Selling on Ebay

[Dreamer_D]

Has anyone ever done this? Any tips? Precautions?

 

[iheartscience]

1. Don't let new eBayers bid. I would make sure they have at least 10 positive feedbacks from other sellers.
2. Don't let people with any negative feedback bid.
3. Take PayPal only.
4. Be very clear on your return policy.
5. Make sure to list every single little thing wrong with the item so the buyer can't claim you misrepresented the item.

I haven't sold any jewelry on eBay but I have sold other stuff. (Mostly shoes and clothes.) Honestly I think selling on eBay is a giant PITA. So many buyers bid on things and don't pay, or pay, get the item, and then decide they want to return it. But of course, some transactions are as smooth as can be, so hopefully you'll have all smooth ones! Good luck!

ETA forgot to say-make sure to ship the item with tracking and then enter the tracking number into eBay. I didn't do this once when I sold a pricey pair of boots and PayPal tried to tell me they were holding the money for 60 days before putting it in my account. (This is a relatively new policy.) I went bonkers and complained up the chain until they gave me my money immediately, but GOOD LORD it filled me with rage. I have all positive feedback and there was no reason to do this.

ETA2: If you don't have any feedback on eBay buyers might be afraid to buy from you. Might want to consider buying a few things and getting positive feedback before you list anything, especially if it's high value.

 

[kelpie]

Don't unless it's less than $100. It is just such a pain getting buyers to actually pay for their items. It's a lot of rigamarole and hassle. I love buying on ebay though. Are you selling jewelry? I like to sell on the site which is the first hit if you google "dedicated jewelry classifieds".

 

[rubybeth]

It depends what you're selling. I've sold clothes and electronics. One general tip is to require payment upon winning the item. There's an option for this, may cost something, but worth it to avoid non-paying winners. Before I did this, I always put in the listing, "Payment within 24 hours of winning or item may be re-listed."

It can help to look at listings that are similar to the item you're selling, and think, what would I want to know about the item? With clothes, I always offer more photos than the basic listing, and I include any sizing info. that might be helpful (like, 'Fits 5'7" 140lb. woman'). I also try to package things very simply since I hate getting a huge box for a t-shirt. And I put in the listing that I have a smoke-free, pet-free home. For electronics, eBay lets you use a canned description and list the item quality (new unopened, etc.). I always describe why I'm selling, too, since I'm obviously not an electronics dealer.

ETA: I always say 'no returns.'

Any specific questions, feel free to ask!

 

[Mayk]

Mostly buying... but I did sell an Omega Ladies Deville Stainless & Gold watch to a buyer overseas. He had really good feedback and he was awesome...

I actually have two things listed now... a pair of Tory Burch Shoes and my first eternity bands before I switched my setting... The watch made me bold.. so I thought I would try.. we will see.. if they sell or they don't. Reading everything here I guess my price is reasonable.. it's less than what I paid at the B&M... If they don't sell I will come up with another plan but thought I would try...

 

[D&T]

I have sold coach bags, to electronics to a huge register once as well as jewelry items with no problems. If you are a brand new want to be ebay seller, I would first try to buy a couple of small items, to start your feedback. Once you been "established" by feedbacks and been around for more than 30 days (there will be a "new" ebay member) designation. Most buyers are warey of a new ebay seller if they try to sell high ticket items because it would appear that they are a "fly by night" or not as highly invested without many feedbacks. Your feedback is really important ands tells the buyer or seller that you seem to be legitimate and that you value your ebay account. Do learn what all the fees are involved are and what that actual item will net you. Listing fees, FVF, paypal transaction fee plus % of that total value.

Anyways, anything over $30 items, I usually take pictures of my packaging and I always ship through paypal as that adds the tracking automatically to paypal and lets the buyers knows its on the way.

 

[bee*]

I've never sold jewellery but I have sold clothes, shoes, perfume etc that I no longer wanted. I only ship to Ireland/UK and I always do registered post so that I can have a tracking number to provide to the buyers. I only accept paypal. I've had no bad experiences so far but I know that I'm lucky in regards to that.

 

[Arkteia]

I sold my son's CD's. No clothes since the prices are not worth the pain. CDs sell very well but the population to which you sell is very diverse. One guy is now on my "blocked bidder" list and I have sold just a few items! Books sell but I wonder if Amazon is a better place for it.

Ebay is a good place to sell what you do not need, but NOT a good place to sell for profit I think.

I find Craigslist better, though, people are more eager to buy because they can examine a thing and because they do not have to pay shipping fees.

 

[ruby59]

If you have not sold on ebay lately, it is a whole new world for sellers since they implemented their latest changes. The best advice I can give you is do not sell anything you cannot afford to lose. I do not know if it is because of the economy, but due to their latest loopholes ebay has attracted a whole bunch of scammers who are looking for free items. I suggest you read the sellers board to see what is going on over there. Not paying is the least of it. There has been a greater than ever reporting by buyers that they are receiving empty boxes. Then they open a case, and in a lot of cases are given their money back, and you are out your item. Or they claim the product is not as described, and threaten that if you do not give them a partial refund, they will open a case against you. Buyers rarely lose on ebay these days.

To the person who said not to offer a return policy, you cannot do that anymore. Ebay gives buyers 45 days to return an item. Ebay interprets "no return policies" to mean that the buyer gets his money back, but does not have to return the item. As a seller you can do everything right with packaging the item carefully and getting signature confirmation, but ebay and paypal have been siding mostly with the buyers. Ebay is now becoming known as "Freebay" the place where you can rent to own.

I do not mean to sound like a Debbie Downer. I used to both sell and buy on ebay. I will personally not list anything until ebay cleans up its act.

