Ebay virgin - anyone got good advice?

[marthamoo]

Being rather skint at the moment, and having a glut of unplayed with toys, and a new influx due in December 25th, I've decided to have a go at ebaying some things.

I registered this afternoon (still need to send off my Direct Debit mandate) and I've started taking digital photo's of the things I want to sell.

Was feeling very enthusiastic til I looked at their posting forums and read some of the horror stories - non-payment, buyers claiming goods haven't arrived/are damaged, nasty emails from buyers threatening negative feedback - and the general consensus seems to be that ebay are pretty useless at resolving disputes.

I'd appreciate any words of wisdom, positive and/or cautionary tales from seasoned ebayers!

Many thanks in anticipation...

I had the most absurd situation with ebay. I registered and bid for a crib which I won. I waited and waited and did not hear from vendor and as I had no way of contacting the person wrote a nagative feedback message. Got the most aggressive reply and then she insisted I come and get it which meant a one hour drive, 8 months pregnant and with a toddler... if you saw the email correspondence you would not believe it. I put me off to be frank. If I had known that postage was not included I would never have bid in the first place

You do have to be very careful - if you're buying read the descriptions carefully and ask any questions that aren't answered - especially things like postage costs. When your selling try to put as much in your description as possible, and if I can, I always work out my postage costs first so there can be no confusion.

I have been buying and selling for probably about 2 years now and have never had any major problems. I did have a seller who didn't contact me or send me my items after I'd paid, but it was resolved in the end. You do have to be careful, but it's not all bad - good luck

People may be weary of buying from someone who is a newbie, it may be in your interest to buy a few very cheap things just to get some feedback behing you. I am now on my 102nd sale/purchase and i love it. You really can earn some cash with bits lying round your house no one wants.
Take your stuff to the p.o to get it weighed before you put it up for sale also as people dont like to bid for something if they dont know how much its going to cost to get sent to them. Excuse spelling etc i am drunk!

You could build up your feedback buying envelopes etc or xmas pressies. Afterthought!

You can actually get a free weighing thing from the PO website, and if you get a postage chart you don't neeed to go to the PO to weigh everything...

As a completly addicted ebayer - my only advice would be - don't drink wine whilst browsing for a purchase!! I made this mistake last night and was scared to read my email this evening - thankfully I had been outbid - but I nearly bought an awful lot of stuff i didn't want!!

What happens if you try to sell something but no one buys it? Do you have to pay again to relist it or can you keep relisting for free until it goes?

Is it worth trying to sell things like books/CD's?. I've noticed when I've browsed through books that very few seem to attract any bids unless they are special in some way - old, a first edition or somehow a bit different.

I've won one bid - replacement cereal bowls in my china, which is no longer made. I hope to get salad plates next to replace the one that got broken. I was so pleased when I realised I could made my set up again. So was dh, as I'd been agitating to buy a whole new service of eight settings.

We are still pretty new to ebay but just about everything we bought were great deals and had success with buyers and sellers. The amazing thng about ebay is, it doesn't have to be new but can be in good condition, if you list and describe it honestly with good pictures, someone will purchase. Be honest with customers and we can only hope it happens vice versa.

It is better to over estimate postage costs and return money for postage than underestimate, shows honesty when they get a cheque for money back.

We sell anything we won't really need.

If no one buys your item, you can list it again and if it sells 2nd time, the listing fee is refunded.

Oh, golly, this thread has popped up! Thanks for the info.

I have read the horror stories, too, but never had any bad experiences myself (about 17 transactions, now). No trouble selling as a "new" seller, either. My lessons are:

• Most Baby clothes & toys don't sell well. I notice a lot of no-bids auctions for these, or quite low prices. I would try the selling forums on UKParents, an NCT sale or Car Boot sale first. Exceptions are unusual items, like lycra sunsuits, collector's toys, and some designer clothes. DVDs sell pretty well, too.
• Ebay allows seller to charge anything they like for postage, packing, and time to pack the item, but if you say you'll charge a certain amount, You mustn't exceed it. And if what you charge for P+P is deemed "excessive", Ebay can boot you off for "fee avoidance".
• Ebay allows 30 days for a transaction to complete before either side is considered late; be patient.
• One of the safest & fastest ways to be paid is by direct bank transfer; may sound crazy to give complete strangers your bank details, but the Ebayers give long list of reasons why this is safe (see their discussion forums).
• Be very honest in describing what you're selling. *My fave buyers are those who send cash in the post; short and simple!
• If buyer wants to use PayPal and you want buyer to pay fees, add 8% for items that sell under £10, 5% for items selling over £10.
• Get some kitchen scales if you want to estimate postage yourself at home (Royal Mail postage charges are all online). Although in my experience, most people do not seem to think about what postage they're paying.
• "Design" your ad carefully, including the subject line that comes up when people search. Try very hard to include a photo.
• A lot of things sell for more on Ebay than you can buy them elsewhere in Real Life -- so do your research before buying.

Suedonim: Amazon lets you register as a 2nd-hand book seller; I think it's a better venue for books than Ebay. Not sure about CDs, though.

