How many of you sell things on e-bay?
How successful has it been for you?
Is it hard getting started?
I have been on e-bays how to sell pages and have read it but was just wanting some feedback from real people.
Thanks
George............................................

Quoted: How many of you sell things on e-bay? How successful has it been for you? Is it hard getting started? I have been on e-bays how to sell pages and have read it but was just wanting some feedback from real people. Thanks George............................................

its not that hard. just realize that they are insanley liberal, and its a buyers world on there. its hard to make profit.

not hard, made some mistakes starting out

Biggest thing is to have an accurate scale, proper packaging for your item.  Wrap it up like you're going to the post office to mail it, the weigh it, charge actual shipping in your auctions.  Post Office has postage calculator at www.usps.gov

You may want to offer UPS as an option too, I live near a Office Depot so if it goes UPS I drop it off there since they charge exact rates UPS charges, not double the charges like one of those Packaging stores.

When you get stuff, save the plastic peanuts and bubble wrap and reuse it.

If you dont have boxes, you can get free US Priortiy Mail boxes (and tape!) from post office or delivered to your house.

I sell some piece of crap lying around from time to time.

It is easy to set up, just takes a few minutes to get everything in the first time (creating accounts, etc.)  Then it goes pretty quick.

I think you would get more for something than you would at a garage sale, much wider audience.  I have financed a few AR goodies by selling extra stuff on ebay!

Sold a fair amount.



I prefer to have no reserve, and just set a starting price I'm willing to accept.   Do a good BUY IT NOW price and you'll move stuff.


I also do flat rate shipping.  Makes it simple for everyone.

Three points:  

Demand certified funds for payment.

Set a time limit as to when you must receive payment of the deal is off.

Set a firm $ amount for shipping.  The Asshats love to argue about shipping.

you are thinking to much about it. its easy, the process of adding an item is a peice of cake the site walks you right through it. 1 tip is obvious decide your bottom dollar price and set the reserve or starting price at that amount. be sure and check under my ebay- my account- my preferences. set things like under shipping and discounts check no for offer discounts for combined items. buyer requirments you can block buyers from overseas and with bad feedback. block buyers with 2 strikes for unpaid items. make sure there are no 3rd party authorizations under your account.

i really recommend paypal as it simplifies the process you know when they pay and get access to the money right away. you can transfer it to your checking or keep it in your paypal account to buy. you can pay listing fees from your profits.

Couple more things:

don't be afraid to sell something internationally.  It's not that big a deal to do a customs form, the first time a postal clerk might show you what to do, after that it's easy.  Grab some extra forms while you're at the post office and hoard them

Might want to start selling small piddly stuff.  Some of my first auctions was for some 357 sig brass which I didnt need, went for $2 or so.  Might want to sell a DVD or CD for a couple bucks, just to get used to it.

One thing I wont do is auction anything that requires going to the post office 2 weeks before Christmas, lines are outrageous.

Paypal sure is handy because of the instant availability of funds.
But it has been a major pain in the ass when there is a dispute or something.
Also, the other day, they took funds out of my account when I correctly filled in the info to use a credit card. Pain in the ass, but at least my bank credited me the overdraft with no questions.

Quoted: I sell some piece of crap lying around from time to time. It is easy to set up, just takes a few minutes to get everything in the first time (creating accounts, etc.)  Then it goes pretty quick.

+1

Although eBay has gotten FAR more expensive than it used to be for a seller.

Works for me. I've been a member since 1996.

man, watch that shipping!!! i sold a video tape set for $9 and just pulled a shipping charge of $4 out of my ass...turns out it was $8+...d'oh!!!

Quoted: Paypal sure is handy because of the instant availability of funds. But it has been a major pain in the ass when there is a dispute or something. Also, the other day, they took funds out of my account when I correctly filled in the info to use a credit card. Pain in the ass, but at least my bank credited me the overdraft with no questions.

try going to paypal- my account- my profile- financial information- bank account or credit card account set which one you want as primary. if during a checkout you go back and change something then go forward you will notice it changes the funding back to whatever you set as primary.

another tip is to download the ebay toolbar so you always know you are actually at ebay not some spoof.

It's very easy.

They have a pretty dumbed down "HTML editor" that allows you to create a decent looking sales page if you aren't very web design savy.

The hardest part is deciding whether or not to set a reserve price. Some say by doing this you alienate some people who will more likely bid on the same item with no reserve price set that starts the bidding at $0.01.

Very good pictures will always improve your chances of selling.

The best thing to do is research what your looking to sell. A lot of the time you can get the description of the item either from another seller or from the manufacturer website (depending on what you're selling).

IMO a lot of eBay sellers try to make their money by raping you on shipping by having some jacked up flat shipping "and handling" rate. Like $20.00 for something that weighs less than a pound and is relatively small. They figure most unexperienced people overlook the shipping rates.

There are also businesses out there that will sell your stuff on eBay for you. They'll pick your crap up, list it on eBay, and ship it... for a fee of course, but it takes all of the hassle out of your hands. I can't really see doing this but I guess some people do if those businesses exist.

