Can anyone give me a crash course in selling on eBay?

[Lowesy]

Please??

I'm mostly interested in fees from eBay and PayPal etc and also, how do you work out postage accurately? Do you always use the Post Office or do private couriers work out better?

TIA

Most people buy some cheap scales if they are doing regular selling. Would have thought the PO is better unless it is valuable, however I tend to be a buyer.

I sell on ebay my rule of thumb on postage is if it is less than 1kg and fits in a shoe box it's 2.60 second class postage any thing over that weight and size is from 5.20 second class and for first it's 40p more.
Ebay normally give you a set amount if free listings where you only pay a percentage of the sale amount after your limit you then pay to list normally 10p but it tells you before you publish your listing.
PayPal don't charge unless you set yourself a business account or have to refund someone but your limited at £1900 a year.

My Hermes and Collect + are often cheaper up to 2kg, plus you have online proof of delivery which is a requirement.

Start your listings at 8.30-9pm to end on a Mon or Tues night, do lots of photos and good descriptions/measurements. Cash for collected items never paypal. don't start at 99p unless you are willing to sell at that price, start at the lowest price you will accept and start on a free listing weekend.

Schedule listings for few weeks ahead at cost of 6p each, but before that time comes on a free listing w/e edit those listings to go live and you won't be charged the 6p, this will take advantage of free listing plus can send them all live in the evening to take advantage of more buyers potentially online.

19claire> are you sure you don't pay for paypal as a seller i thought you did, just off to double check maybe i'm making more than i thought!

paypal do charge - they deduct costs at source.

yeah just checked and i get charged. it is deducted from the amount that is paid into my paypal account. So for example i received £5.40 and this as actually a receipt of £5.80 with 40p paypal deducted (in addition the the ebay fees which are paid seperately by invoice per month). I think it is a certain percentage of transaction about 3% or something similar plus 20p.

How do you get it free up to £1,900 as i use nothing like that

charges are 3.4% plus 20p per transaction.

Sorry to hijack, but I have a question. I sold a pair of shoes last week on eBay and the buyer paid by PayPal. The money is showing in my PayPal account as 'sent' but it's still now appeared in my bank account. Do I need to do something to get the money in my account?

is the money being held until feedback is left?

when i sell stuff the money stays in my paypal account, i usually leave it there as i buy stuff of ebay as well. But if i end up selling alot and i get a larger balance on my paypal account then i transfer to my bank account but i have to go in and choose an option to transfer it doesn't happen automatically.

Thanks all this is very helpful. Please keep other tips coming if you think of any more.

Buy mailbags in bulk from ebay which makes packing light and easy to do. You can write address on them with permanent marker.

Print off a proof of postage certificate from RM website and fill it in if you have several items to post that are worth under £20 (used to cover up to £46 but not any more). This helps speed up time at post office and keeps staff from getting grumpy. I have recently found a nice helpful PO which I am happy about but it is not my local. More expensive items send signed for or special delivery. I don't really use couriers but lots of people do and seem happy with them.

Always send asap and try and reply to messages quickly. You will be marked on these things by buyers.

Offer returns but make it clear buyer pays return P&P unless you have made a mistake.

Try and work out how you can take the best photos - the light, background etc makes a big difference.

Fill in all the item specifics - can be a bit time consuming but worth it and will increase your chance of being seen.

Remember fees are now 10% of item and postage.

Don't forget to ask buyers to cancel transaction if they return an item to get your fees back.

Thanks Chaz, how do you get it transferred to your bank account? I had a look but I couldn't see an option.

there is an option to withdraw money after you have logged in at paypal.com - at the top from My Account there is a button 'withdraw'.