You HAVE to try this!! EBAY your way to DISNEY!!

[susan137]

I've been reading this tread with much interest and finally today I listed 3 items. Just want to get my feet wet for now. I am hoping to suppliment our vacation fund and ebay my to Disney!

Thanks for the encouragement and useful information.

 

[Robinrs]

Question:

Any ideas on what sells the best? Is there a website for this? Alot of the things I want to sell I do research on and they're not moving. I don't know if it's worth listing?

Any hints?

 

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by Robinrs
Question:

Any ideas on what sells the best? Is there a website for this? Alot of the things I want to sell I do research on and they're not moving. I don't know if it's worth listing?

Any hints?

------------------------

I don't think there's any one specific item that does better than another - unless of course it's some type of collectible; Disney pins; or things of that nature..

I've found it's pretty much hit or miss - and what often doesn't sell the first time around will sell when it's relisted..

Could you be a bit more specific about the types of items you're thinking of listing? Also, when researching these items, have you checked the "completed" auctions as well? I've noticed recently that most people aren't placing bids at all until the last day - or hours - of the auction..

Another thing to consider - are your offerings anything that could be considered "seasonal" ? If so, they might do better at a different time of year..

I've also noticed that I have much better success when I sell in "lots" as opposed to single items.. Many buyers don't understand the concept of everything that goes into the shipping charges (box/mailer; bubble wrap; tape; labels; etc. - not to mention time and trips to the PO) and they shy away from getting "only" one item for X amount of shipping and handling..

Hope this helps a bit!!!

 

[C.Ann]

Yooooooooo hoooooooooo..... Where have all of my students gone??

Don't tell me you have all left for Disney without me already!!!!!

I expect that many of you will have auctions ending tonight, tomorrow night, and Sunday night - soooooooo - let's get those assignments turned in so we can keep track of who is doing what - okay??

 

[ByJiminy]

I have some more auctions ending Sunday night and Monday morning, so I'll report back Monday on those! Thank you all for your thoughts on length of auction/ending days/ending times. We'll see if my ending times have any impact on these auctions, as I had done some for Sunday evening but did not have time to get them all up, so I did some early one morning. If that really seems to have an impact, I'll either commit to trying to do them at night, or pay the fee to have them start at a certain time.

I may try Turbolister also, and see if that makes things easier, although the listing process is really much easier than I had feared!

C.Ann, sorry I have no idea what to tell you about an APO! Hope someone else will know the answer. I have only sold one thing as you know and I used the "confirmed" address that was listed by PayPal. I guess you won't know if that is a "confirmed" address until they pay? What made you decide to upgrade your PayPal account to Premier?

What methods do you all use to keep track of your sales and your costs? Since I had a sale, I tried to put something together using a spreadsheet. I guess it will work okay, I'm not really sure of what all I need to track - is there any reason I should keep track of the auction numbers? I feel like I should, but I'm not really sure why, LOL. For my purposes I'm really just interested in what sold, and how much I really made after taking out fees, shipping costs, etc. Anyone have any thoughts?

One more question! Am I supposed to leave feedback on my buyer now that I have shipped? Do any of you follow up with an email or anything to encourage feedback? Oops, that was two questions!

Thanks everyone!

Laura B.

 

[C.Ann]

Good morning, Laura B.!!

Let's see if I can answer some of your questions for you - although my answers may not make all that much sense because I'm not fully awake yet - LOL!

