To keep peace in the Good Buy of The Day thread (and I agree!) starting a 2015 thread (yes, I know there have been others in the past) about the whole Ebay phenomenon.
Post your successes, questions, wonders, and especially TIPS here!!!
I mentioned in the other thread that my H in my pushing effort to get some stuff out of the house started posting some things on eBay a year ago. He’s sort of got a little addiction now…BUT, will say he/we have made some decent $$ getting rid of stuff we don’t need.
My Tips:
any items you sell should be new or next to new or in very, very good condition - not next to new if it’s an antique/collectible of course!
take good clear, bright photos - and lots of them. Even if you are selling a new pair of pants, take front view, back view, close up of zipper/button area, pictures of inside labels, etc.
Start slow and choose one or two excellent things to post - people do look at your seller profile (how people rate you) so you can eventually make a “name” for yourself.
@abasket, I’ve only bought, not sold, on eBay, but I’d love to sell some stuff.
My main concern, however, is the wrapping and shipping. First of all, how do you determine ahead of time how much to charge for shipping? And secondly, do you wrap the stuff yourself, or do you take it to A Place?
He wraps everything at home. Besides the boxes, just set up a wrapping station of packaging tape, some bubble wrap - you can get these items at Costco for a good price - and well worth it if you end up selling a steady stream of items.
He figures out the shipping by using a food scale we have at home - seriously! There must be some logic to weight = certain shipping amount - again, better Ebay sellers than me will know.
Obviously easier to start with easy to ship items that are not overly large, etc.
I personally don’t know if I have the patience for the process - or the time. But he seems to like it and finds the time!
I have sold quite a bit on ebay. I like to take all of the pictures at the same time, then sit down different times over a weekend and write the listings. I then schedule them to start at the same time early on a Sunday evening. I figure that many people will be home settling in for the week on a Sunday evening and maybe looking at ebay while watching football.
I love the flat rate boxes and use those as much as possible.
I also sell books on half.com, it is an ebay company. You can list the books and they stay there until they sell. You don’t pay a listing price until (unless) it sells. You can also sell dvds and computer games there. The customer pays half.com when they buy, then half.com sends the seller the money they have earned twice a month. The seller can choose a paper check or direct deposit. The seller doesn’t get the order until and unless the buyer has already paid.
I’ve sold a lot of things on eBay. I have an account with USPS and a postal scales, so I would weigh my items, and then use calculated USPS Priority shipping fees in the listing. I never used flat rate boxes, because even if shipping coast to coast, the flat rate fee was higher than the calculated fee. USPS provides boxes, so it was never a supply issue. I won’t purchase from someone who uses flat rate fees, because it is just simply too high. If the item you are selling is heavy, flat rate might be the economical way to ship, but then the box USPS supplies may not be sturdy enough. I also used the USPS pickup service, so it was simple and effortless.
Because Paypal has changed their policy and now allows buyers 180 days to file an item not as described case, I am very hesitant to sell. For instance, I sold my daughters’ iPhones when they updated. I did tons of research before writing the auction listing, and both phones sold within a few days of listing because I did a top notch job of writing the listing, taking pictures, and pricing them right. (They sold for more than the purchase price two years prior.) But with all my experience on eBay, I’m terrified to sell their iPhones when they upgrade in a year.
EBay has become a buyers market. Small time sellers take a risk selling high priced items.
DH and I have been buying and selling on EBay since 1999. These days it’s mostly businesses–it’s no longer the “on-line garage sale” it once was. That said, individuals can certainly sell things on EBay, but if you’re selling a collection or anything where the price is high, you might be better off finding the buyer via another route. There are specialty sites for things like stereo equipment, for example.
If you don’t have any ratings and are new to EBay, start by selling some low-priced items to get ratings.
I’d be curious to hear what types of things people who are THINKING about trying ebay are THINKING about selling. Seriously, it would be fun to share - then maybe those with ebay experience can guide you to it’s worth (or not).
My grandmother’s limoge china. Which no one around here is interested in at all. I don’t need to make much – just enough to make me feel good that at least I didn’t toss it.
My MIL’s fancy delicate amber glasses with the gold trim – sherry glasses, parfaits, martini, etc. I hate hate hate the amber color, but somewhere out there is someone who will love them lots.
