Anyone use eBay to sell???

[Ani]

I'm looking at selling a few items on eBay and I was just wondering if anyone has experience in the levels of listing. Is there really any advantage in spending out the extra bucks to go with a ProPak level listing over the basic listing, which is much less expensive? I would rather the buyers get a better price than to pay for the extra listing fees and have to bump up the price of the item to accommodate. On the other hand, will my listing be visible without the hype of the more expensive listing fees? The ProPak is almost $30.00 as opposed to about $6.00.

 

I have a Danbury Mint "Fantasy of the Crystal" Chess Set that I don't want to "give" away, but I don't want to scare potential buyers off either. There have been two sets that have recently been auctioned off in the low to mid 200's range, and one still currently listed at $350.00 Buy it Now.... None of the sellers offered international shipping, so I'm sure that might broaden the possibilities in doing so, but... who knows. I'm just looking for some quick cash. The set was over $725.00 new.

 

Here's the set... Fantasy of the Crystal Chess Set

[Mark L]

I sell things on ebay

 

I use a risky strategy but it always pays dividends

 

I start all my auctions at

[Ani]

So do you use just the basic listing services as opposed to the "Works" promotional package?

[Mark L]

Just the basic listing

 

'Keep it simple' is my motto

[ggm1960]

I've always sold via the cheap route. I start the bid low. I figure people that are interested are already receiving e-mail notices when the items list.

 

It was pretty smooth going until I tried to sell a Dell laptop. Woah! Every scammer on the planet crawled out from under their rocks!

[nat whilk II]

I sell an occasional piece of music gear - always with just the basic listing.

 

Seems to me that sellers who:

1. don't have misspellings,

2. have high ratings, of course,

3. good photos

4. clear, honest-sounding descriptions, and

5. don't pull the auction and then relist,

 

get the better prices for their stuff.

 

I've had no problems, got a 100% rating, never been stiffed, and never been scammed.

 

nat whilk ii

[Mark L]

Seems to me that sellers who: 1. don't have misspellings, 2. have high ratings, of course, 3. good photos 4. clear, honest-sounding descriptions, and 5. don't pull the auction and then relist, get the better prices for their stuff.

 

+1

[Magpel]

I've sold exactly one item on eBay. It went well enough, because it was an item with considerable buzz, thanks to endorsements from Tom Morello and Joe Satriani. Unfortunately, I didn't have the b@lls to set a low reserve, and I think that limited the high end a bit. I also didn't have the b@lls to sell to international buyers who asked that I classify the first generation Whammy Pedal as a "gift" worth "$50." That was probably a case of good lack of b@lls--the lack of b@alls for mail fraud...

 

I ended up getting 475 minus fees for a pedal I paid less than 200 for. How often does something digital appreciate? Not very, I tell you.

[rasputin1963]

I've bought many, many items on eBay with nary a problem... I'm a big fan of Atomic Age/Fab Fifties design and have shelled out plenty to make my living room look like Frank Sinatra's in 1961.

 

But I've never sold anything. My uncle is the expert in this department: he buys all manner of hardback books from grungy garage sales-- for a pittance-- then sells them for a good profit on eBay. He says that there is no hardbound book that he cannot sell.

 

I hate the sniping effect of an eBay auction: a friend of mine (who's not made of money) spied a big silver sousaphone tuba for his kid... for three days, the bidding hovered at around $200-400, something he could afford, and he kept placing bids. Then, literally during the last sixty seconds of the auction, some sniper drove the price up into the thousands...

 

Now why do I suspect foul play here (on the part of the seller)?

 

I know, "caveat emptor", and "all's fair in love and war"... but why do I cherish the absurd, magical notion that that tuba spiritually "belonged" to my friend's kid the moment it went up on auction? Ever seen the movie THE RED VIOLIN?

[Ani]

Well, I'm taking the plunge. I went with the $5.30 listing instead of the $30.00 listing. The listing shows up in most of the normal searches that I would look for to find a chess set. I'm not quite brave enough to start a $750.00 chess set out at $.99 so I placed a reserve price of $100.00. The last couple of sets that sold for a couple hundred dollars had 9 active bidders (not bids placed) during the final stages of the auctions. I'm thinking that there may still be 7 of those interested that may still be in the market for something less than the one still listed for $350.00.

 

Here is the URL to my listing...

 

Fantasy of the Crystal Chess Set

 

Comments (or critique) welcome.

[Ani]

 

Then, literally during the last sixty seconds of the auction, some sniper drove the price up into the thousands... Now why do I suspect foul play here (on the part of the seller)?