First of all, the reason I upgraded to a Premier account.. Basically it was due to something DMRick said a few pages back about "impulse" buyers.. I'd had a few things up for auction and for the first time since I've started this venture I was getting NO bids at all.. They weren't terribly expensive items and I couldn't figure out what was going on and then when I reread my payment options it was like a light bulb suddenly went off in my head.. I put myself in the buyers shoes and realized that it was really a hassle for them to have to make a special trip to the PO or wherever to purchase a money order for a measly $12 or so - yet if they paid by check instead, that meant about a week for the check to reach ME, another 10 days to clear the bank, and yet ANOTHER ten days for the actual item to get back to THEM if it was an item that I was shipping by media mail - almost a MONTH for them to receive their item!! Considering the majority of the items I put up for auction is just "stuff" that is cluttering up my house, it didn't make all that much difference to me if Paypal would be taking out a bit more in additional fees because I would still end up with MORE than I would get in a garage sale - and a LOT more than if I just pitched it out or sent it to the Salvation Army.. So - I upgraded my account to Premier on a late Friday night and when I woke up Saturday morning, I had several bids on items that weren't due to end for another 4 or 5 days.. One of three things happened - either I snagged the "impulse" buyers ("Oh heck, what's $10 on the charge card?") - or, I snagged the people who didn't want to truck all over town to get a money order - I snagged those who didn't want to send a check and wait almost a month to get their goods..

Now - I'll give you an example of the Paypal fee structure.. First of all, there is a 30 cent flat fee that is charged no matter what your item sells for.. Then they also take 2.9% of the TOTAL amount (and I mean "total" INCLUDING the shipping and handling).. So - if the total due for you item (including S&H) is let's say $7.55, you would end up with $7.03.. ($7.55 minus the 30 cent flat fee - the 2.9%= $7.03)

I can't say for sure, but I have several items up right now (as well as a few that I relisted AFTER I indicated that I would accept CC's) that have bids on them and I really don't think they would have bids at all if I hadn't changed my payment methods.. This method may not work for everyone - because some people may not want to give up more of their profit - but I really think there is something to be said for "impulse" buyers and the ease of using their credit cards.. That's strictly my own opinion though and I realize that some folks may not want to go that route..

Now - keeping track of my sales.. I probably should find a more streamlined method, but I have a large three-ring binder and I have a large supply of plain white paper that is already pre-punched with 3 holes.. As soon as I put up an auction, I go to my auction page and print out the entire thing - along with one extra copy of JUST the description of the item.. I put them in my binder under the section I have labeled "current auctions".. When the item sells, I write down all the shipping info on the auction page - date shipped, address shipped to, method of shipment) - as well as stapling the delivery confirmation receipt to that page - and it then gets moved to an accordian file that I have here by my desk. The extra sheet with the description gets sent to the buyer - with any sections highlighted that may indicate something less than perfect about the item (smudge, small tear, etc.) - and I usually write a quick note at the bottom of that sheet thanking them again and telling them to enjoy the item.. (The reason I send the description section is so they can't email me later and say that I didn't tell them this or that if the item isn't in perfect condition..) I can usually just "eyeball" my final selling price and figure out what I've made minus all the fees and such, but when I have a little spare time I take the closed auctions out of the accordian file and actually write down on those sheets what my profit and expenses were..

As for emails and feedback.. Well - I'm the "queen" of emails - LOL - and my customers REALLY seem to appreciate it and almost always make mention of it when they leave feedback for me.. I email them at the end of the auction (congratulating them, etc.) - I email them as soon as I ship the item (to let them know it's on the way) - and then 10 days later or so I email them again to find out if they have received the item and if they were happy with it..

It's only AFTER the transaction is COMPLETE (meaning it's paid for, shipped, and received) that I leave feedback for my buyers because it makes no sense to me to leave feedback for the buyer before I know if they're satisfied or if there is some issue that I need to try to resolve for them.. I'm not sure if that is the "correct" way to handle feedback, but it works for me and so far all of my feedback is positively glowing..

So - there you have it.. Hope it all made sense.. Anything else I can help you with??

Have a great - and profitable day all!!!!!!!!!

 

[dturner]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents, I agree with C. Ann, 99% of my bidders pay with a credit card and I'm so glad that I offer credit cards, I truly believe that I wouldn't have sold as many things if I didn't offer credit cards and C. Ann is right the extra fees that Paypal takes for the use of credit cards is not very much so those of you who haven't upgraded their paypal accounts - do it, you will see a difference, believe me, when I started I didn't take credit cards and bids weren't coming in then after I upgraded I too had more bids and have sold everything I've listed except two items.

