Selling stuff on ebay.

[scotview]

Not sure if this is the correct place to post this topic, so please move as required.

I'm going through stuff I haven't used for some time, like old lenses, cameras etc.

Do any of you guys use ebay to get rid of stuff. Having looked briefly at their rules it looks like they charge 10% on sales.

Have you any practical advice on using ebay, would you avoid it or are there better alternatives.

Thanks

[BullDog]

Not sure if this is the correct place to post this topic, so please move as required.

I'm going through stuff I haven't used for some time, like old lenses, cameras etc.

Do any of you guys use ebay to get rid of stuff. Having looked briefly at their rules it looks like the charge 10% on sales.

Have you any practical advice on using ebay, would you avoid it or are there better alternatives.

Thanks

Yes. I only sell when I get an offer of 80% off the selling fees. Otherwise eBay is just too expensive. I have had reasonable success with Facebook market place but more for local sales involving collection by the buyer. Low ball offers can be annoying. Expect to sell at rock bottom prices and even then be annoyed by requests for "what's the lowest price you will take?". Similar story with Gumtree as Facebook market place. Hope that helps.

[Adamski]

Yeah, it's a rip off. When I started on ebay was 5%. However still use it even though its so expensive.

Big advantage is you've got such a massive market. You'll match up buyer and seller easily, whereas Facebook marketplace or etsy not as many buyers.

So I still sell on ebay but more to get rid of stuff or give to someone who wants it (collectors), rather than to make money.

[88V8]

I'm going through stuff I haven't used for some time, like old lenses, cameras etc.

Other than my local shops, Ebay is my starting point for pretty much anything I might want to buy. Often old, also new.

Regards selling, I have about a dozen items on there atm.
Just sold one.

A lot of stuff goes round and around, unsold. Must be millions of items, around and around. But then one sells.
However, old film cameras, unless it's very cheap or something special, likely a waste of time.

Decide under which Category you might list, then use Advanced Search to look at completed listings, see whether and at what prices things are selling.

Take lots of good pictures. The headline pic is important to browsers.

Describe properly... there are a lot of can't-be-bothered three worders. If you can spell and punctuate correctly that gives you a head start on many sellers....

Yes they take a lot of commission but their reach is unparalleled, and in fifteen years I have never had a non-payer, nor a breakage as I pack very well, although I do say so myself. Main problem for me now is how to ship stuff, but that's another story.

V8

[didds]

Expect to sell at rock bottom prices and even then be annoyed by requests for "what's the lowest price you will take?".

... then followed by "will you take <lower price>".

... and/or having negotiated a price then met with "please deliver it. I live 15 miles from you and don't have a car"

didds

[BullDog]

One more thing. Whichever way you ship an item, always send it signed for on receipt. eBay always side with the buyer. If the buyer says an item was never delivered (even when it was) you will lose the payment and the item you shipped in good faith. The only thing you can do to protect yourself is make sure it's signed for on delivery.

[DrFfybes]

All good advice above. What I have found is that if I list a couple of items after a gap, I get an offer like "list 5 items for £1 each with no final value fees". These offers aren't obvious and sometimes I end up cancelling the live auctions, triggering the offer, and relisting. Ebay never seem to notice or bother.

Psychology plays a part - people will start to bid if something looks like it might go cheap, then tend to get drawn in. If you want to sell, put a low starting bid and no reserve. Most bids arrive in the last few hours anyway, often in the last few minutes. A friend listed a bike with a high starting bid and got no interest. He relisted it with £1 start and no reserve, and got more than his original start price.

Paul

[richlist]

The danger with sellers listing for £0.99p & no reserve is that it might sell for just £0.99p.
I've lost count of the number of times I've embarrassingly collected a £0.99p purchase......I can see the look of despondency on their faces !

[bluedonkey]

There's this site for clothes etc:
https://www.vinted.co.uk/

[AF62]

eBay for stuff you can post but only when they are doing their 80% off fees or ‘sell for £1’ - but *only* post lowish value things that you don’t mind not getting paid for as there are too many scammers out there - I would *never* sell a phone on eBay.

eBay for stuff that needs collecting and there is likely a reasonable demand for it (but again only when they are doing their 80% off fees or ‘sell for £1’).

