Has anyone been successful selling on ebay?

Question

I do not have a problem with the technical side, just wanted to know if people had any success selling on there and what did you sell? Any pitfalls or problems you encounterd too.

Any comments welcome.

you lot are so cool!

Answer 1

I financed son through university for courtesy of ebay & and that wasn't small beer. I sold for 4 yrs. solidly but for the past month have been having a break as have ground to a halt. I sold plus size clothes, jewellery and collectables. My best profit was on a 10p jumble notecase which turned out to be Tiffany and sold to someone in LA for £250.

Ask for and send light overseas items via small packet airmail rate. Post offices often try to charge you letter rate. I weigh everything before I go to confirm their charges.

List auctions on scheduled listings and then release them ahead of time to save the extra fee. Otherwise you have to sit and hurriedly list auctions at prime evening times. Friends and I have never had much luck with turbolister, the ebay listing tool which is supposed to save time but is riddled with glitches and unreliable.

List most of your auctions to end on a Sunday evening when there are many more buyers around.

Clearly state your postage costs which will save a lot of un-necessary replies to questions.

Always advanced search to see what similar items have fetched in past as you can easily undervalue goods.

Don't skimp on bubble wrap. It's cheap enough if you buy a large roll.

If buyer has a London postcode, charge for recorded delivery so item can be tracked. If buyer has an address which is obviously a flat or maisonette, likewise. These are the packages which could go astray and then you've lost the goods and the postage.

Watch the press to see what celebrities buy, use promote and include their names in auction headers if appropriate to your goods. Don't waste un necessary words in the headers that wouldn't be put into search boxes. Always include size on header or if item is signed or designer label.

Don't give feedback before the buyer. Then if anything goes wrong, they are unlikely to give a negative which wrecks your selling reputation.

Put a little personal message on the invoice. Then people tend to put you on their favourites list which can tide you over during the ebay quiet times and there are plenty of them.

Be aware of the common buyer excuses and take them with a pinch of salt. Been in hospital, death in the family, computer crashed are all reasons used for not paying on time. Usually they just haven't bothered. Make a seven day deadline for payment to be made or item will be relisted.

If you have the slightest bother with any buyer, block their id from bidding in future. This prevents retaliation if there is a payment dispute.

And finally as they say, ebaying is extremely time consuming and all those hours on internet mash the brain. Turn the broadband off overnight to give it a rest.

Answer 2

I only do paypal.

NEVER accept a cheque, cashiers check, or Western Union money
which will be canceled as soon as they get the tracking number for the shipment!

Only sell in the country where you have legal rights under the laws, and ability to threaten to sue.

Don't believe everything you see.

I only sell and ship to verified addresses. A stolen credit card transaction can be easily reversed, at your total loss, and expense.

There are a lot of very smart criminals hoping to lure you into a 'deal' that is too good to be true, and is.

Following these rules, I have had a lot of fun, and gotten money that my garage sale wouldn't have, for really good NIB stuff!

Do communicate with anyone who emails you with questions.

Take your own photos, of the exact item.

Give a thorough explanation of the thing being offered. I avoid bidding on vaguely described items.

Keep the shipping to the real cost, don't sell something and collect a $20 shipping and handling fee, on a CDrom that costs only $1.60 to mail worldwide!

Buyers put those folks on their blacklists.

Don't cherish that stuff you aren't using, that clutters up your life.
Let it go. Someone, somewhere needs it.

Offer anything and everything, even if you don't think it is what I might want. I want!!! Include all the info, papers, registrations, warranties, etc.!

A Barbie in the original box, or Mattel Hot Wheels in the original pack can pull big money, or, used and abused,go for a fraction of it's value. Include everything. Be totally honest as to condition.

Never give out any banking info, only do transactions that are protected with the backing of the Paypal, bank, or genuine credit card. NEVER do a direct debit card, where the money is pulled from your bank account. That should go through something like Paypal.

At least they offer you the protection plan...

Answer 3

I generally just sell old books and bits and bobs for a few pounds but my dad has sold a car and other things and has made thousands.

Be clear on the payment method you will accept. If you don't want to accept credit card payments for example, make that clear in your ad. Be honest when describing your item. Some people have unrealistic expectations so instead of just saying the item is 'used' or 'new' I always describe any blemishes or wear and tear it has. Always include a photo of the item and check your spelling in the ad, especially of the name of the item. Wait for the buyer to leave feedback before you do, so if there is a dispute it can be ironed out before the transaction goes public on the feedback forum. Try to time it so the auction ends on a Sunday afternoon/evening. That way more people are browsing and might an impulse buy than if the auction ends at 3am on a Tuesday when no-one is online.

Answer 4

I'm just new to e-bay, im only really using it to sell things, i havnt brought nothing yet, and i think it depenent on what it is and if you actually want that second hand. I have sucsessfully sold 2 things so far i sold a samsung flipphone, it was black and white as well and i got £31 for it, i thought that was well good for what i thought the phone was worth. Then we have just sold a collection of Bratz dolls, although only got £40 for them. There were like loads of them about 10 large dolls 5 small ones a house and car, so i didnt think i got what was worth for that but hey! So thats it so far, ive just listed a Bread Maker though and that has already got 4 watchers, just hoping that does well!!

Good Luck on whatevah you are gonna sell xx

Answer 5

Tried selling a 3,000 piece jigsaw, but no luck. I think the problem was that the postage cost was more than anyone would want to pay to get the jigsaw. This is something to bear in mind. Also bear in mind that the selling costs can take a substantial slice out of low-value items, especially when you add paypal costs onto ebay costs.

Answer 6

I've bought and sold on ebay with no problems, I sell kids books and have sold a buggy on there - sometimes you don't get as much as you'd like because there are loads of the same items on there so I usually start my listings at the very least I can afford to sell them for (eg I buy books at 1.80 so I start the bidding at 1.99 so that even if I don't make much, I'm not losing anything)
Good luck and happy bidding

Answer 7

I sell books on ebay. I do pretty well. The biggest problem is new people on ebay being the winning bidders and not paying. It's such a pain and a waste of my time and money.

Answer 8

I recently sold an unwanted PS2 game on ebay but because the total is less than £6 I can't get the money from PayPal, although they quite easily got their 98p fees! It's only £3.08p, but it's still mine and they won't let me have it. Gits.

Answer 9

I tried selling a few Cd's I no longer wanted, and other than my bank giving me the wrong information, I didn't have any problems.

Answer 10

I sell and buy all the time - a great site. You can sell or buy ANYTHING, I dont know what I did before ebay came along!!