Good luck and let's keep listing and Ebaying our way to WDW.

 

[DMRick]

Do any of you follow up with an email or anything to encourage feedback?

If you send any followup email, know that it can be thought of as spam email..and some ebayers do not want to be reminded to leave feedback. The time to do that would be in the initial thank you (something like..we appreciate feedback when you recieve item and all is well). I know that sometimes I get notes from people asking me to leave feedback (I use vrane and it leaves feedback in response to positives left for me), and I do respond what I just said above..but when I get a second note mentioning feedback, I get annoyed. I get a lot of email, and I really don't want spam. I've been tempted to leave the following feedback: "You kept asking..so here it is..feedback." I never leave feedback until the sale is over..and to me, that means you have your item and have left me feedback..since that is how vrane. com leaves it.
One girl was so pushy, I considered a neutral. If she was that interested, all she had to do was leave it for me, and vrane would have left it for her...as I explained. The only times I leave it by hand is when I buy..then I leave it when I get my item and am happy.

I keep track of my sales and fees with a excel spreadsheet. It makes life a lot easier.

 

[poober25]

I almost always leave feedback as soon as I receive payment on an item. If a buyer has been slow in paying and I have had to remind them several times or if it is an item that was very pricey that I feel they may try to say wasn't as described, then I will hold feedback until they have left it for me. Anything under say, $50 that is paid for promptly gets immediate feedback. I generally have not had very many problems with people not leaving feedback for me after they receive their items. Also, I send out winning bidder e-mails within 24 hrs. of auction close stating total with shipping, method of shipment, forms of payment accepted, and telling them that I will leave positive feedback for them upon receipt of payment and expect them to do the same for me upon receipt of merchandise, and also my shipment days for that week. I usually leave another e-mail later letting them know when the item was shipped, that I have left feedback and reminding them to leave fb for me when they receive. I haven't had any neg. responses from this.

 

[claudia]

The way that I keep myself organized for everything is:

1)ship everything priority mail. All supplies that I need are sent to me when I order off the USPS page.

2) I pack every item that I am going to list for sale. Mark on the box the name of the item, where later I will place the shipping label over. Weigh each box and put that info on the box as well. I also enclose a personal note letting them know that I appreciate their business, hope that they enjoy their item, and if they are pleased with my product and shipping to please leave feedback for me. I never seal the box until I ship though.

3)Print out the first page of every listing and tape that to the corresponding box. Makes life very easy if you are listing several items that will close the same day.

4)I will list the shipping cost at the dollar amount that it would cost to send it to the furthest place. I find that people are more comfortable bidding on an item knowing the shipping in advance. But if I do receive a reguest for a different form of shipping, or according to their zip code I will be accomodating...I just don't print that in my listing.

4a) I also keep a generic ebay "listing" stored on Word, I customize it and then paste it to the ad. Saves a lot of time. I have a generic stored also for initial contact/shipping info and shipped/thank you.


5) When sale is made, immediately send out my "generic" form letter, with all the customize info included on it...ex. enter the bid price, shipping cost, and also include info on ins. if they want that as well. Asking for shipping info from them if they choose to pay by money order. If they are paying by money order I will then immediately print out a shipping doc. from USPS and attach that to their package. USPS will give free delivery confirmation. As soon as I receive their money order I ship.

6)When I receive confirmation of payment from Paypal or C2it, I will then Print off shipping label from USPS. This way I have a verfied address. These I will ship on the day after I receive the payment info.

6)When I ship, I remove the first page of the listing, go to my generic "shipping Info", fill in the blanks and send an email off to the customer so they know that their item is shipped and on its way.

8) Immediately post feedback for the buyer, this way I never forget to do it later.

9) I do keep all emails (including paypal, c2it) that I keep in a seperate folder in my email account so that I have all info immediately available to me....name, shipping address, kind of payment, etc. this way I can personalize my message to them. I like to establish a nice rapport with a buyer so they know that I do care and do consider their purchase very important to me.

