An Idiot's Guide to Selling on eBay

[TheCraicDealer]

I have accepted that I will never return to my lithe size 8 days, and so I'd like to get rid of a pile of my more half-decent stuff on ebay- Hobbs, Reiss, a few bits of Kate Moss for TopShop, etc.

How can I do this as easily and as stress free as possible? I see stories all the time about buyers claiming that they haven't received items; is there any way I can avoid that or at least reduce the chances of it happening? If any of you have any general tips I would appreciate it.

I know some people are going to read this going "wtf you plonker it's easy" but I'm just a lazy stresshead who hates hassle.

Go onto eBay and type into the search bar the item you have for sale. Select sold items from the menu to the far left of the screen, you'll need to scroll down for this.

Read through the sold items until you see one that best fits your item. You can also gauge the prices the same item is selling for.

Click on this item. The select see original listing.

Scroll down to the description and if it's decent blurb, highlight and copy it.

Then scroll up and select 'sell similar'

Find the description and paste the blurb.

Check all details are the same as your item. Check whether you want auction or buy it now and offers. Fill in your price.

Then make sure you cover your postage. eBay will take 12% of your total, so you need to charge for a parcel , courier via eBay pack link on the second postage page not the first one is by far the cheapest. You need to allow £3.50 for pack-link up to 1kg and eBays commission to break even.
You are covered for items going missing up to £20, further insurance can be purchased. Packink automatically fill in the delivery details for your item and tell you when they have delivered.

Then preview the listing and check then press list your item.

It's cheaper to wait until eBay do their £1 listing fees. If you want to do this you can complete the above but press save or close rather than list you item. It saves it for later.

Happy listing!

EBay take 12% and PayPal 2.9% plus VAT plus 36p altogether about 15.35% + 36p (this is of total price including postage)
Royal mail is cheapest for large letters and small parcels y
Upto 2kg, use a courier for anything larger or heavier
Take decent pictures hang ironed clothes on a coat hanger on a plain door or lay a plain white sheet on your bed as background 1st photo of whole garment, then back view close up of label including sizing and laundry close up of details like embroidery nice buttons neckline, mention very very minor defects, if it is true say from pet and smoke fee home.
If you buy postage labels on ebay they come with a tracking number which eBay auto uploads
Don't overcharge for postage if it costs you £3 to post charge 3.20 not £4 clothes just need a mailing back or a bag for life turned inside out
If auctioning time so it ends around 8pm but not a Friday or Saturday, apparently Sunday is best but I find most days are fine there is no advantage to starting at 99p so put start price at the very lowest you are happy with because after fees etc it is simply not worth packing things that sell for 99p you make about 30p
Don't bother listing clothes with stains missing buttons or holes a tiny pulled thread you will be ok with or slight evidence that not brand new

Firstly, there's no way to FULLY protect yourself on ebay. That said I've only had 2 people scam me in over 800 items sold so it's not a major risk. NB Buyer's not receiving items is easy to deal with - just use a courier with tracking.

Two ways to list - auction/buy-it-now.

Personally I rarely use auction - it's really best for where you're likely to get bidding wars, but you're not sure what price to ask. As above says, use the SOLD items filter to find out the prices similar items have gone for in the past which should give you an idea.

NEVER use BOTH Auction AND BIN - ebay charge you extra for that and there's really little point in it.

Don't pay for any extra options - when you submit a listing, the fee at the bottom should be £0.

Postage is a major thing - I recommend against using Packlink - a quick glance at the ebay seller forums will show LOTS of complaints and horror stories about it. I use Parcel2Go which you can link to your ebay account making it just as simple to use as Packlink. Before using a courier though always check the RM prices - if you can get away with large letter size, RM is cheapest - the moment you move to small parcels though, it tips towards P2Go.

Never send the parcel to any address other than the one Paypal tell you to.

Finally consider FB marketplace as an alternative - it's easier to list and provided you only deal with people on a cash on collection basis, no concern about scammers and no fees either.

*EBay take 12% and PayPal 2.9% plus VAT plus 36p altogether about 15.35% + 36p

No this is wrong

If you use Paypal to receive money then ebay charge 10% and paypal 2.9% + 30p

If you receive your money directly through Ebay then eBay charge 12.8%+ 30p

You could try depop as well, listing is easier than eBay but similar fees. I tend to list on both but have sold more on eBay.

Sell everything on Buy it Now - cuts out the bidding hassle and you won’t ever sell anything for something ridiculous like 1.99.

I post everything signed for. 2nd class for most things, 1st class for expensive items. Means people can’t take the piss with items ‘not turning up.’ And if it does legitimately get lost, you’re covered. I pay all postage costs.

I take lots of photos, describe every item in detail and always point out any issues (of which there aren’t many as everything I sell is in excellent condition.

I offer a returns option, buyer pays return postage and I stipulate that it must be sent tracked.

Oops forgot the ) at the end of that sentence...

@notrub you are quoting exclusive of VAT 10% plus VAT is 12% 30p plus VAT is 36p 2.9% plus VAT is 3.35%
Unfortunately paying VAT is not optional there is no VAT on sale price of item but there is always VAT on service charges
Ebay are quite clever in that you have to read the small print to know that the headline 10% doesn't include VAT if you look carefully in the accounts pages on ebay you will see VAT has been added to all your fees.

I sell hundreds of items a year on my eBay small business mostly ceramics antiques and collectable

@notrub sorry we are both right in a way

fees are different for private and business sellers
I know my fees are quoted exclusive of VAT but fees are often lower before VAT and vary depending on category clothing is higher than antiques for example
but on double checking private seller fees include taxes so you are right for your sales
it is very silly / sneaky that ebay quotes some fees as VAT inclusive and other fees as VAT exclusive

You can set the starting bid on an auction, ie the minimum you will accept, and also in accept offers you can set a minimum, and also decline any offers you don't want to accept and indeed you as a seller can counter offer.
I've never had anyone claim something hasn't turned up, but keep the postage receipt.

Only problem I've had was selling something that I described as like new (and to my mind it was ) and the buyer had issues with the item.

Take lots of photos and include measurements, at key points .

Guys this is amazing! Honestly, thank you so much! I'm going to read every one of your posts properly later and familiarise myself with the seller bit of the website.

I didn't realise the fees were so high, how often do they do the 1% thing?

I would do FB marketplace but am in NI. I suspect I'd maybe get more on eBay for some of the more niche/collectible stuff like the Kate Moss bits.

I will definitely look at what similar items went for before I set my expectations though!

@TheCraicDealer

Guys this is amazing! Honestly, thank you so much! I'm going to read every one of your posts properly later and familiarise myself with the seller bit of the website.

I didn't realise the fees were so high, how often do they do the 1% thing?

I would do FB marketplace but am in NI. I suspect I'd maybe get more on eBay for some of the more niche/collectible stuff like the Kate Moss bits.

I will definitely look at what similar items went for before I set my expectations though!

If you're in NI, make sure you check out the cost of shipping an Item before listing so you get the postage right. You can set marketing preferences up for your user account to select WHICH countries you ship to and which you don't. I personally exclude NI from my listings because the shipping cost is higher.

RM is the same I think, but all couriers charge more.

They don't do 1% fees often but they quite often have a long weekend of maximum fees of £1 not much use for cheap items but great for anything over £10 including postage

Is it possible to just give stuff away on Ebay?