Quoted: man, watch that shipping!!! i sold a video tape set for $9 and just pulled a shipping charge of $4 out of my ass...turns out it was $8+...d'oh!!!

Media Mail would of cost about $1.42

postcalc.usps.gov/

I got burned like that a couple times, hence my advice to prepackage the item you're selling and weigh it, and charge what it costs to ship.

I post a standard disclaimer with my auctions.

I make sure the buyer knows I will be shipping in a way that allows for tracking
and delivery confirmation.  To protect both of us.
(that way the buyer can't say he didn't receive his item)

I make sure the buyer knows I will charge the actual shipping cost.
I provide the shipping weight, and the URL to  ups.com  so they can verify it themselves.

Yes, I've had people argue over cost.
But I'm NOT going to ship a $100 item through 3rd class mail.
UNLESS they acknowledge that they take 100% responsibility for lost/stolen/damaged items.
(so far, none have agreed to that)

Shipping has gone up with the fuel prices, but most people know that.

I respect sellers, and I get more respect from buyers, when:
- There is no reserve.
- I don't charge anything for packaging the item.  (I have access to used boxes)
- I provide tons of good photos in the listing, and offer to take/post more if requested.

I do sell internationally.  It is far easier to ship via US mail for that.

I also accept any/all types of payment, except for credit card purchases.
My "standard disclaimer" tells the buyer that I wait until funds clear before I ship.
It it takes a month, that is his problem.  Most people use PayPal, so it usually isn't a problem.

Learn to use the eBay HTML so you can use as many photos as you want.
Upload the images to your web space, and link to them in the ad.

Remember to use key words in the ad.
If you are selling a rare pepsi bottle, for example, don't simply list it as a glass bottle.
State that it is a pepsi bottle, the date or era it was produced, how many were made if known, etc.
The more history you can provide of your own item, the more people will be interested.

I sold some table lamps that were headed towards the dumpster.
I did some research, and found out when they were made, who made them, what they
were called, the "era" they were produced in, etc.  Posted plenty of photos.
Got $80 for them.  

Look at other ads and see how they are put together.
Some are VERY fancy.  So fancy that I don't even know how they design them.
But simple works too.  
Good photos, and a good description.  
Protect your feedback.  It tells the world if you are ethical or not.

Good Luck

I love it and have an item up right now.  Good stuff.  Be a good seller and people will be good buyers.  

I always ship same or next day auction is wn and ship it in a good box with good packing.  

Very good stuff.

Best piece of advice I can offer is...research your item before listing.  The best way to do this is to go to COMPLETED auctions.  This is under advanced search.  The listings that are currently running mean nothing...because alot of bidding happens in the final seconds.  It has to be the COMPLETED auctions.

 Also, as a previous poster stated, goto www.usps.com, and get the free priority boxes.  They even ship them to you for free.  It will save you a ton

Like GreyGoose says, you need to be sure you have an adequate audience for the items you put up for bid, otherwise you may not sell the item for maximum profit.  Some items sell well there and some do not.  I can tell you from experience that used Dillon reloading stuff sells well there.  I sell off all my extra stuff there and have been happy with the auction results.  I usually start the actions at $0.01 with no reserve, because I know the item will sell for 75% of retail or more most times.  Know the market you're trying to cater to.  The mechanics of putting an auction up are pretty simple.  Basic auctions run $0.25 to set up assuming you host the images yourself.  Pics are very important as eveyone bids higher when they can see the item is nice.  Good communications is important as well.  Be prompt in answering questions.  I have been shocked at times by what an item will sell for.   You'll end up learning a little of html coding to insert pics into the description area of the auction listing and stuff like that, but there are tools available on Ebay to use to help with that.  If you need to get a specific amount for the item, you can start the auction off at a given price or set a reserve price on the auction.  If you can see a very steady market for the item and the completed auctions verify selling prices are good, you can save a little in fees and forgo the reserve option.  They charge a little for any of the pricing options.  

Tag for later.

While I've sold a few items without any issues, I have quite a few items I need to sell now.

Don't use the word "Nazi" or "m14". They will pull your item. Don't ask me how I know.

all this talk about selling? what about buying?

i have a simple tip when you do a serach you will notice next to the area you typed in your product there are the words advanced search click that scroll down and you can search within a specified distance from your home. woohoo cuts out the shipping when you can pick things up. i have saved crazy money this way. a 19 inch monitor brand new for $50 a new digital camera for $100. both less than 10 miles from my door. give it a try.

if you have something that's too big to ship or would cost too much to ship, try just getting rid of it locally via http://www.craigslist.org/

Quoted: if you have something that's too big to ship or would cost too much to ship, try just getting rid of it locally via http://www.craigslist.org/

Or you could just narrow down your search in eBay within a certain mileage from a specified zip code.

We did that when searching for a racecar bed for our son. Found one in Philly, drove to the people's house and picked it up. Worked out great.