10)Attach all shipping info to the original paper that I attached to the shipping package. Make any personal notes to myself, mark down final sale numbers, all deductions for ebay listing fee and paypal fees, including money order payment, post office receipts and then file the paper work.

11)When I see feedback posted for me on the sale, I will delete my email file of any info about the sale that I have saved.

12) Once I rectify all monies received from my bank, I will move paper work to a closed file....I usually hold onto it for a couple of months. Gives me a chance to see who my repeat buyers are....also look over what sold faster, or was more popular.

 

[erinch]

Claudia--

If your item is too big for one of the priority mail boxes, where do you get your shipping boxes from? Do you order some? Scavenge the local liquor store?

thanks,
Erin C-H

 

[DMRick]

If they are paying by money order I will then immediately print out a shipping doc. from USPS and attach that to their package. USPS will give free delivery confirmation.

You have to date what day you are shipping these when you print out the Priority label...and of course it's my Paypal proof of shipping. How do you do that if you print them out in advance? Don't they only go a few days in advance?

I use mostly Priority, and new boxes (took a little bit of looking and comparing to get the least expensive..and I do charge a small amount of handling to cover these), and some boxes from a local bookstore gift shop. If the boxes have writing on them not allowed by the PO, then I turn them inside out..I don't want to get into a lot of overwrapping or painting of the boxes. All items that are not personalized are packed and ready to go. I too include a card (double sided biz card) with a spot for the auction number, and mention that I will leave feedback once I know they have their item, or they leave feedback (to a person, they leave feedback and then let me know they got it, so vrane.com just leaves it automatically..it only is a "problem" if the person wants me to leave feedback first. As this has always been a long standing argument, I'll just say I think the auciton is over when the bidder has her item and there are no problems..others feel it's over when they are paid..it's the what came first, the chicken or the egg..so we'll just agree it's individual, OK?) ). I also use that card to let them know (since I sell a lot of craft/personalized itmes) that as a previous client they can buy direct, and I point them to my about me page as well as mention all the other items I have for sale.

I print out (copy and paste) part of the end of auction notice from ebay, and my letter to the bidder. I keep that in a folder until payment, and once payment is made, item is shipped, I put the item in my spread sheet, which figures out what it cost me (ebay fees, Paypal fees, shipping, Auction watch, etc.). It's also my inventory, as it has a place to list color, and type of item that I craft. Once it's entered, it goes into a box file for a trip to the attic when filled. Oh..and that days pile of ship outs, gets the PO recipe connected..so if there is a problem, it's easy found by zipcode.
Doris
Upstate NY

 

[mom2smjn]

okay I have a small problem..........
I had ebayer win my auction for a watch(not an expensive item, a childrens watch)
However her email address is no longer valid and I cannot get in touch with her.
WHAT do I do now? This auction ended 2 days ago and I even got the email ebay invoice back to my address.

HELP!

 

[DMRick]

You can try pulling her contact information and call (I love my cell phone for the free minutes..if you don't have free minutes, you may not want to do that)..or wait a few days to see if she reaches you. Not that it helps you, but if you tell eBay the contact info isn't any good, she'll be suspended.
Here is the eBay page to get contact info..under non paying bidder:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/index.html

Doris

 

[cindala]