One other tip: when you send something off, get proof of posting from the Post Office. This can be invaluable if the item goes missing and you need to claim back from PO!!

I wish i'd read this a minute ago i've just put a bid on for something ridiculous, hope it works out o.k

zebra, as an aside, I have always wondered why people don't want to give out their bank details for a transfer but are happy to send a cheque which has them all on anyway?!?

My tip, always check postage first, you may think you are getting a bargin but once you factor in P&P you can end up paying more.

maybe final? ps:
Try hard to never give negative feedback. I don't think neutral means much, but most Ebayers are EXTREMELY sensitive about a whiff of negative feedback. Sometimes deserved, but try hard to avoid.

Yes, Pie: that is exactly the argument the Ebayers use! Plus a cheque gives them an example of your signature.

Amazon is brilliant for selling DVDs and books - I put about £200 worth on there and almost everything sold within a month (I even got £60 for one book - had no idea it was worth anything!). Plus the buyer pays Amazon (who take their commission and then pay you directly into your bank account), so you don't have to bandy your personal details about at all.

Goodness, more advice - great! I noticed that Amazon had that second hand books set-up but wasn't quite sure how it worked. I took a load of books to the charity shop yesterday - oh well, c'est la vie.

I've just won my second auction and paid by Paypal (no extra charge) - which I do not understand. I also use Nochex where you load money into your acc and that seems simple enough, but PP seems to come off my CC without my putting money in.

It will be on your next credit card bill suedonim, believe you me.... (mine is mainly Paypal charges, I'm such an eBay addict)

I am still quite new to ebay, I mainly buy stuff as I haven't got a digital camera. As a buyer I try to think how I would like to be treated as a seller (if that makes sense). Therefore I always pay the minute I can - by cheque or paypal - and I have always recieved products quickly. Sometimes things seems to be taking a while to arrive, so I usually send a really nice email saying, 'I sent my cheque on the XXX did you recieve it? I am a bit worried as I haven't heard from you'. One time someone had been in hospital and apoligised profusely, the other just had a baby. Forgivable reasons and I still got things in two weeks or less.

When I put something on to sell I really tried to give a long description and tried to explain things fully. Also people will email you with questions, try to get back ASAP.

When I have bought stuff I always check all feedback, ask loads of questions if I need to, and to be honest I don't bid unless I really want something. I also ALWAYS check postage, if it is more than £2 I don't buy (unless it is heavy).

I have bought loads of kids clothes usually small bundles of stuff for around £10 - £12 inc postage. I get 3 or 4 tops and a pair of trs for this. They have always been lovely and nicer than I would buy normally (ie Next/Monsoon/Gap) I don't buy stuff that was cheap to start with (George/Tesco etc).

I've bought a few things from e-bay but not sold anything yet, so I've not looked into that side of it. How much does it cost to list something or does it depend on the item you're selling?

Suddenly this thread's really long! I've sold four things now and done extremely well (don't want to be open about details but one thing sold for £30 more than we paid for it two years ago!) I decided to minimise P&P (take the difference out of my profits) and not charge extra for PayPal and it has really paid dividends. Being a newbie doesn't seem to have put anyone off.

Re: clothing not selling too well. A friend of mine bundled her baby clothes into 3 lots, by age (not designer - Next, Mothercare, Adams etc.) and sold them for well over £100 9she'd put reserves on of about a tener!) - not bad considering you normally pass them on/give to a charity shop. I do think the way you list, and the quality of your pictures makes a big difference.

Thanks for all advice - I think I'm hooked

jmf2106 - yes, the fees depend on how much it sells for - it's all listed in the help pages on ebay.

That 9 should have been a bracket - she didn't sell for £1009!!!

About payment methods:

• Most people who have used both seem to prefer NoChex over PayPal. Ebay promote PayPal, though, because Ebay own PayPal; Ebay takes the profits. *Low value (like < £10) personal cheques: do not assume these are any good; best to wait until they clear until you despatch goods. If a low value cheque bounces & buyer won't make good, you can get some revenge by repeatedly presenting the cheque at your bank (buyer's bank account will charge them £10-£15 each time). *High Value personal cheques: Suppose I send you £100 to buy something. Cheque clears, you send me goods. I trot down to my bank and if the funds have left my account less than 7 days previously, I can probably still stop the cheque, albeit for a fee of £10-£20. Putting me £80 in the black. What to do?

You can report me to Ebay, especially if you have documentation (like proof of posting) I will be booted off. BUT it's a hollow victory, pretty easy for me to re-register as new user name, slightly different postal & email address. Better to prevent by A) make sure buyer has a long history of positive feedback and is unlikely to be a con artist, or B) don't despatch high value goods until 7 days after funds have reached your bank. If you state that this is your policy in the auction payment details, buyer can't really complain.

Also,

*I always send emails to confirm that buyer received the goods ok. Most Ebayers don't do this, but I feel like a transaction isn't finished until I get the confirmation.

*I don't understand why... but it's considered poor Ebay etiquette to not leave positive feedback when it's deserved.

*You can block bids from specific Ebay users, although I don't know how to do it.