I am out of work & I need an EBAY mentor...

[Digit]

I need to sell off some things, preferably on EBAY and have no clue how to go about it. Whether to put a reserve on items, where to post the pictures, and that sort of thing.

Can anyone help?

[BlueJazz]

1. You would probably do better to let a seasoned seller...

...do the selling for you.
Folks don't trust someone with very few posts. Unfortunately there have been ripoffs at Ebay...usually perpetrated by low-count posters.

I'd like to help you but I have only about 12 posts there...

[Kire]

2. how do you find them..

..and don't you have to have something worth over $100 to make it worthwhile?

[Digit]

4. My stuff is inexpensive...

Saddle shoes,
Unworn tennis shoes,
a VHS movie
Olympic pins

[amazona]

13. the first 3 items are not gonna sell

The shoes and the VHS movie I think you're out of luck on those.

Don't know what Olympic pins are but if they are a collectible and not too heavy to ship, they're worth trying.

Good luck.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[Digit]

16. THIS movie sells...they don't make it anymore.

I have seen it go for $30.

[amazona]

17. then try amazon first

I got better prices on amazon for items I could sell on either site.

Good Luck!

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[4_Legs_Good]

10. Good point...

If you state in the listing that you're new to this it helps isntill a little confidence in buyers.

DO NOT, under any circumstances, get ANY bad feedback! Even one negative feedback point will scew your rating for years. And try to establish good communication with the buyer. If they see you as a nice person they're way less likely to leave anything but positive feedback.

david

[ClintonTyree]

3. They have a tutorial that's pretty simple.............

if I can understand it, anybody can. You take the pics right off your own computer, no hosting involved. They have Q and A's about reserve prices and everything. If you follow their direstions, you can't really go wrong.
If I tried to explain it all, I'd screw you up more than help you.
Check it out, they explain everything very well. Good luck.

[Midlodemocrat]

7. I agree. It is really pretty simple. You shouldn't have any problems.

One thing, though, I always use the Buy It Now feature, because it saves me from having to keep coming back and looking at the auction. If that is a possibility for you, I would use it because lazy people like me would be more inclined to buy from a seller with a buy it now.

[MissB]

5. Have you considered Craigslist?

If you have one for your area, I'd suggest that instead. No fees, no shipping. I've sold plenty of stuff on my local Craigslist- it moves quite quickly. The only thing I've had sit on there for more than a day were some plants that I had plenty of. Most stuff I post on there gets a response within an hour or two.

Craigslist.org

[Fridays Child]

6. First look up items similar to yours...

...in "completed auctions." This will show you what things like yours are actually selling for and what categories the successful sellers are placing those items in. For example, you could list a piece of furniture in at least three different major categories and even more sub-categories. So, by looking at completed auctions, you can get an idea of where your items have the best chance of selling for the highest price.

That's step one.

[4_Legs_Good]

8. Accept PayPal, Post pictures, No reserve, Buy It Now

These are all the things I look for when I buy something. If any of those criterion aren't met, I will only bid if I'm desperate.

The pictures can be uploaded directly to eBay using their system. You get one free picture, after that you have to pay for them.

A PayPal account is easy to set up and it makes buying stuff incredibly easy - it also makes receiving payments easy and worry free, though there is a fee to the seller.

What else is there...

david

[sportndandy]

9. Ebay is not a good route anymore.

It never was great for part time sellers. Dealing with payments, shipments and customers is not as fun as it sounds.

I am an old pro at Ebay (6000+ feedback) and I only list items at X-mas anymore. Their fees are too high and most of the customers are bottom-feeders and bargain-hunters. Definitely go with Craig's list.

[The_Casual_Observer]

11. ALWAYS post a picture, it's very easy to do by following

their directions.

Rather than a hidden reserve, start the bidding at what ever price you are willing to take as a minimum. Check similar listings to get an idea of the market. Use "advanced search" to find a 30 day history of items that have sold.


Be honest in your descriptions, make it clear that shipping is extra and will be figured depending on where it is going. Send the items out immediately after payment is received, people become impatient quickly.

