Never sold on ebay before - what do I need to know?

[tiredAli]

Have only ever used ebay to buy 3 things! We've had a kitchen clear out, got some baby clothes, the inevitable bag of toys ds has grown out of and other baby bits like a bumbo, sleeping bags, steriliser etc.
A friend recommended car boot sales but I'm not sure I'm cut out for that and dh suggested ebay, but I'm a bit daunted by it.
What top tips would you have?
Thanks

I always make sure i put loads of info on the message, make your stuff sound as great as it is. Make sure you use good pics. Offer postage discounts for people buying more than one thing. Make sure when you put the postage price on you include the packaging. Dont guess the weight of heavy stuff as you may end up out of pocket on postage!

Consider doing 'bundles' of things like the baby clothes particuarly. If you want to start the bids low, start at 99p and not 1p like i used to as you have to pay ebay same amount between these 2 amounts to list and also if only one person bids your better off making 99p than 1p

Sorry im a bit of a n ebay addict!

look at what stuff has sold for before

calculate postage using royal mail online and allow £ for jiffy bags/packaging

if you accept paypal then you are best to send everything signed for
otherwise the buyer can claim non-delivery and get the money back

time your listing so that it ends around tea time as people come back from work etc and have a browse on ebay. Or you could time it for a late saturday night so that when the drunken shoppers come in they are more likely to put in frivolous bids on things they don't really need
So yeah, tea time -around 6-8pm is your best bet and put your items on for as long as possible. Start everything at 99p and try not to overcharge on p&p.

As I've bought things through paypal, I assumed this was the best way to accept payment but are there drawbacks to using it? Should I consider other ways? I thought paypal offered you protection as you didn't send the stuff until paypal got the money, or is the other way round?!

make sure you start your bid at what you wouldnt mind it selling for. I had a friend that started a bid on a skirt at £2 and it sold for £2.60. She was really cross because it was quite an expensive skirt. She did not send it and ended up with a negative.

Paypal charge about 4% but a lot of people won't consider buying unless you accept Paypal

well paypal is instant and safe, but they do charge you. Thte only downside to cheques is that you have to wait longer for them to arrive and then clear. Postal orders are quite convenient.

Also, people seem to like it when you put 'pet free, smoke free home' in your description, providing that is true.

Always get proof of postage as well. There are a few dodgy individuals who will screw you over if you're not careful. Also make it clear whther or not you are prepared to post abroad.

be honest about what you are selling. mention if it has any damage, even tiny bits. I think buyers would rather be warned in advance if something wasn't perfect. I've sold stuff that has small marks on it and got good feed back.

I'd not considered overseas buyers. How much more effort is it to send stuff overseas?
Also, how time consuming is it to use ebay for selling stuff? DS is quite full on at the moment and I don't get a lot of computer time!

i only ever accept paypal. The only thing i dont like is people can send echeques and you have to wait up to 7 ish days to clear so if you want to get rid of your stuff and post as soon as bid ends you want to put on the instuction bit 'no e-cheques and pay with 48 hours' for eg

Don't sell to anybody with less than 5 feedback, especially for anything expensive. Send everything with a minimum of 'proof of posting' and for more expensive items a 'recorded delivery'.
Anything heavier than about 2lb will be cheaper to send by courior. I found www.parcel2go.com to be good value for just over £7 for a parcel up to 25kg.
Do not let a paypal payer do a collection, as they can do a claw back and you have no proof they have even visited your house.
Having said that, do use paypal, its quicker and safer (with some caution on your behalf) than cheque or bank transfers.

The royal mail website can give you an idea of sending things overseas. Also when you send your final invoice you can adjust the postage then. If you are going to send things abroad i would use signed for or similar.

You're all being brilliant - beginning to feel a bit more confident!
I guess I can start with the stuff that I don't mind how much I get for it to get me into it and progress from there. I suppose there's risks but better to have tried and get a few quid rather than everything gathering dust in the attic!

set your seller preferences in ebay
use a good photo and description
weigh item with packaging and work out the postage
no extra effort required to post overseas and airmail prices can be found on royal mail website
state overseas postage on listing especially if you cant get to the computer often - you will get asked.
start at the price you are prepared to sell for
search completed listings for similar items to get an idea as to whether it is worth listing or not
use your listing title wisely - use keywords rather that L@@K Wow lovely gorgeous beautiful etc

I would second mentioning any defects (poss. with close-up photos), because then buyers can only be pleasantly surprised.

If it's something that would appeal to overseas buyers, put measurements in both metric and imperial - you'd be surprised how many Americans simply cannot work in metric and you will save yourself a lot of "oh, I thought it would be bigger" responses.

And don't forget you can block anyone who looks like they're going to be a pain in the bum. I sold a Cartier ring once and while the auction was running, got into a protracted correspondence with a very rude woman who wanted the box, the bag, the receipt, CCTV footage of me buying it at the Cartier shop and would I accept $30 for an off-eBay transaction? It didn't look like she was listening when I said look, it's fully hallmarked, I will refund if you take it to a shop and they say it's not real and it's going for $99, if you want the box and the bag you should go to the shop yourself and buy it for $1000. I had a bad feeling about her attitude and blocked her before the auction ended.

I like buying on e-bay, I find the sellers much more truthful as they don't want to tarnish their feedback records.

Can anyone tell me how do you leave a feedback on this site?? Bought some nice stuff and want to leave feedback.

Thanks

in section of 'items ive won' it will be on the right hand side in the box, just click on it.

Ninedragons - how do you "block" a buyer then? Never come across that before.

The eBay seller community board has lots of top tips: forums.ebay.co.uk/forum.jspa?forumID=3002&anticache=1199831415940

Taught me loads of things, including how to do free photos

Here is the link again: New to Selling

Err, this was a while ago, I'll have to find the exact link for you.