The tricky thing about selling breakables like china and glass is that you need to pack extremely carefully. The only problems I’ve ever had buying on EBay has been things arriving broken. A beautiful McCoy flower pot arrived in tiny pieces. German glass ornaments arrived in bits. Now when I buy something breakable, I always state in my comments to the seller to please, please wrap carefully with bubble wrap and perhaps even double box.
I had success last year selling two Barbie dolls that I had as a child along with some clothes. I also sold a couple of vintage Madam Alexander dolls, and received good prices from both. Before I put anything up for sale I research what similar items have sold for in the past and try to match my prices to the successful sales. It’s easy to see a pattern by looking at “completed sales” on the site of the things you’re selling. You can also see what shipping costs have been and get an idea what to charge if you’re not familiar with your shipping rates. Also, as soon as you list something, it’s good to find the right-sized box and packing material, and put it together with the item awaiting sale. That way if you’re busy with something else when it sells you’re not pressed to pack and ship.
Other items that sold well were sets of children’s books that were either rare or in really good condition, new linens,
and vintage tea cups. So far, I’ve always received 5 stars if they have bothered to give feedback. The more expensive items usually are rated. People don’t usually give feedback for the cheaper items, it seems.
My part-time job is selling on eBay. I wouldn’t start out with anything expensive. To see what has actually sold, type in your item and then check the sold box in the lefthand column. A lot of people don’t realize that is there.
VeryHappy, I’d be happy to help you give you tips on selling china and glassware and how to ship.
I’ve priced out flat rate vs regular priority boxes, too, and regular priority were always cheaper for me.
Parent, I have bought silver items on EBay when I was entertaining and needed a few things. With mis-matched silver and china being “in,” it’s fun to find pretty old things on EBay- but I won’t pay a lot for them. If you’re selling, be sure to see what that specific pattern is selling for before you list.
I don’t sell on eBay but I do help someone else who does. My suggestion…look up the item on eBay before you list it. If you get 30,000 hits, it might be better to just sell it at a consignment store, or tag sale. For example…Longaburger baskets used to be a rare EBay find. Now there are thousands of them for sale. Yours would have to be very desirable or cheap to trump the other 29,999 hits.
Re: China…no consignment stores near you? I would try that first.
I will say (and this is not going to be encouraging), we get lots of complete sets of very nice, old China at the charity thrift store where I volunteer. It is very difficult to sell. We just sold a very nice service for six of Limoge for $5. It was originally $25, then marked down to $10. Then $5. The ones that are hardest to sell are ones with any gold, silver or other metallic trim. Can’t be put in a dishwasher or microwave.
I will take responsibility for this thread starting! I just helped mom move out of her house of 56 years and have so much stuff to unload. My town has a Facebook swap group where I’ve started to see a few things, bringing in $20-30/day. The positive is that people pick up directly, so no hassle w shipping.
I do have a few items worth well over $100, that I’m trying to figure out how to dispose of and haven’t determined if ebay is the best route. Most are fragile - 2 Dickensware ceramic trays and a Nippon chocolate pot. In addition, I have a first edition book that is worth somewhere between $200-400.
The other huge category of goodies are Knights of Columbus memorabilia. My dad was a State Deputy for 2 years in the 80s and I have 2 boxes of stuff from conventions, plus I have 2 swords, a fez and full 4th degree regalia costume.
This process has also made me reassess some of my own collections, some of which I’m going to sell. I’m done w salt glazed pottery, so on the sales block it goes! Grandma’s gold rim tiny wine/cordial glasses - who wants them?
Slightly out of place on the Ebay selling thread, but I am complementing Very Happy by buying Haviland china in my grandmother’s pattern on Ebay! So far, just buying, and not selling anything. I might sell things after I have retired.
S sold a bunch of textbooks on half.com and ebay–for himself and his classmates. He tended to make more than he paid for it. I have mostly purchased ink and supplies for our Xerox Phaser ColorCube printer. He has bought a few tools. We have not sold anything.
Our neighbor buys good condition, low-priced XL and XXL shirts from thrift shops and resells them on ebay. He uses USPS, priority mail.
@thumper1, I take your point about consignment stores. Certainly easier. IME, however, stuff I leave there never, ever sells, so I might just as well toss it in the garbage.
Maybe one day I’ll get a DIL who wants this stuff. I wish.