 

 

If I want something badly enough on eBay, I will not even bother checking the status of the item routinely until final minutes of the auction. I don't know that it's the sellers doing the sniping as much as it is the people who are serious buyers of an item. I will usually wait until the final 30 seconds and come in with a Hail Mary offer if it's something I want. Otherwise, I let it go and wait for the next listing of similar items.

[Philter]

 

So do you use just the basic listing services as opposed to the "Works" promotional package?

 

 

I've been fine just using the basic offering, or sometimes just paying for the upgrade that includes the picture of the item on the search page.

 

I find that Ebay shoppers are savvy enough to find the item they are looking for regardless of extras.

[Dean Roddey]

ebay seems like a pyramid scheme to me. It's hard to sell or buy anythng unless you've already sold or bought a lot of things. I've probably paid them $250 in fees and never sold a single thing.

[rasputin1963]

 

offer

 

 

 

Ani, what's this?

[Ani]

 

Ani, what's this?

 

 

The maximum offer that I would even consider bidding for an item. If I play the game early, sometimes it results in even higher prices. Often times, buyers that place bids early on don't think to come back in at the last minute to secure the deal. If you bid all 3 days of a 3 day listing, chances are you are jacking your own price up more. If the bids have already exceeded what I'm willing to spend; then I've saved myself some time.

[nat whilk II]

 

ebay seems like a pyramid scheme to me. It's hard to sell or buy anythng unless you've already sold or bought a lot of things. I've probably paid them $250 in fees and never sold a single thing.

 

 

 

You can build yourself a rating buying and selling some cheap stuff - used books, cds, concert t-shirts, etc. Then dip your toe out with a higher priced item.

 

It's kinda like building a credit rating with the bank -

 

What fees do you pay if you've never sold??? I wouldn't know, 'cause I've never put something up for sale that didn't sell.

 

nat whilk ii

[Dean Roddey]

You pay for the ads whether you sell or not, at least that's how I remember it. It's been a while since I bothered trying.

[Ani]

As to what I am seeing, the listing fees are minimal unless you start placing conditions on the listing. The most basic listing is only $0.15 to list for a week. The first picture is free and then $0.15 for each additional pic up to 12; still that's only a few bucks. If you place a reserve price on the item, that's another $2.00-$5.00 depending on the value. It would be wise to wrap the item and take it to the Post Office to weigh it, then get the specs (sizing, weights, irregularities, and etc) and utilize the shipping calculator provided on eBay so that people don't think they are getting gigged by the shipping charges.

 

On the more simple stuff where I don't care if I get a whole lot for it, I wouldn't bother spending more than about $0.50 tops for the listing. A couple of pics is fine for something that you might get $5.00 for.... From what I understand, placing the reserve pricing detours buyers for some reason. Thing is, if it's something of value, I'm not going to go the risky route and chance being forced into selling something less than what I consider acceptable.

 

A long time ago, my son wanted to try to sell some of his Ugioh cards on eBay. He insisted on setting a reserve price of $40.00. The listing cost about $6.00 if I remember correctly. No one even looked at them... To me, there was no value there worth setting a reserve for. The cards eventually ended up getting trashed by my son. Had he not set a reserve price, someone MIGHT have expressed an interest and at least paid the shipping cost to get them there.

 

I'm going to try selling a few smaller items that are just in my way with the most basic listing to see how it all works. Who knows.... if it works, great... if not... well at least I took the plunge. I've got some nice little lamps and trinket boxes, etc... cute stuff that becomes clutter after you acquire too much of it. I usually end up just giving stuff away, but this time I'll try listing it on eBay and see what happens. The chess set, however, I placed the reserve on it because if I can't get at least a $100.00 for it; I'm NOT giving it away.

[matthewmilner]

 

?

 

 

i'm sure that there was no foul play involved. bidding at the last minute on an auction is very, very common. i know that i personally, having been on ebay for about 8 years now, only bid during the last minute of the auction. my feeling is: why should i raise the price of an item early in the auction? i have my top dollar in mind - i put it in with 30 seconds left. if i get it, great, if not, that's fine too.

 

also bidding at the last minute keeps me from thinking "you know, i'll just bid a little more, just to make sure i get it". if you play that game for whole week you're bound to spend more than you want.

 

the REAL snipers however operate in the last 8 - 10 seconds of the auction. these people have programs that automate the placing of bids as close to the auction's end as possible. some people argue with the fairness of this practice but the high bidder always wins - regardless of whether they sniped an auction or not.