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Selling on Ebay?

Keebler Elf

The Original Elf
Aug 31, 2001
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I've bought on Ebay before, but what is involved in selling stuff on Ebay? I know I need to set up a seller account, and I know Ebay gets a % of all my sales (anyone know how much?).

Is there a monthly/annual fee for being a seller?
 

skypilot

Rebistrad Suer
Jan 10, 2003
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I sold stuff on Ebay a while ago. Just followed their instructions, no problems at all, even for someone as computer illiterate as me. Thought the fees were very fair considering the size of the market and that I had no overhead. I also found that items generally sold at their real value so had no problem starting things off at $ .99
 
skypilot said:
I sold stuff on Ebay a while ago. Just followed their instructions, no problems at all, even for someone as computer illiterate as me. Thought the fees were very fair considering the size of the market and that I had no overhead. I also found that items generally sold at their real value so had no problem starting things off at $ .99
Ditto. I sold some old sports gear. I didn't get a lot of $$ for it, but it was on it's way to the landfill otherwise. Some guy in California is happy, and I'm $500 US richer. He paid up front by PayPal, including shipping.... I was brutally honest about the condition of the stuff.

A painless operation all round...
 

Alexis696969

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Oct 19, 2005
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What happens if the guy doesnt send you the goods ........hows there reputation for getting your money back ?

Anyone have a prob ?

or they sent you not what they advertised ?
 

skypilot

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Jan 10, 2003
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Alexis696969 said:
What happens if the guy doesnt send you the goods ........hows there reputation for getting your money back ?

Anyone have a prob ?

or they sent you not what they advertised ?
I've bought over 100 things on Ebay and only had one problem. The key is to look at their feedback and only buy things from people with alot of positive feedback. Also beware of high priced electronics going cheap.
 

Dancerfan

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Dec 22, 2001
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skypilot said:
I've bought over 100 things on Ebay and only had one problem. The key is to look at their feedback and only buy things from people with alot of positive feedback. Also beware of high priced electronics going cheap.
Also,you can use ebays "dispute console" which gets ebay involved in the transaction,i bought a car part from someone and didnt receive it,when i filed a dispute over it with ebay it was amazing how fast it mysteriously appeared at my door............
 

Keebler Elf

The Original Elf
Aug 31, 2001
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A couple KEY things to remember about disputes.

1) Ebay won't hear a claim for an item that you won more than 2 months ago. Period.

2) The minimum amount of the single auction bid must be greater than, IIRC, $25 for Ebay to offer a refund.

3) You can also file a claim with Paypal if you used it. However, their claim period is only 45 days (I got burned on this once). You have to remember Ebay and Paypal have different claim periods. I think there's a $25 surcharge on claims, so if the item is worth less than that it's not worth it.

I've had mostly good experiences buying on Ebay, but a few bad ones. The bad ones, I believe, were caused by the same guy creating different accounts once his feedback got too negative. Because I didn't know the rules at the time, I got burned for some minor cash amounts. Now I always file a dispute at the one month mark, no matter what the seller does/doesn't tell me. That way I'm covered if it doesn't arrive. Just be sure to end the dispute if you receive the item.

Ebay doesn't have the greatest reputation when it comes to resolving disputes. In fact, google it and you'll find Ebay actually has a pretty bad reputation when it comes to dealing with bad buyers/sellers. Someone will screw you and then keep right on selling without any apparent action from Ebay (everything is handled confidentially, they say).

The great thing about Ebay is that so much is available and the process is so simple. That's what makes it great. Were there some legitimate competition, Ebay would be hurting.
 

tboy

resident smartass
Aug 18, 2001
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Well, as for competition, Ebay just buys it up if they get going. I was watching something on Cnet and I believe they've recently acqired Ubid, Bidpay and a few others.

I too have bought tons of items and only had a problem once but fortunately for me I hadn't paid yet. It was this guy listing tons of DeWalt Batteries and selling them rather cheap (not enormously cheap tho).

It turns out he had been doing this for a while and when I complained to ebay they said, did you pay? No? So what's your problem LOL.

On 60 minutes Morley asked them about bad sellers and Ebay said they do not have the means to investigate or screen sellers. Morley Said "well, you could easily do a credit check or require a major credit card before allowing them to sell" and The Ebay prez just shrugged it off by saying with the volume of transactions and the small amount of bad sellers, it is unfeasible at this time.

