Randy Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 I've been using Ebay to buy stuff for many years but now I want to start selling and would like to know if anyone has any tips about how to get the best price and all that. Basically I'll be selling old DVD box sets, CDs and books. Some are quite common, others are very rare - in fact one DVD boxset I've got recently went for over £120 on Ebay (I only paid £20 for it). Is it best to set a reserve price? Should you limit it to UK only buyers to reduce the chances of being ripped off? Also I've heard that you can get stung with fees and commission charges by Ebay. So, for example, if I sell something for £100 on there, what percentage of that do Ebsy take in fees and commission? All advice appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neeeeeeeeeek Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 I never use reserve prices, I think it puts people off. Ebay take far too much, it's about 9% or something, then Paypals 3.5% or whatever on top. Listing fee's are minimal if you go for the default options and quite a few catagories let you add a few pictures for free. I always end in the evening, I assume more people wil have access at that time. Watch out for postal charges as some catagories don't let you add postage. Don't be surprised if you don't have any bids until 30 seconds before the end. Ebay have been screwing the small user for a while now but there is still very little alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValleyBoy Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 I bought 2 tickets for a concert , the seller could not provide them offering me a refund , i accepted a refund , but only by paypal as this would be proof i had got it [ as i had paid by paypal ] , 5 weeks later i am still waiting . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dozy Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 I've been using Ebay to buy stuff for many years but now I want to start selling and would like to know if anyone has any tips about how to get the best price and all that. Basically I'll be selling old DVD box sets, CDs and books. Some are quite common, others are very rare - in fact one DVD boxset I've got recently went for over £120 on Ebay (I only paid £20 for it). Is it best to set a reserve price? Should you limit it to UK only buyers to reduce the chances of being ripped off? Also I've heard that you can get stung with fees and commission charges by Ebay. So, for example, if I sell something for £100 on there, what percentage of that fdo Ebasy take in fees and commission? All advice appreciated! There's some useful advice for sellers here. and links to fees payable here. It can take while to work out how much you're going to end up paying!! There are also Paypal fees to take into consideration, there's a link to them, too, so check it out. I think you now have to accept Paypal, though you can request payment by cheque. Whether you set a reserve or not is up to you - I think it costs you more for the listing, but it does ensure that your item doesn't go for a ludicrously low price. I always made my listings UK only, because it was easier than battling with postage, customs forms, etc, for sending stuff abroad. But you can still end up getting bidders from abroad! If you do, and they win, make sure they pay the extra P & P and tell them they must pay in UK sterling, or you'll end up getting charged by Paypal for the currency conversion. Do write a good description! Some sellers think a blurred photo and a one line description is enough. A few minutes spent "bigging up" your item can pay dividends in terms of price. Oh, and when you work out the postage charges, remember than you also have to cover the packing charges and you're allowed to charge for your time, eg: wrapping it and taking it to the Post Office, which is why some charges seem high. Have a look at what other sellers are charging for P & P and you'll get a good idea of what the market will bear. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panthera Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 on the whole ive sold a lot of stuff on ebay but be really really careful, i've just finished a dispute i had with a buyer, i sold them brand new goods they kept them a week and then said they didnt want them, so i said i'd accept them back as long as they hadnt been used. The buyer agreed but when i got them back parts were missing and the item had clearly beed used and abused, i immediatley placed a claim with ebay saying the goods returned where damaged, Ebay didnt want to know. but when i refused to refund the buyer the full amount she got ebay involved and they jumped to her defence and took her money out of my paypal account. After several calls to ebay and several chats to an operative on ebay live chat i managed to get my points across and the proof that i had actually made a claim a week and half before she did fell in my favour and ebay reversed thier decision. Now she has left me negative feedback, and all i can leave her is posative feedback so i wrote negative in capitols and called her a scam artist, this was yesterday night, in the meantime i have to write a letter to ebay defamation dept to get her negative comments removed, when i checked my email this morning i had a warning from ebay saying not to leave a false posative feedback on her account and they removed it!!! So im in the right, i won the dispute, she calls me all names under the sun on my feedback and it stays there, i retaliate but i get warned and my comments removed and my request for removal of bad feedback has to be presented in writing to ebay in dublin. Ebay is heavily biased toward the buyer, the sellers have no rights as far as i can tell. as far as ebay is concerned the saying should be "seller beware" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BananaSplit Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 I bought 2 tickets for a concert , the seller could not provide them offering me a refund , i accepted a refund , but only by paypal as this would be proof i had got it [ as i had paid by paypal ] , 5 weeks later i am still waiting . Start your own Paypal dispute with the seller. That's assuming your in the right timeframe (think its 45 days from date of sale) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValleyBoy Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 Thanks Banana will do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panthera Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 Start your own Paypal dispute with the seller. That's assuming your in the right timeframe (think its 45 days from date of sale) like bananasplit said chase it through ebay aswell, your the buyer, from the date you put in a dispute the seller has 10 days to reply, if they dont you've won and ebay refunds the cash from thier account. if they do reply you can escilate the matter asking ebay to make the decision and that takes anohter 10 to 14 days and again they usually decide in the buyers favour 99% of the time unless theres proof of wrong doing by the buyer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaranthus Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 Reserve prices generally scare people away. Send every package RECORDED DELIVERY. Set your auction out like 'eBay auction for dummies' so no noobs can misinterpret it and leave you neg feedback. Oh... and NEVER sell to Italy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sedith Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 Reserve prices generally scare people away. Send every package RECORDED DELIVERY. Set your auction out like 'eBay auction for dummies' so no noobs can misinterpret it and leave you neg feedback. Oh... and NEVER sell to Italy. And why not Italy, have you had a bad experience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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