still sell on ebay. I have been doing it since 2006. Free boxes help. Save the ones you get when you order stuff online and get Priority boxes from the post office. Flat rate boxes don't usually work well for me as I can't fit much. The 12 x 12 x 8 boxes that are not Flat rate can be married together with tape and you can create a very large box that way. I also turn boxes inside out like a box of Pampers so I don't need to cover it with brown paper. I ship a lot of bigger items so I offer a lot of Parcel Select shipping because it is so much cheaper than Priority mail.
Order a scale from Amazon so you can pre-package and weigh your stuff before you list them. With box dimensions and weight eBay will automatically charge the correct shipping fees per each bidders zipcode.
I think the fees suck but there is still money to be made. I sold used kids clothes and shoes and made about $200 last week in my paypal after all the fees.
Good Luck!

 

[madelyn]

Get a postal scale to weigh your items. It will make things easier to weigh and print shipping labels at home. That way you won't have to go to the Post Office unless something is big and bulky. I drop things off in the neighborhood mail box. Or if you catch your mailman delivering your mail, you can leave your parcels with him. I only list items if I can avoid the listing fee. I get 50 free listings a month and sometimes Ebay has times (usually 6 days a month) where you can pretty much list unlimited items for free. You will still pay Ebay closing and Paypal fees if an item sells. For a lightweight item (like a piece of kids' clothing), your cheapest option will likely be First Class Mail Parcel (only up to 13 oz). For anything over that weight, the best route to go is usually Priority. I order some of the Priority Mail shipping materials on-line and they are provided and delivered free. I like the Flat Rate Padded envelope. I can usually fit a few pieces of clothing in those or a pair of shoes (kids). I also use the regular Priority mailers, the boxes and the flat rate boxes. When pricing my items I will have a starting bid no less than what I am willing to sell an item for. It used to be that you had to set your Buy It Now price at least 10% higher than your minimum bid amount but now I think that they require a much higher percentage for the BIN amount. I haven't listed anything for sale in about 3 weeks. I probably make anywhere from $100 to $600 a month depending on what I have to sell. I continue to re-list items and adjust prices if things aren't selling. Clothing in season tends to sell better as do the better brand names. I don't charge exact shipping so I don't weigh my item before I sell it. I will generally estimate shipping and will charge $1.95 for a lighter item like a lightweight top, $2.95 for something of medium weight and $3.95 for something like a dress. Anything over that price will be Priority shipping. Be descriptive in your listing and indicate any flaws like wash wear, fading, holes and stains if there are any. Include one or more photos. If selling shoes, be sure to photograph all angles and the bottom of the soles.

 

[richmond282]

The key is to do your research and educate yourself on the items you are selling.
Look up "sold Items" that are similar to what you have to sell. It will give you a much better idea of whether that particular item is selling and for how much. It will also show you whether an auction or a Buy it now will be better. I have found it is almost always better to just list as a "buy it now". The rules have recently changed so you can list 50 items free a month and they can be either auction or buy it now (even the 30 day listings.) Don't list it low as an auction and expect a bidding war unless it is something that is difficult to find and in great demand.

Account for the fees. Ebay now charges a 10% fee for each sale and paypal charges 2% I think. I usually assume 13-15% (there is a fee on shipping too) of my sale will be fees and I figure it in to my sale. So if I want to make $20 profit, I will sell an item for $23-$24 plus a shipping fee.

Always use either the shipping labels through paypal or the one through ebay. It will automatically include a tracking # and email it to the buyer. I second the suggestion of buying a scale. It has saved me a ton of time and $. Ship quickly. Don't make buyers wait for their item. I try to ship priority mail or first class as often as I can even if the customer paid for parcel post.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

thank you for the suggestions. I figured on buying a scale at WM, and I can ship daily since I'm a SAHM. I think I'll try to get a few things listed when school lets out and see how they go. The fees are actually all right, as the consignment sales around here take 30% plus a $5 sellers fee.

 

[jls886]

Most everything has been covered above, but the one thing I will add is to set your buyer requirements. It's in Account > Site Preferences > Buyer Requirements (or just go to help and search that). That will allow you to block certain buyers who don't have Paypal, or have 2 unpaid item strikes within the past 6 months, etc. I have mine set at the strictest possible...I figure I lose out on a few sales but I also prevent myself from having to deal with bad buyers. That is also where you can block specific buyers that you don't want to ever deal with again...my blocked buyer list is small but I am glad that option is there.

Also, like a PP said, you can order free priority mail boxes from usps.com. They offer many more sizes and options online...I think now most post offices only stock the flat rate boxes on-site. I find that the normal boxes are almost always lower rates, and also hold more things, than the flat rate boxes.

ETA: Ebay also just recently (as of this month) changed their fees so that they are standard across the board. If you do not have an eBay store, they now take 10% of the sale price and the shipping charged. If you have a store the fees are slightly lower. They also now allow you a large number of 'free' listings before they start charging listing fees. Paypal takes about 3%.

 

[ceecee]

I am still selling as well. It helps you save on postage to print your own (free delivery conf). Look under the sold items before you list to see if you have something that will even sell. Maybe if you can do a garage sale you would be able to bring in some extra $.

 

[madelyn]

So with the recent Ebay changes, this month I changed the way I re-listed my items. I ended up going with a fixed price instead of auction style. Now that they are requiring that your "Buy It Now" price be at least 30% more than your minimum bid price, I don't want a minimum bid price that much lower than what I think a reasonable BIN price should be. So I ended up changing the auctions to a fixed price somewhere in between my old minimum and BIN prices. I also changed these listings to 30 day listings. I made the mistake of setting a few to "until canceled" and that is not good since they will automatically renew and I could be charged for those auctions. I only list the 50 that I get free each month. So, I will have to remember to cancel those auctions before they renew.

 

[ceecee]

Yes, I don't like the 30% thing either. Most of my auctions sell at BIN too!