Please tell me about selling on eBay...

[lntsmom]

I tried once, years ago. I sold Wiggles tickets. Well, tried to. I thought everything went well...they sold, the buyer paid, I sent her the tickets...then a month later she called to ask why eBay had given her a refund. I don't know what I did wrong, but for some reason eBay didn't place the money in my Paypal account, and eventually gave it back to her.

In the end, I paid a few cents to give away $100 worth of tickets!

I now live in a very small condo. I won't go into the story, but I thought I'd be moving this week, but I'm not. I have some things (board games, a Leap Pad with games, moon shoes, a pair of $40 dress shoes my son only wore once, and jeans with the tags still on) that I'd like to sell. I took them to my local ebay reseller today and he refused them- told me he won't accept anything unless it is guaranteed to sell for at least $15. He prefers only items that sell for several hundred dollars. Sheesh.

So, does anyone here know how I screwed up last time? I'd try again, but only if I can figure out a way to make sure I'm actually going to get the money!

Thanks!

 

[a1tinkfans]

Sorry to hear about your last experience.
Was a seller and no longer am one on ebay, too many fees, too many non payers, feedback Q's, (although I never got a negative in over 300+ auctions), just not enough support from ebay when bad buyers waste your time and energy....
so IMHO
I'd use Craigslist instead, no fees and no hassles, cash and go.....easy as pie........
Use your head (no people in your home, etc) and tell them up front cash and carry only right in your ad. Ad a picture, wah la!!
Good Luck!!!!

 

[3boymthr]

Selling on e-bay takes time and preparation and a willingness to possibly loose a little money on fees and to factor a portion of that into your pricing.

First, if you haven't already done so, set up a paypal account that accepts credit card payments. You will pay a larger portion of your money earned to paypal but it's now required that you accept paypal and accepting a credit card will get you way more buyers. If you don't want people to have access to your e-mail address set up a separate e-bay only account for e-bay and paypal. Also, make sure you turn off spam filtering or you won't get most of your e-bay e-mails (another ).

Next make sure your items are clean and then take nice clear photos of your items. This is best done on sunny days on a plain background. A single colored tile, wood or carpet floor, solid color sheet or bedspread work well. You want to make your item stand out. Take lots of photos from all angles. Upload your photos and crop out any extraneous images ( Seriously, some guy listed his dining set with a lovely photo of his nude self reflected in the mirror in the background )

Begin to list your item. Find the appropriate category. Unless your item is really expensive it's not worth listing in two categories. Search current listings to see where items most similar to yours are listed. Also check how many items are listed and how much they are selling for.

Describe your item thoroughly in the title - if the item is new or has tags make sure to note that. Use as many keywords as you can without spamming the title. Certain keywords are forbidden. Check e-bay's rules on this.

Be thorough but brief in your descriptions. Describe condition, but don't use negative words unless there is no other choice. If selling adult clothing it's helpful to note the measurement of waist, length, etc. as many people will e-mail asking for this information. If you know little or nothing about something admit it. for example, I bought a lot of pins from for our WDW trip but the kid's decided they didn't want to use them so I resold them, when I resold I noted that I didn't know anything about them because I didn't want to get questions I couldn't answer.

I've found I get a better price if I enhance the listing by changing the font, color of my letters and making the point size larger; I use 18 point or so on average.

Note if you will or will not combine shipping.

Tell people that it's okay to e-mail with questions, and try to answer them all, but don't feel obliged to answer if they ask a question that's rude. If it's a question that will get asked frequently post the answer on the listing or edit the listing to note the answer.

When setting price make sure your starting price is 5 cents cheaper than other listings which start at about the same time - people often look for the lowest start price, bookmark the item and bid on that item without rechecking the price of the competition so undercut your competition from the start.

Make sure to note if you will accept returns and how long people have to pay you. (A week is usually good.)

Determine the weight of your item and have e-bay calculate the postage or calculate the shipping for multiple locations and decide if you'll be better off shipping flat rate box if your item will fit. Add in a handling fee to help off set the listing cost plus the cost of any packing materials, but don't add more than a dollar or two.

I do a lot of buying and selling. I have received lots of recycled boxes and send lots of them myself. Don't feel you need to buy boxes for shipping your items. Also take advantage of the free priority mail boxes from the post office where you can.

Despite what they tell you upgrades to your listing are not really beneficial to your selling price unless you are a power lister or you have an expensive item. But if you have more than 4 photos the option to list multiple pictures and show supersize photos is worth it (this upgrade is only available when you upload your photos - btw ) because it gives you a discount on the photo price.

 

[lntsmom]

I may try Craig's List (again) while I get my ducks in a row for eBay. I'd let my paypal account expire when I moved...but I still have a checking account where I used to live that's sitting there doing nothing. I'll get it set up again so I can use it for PayPal.

I have tried Craig's List here, but because I live in a bedroom community that's 10 miles away from the nearest city of any size, I've never had any luck. Last time I tried was last summer after we got back from WDW and I tried to sell the 3 guides I had for next to nothing...I didn't get a single nibble!

I tried the only local consignment store I could find, but, they don't buy during the summer and during the school year they only buy from 9 to 3. And you have to go 2 days in a row. I guess they don't much want to do business with working moms!

Thank you so much for the info and ideas!

One last question about eBay and PayPal. After the auction is done and you're notified about who won on your eBay site, do you have to go to PayPal and officially accept the payment or something? I'm still confused as to why, after going thru all the steps with eBay, PayPal chose to give my buyer her money back. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[mjhd]

I can't remember why (maybe it's in your settings) but sometimes you do have to go in and accept the money - I have not had to do this in a VERY long time though so I think it has either changed or I've changed my settings. If you do not accept the money, it is refunded to the buyer. Can I ask why you didn't move it from your paypal account to your bank account that same day? I never keep more than $20 in paypal...best of luck selling your stuff!