Selling on ebay

[SlaveToDisney]

Hi everyone

I need to raise some funds pretty sharpish so i thought i would sell some stuff on ebay.

I was just wondering if anyone knew what sells well on ebay? Also does anyone have any tips on selling?

I am quite angry with myself as i have just taken 12 dustbin bags of clothes down to my local charity shops even if i had sold at 50p an item that would have been alot hir hey ho.

Thanks

50p an item wouldn't be much after seller's fees, packaging, postage etc.

Its takes a long time up list and upload pictures, respond to peoples' questions, package and send etc.

Fewer, more expensive items will be more worthwhile than lots of cheap items that no-one buys.

I havent ever sold on ebay before so i am looking for some advice really i dont want to list items that arent going to sell. However i suppose the things that are going to sell well will be things i dont want to part with.

Have a look at the stuff you are thinking of selling and see what its going for on ebay to give you an idea.
I used to use ebay a lot but because paypal makes it difficult for sellers I tend to use gumtree or local facebook pages as you can ask for cash payments with less chance of a buyer trying to scam you.

eBay isn't really worth it anymore with the fees etc. I use gumtree now

Thanks for your honesty i have tried gumtree but people just want to pay pennies. I will have to find another solution to making money.

I sell to earn extra money. Good makes of bags and shoes, tops and dresses. Bundle supermarket clothes and makes like Dotty P, New Look etc but still list items nd describe them in the listing. I have never not sold something eventually. Also think about the time of the year, you are not going to get much for your enter boots in May for example.
Take really good photos and think about your background , you are selling the dream! Buy some mailing bags, bulk tissue paper works out a few pence a sheet, nothing worse than buying something that arrives in an old tesco bag.
I have maybe 1 or 2 pita customers a year, I just kill them with kindness and refund if needed, move on and don't take it personally.
I don't do Facebook etc as sell a lot, work full time and live in the middle of nowhere so don't want to spend my free time waiting in for people that can't find me or don't turn up. But it's horses for courses.

I sell.

I list the kids' old clothes at low prices. Anything with tags at about half the original price.

Check and photograph zips, and mention you have in the description and don't sell fragile items.

The first month or so I made over £700.

Handbags, shoes, bundles of DVDs, unopened toiletries, clothing especially with good labels are all good. I've sold car seats, baby equipment, ornaments, scales, magazines and a five pound note

I use the phone app and take PayPal payments only, and use myHermes to post. Remember to factor in the 10% eBay takes from your postage costs.

rockybird wow that was alot. I was thinking about chucking everything and anything on there but cant find a clear description of the sellers fees and all the other associated costs.

You get a bill for 10% every month so make sure you leave enough in your PayPal account to cover it.

PayPal also charge you a bit but it isn't much.

If in doubt just list it. eBay suggests prices. I go with that or if I feel I want more I add a few quid on.

They give you free listings and bump it up every so often. I usually have about 100 things listed but I plan to increase this to 200 soon.

Thanks so much rockybird that is very helpful i think i might just chuck a few things on and see what happens.

Paypal fees: Anything up to £1500 getting paid into ur PayPal account per month your fee per transaction/payment is 3.4% + 20p.
eBay final value fees are 10% that 10% also includes postage.
eBay take their final value fees once a month. You don't have to have it in your Paypal because they will just take it from your bank account that's linked to your PayPal if you don't have the funds sitting in your Paypal balance.
Often EBay do promotions if you meet the requirements (good seller etc) where you can take advantage of listing things without getting charged the 10%. For example, they do £1 final value fee max, or 50 % off final value fee etc, it varies.
Not everyone gets those, but if you are entitled to it they send you a message letting you know.
I list a lot of my things in the promotions when I can, but also just list with the normal 10% because I can't always hang around waiting for promotions. You don't know when they can be, they pop up out of the blue you see.
All in all fees anyway aren't too steep I don't think. I sold something for £30 and my Paypal fee was £1.30 just to give you an idea.
Paypal take their fees there and then, as the money goes into your account from the buyer, so you will probably notice you get slightly less than what you sold it for, but this is normal because of the Paypal fee.
eBay however send you a invoice every month and they automatically take it from your PayPal or bank account once every month.
And breathe.....hope this helps!

