E-bay (Merged)

Lifestyle Bazaar Talk
21

My experience with e-bay so for has been wonderful. Actually I have been stood up by few regular online stores at Yahoo on many occassions..like late shipment, overcharge on shipment etc. But E-bay dudes are cool. Some items I recently bought:

  • Power batteries fo jacknife truck
  • docking station for Toshiba Brand new for only $25 dollars.
  • Wireless Mp3 player to FM radio adapter for car. Just got it yesterday. for only $12.95. This is the wonderful device.
  • Bought ACT! contact management software CD for only $18. At stores sells for $150

Bought numerous books at Half.com. Some people are so honest can't believe it..One guy advertised his book as New. When he was ready ship it to me for $3.95 including shipping, he noticed that when he recieved this book from someone he wrote a one line I love you message on the inside of the cover. The guy shipped the book free and also included a check of $3.95 and apologozed for advertising the book as New. Of course I did not cash the check.

Main thing is check seller's ratings. If most people say good then it probably is good.

22

eBay is a great tool. You can buy anything from a house or car to a paperclip.

23

W:eek:W

:k: :k: :k:

24

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Fret Wizard: *
a paperclip.
[/QUOTE]

haha. yea, you can buy A paperclip, but the s/h is probably 4 times the paperclip's price.

25

E-bay

Salaam all,

I'm interested in selling some stuff on e-bay and I wanted your opinions on whether it is "really safe" or not. :)

26

I've sold and bought tons of stuff on eBay, large and small. It's very safe since as a seller, you receive payment before shipping out the item.

27

Have you experienced any hassles?

28

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Hinna: *
Have you experienced any hassles?
[/QUOTE]

None at all Hinna, except for some late payments and late responses, but nothing serious at all. It's an excellent tool to get rid of lots stuff that you no longer need.

29

cool..thanks for your input!

30

I was checking the ebay site somedays ago coz of this thread :

http://www.gupistan.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=79044

it doesn’t harm to look in the archives sometimes :slight_smile:

31

hehe...thanks saadia

32

And thanks to the new version we can actually combine the two threads!

33

So far ive bought 10 items on Ebay, all were good deals!

34

I have sold and bought some stuff from half.com and i m pretty much satisfied with it. Its a child company of ebay anyway.

35

any tips on getting items to sell off fast?

36

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Hinna: *
any tips on getting items to sell off fast?
[/QUOTE]

My wife sells full-time on eBay - mostly antiques. We've had close to 1,800 successful transactions - everything from $5 to over $500 - with only a few idiots to deal with.

The key to selling your item is a detailed, accurate description, and good photos. Be sure to point out any flaws, and take a picture of the damage so people know EXACTLY what they are getting. Also, unless the item is absolutely unbreakable, insist on insurance. One of the idiots mentioned above bought an item without insurance and expected us to refund his money because it was damaged in shipping. When we refused, he accused of sending it already broken!

People shopping on line are either looking for a great deal OR, something they can't find anywhere else, in which case the price doesn't really make a difference.

Good Luck - let me know if we can offer any assistance!

Peace To All Who Read This....

37

Salaam,

Thanks for sharing your experience mrpockets, I really appreciate it. Well Alhamdulilah I've got about 4 sales so far....but I find that some of my stuff isn't moving even though I have a good description, pictures and the fact that everything I'm selling is new.... got any more tips under your sleeves?!

38

Your very welcome, Hinna!

Sometimes, we may have to list an item several times before it sells. For example, my wife would relist an item, changing the main description slightly each time. Often, an item that was listed with a lower "buy now" option previously, would go for considerably more than that two weeks later!

Our rule is to only sell items where we can at least triple our investment. If your listing multiples of the same item, don't list them all at once! Your just competeing with yourself!

Seasonal or holiday items should be listed a couple of months before they will be needed. That way you get buyers before they go to a regular store.

New people buy computers and sign up for eBay daily, so there are always people who will have never seen what you have to offer. If what your listing isn't moving, find some different items!

The problem we've personally found with new merchandise is that by the time shipping and insurance is added, many times it costs the buyer more than finding the item on a good sale locally. It all depends if they are willing to wait!

Items we thought were "iffy" wind up going for a good price, and some we thought were a sure thing go for the minimum bid! You can never tell! It's always an adventure!

Peace To All Who Read This...

39

Hinna, If you dont mind me asking...what items do you sell on ebay?

MrPockets,

How do buyers usually react to Buy Now price, Reserve price and starting price?

40

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by who---me: *
How do buyers usually react to Buy Now price, Reserve price and starting price?
[/QUOTE]

Who---Me, Buy Now is great for those who want "instant gratification", although everything seems to be "item dependent".

IE is the item readily available in a certain region. 18th century American antiques are prevelent on the east coast - much rarer on the west. People migrating west took very little with them, and a lot of what they took didn't survive the trip. 19th century items are more available on a national level. But, because we live in the central US our cost of living and prices are considerably less than New York or California. Therefore much of what we sell is to people on the coasts. By the same token, if we want 16th century or older items, we have to buy from overseas.

Reserve price and starting price are another animal alltogether! As you may know, you pay a fee based on the starting price, another fee for setting a reserve price, and, ultimately eBay gets a percentage of the final price when the item sells.

I've seen items with a reserve of several hundred dollars or more with a starting bid of $0.25! We always set a starting price that covers our investment, so that it the item only goes for the minimum bid, we don't lose anything.

If you know that you can sell your item locally for $100, but, feel it should or might go for more, you put a reserve on it. If the reserve isn't met then you call your local buyer and you still have made your $100.

Again, new items and antiques are different animals. If we can buy an item for $25 that we know antique shops sell for $125 (We buy mostly from auctions, garage/yard/estate sales and flea markets), we can list it for $75. The buyer knows that he/she's getting a deal, and, we still make a respectable profit.

Also, use eBay as a research tool BEFORE listing your item, or when deciding what kinds of items to list. Look at completed auctions to see what your items have been selling for. It's a waste of time to list a $25 item if the last several listed only sold for $10!

WHEW!! If I'm this "wordy" typing, your ears would be hurting by now if you had to listen to me! Sorry!

Hope this information helps.

Peace To All Who Read This...