Who's done it? (I'm looking for some helpful tips.) Is it more beneficial to do a plain old ordinary auction, (with or without a Buy It Now option) versus an outright, fixed point sale? Do you put a reserve, or at least a starting bid? I'm trying to figure out just what my expenses are going to be, based upon fees by both Ebay and PayPal.

 

Any help?

I imagine a lot of BGPers can help, but mcpapa will be your go-to-guy on this.

I'm not an expert, but I sold some things after doing some cleaning and organizing.

 

I think the main thing that helps is getting eyes on your page. Make sure your items are labeled and titled correctly so you turn up in the right searches. I think good pictures and a good description help, but you have a better chance of selling if people find your item.

 

As far as auctions/versus "Buy It Now," it depends on what you're selling. If it's expensive, then you're taking a bit of a gamble without setting a reserve. However, if it's a popular item an auction can boost your selling price. The in-between is to do a "Buy It Now" or best offer.

 

Do a little research on what similar items are being sold for and priced at. Follow a few auctions of similar stuff and see what they end up selling for. That should give you a bit of a guide for pricing, or at least what will make your price competitive.

 

If you're just planning on unloading a couple of items, you might want to wait for ebay to offer a deal where fees are waived. It seems they do it every now and then for new sellers.

Your lucky to save tax on most items now. eBay is very popular.

I sell on Ebay quite often.

 

I just use standard auction and I'll place a reserve if it's a higher priced item, I don't usually place a Buy It Now unless they have a Free promo.

 

I never put my auctions at the .99 starting price. I usually put it about $15 or so depending on what I'm selling.

 

 

Make sure you have quality pictures on there and lots of them if possible.

Who's done it? (I'm looking for some helpful tips.) Is it more beneficial to do a plain old ordinary auction, (with or without a Buy It Now option) versus an outright, fixed point sale? Do you put a reserve, or at least a starting bid? I'm trying to figure out just what my expenses are going to be, based upon fees by both Ebay and PayPal.

 

Any help?

 

Feel free to pm me.

Some good points have been made already.

 

Habib is spot on re. proper description of your items for sale. Don't be tempted to throw in what you may think are flowery adjectives (beautiful, spectacular, the overused "vintage", etc.) The reality is that people don't search for those words. You have 80 (I can't remember the exact number) characters to accurately describe your items. Think it of as an abbreviated tweet. Make all of those characters count. BE SURE to accurately describe any damage in your item description. This is critical when selling stuff like stamps, sports cards, glass and pottery, etc. Know the standard grading systems for things like cards, stamps, records, etc. Customers don't like to find out that your near-mint 1957 Ted Williams card has a big old ink spot on the back and you didn't photo the back or describe the flaw.

 

Obviously, you need a PayPal account and a digital camera. I've gotten by with an inexpensive Nikon Coolpix for years. The last two I've purchased on eBay used for about ten bucks each.

 

Your fees, all other things being equal, will be about 10% of your sales plus 10% of the cost to ship your items. Fees can be a bit higher or a bit lower, but that's a good ballpark figure.

 

Have a scale handy. Don't go the "one shipping cost for all locations" route. Let eBay calculate shipping cost - you do this by entering the size and weight of the package as well as the shipping service you plan to use. If you know what your package weighs, you won't get shortchanged and you won't shortchange the customer.

 

Speaking of shipping costs, make sure you have the USPS postage rate calculator bookmarked. Although I generally don't advertise that I ship overseas, I've made many a sale after someone inquires, "How much to ship to...?" I've shipped to just about everywhere. Just requires a simple form to be filled out at the post office. Last month alone I shipped to Great Britain, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, New Zealand, Australia and Germany.

 

I almost ALWAYS offer a starting price that I can live with and a Buy it Now option that I can love. The rare exception is when I think I've got something really unique, don't know much about it even after research, and think it has the potential to go through the roof.

 

Speaking of research, don't limit yourself to what similar/identical items are currently on eBay. Make sure you look at COMPLETED ITEMS - this will include items that sold. It will also tell you what didn't sell (always a higher number than sold items) and how much was being asked for the,.

 

If you sell over $20,000 in a calendar year, prepare to be taxed.

 

FIND A NICHE if you plan to do this in the long term. My dad has sold almost nothing but postage stamps, for example, and does a GREAT eBay business.

 

The customer is always right. Over the years, eBay has become less and less "seller-friendly". That being said, it's still an enjoyable and generally profitable hobby for me. What I list and don't sell eventually finds its way to one of a couple local auction house. And in reality, eBay is just an auction house on a global scale that, when all is said and done, charges a lower commission than just about anyone else.