Oh and photograph any imperfections and mention them in the description.

Also good idea to photograph clothing with a tape measure... pit to pit and neck to bottom hem. Most of my queries are about measurements so it saves time.

The best things to sell on eBay are recognised brands that people will search for.

I've got a few things listed that are due to end tomorrow and they have no bids, no watchers and hardly any views! I started it all at 99p with low postage fees and there are clear photos and descriptions. Can anyone suggest where I might be going wrong? I'm having a clearout and could really do with making some money.

Have you tried selling on a local Facebook buying and selling page? So much easier than ebay and no fees and endless trips to the post office.

Never start at 99p, list so items end at about 8pm, send tracked - I use Hermes. Charge as little for postage as you can and start at the minimum price you want your item to sell for. Or try buy it now with free post and best offer. It really is not worth it if clothes are not named brands and good condition.

Streetch try not to start at 99p, Altho I understand why your doing so.
People will think something is wrong with it, give your used clothes some credit if they are in great condition.
My used clothes such as River Island etc I started at 2.99 and they all went.
If under £10 I normally send 2nd class, £2.95 normally as no one will want to pay a lot of postage for something not valuable. Things £10+ I send signed for which is £3.95.
It's up to you if to want to send normal second class tho, you can send tracked etc of course but for non expensive things I don't see the point.

And yes what PP said, try to end your auctions around 8pm. This is a good time of when people will have got in from work, would have eaten and are sat chilling, looking on eBay.
I end a lot of mine on a Sunday 8pm. But I find any day of the week around that time to be good.

Thanks for the tips, I'm a total novice at this! Holly I have tried on several facebook selling sites with no luck so I thought I would try eBay before giving up and taking them to the charity shop. If they don't sell this time I will relist to end at 8pm and put prices up a bit.

on ebay i sell stuff that is of limited interest locally and a collector will be prepared to pay for. Includes ceramics, good brand name clothing, furniture. I always allow 15% to cover fees and some packing materials.

I do sell on local facebook selling sites - usually a total pain. I would say about half non collection. I use it for bundles of childrens clothing partic younger ages, baby stuff, books, childrens toys - particularly new go down well

All my listings are buy-it-now. I can't stand hassle of auctions as a buyer, either.

Will probably sell: Anything you bought originally for at least £30, is still in good to excellent condition. On an as-new £30 item, you might profit £5 back for it after fees & postage. The only secret to good sales is to spend too much money in the first place.

Shoes or Clothes are terrible sellers & buyers complain lots. Only designer stuff is worth it.

Worthwhile: Like new baby or child equipment, Gadgets, Lego, expensive kid toys, specialist sports gear, traditional collectibles and "fine stuff" like high quality porcelins or quality / unusual furniture.

Surprisingly good sellers: big bundles of army toys, or plastic animals, some kid clothes.

I had shoes on once for 99p, no bids. Relisted them at £9 buy it now and they sold within an hour!

When posting clothes, try to keep them flat. If your package is under 25mm your costs will less than half than if it's thicker.

PayPal fees are 3% + 20p

In terms of the listings themselves:-

• Take 12 great photos and use them all.
• Use all the available characters in the titles (80). Put in terms that people look for (but don't be misleading or use other brand names in the title)
• Think like a buyer -- imaging picking the item up and turning it over choosing whether to buy it. Those things you look at are what you describe and what you photograph.
• Be honest about defects - show the scuffs and marks
• Measure twice if measurements are important.
• Price it reasonably: buy-it-now with a best offer option is the fastest way to sell at a reasonable price. 99p auction firesales are usually disappointing.
• Proudly accept returns.
• Charge a modest amount for postage.
• Aim for your listings to end at 8pm on a rainy Sunday after payday.
• Answer questions promptly but never take a deal off ebay or end an auction early.

HTH