 

[karpouzi]

It's a minefield. The most important things to know are that you need to use delivery confirmation on every shipment. And if the payment (item price + shipping) is $250 or more you need to use signature confirmation. If you don't do things then basically the buyer just has to ask Paypal and they'll get a refund and get to keep whatever you sent.

Oh, and depending on what you're selling, you may want to restrict all international bidders. Some countries have a lot of shipping restrictions or problems with their post (remember that if an item doesn't arrive for any reason, it's your loss, not the buyer's). Italy's list is pretty weird--you can't send leather goods, shoes, playing cards, musical instruments, etc.

Between all the land mines and then the fees (eBay takes 9% and Paypal takes another 3% which is ridiculous considering it's owned by eBay and eBay all but requires that you accept Paypal) I have pretty much stopped selling anything on eBay.

 

[JewelFreak]

You folks have cleared up my mind. I have a fair-sized bunch of Tiffany silver things & thought of selling them on eBay. I guess now I will take them to a local high-end jeweler who sells on consignment. They'll take more % but at least I won't go through those hassles & lose the items. Whatever I make on them is more than they'll bring sitting in my drawer.

--- Laurie

 

[iheartscience]

If you have not sold on ebay lately, it is a whole new world for sellers since they implemented their latest changes. The best advice I can give you is do not sell anything you cannot afford to lose. I do not know if it is because of the economy, but due to their latest loopholes ebay has attracted a whole bunch of scammers who are looking for free items. I suggest you read the sellers board to see what is going on over there. Not paying is the least of it. There has been a greater than ever reporting by buyers that they are receiving empty boxes. Then they open a case, and in a lot of cases are given their money back, and you are out your item. Or they claim the product is not as described, and threaten that if you do not give them a partial refund, they will open a case against you. Buyers rarely lose on ebay these days.

To the person who said not to offer a return policy, you cannot do that anymore. Ebay gives buyers 45 days to return an item. Ebay interprets "no return policies" to mean that the buyer gets his money back, but does not have to return the item. As a seller you can do everything right with packaging the item carefully and getting signature confirmation, but ebay and paypal have been siding mostly with the buyers. Ebay is now becoming known as "Freebay" the place where you can rent to own.

I do not mean to sound like a Debbie Downer. I used to both sell and buy on ebay. I will personally not list anything until ebay cleans up its act.

Wow, I hadn't heard about these changes-YIKES! I'm definitely not selling anything else now!

 

[Mayk]

Great... now to live through these last two auctions....

 

[Arkteia]

At the post office, can you ask for the proof that the box weighed so much? Or scribble a note that it was not empty? Is there any way? I use the same post office, people know me, has anyone tried to deal with the scammers in such a way?

Also, what is the time period for someone to leave a feedback? And can someone do it after one month? I have a reason to ask, I want to list more CDs but I want to block one bidder. He, however, is still within time period when he can leave a feedback. So I think of waiting for one month till he bought the item and then block him - he practically harassed me. I have his messages to prove what had happened but I'd rather simply block him from my auctions. Unfortunately, you can not screen bidders by their names - if I were free to choose, I would have never sold anything to a guy whose ebay name contained a profanity.

 

[ruby59]

You have 60 days to leave feedback.

We had a situation on the ebay seller's board where a seller sold a lot of jewely. The person who purchased it complained that it was not as described and told the seller she was returning the jewelry and wanted her money back. When the seller went to the Post Office to pick up the package, she noticed that there was a significant change in weight. So when she returned home, she video taped the opening of the package, which contained pasta sauce and tile. Ebay could not care less, and returned the buyer her money. It took a really big stink for the seller to finally prevail. She was one of the lucky ones.

 

[Dreamer_D]

OK, no ebay is what I have learned! Thanks everyone, very enlightening.

 

[centralsquare]

I've sold a few thing. Mostly just have a lot of photos so that the buyers know what you are selling. I hadn't any concerns about restricting who could buy, but the advice here is certainly interesting.

 

[iheartscience]

You have 60 days to leave feedback.

We had a situation on the ebay seller's board where a seller sold a lot of jewely. The person who purchased it complained that it was not as described and told the seller she was returning the jewelry and wanted her money back. When the seller went to the Post Office to pick up the package, she noticed that there was a significant change in weight. So when she returned home, she video taped the opening of the package, which contained pasta sauce and tile. Ebay could not care less, and returned the buyer her money. It took a really big stink for the seller to finally prevail. She was one of the lucky ones.

This happened to me, but luckily it was just with vintage boots and not jewelry! I sold a pair of vintage boots and the buyer said they weren't as described. I already agreed to give her a refund (even though they were EXACTLY as described and photographed) and she started a complaint with eBay/PayPal anyway. So they ruled in her favor, she was supposed to send the shoes back to me, and instead I got a pair of Wal-Mart brand sandals in the mail! I had to send a notarized affidavit to PayPal and send the cheap sandals somewhere in TX to get my money back! (Luckily I have a friend who is a notary public, but still!)

 

[Indylady]

Thing2, and Ruby59, that is just sick.

 

[that_someone_special]

In general ebay has become a lot safer with less non-paying bidders. You can make some serious cash if you time your auctions correctly and use a lot of the upgrade features- large gallery view, bolded title, specific start times, lots and lots of pictures.. (depending on the item).

If your items don't sell the first time, that's ok! I've had to relist things several times on items and then lower the price on things. They usually end up going for more than I had listed in the first place

My tips: Have your auction end on night.. after work but before bedtime! saturdays and sundays seem to be hit or miss during the day. I can't tell you how many awesome deals I got because someone had an auction ending at 3am!

I always write up a "policies" too (pay in 3 days, no returns, etc.)