Try to avoid paypal payments, they charge a lot and then charge you extra to get you actual money out of you "paypal" account.

Be patent, don't get fooled by people asking you to end the auction early, it is a good sign that your item is in high demand and will probably sell for a good amount by the end of the auction.

Don't be afraid to sell to overseas buyers, as long as they send US cash or some kind of travelers checks that you can cash. But, find out first how much the shipping will be before you give them the total cost.

I have had great success with ebay, both buying and selling. Good luck to you!

[amazona]

12. maybe I can help

I used to sell a lot there but it isn't so good now for the little guy. Maybe test your items before listing a whole lot because you NEED to make a profit and can't risk losing money.

1) Know the value of your items and what you can sell them for locally as well as on Ebay. Always search Ebay to see what your item is selling for. If the item is not selling, no use wasting money on fees to post yours.

2) Reserve is necessary to protect you from being forced to sell an item too cheaply. You will likely need to put a reserve on any item of true value so you can start the bidding low and build some excitement. Keep in mind, these days, most auctions, the likely number of bidders is one or zero unless your item is really special, so you DO need a reserve to protect yourself.

3) Heavy items under $100 are best sold locally. In many areas the major newspaper will allow you to put ads for items under $100 for free. Therefore sell those items through your local classifieds...NOT through EBay.

4) Last time I checked, you got to host one picture free per auction on Ebay site without paying extra. After that, you need to check with your ISP to find out if you have a website that goes with your account that can host pictures. I'm with BellSouth, and I have quite a lot of free picture hosting with them for auctions where I need to post more than one pictures. CLose-ups of special features, signatures, and damage can help sell or explain an item.

5)VERY IMPORTANT -- Charge enough for shipping AND handling. If you charge only what the post office charges you to ship a package, you will lose money because of the other fees associated with making the sale like the Paypal and Final Credit fees. You do need to include a handling fee. If the handling fee makes the item too expensive to sell, then don't sell it. It is better not to sell an item at all than it is to lose money on an item.

6)You will get a better price for electronics and cameras on Amazon.com in my humble experience.

7) You can't accept checks any more because these days the victim (the seller) is charged a fee if a buyer bounces a check on him -- sheesh. Since when should it be legal to charge someone for being a victim of a crime? But there it is, so stick with money orders and Paypal. If the Paypal is an e-check, *WAIT until Paypal says the check has cleared* because e-checks seem to bounce fairly frequently.

8) As a seller, NEVER EVER leave feedback until the buyer has finalized the transaction by leaving positive feedback for you. Never. There is too much room for fraud and extortion of the seller if you give the guy the item AND you leave feedback as soon as paid. Too many buyers nab the good feedback, claim the item arrived "broken," and extort a refund from you. Now you're out both the item and the money. So...NEVER leave feedback until the buyer has left positive feedback. No matter how much they may beg and wheedle. Indeed, it is a little suspicious that a buyer would expect the seller to leave feedback first so be alert.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[sendero]

14. Hey man..

... it's easy. Pick your least valuable item to list first so if you make any mistakes it won't matter much.

I've sold 20-30 things on ebay, mostly just stuff I didn't need or want anymore. A few times I was amazed at the money I got :)

Reserves are simple to follow. If you have a minimum amount that you'd be willing to sell for, either set that as the min bid or set a reserve of that amount. The reserve is a little better, as sometimes people get caught up in the competition of bidding and you are the winner :) If you start too high, nobody may bid at all, a bad thing since you still have to pay the listing fee.

Also, try to be careful about your shipping fees. It sucks when you say you'll ship for $5 and it costs you $10 to do so. there is a shipping calculator at usps.com that will help, tho you will have to fudge up some worst-case zip codes to use it.

Be careful about shipping outside the US. In general, I specify that I'll ship inside the US only.

You can PM me if you have another question I'd be happy to try to answer. :)

[Digit]

15. Thanks everyone, that was a big help and additional avenues to ck out.

I have pictures of most of the items already.

In the past, I sold things over a radio show and it cost nothing.
Those were antiques, though.

I also used Yahoo back when it was free.
Times have changed.
Thanks for all the help!