Originally posted by C.Ann
First of all, the reason I upgraded to a Premier account.. Basically it was due to something DMRick said a few pages back about "impulse" buyers.. I'd had a few things up for auction and for the first time since I've started this venture I was getting NO bids at all.. They weren't terribly expensive items and I couldn't figure out what was going on and then when I reread my payment options it was like a light bulb suddenly went off in my head.. I put myself in the buyers shoes and realized that it was really a hassle for them to have to make a special trip to the PO or wherever to purchase a money order for a measly $12 or so - yet if they paid by check instead, that meant about a week for the check to reach ME, another 10 days to clear the bank, and yet ANOTHER ten days for the actual item to get back to THEM if it was an item that I was shipping by media mail - almost a MONTH for them to receive their item!! Considering the majority of the items I put up for auction is just "stuff" that is cluttering up my house, it didn't make all that much difference to me if Paypal would be taking out a bit more in additional fees because I would still end up with MORE than I would get in a garage sale - and a LOT more than if I just pitched it out or sent it to the Salvation Army.. So - I upgraded my account to Premier on a late Friday night and when I woke up Saturday morning, I had several bids on items that weren't due to end for another 4 or 5 days.. One of three things happened - either I snagged the "impulse" buyers ("Oh heck, what's $10 on the charge card?") - or, I snagged the people who didn't want to truck all over town to get a money order - I snagged those who didn't want to send a check and wait almost a month to get their goods..

After I read your post C.Ann, it made a lot of sense. So yesterday I upgraded my PayPal account too. I have several auctions ending today, and only 1 bid as of yesterday. I thought I might catch some impulse buyers on Mother's Day. Let's see what happens. I'll report back later.

 

[claudia]

If your item is too big for one of the priority mail boxes, where do you get your shipping boxes from? Do you order some? Scavenge the local liquor store?

I mostly sell clothes, books, videos, etc. that will fit into priority. But I do occasionally need a larger box. I order online from
www.fetpak.com. They do have a minimum of 25, but they do offer free shipping. I order #44, you can stuff it with newspaper to fill the space, and it is a size that UPS, USPS and Fed Ex accept with no extra fee. I always find a use for boxes around the house for storage, so it's nice to have some extras around.

 

[claudia]

You have to date what day you are shipping these when you print out the Priority label...and of course it's my Paypal proof of shipping. How do you do that if you print them out in advance? Don't they only go a few days in advance?

I only do this with the money orders.....which I very very rarely get...i get mostly credit cards. I just print it out for the furthest day that they allow me to. When I have gone to ship them I have never had a problem at the post office. They just scan it as usual and process, no one has ever mentioned it.
As far as the feedback goes, yes, it is a very individual thing. Like you say, everyone has a different idea of when the auction is over and must do what they feel is best for them.

 

[cindala]

C.Ann,
Thank you for your advise on PayPal! After only having one bid on my items as of yesterday, today all sold except for three! Was it the PayPal, or Mother's Day or Sunday? Maybe all three, but I really think PayPal had something to do with it. One buyer already paid me with PayPal, and another indicated that they would be also.

Now to find time to list some more things!

 

[my2boys]

OK I've run into my first bidder who has not paid. The auction ended April 30th. I have sent an invoice, a reminder and even a personal e-mail to this person with no response..........I am pretty new to the e-bay thing and not sure how to proceed........any verterans care to guide me on what to do!!

THANK YOU!!

I know CAnn that you have writtne about submitting a non payment invoice with e-bay (foir lack of a better term but I have no clue how to do this!! Any help would be great!!

 

[C.Ann]

If you look back a few posts, DMRick inserted the link that will take you to the info about that..

I wouldn't be too hasty though.. It's only been a week and a half since the April 30th auction closed and there's always the possibility that your bidder is on a two-week vacation.. I would send a daily email for a few more days and see what happens.. You could also pull her contact info (which DMRick also described) and try that approach if all else fails..

I'm still dealing with my NPB.. Finally contacted me, but the address where they want the item shipped to is an APO military address and I haven't been able to find out yet if it costs more to ship to an APO - or if Paypal accepts that as a "confirmed" address that I can get delivery confirmation on (the bidder wants to apy by credit card).. If anyone knows, I sure would love to hear about it..

I have to say this eBay thing is very interesting - you learn a lot as you're going along and never quite know WHAT you're going to be dealing with!! LOL

Glad to hear some have made sales today - now where is the REST of my class?????????????

Most of my auctions for this week aren't closing until tomorrow, but I did get several bids today that I didn't have prior to this..

Keep that Disney money rolling in!!!!!!!!!