eBay - Hints and Tips please

[crystaltips]

I know that there are a number of eBay threads - but I am wanting a set of guidelines that I should stick to.

I never knoew there were so many experts out there ...

Please let me know lessons that you have learnt - and how can I track down all those bargains that we hear about
Thanks

Buying or selling? If buying:

don't just browse - wait until you need something, then go look for it on ebay

don't buy if you don't know what the postage will be (you can send them a "question to seller" asking what p&p will be)

work out how much you want to spend, take the p&p off that, and bid that much - don't go back and look at the item, don't increase your bid!

get an email account on lycos or yahoo or somewhere and use it for ebay (so if your email address gets out to someone who shouldn't have it or you start getting lots of spam, you can scrap it and get a new email)

be nice and friendly in your emails and give sellers the benefit of the doubt if something arrives late / with wrong postage / not as described etc - most people are selling in good faith and will give refunds if you are nice to them!

watch out for clothes - different people have different ideas of what is "good condition"

use the "advanced search" and search for "completed items" to find similar items that have sold before - you can see how often the thing comes up for sale and what it sells for - so you know what to bid and whether to let this one go and wait for the next one

is this the kind of thing you wanted?

Fab Zerub .... can't you tell I'm without my girls now....?

Second Zebra but would also add
If buying, put a watch on several similar items and see what they go for, then you'll have an idea of the 'going price'

If selling, try weighing stuff (in packaging) on digital scales and use the Royal Mail's website to work out the cost - saves 2 trips to the Post Office.

Set very clear limits on what you'll accept, eg payment within 7 days, I didn't do this and eventually got my fingers burnt and had to relist.

Definitely second the friendly bit, I once send 2 parcels first class on a Monday (went out specially to catch last post), one arrived on Tuesday morning and one Thursday!! I'm sure Thursday man must have doubted me...

Also, always get a proof of postage if not using recorded delivery.

Above all, describe the condition of everything you sell very honestly and you shouldn't go far wrong.

Once you get into the swing of things use a 'sniper' for buying. There are lots of different ones out there offering free trial periods. Google 'sniper ebay'.

I used to have to clock watch and then go in at the last minute which was time consuming with a little one. Now I check my 'watching' list, set my maximum prices for several items once every few days and then wait to see if I've won them. It means you may be disappointed but it means you are out of the scrum and you don't pay more than you think the item is worth.

Do ask questions and check measurements, reasons for selling, non-smoking, non-pet, etc. if that is important to you.

Check out 'advanced search' and click 'completed items' - this will give you an idea of how much the same item went for in the last month.

And check out 'items available to the UK' too. The $ is so weak at the moment there are some bargains to be had from the US. Although do ask the seller if they will mark as gift.

Enjoy! It's very addictive.

Which sniper do you use ??

Are they safe - I don't like the idea of giving my ID and password to "strangers"

Thanks

sorry to be dense but whats the difference between a sniper and just putting in your max bid from beginning?

You're not dense miggy, but it's a huge difference in practice. As long as your proxy bid is in people can bid against you, and nibble away at your bid over a long period. If you snipe your bid is invisible to all until the dying seconds, so it's too late for anyone to bid against you. It's likely to be much more effective. The only (theoretical IME so far) problem would be if two people both put in huge snipes at the last moment and the price suddenly zooms up, so even with sniping you should only bid what you're prepared to pay. Most of this is probably stating the obvious, sorry!

I use bidnapper.com. I've used all of the free trial periods and this was just the one I stuck with. I have to pay an annual subscription now although I think it's about £20. There's no advantage to them to use your details so I think it's pretty safe.

I use a sniper so that no one knows I'm interested in the item until the last minute. If you go in 4 days before then the bidding can kick off.

thanks tamum and Gem13, will give it a try and feed my ebay habit some more.

Good Subjct. I messed up big time when i first started using it. Put in a very large bid for a few pounds item. Was my own fault for rushing in.

My advice is read all the Jargon first. Good Luck

Good Subjct. I messed up big time when i first started using it. Put in a very large bid for a few pounds item. Was my own fault for rushing in.

My advice is read all the Jargon first. Good Luck

I think I'd agree with all those listed below. I haven't used a sniper to date, but put a watch on the items I'm interested in, and just put in a bid in the last day or so (I tend to keep track twice a day).

Where I've made mistakes:

• I didn't think that it was important for toys to come from a smoke-free home until I bought one that didn't! 6 months later you can still tell...
• always check out the feedback of anyone you're buying with. I personally now avoid buying from people with feedback of 20.
• therefore if selling for the first time it is worth buying some stuff in order to increase your feedback (but I still wouldn't buy from you!). -always check p&p if not listed
• make sure that you know the retail value of the item you're buying

Most baby/child stuff come up time after time, so do check out the "going rate".
Search imaginatively - there are plenty of spelling mistakes out there.
Check if someone is local to you - you could pick up heavier items and save p&p.

