Ebay

[Gardengirl]

Have any of you good folks out there ever sold anything on Ebay?  I have inherited a large quantity of coins and medalions from an uncle (British & Foreign) and thought I might have a go.   The trouble is, there is so much info on Ebay to get through I started wondering whether it was worth it.

Anyone had any success at this and if so are there any pitfalls etc I should be aware of.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Pat  

[Gardengirl]

[Mimi]

Sorry Pat, I have never sold anything on Ebay but I do know that a lot of peeps do.  I have bought stuff, seeds and some plants etc.  Only one thing I can warn you about (I mentioned it some time ago) I recieved a fake email from'Ebay'  They said that they needed to check my identity and for me to resend details of my Paypal account.  This seemed very fishy so I sent the email on to Ebay on the link 'contact us' on their site.  Within a short time I had an answer that the original email was a scam.  Must admit it kind of put me off for a while.

[Mrs Ava]

Ava has sold, and we have bought lots!  I shall get him to post about it tonite when he is on the 'puter if that is okay.  We have never had any probs, and have actually made a bob or two!  hoorah!!

[john_miller]

I have sold some 'unusual' plants on e-bay but, and I'm almost certainly fooling myself here, I like to think that the plant buying community are a little different from the general population. I say this because, in addition, I also buy unusual plants and have never had any serious problems.
I have been left with the impression that, whether it is worth it or not, depends upon how you market your product (like anything else). One plant I was selling (a variegated Brugmansia) was in direct competition with a very good seller in Texas. I showed a picture of the actual size of the cutting I would send, she showed a picture of the finished plant (but made it clear she was selling a cutting in the same size pot as mine). I averaged about $6 as a sale price, she averaged $25!
I would suggest that you do go to the trouble first of finding out a fair market value (use it as a basis of a reserve price) for your collection to see if it is worth it and to protect yourself against cartels who may try to work together to keep the price down (e-bay doesn't have fraud protection simply because of non-paying/non-delivering participants)- know your 'product'! Check feedback of bidders and don't be afraid to refuse bids from those with poor comments. Don't limit payment methods to paypal, e-bay own it and make money on every transaction so would prefer you to use it (get your money instantly!) but I have never used it and many other more frequent sellers refuse to use it too. They want details that Mimi's scammers (I have had the same e-mails too) would love to access. Hope this helps.

[Jesse]

I have sold a fair amount on Ebay, mostly baby stuff and kids clothing. Make things as easy as possible for your buyers by providing as much information and detailed photos as possible, close ups are good so your buyer has a good idea of what they're buying.  Be honest about what you're selling, otherwise you'll end up with poor feedback which means future buyers will be reluctant to bid on your items. If you know html and can host our own pictures then you can include as many pictures as you want without paying extra for each photo. Remember to include packaging costs with your postage, if you're selling a lot those jiffy bags (if you're using them) add up your costs quickly. Offer as many payment methods as possible, this opens up the number of people to bid, personally I use Paypal and if a seller doesn't offer paypal as a payment method I favour someone who does, but this is my personal preference and if you don't feel comfortable with paypal then don't use it. If you do, like everyone has said, make sure you never reply to or click on the links to those emails you receive, I receive them often.
Take a look at how similar items are being advertised and worded, particularly those that hav high bids on them, you can often get some good tips by doing this. If you don't expect many bids then make sure your starting price is not too low, if you expect lots of bids then it's okay to have a low starting price to encourge watchers. Selling lots of items is time consuming, packaging, addressing, posting each item. Sometimes it's better to sell things as a bundle but then you often don't get the value you want, guess it depends on what you're selling. Always get proof of postage, this also give you free insurance for loss or damage up to £28 for parcels within UK. If you offer paypal as a payment method you can always include the fees in your postage costs like many people do. I state that items being paid by personal cheque will only be dispatched once the cheque has been cleared at the bank.

[Gardengirl]

Thanks for the tips so far - you have all certainly given me food for thought (hope my poor old brain can cope with it all :D).  

Anyone else who cares to chip in with their opinions, I would be pleased to hear from you. :)

Pat

[busy_lizzie]

My husband Mike has bought and sold lots of stamps on e-bay.  He is a very enthusiastic Stamp Collector and thinks it is a great way to get in touch with people all over the world, who have the same hobby as him.  He hasn't had any problems, and as long as you follow all the rules and have a modicum of caution, I am sure you won't have any bother.  :) busy_lizzie  

[Gardengirl]

Funny you should mention stamps BL - hubby and I are at this very moment compiling a very large collection of stamps (British & Foreign) with a view to perhaps auctioning them, so I may be picking your husband's brains when it comes to the time for selling them.  Any particular stamps he is looking for?  We may be able to oblige.  If you want to PM me, feel free :D

Pat

[ava_banana]

Gardengirl....

lots of good advice already.

I can only agree with what has been said and confirm that we have bought and sold on Ebay with no real problems.

I can add a couple of "extras", but they are only from our experience....

Research what you are buying as much as you can so that salient points can be clearly detailed.........find out what people buy, why and for how much......

Good clear photographs showing the item in all its glory (with emblems and date etc) can be very important to grab a buyer's interest.

And the "finish" time of the auction is worth a thought too. I got a really good deal on a set of motorcycle leathers........one of the main reasons was that the auction finished in the early hours of the morning so there weren't many people up to bid at the last minute. So it is best to let the auction finish when there are lots of people potentially in front of their computers.

There are web-sites out there for coin-collectors etc........maybe you could post a link to the auction on their site (bit of a liberty I know, but you never know who is interested).

Good Luck.

[Gardengirl]

Thanks alot Ava :)  With all this good advice how can I possibly go wrong :D :)

Pat