 

If I buy from a local auction house and earn a big profit on eBay, I will often get back to the original seller and give them a few bucks. That way they may be more inclined to sell similar stuff that I can then buy and earn another profit.

 

HAVE FUN!

 

 

PS - I'm small potatoes. I think I'm just shy of 2,000 feedbacks (knock on wood, 100% positive). Best eBay sale in the last year - an original oil painting that I bought at a good friend's auction house for $15. Sold for $2,000.

I sell on eBay all the time and have been doing so for years and years. They have added a lot of disappointing fees but I find it's still worth it. It also feels like the seller is ALWAYS wrong now.

Some good points have been made already.

 

Habib is spot on re. proper description of your items for sale. Don't be tempted to throw in what you may think are flowery adjectives (beautiful, spectacular, the overused "vintage", etc.) The reality is that people don't search for those words. You have 80 (I can't remember the exact number) characters to accurately describe your items. Think it of as an abbreviated tweet. Make all of those characters count. BE SURE to accurately describe any damage in your item description. This is critical when selling stuff like stamps, sports cards, glass and pottery, etc. Know the standard grading systems for things like cards, stamps, records, etc. Customers don't like to find out that your near-mint 1957 Ted Williams card has a big old ink spot on the back and you didn't photo the back or describe the flaw.

 

Obviously, you need a PayPal account and a digital camera. I've gotten by with an inexpensive Nikon Coolpix for years. The last two I've purchased on eBay used for about ten bucks each.

 

Your fees, all other things being equal, will be about 10% of your sales plus 10% of the cost to ship your items. Fees can be a bit higher or a bit lower, but that's a good ballpark figure.

 

Have a scale handy. Don't go the "one shipping cost for all locations" route. Let eBay calculate shipping cost - you do this by entering the size and weight of the package as well as the shipping service you plan to use. If you know what your package weighs, you won't get shortchanged and you won't shortchange the customer.

 

Speaking of shipping costs, make sure you have the USPS postage rate calculator bookmarked. Although I generally don't advertise that I ship overseas, I've made many a sale after someone inquires, "How much to ship to...?" I've shipped to just about everywhere. Just requires a simple form to be filled out at the post office. Last month alone I shipped to Great Britain, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, New Zealand, Australia and Germany.

 

I almost ALWAYS offer a starting price that I can live with and a Buy it Now option that I can love. The rare exception is when I think I've got something really unique, don't know much about it even after research, and think it has the potential to go through the roof.

 

Speaking of research, don't limit yourself to what similar/identical items are currently on eBay. Make sure you look at COMPLETED ITEMS - this will include items that sold. It will also tell you what didn't sell (always a higher number than sold items) and how much was being asked for the,.

 

If you sell over $20,000 in a calendar year, prepare to be taxed.

 

FIND A NICHE if you plan to do this in the long term. My dad has sold almost nothing but postage stamps, for example, and does a GREAT eBay business.

 

The customer is always right. Over the years, eBay has become less and less "seller-friendly". That being said, it's still an enjoyable and generally profitable hobby for me. What I list and don't sell eventually finds its way to one of a couple local auction house. And in reality, eBay is just an auction house on a global scale that, when all is said and done, charges a lower commission than just about anyone else.

 

If I buy from a local auction house and earn a big profit on eBay, I will often get back to the original seller and give them a few bucks. That way they may be more inclined to sell similar stuff that I can then buy and earn another profit.

 

HAVE FUN!

 

 

PS - I'm small potatoes. I think I'm just shy of 2,000 feedbacks (knock on wood, 100% positive). Best eBay sale in the last year - an original oil painting that I bought at a good friend's auction house for $15. Sold for $2,000.

 

Sounds like an awful lot of work

Sounds like an awful lot of work

 

It often becomes a hobby.

Sounds like an awful lot of work

 

I do have quite a bit of time on my hands.

 

An typical item will take me a minute to photograph and a minute to upload to my computer. Takes about 5 minutes to complete and post a listing; another couple of minutes to research if I have no idea about the value of the item. Say 10 minutes total.

 

Another 5 minutes to package the item, unless it's something simple like a stamp or a baseball card. The Post Office is 7 minutes away; I will usually mail several items at once.

 

It's a hobby.

I've got some stuff that I've been thinking about putting on ebay. Just not sure about how to set it up without losing money.

I've got some stuff that I've been thinking about putting on ebay. Just not sure about how to set it up without losing money.

 

 

That's a chance we all take on eBay.

 

Offer it for what you can live with.

I have paid for full vacations with eBay. It's a third job for me sometimes

My dad was able to build a REALLY NICE inground pool with eBay sales.