Do you think there's lots of stolen goods on Ebay? My (ancient) phone has been a bit temperamental lately, and I tried to get a new battery today in town, but they just laughed at me Anyway I've bought one on Ebay -I'm sure it's genuine - good seller, lots of positive feedback, etc., but dh says it's probably stolen.

Possibly but we have sold similar (to our profit!). Ebay is a brilliant way of getting cash for stuff that would be useless to you, but useful to others. Lots of stuff is just sold for parts or spares.

I've just bought a buggy on eBay today! I like to do my own sniping, sit there as long as your nerves can take it then go in with your final bid. I used to bid on something as soon as I saw it and inevitably would end up losing it but now I watch things until the last minute, although if you were interested in a number of items employing a sniper would be a good idea. Happy eBaying!!!

I like to snipe on my own too Got a TMNTurtle in the dying seconds last night.

I have rootled through my attic and have quite a few things to sell!! Looks like I'm here for the day

BUT questions are ...

a ) should I put all the items on today - or spread them out ( mainly kids clothing )

b ) how long should each auction last 1/3/5/7 days

c ) When is the best time for auctions to start / end ?

d ) SHould I do Paypal to entice bidders ( and suffer the fees )

Thanks

Remember that if you have a lot of auctions ending at once, you'll have a lot of corresondence and posting to sort out when they've ended. If you're putting a lot of similar items on, tell bidders inthe description to look at your other items and that you'll combine postage & packing costs for multiple wins - might entice people to look at everything you're selling and bid with you rather than someone else?

I always go for the longest auction option so that more people see it. I don't think the length of time puts people off.

I have some books to get rid of. Is it better to put them on Amazon? I notice that books don't seem to sell on ebay unless there is something special about them, a First Edition etc.

Suedonim - it depends how expensive they are. Amazon charge customers c.£2.75 postage on a marketplace purchase, (the seller gets a percentage of this), which is a hefty whack on top of a cheap book - it's a set fee irrespective of the size of the book. On Ebay you can charge what you like for postage.

Dh has sold a lot of academic books on Amazon - usually £in the £10 - £25 range. It's great for this sort of book - you don't pay to list - a book stays on for 2 months, then you can re-list. Amazon takes a good percentage, but for 'unusual but pricey' books, it's a good way of bringing sellers and buyers together. (Yesterday he sold two books to the same purchaser, and Amazon still charge the customer 2 full postage charges!)

I often buy 2nd hand children's books on Ebay, but wouldn't on Amazon, because it's usually cheaper to buy new - batch an order and get free postage IYSWIM.

Does this make sense?

PS Still making yoghurt daily

To try and answer some of crystaltips's questions, I have heard sellers say that weekends are the best time for auctions to end as there are more people browsing then. As a buyer only, I do prefer Paypal, and I prefer shorter auctions (sorry Soupy, but it may just be me anyway ), but I guess it depends on what you're selling. If it's something that's readily available like baby clothes, I would tend to skip over long auctions and look for things that are finishing soon, but obviously if it's something I really want I will "watch" it. There would have to be a balance though, if it's just on for one day then no doubt some people will miss it, but if it's 10 days I wouldn't have thought you'd catch all that many more potential buyers than 7 days.

Yes, that makes sense, Roisin. The books I'm thinking of are hardbacks so won't be that cheap to post anyway. What I don't understand about Amazon is that people appear to offer used books for the same price as new copies - why would anyone buy them? I must be missing something, I'm sure!

Glad you're enjoying the yoghurt. I've unearthed my machine (we've just had a new kitchen put in, a bit chaotic for a while!) and am in production again. Dd, 7yo, is into making drinks with it. I try to avoid finding out what she's used to flavour it!

I personally think it is better to have an auction ending before 10 pm on a Sunday. We tend to list many of our items to end on the weekend just because more people are online more, and if the weather is bad, all the more better. Time to flog everything!!!

Does anyone know the most economical and cheapest way to mail books to customers. Royal Mail seems to have some ridiculous rates. You can buy a book for £1 and then have to pay £3-5 on postage alone. There must be a cheaper way!

Although PayPal charges a percentage of the FVF, it works out to the same if you had to write a cheque, get an envelope and put stamps on it. With PayPal you get the money faster.

You can always incorporate say 50p extra in the postage to cover the PayPal fees and then don't charge your customer. Or if it is a high price auction, say you will cover half of the 5% and the winning bidder can cover the other half. Seems fair!!

hints and tips please, posting here in case it was missed at the other thread.

Does anyone know the most economical and cheapest way to mail books to customers. Royal Mail seems to have some ridiculous rates. You can buy a book for £1 and then have to pay £3-5 on postage alone. There must be a cheaper way!

What sort of books are you talking about? It sounds like heavy hardback reference books from that price. Have you checked the Royal Mail Postal charges? There used to be a calculator on there somewhere where you put in the weight of the item and how quickly you wanted it to arrive etc and it gave you all the costs for an assortment of options.