Has anyone noticed the Canada Post ads running these days avertising that they are perfect for getting ebay buyers and sellers together? I know they've been hit hard with email and faxes etc. I guess this is their way to garner back some business. Found it funny though that they were using the Ebay name in the ads....
 

MajorMattMason

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May 4, 2002
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I have sold for 7 years, with a 100% positive feedback rating, and have tapered off a lot the last couple of years. I have never screwed anybody and offer a no questions asked return policy, and have probably taken back less than 10 items during that time.

However

For example, on a 7 day auction basis, a "years" listing fees for a$150 item is about $125. Another fixed price site if I wanted to run the same item for a year it would cost me about 4 bucks. Ebay has gotton way too expensive over the years and hax become a major factor for me.

Ebay has become a flea market. Many serious buyers have left because so many people have been screwed by sellers who are unscrupulous and don;t know what they are selling. I can get more money elsewhere.

Ebay has had a significant impact on many items, people know they don.t have to pay retail. Old marbles, Coca cola collectibles have gone down, but other markets have been created.

When I buy I look for balanced detailed descriptions and good photographs in addition to a lengthy sellers history and good feedback and ask questions of the sellers. I have yet to feel screwed because of something I have purchased on ebay.

As a seller the one thing is get a good camera with a good zoom lense. Take pictures that put the item in the customers hands. Give a liberal return policy, build your feedback with smaller items before listing larger items. Know what the item is worth, and I don't mean what is selling for on ebay, because a lot of stuff doesn't bring on ebay what you can get elsewhere.

The Buy It Now feature to induce buyers to act before they lose out ( you gotta know the true value) If yo have good stuff someone else will like it too.

Ebay is a great way to clean closets and get rid of stuff, but it is a lot of work and a very expensive way to sell online in the long term. PM me if you have any additional questions

Good luck
matt
 

Keebler Elf

The Original Elf
Aug 31, 2001
14,572
203
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The Keebler Factory
MajorMattMason said:
Ebay is a great way to clean closets and get rid of stuff...
That's pretty much what I want to do. Do you know if your buyer rating carries over to your seller rating? Is it the same? (I have an excellent buyer rating with no neutrals or negatives)
 

stinkynuts

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Jan 4, 2005
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Your buyer and seller ratings are all combined, altlhough user's can sort the ratings by seller/buyer.
 

MajorMattMason

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The other big consideration is how are you going to ship the merchandies. I get peanuts and materials from a local furniture store or friends and neighbors. FEDEX has some materials and make sure you are charging enough. Its not worth your time if you are out of pocket on shipping (plus materials cost) or it takes a half an hour to wrap and pack something you got $40 for. the rule is pack it so you can throw it over a fence without any damage. A lot of negative feedback comes from damaged merchandise. Online stores sell packing stuff you can find em on ebay.

Matt
 

Maxie

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Feb 6, 2006
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Ebay Sucks!! it's cumbersome to use and stuff doesn't sell, their commissions aren't cheap either. You still can't beat the Star. I'd try to sell on Craigslist or RedFlagDeals before ebay, both sites are free.
 

tboy

resident smartass
Aug 18, 2001
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Hmm Maxie, let me ask you: If it sucks why do billions of people all over the world, sell millions of items everyday quickly and easily?
 

cyrus

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Jun 29, 2003
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Keebler Elf said:
Typically people charge appropriate S&H fees to cover materials and time/effort.
As an online volume seller / buyer, IMO one should pay great attention to:
The following
Fair, Courteous and Excellence

1- Hassle-free Return Policy (unless it is malicious)
2- Fast shipping
Develop a system to pack and drop off packages easily to save time and headache; there are a lot of nice systems out there that you can also use in pair
Like Endicia Internet Postage (www.Endicia.com)

3- Avoid UPS / FEDEX for “low value” items, as they have high brokerage fees that overall make your items more expensive than the local market. Their tracking system is over rated.
Remember for example that imports to Canada, Items with total value of less than $60 that are marked as either Gift or “Commercial Samples” are exempt from customs thus no additional brokerage fees

4- Never buy from anyone who had less than 99% rating also build your own rating to 99- 100%
5- Use only PAYPAL, to buy or sell. This makes the life much easier as Paypal has a very good verification system in place that checks party's financial records, thus have their personal information on file. .. Etc.
 
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