Has anyone become any Amazon seller? I am looking at selling a parents old ‘collectibles’ and as I began comparing prices, Amazon pops up. How complicated is it?
I’ve bought from both and will say Amazon seems to have better merchandise and better control over its sellers. Ebay seems more of a flea market. Ive never sold on either but know my relative prefers selling on Amazon but he sells a lot of merchandise, year round (but especially Christmas).
I’ve sold on both. Ebay has fewer restrictions and fewer fees. You may need approval to sell Collectibles on Amazon and usually they only approve Professional sellers.
Professional sellers must apply, input all of their tax/etc. info and pay a $40/mth fee (although this may be waived for the first month.) Professional sellers also need to maintain certain standards regarding shipping time, etc. and cannot contact buyers other than through Amazon’s platform. There are a lot of rules. In addition, you must agree to take returns whereas you can do no returns on ebay.
Personally, if you are new to selling online, I would start with Facebook Marketplace and ebay.
I’ve sold on eBay a number of times, mostly my kids’ old toys. No experience with any other format, but I do recommend to be very accurate when providing a description of your items. You don’t want to get a bad rating from your buyer.
My H has an eBay business. I’m chuckling a bit at @HImom 's reference to eBay as seeming like a flea market. That said, it may be the better place for collectibles. H sells a lot of this kind of thing.
A couple things to consider.
- ALWAYS start slow. Post just a couple of things, see how it goes.
- Decide if you are going to sell “auction” or “buy it now”.
- We prefer “buy it now” - but also be prepared to not get the price you list.
- Adding to #3, there are a lot of low ballers out there - people who want to get your collectible cheap - and then resell it themselves!
The drawback to either eBay or Amazon is that you have to be prompt in getting your item shipped when it sells. And that shipping can be time consuming - especially if you have collectibles that could be breakable. All the wrapping, boxing, taping, printing off addresses for shipping, etc. - it would drive me nuts but H likes doing it.
Depending what you have I also agree to consider Facebook Marketplace.
Personally, I’ve been very disappointed in Amazon as a company and their response to our current health crisis, as well as some of their business practices prior to Covid. So, I’m. Choosing to find alternatives when possible. YMMV.
I’ve sold on eBay and been very successful. Before doing any listing I first figure out how much it will cost me to ship an item (I only ship in the US, no international shipping for me) because that may stop me in my tracks. I had a cordless Mikita drill, a hard case, 2 batteries and other goodies that I really wanted to sell, but it weighed a ton. Would have cost me a small fortune to ship…until I discovered the $16 large priority mail box (“if it fits, it ships!”). The entire contents fit (snugly, but it fit!) and so I listed it with the cost to ship as the $16 (which also comes with tracking…very important!). I took tons of pics, from every angle, I read all the other listings of similar drills (in case I missed a key selling point), reviewed the “sold” listings, and finally listed it as buy-it-now, at $9 less than the least expensive Mikita drill on the site (so if sorted by price mine would be first). Literally 6 hours after listing I sold it. Be sure to immediately contact your buyer via e-mail with a “thank you” note, and any info you can give regarding shipping (ie: I’m packing it up now, and will take it to the PO on Wednesday) and pack your contents well. Over pack if possible (extra cushion, taped very securely, etc.). I use the eBay shipping app which also informs your customer of a tracking # and when it ships. I don’t worry about the fees, it’s the cost of doing business.
One last thought…if you have something of real value, you can consider the escrow program escrow.com - you and the buyer are covered - it costs, but it adds peace of mind for all parties.
Remember on eBay you can provide free shipping or require the buyer to pay shipping. I think the latter is best. I’m surprised that people are willing to pay shipping costs but as is evident by the daily trips my H makes to the post office with multiple packages, what people are willing to buy and pay for is mind boggling.
H has actually shipped the following things via USPS and people have been willing to pay the shipping:
Old wooden sleds (yes, the ones that are like 4-5 feet tall)
Vintage (1970’s) milk crates
Axes (so weird, I know!!!)
H has been selling collectibles (comics/action figure type stuff) on eBay since 1999. We’ve seen a lot of changes in 20+ years. We used to have to wait for film to be developed and scan the photos! I agree with the tips above, but perhaps a few things to add:
- Be VERY descriptive about the condition of your item. Do not overstate its condition. Collectors are very picky!!!
- If you don't have any feedback, I would start with your least valuable items. Buyers are going to be wary of buying someone with 0 feedback. Older S started selling stuff a few years ago, and H gave him some of his "junk" to get started. Now, he buys and sells most of his clothes off of ebay and does quite well.
- Definitely do it in batches. H enjoys it, but he gets burnt out after a couple of weeks. Communicating with buyers, packaging, going to the post office takes a lot of time.
- H prefers to list items with a flat fee. He used to specify "shipping to the continental US only. All others will pay exact shipping costs." He did not like having to go to the post office twice to figure out the shipping, contact the buyer with the exact cost, and then back to ship. However, now ebay has greatly simplified the international shipping. Everything goes to Atlanta and is usually cheaper for him.