Facebook marketplace for larger stuff for collection that you just want rid of and are prepared to take a low offer (but that place is utterly full of scammers, idiots, and lazy people who don’t turn up), but is better for getting rid of that old chair or tv than eBay.

CEX (and the similar online places) for electronics. The price you get is less than eBay but you will be paid.

For eBay I generally list with ‘Buy it now’ price rather than an auction, since if you use the ‘completed items’ filter you can see what things have actually sold for.

I only use an auction if I really don’t know the value of an item - a couple of items recently I thought I might get £50 for each but started the listing lower than that. One sold for £150 and the other £400.

And if selling on eBay, lots of good quality photos and a good honest description.

[AF62]

One more thing. Whichever way you ship an item, always send it signed for on receipt. eBay always side with the buyer. If the buyer says an item was never delivered (even when it was) you will lose the payment and the item you shipped in good faith. The only thing you can do to protect yourself is make sure it's signed for on delivery.

That might protect you against ‘did not arrive’ claims (although only if you posted to somewhere in the UK - but then I wouldn’t post anywhere else and set the relevant exclusions).

However it does nothing to protect you from the ‘not as described’ claims where eBay also always sides with the buyer. And then your choice is paying for the return postage as well as a refund, and at best getting back a similar item the buyer had owned and broken, keeping yours.

[DrFfybes]

The danger with sellers listing for £0.99p & no reserve is that it might sell for just £0.99p.
I've lost count of the number of times I've embarrassingly collected a £0.99p purchase......I can see the look of despondency on their faces !

I did say "if you want to sell" But yes, we listed about 20 years of MrsF's 2000AD comics - one bid, 99p. The buyer felt so guilty they also brought us a rather nice bottle of wine I was just glad of the space. We also had a load of "Alchemy" 4 inch figurines, they went for 99p each too. But at least they sold, and I no longer have the "but these are collectable" discussion on the annual dusting of the display cabinet.

I think we still have the 'collectable' Royal Doulton oddments and Charles and Di wedding celebratory Egg Coddler.

Paul

[scotview]

Thanks all for the great feedback. It has confirmed my reservations.

We usually give stuff to one of our local church charity shops, who generally accept just about everything. I think we'll continue along that path which means local good causes are supported. Making the odd extra bawbee isn't always the top priority.

[BullDog]

One more thing. Whichever way you ship an item, always send it signed for on receipt. eBay always side with the buyer. If the buyer says an item was never delivered (even when it was) you will lose the payment and the item you shipped in good faith. The only thing you can do to protect yourself is make sure it's signed for on delivery.

That might protect you against ‘did not arrive’ claims (although only if you posted to somewhere in the UK - but then I wouldn’t post anywhere else and set the relevant exclusions).

However it does nothing to protect you from the ‘not as described’ claims where eBay also always sides with the buyer. And then your choice is paying for the return postage as well as a refund, and at best getting back a similar item the buyer had owned and broken, keeping yours.

Fully agree. If the item you are selling has a serial number or other unique identification, photograph and keep it until you get paid out for it by eBay. I haven't yet been scammed by eBay buyers but there's always a first time.

[Hypster]

Do any of you eBay sellers bank with Santander? I haven't been able to sell anything since eBay changed the process to pay to a linked account and the registration process kept failing. When I contacted them about it they just suggested I bank with a well known bank as some of the smaller ones aren't recognised!

[richlist]

Do any of you eBay sellers bank with Santander? I haven't been able to sell anything since eBay changed the process to pay to a linked account and the registration process kept failing. When I contacted them about it they just suggested I bank with a well known bank as some of the smaller ones aren't recognised!

Yes, I'm with Santander, it's my linked account with Ebay. Never, ever had a problem.

[Dod101]

Thanks all for the great feedback. It has confirmed my reservations.

We usually give stuff to one of our local church charity shops, who generally accept just about everything. I think we'll continue along that path which means local good causes are supported. Making the odd extra bawbee isn't always the top priority.

Or of course put it on Freegle. The beneficiaries are usually very happy to collect.

Dod

[DrFfybes]

Do any of you eBay sellers bank with Santander? I haven't been able to sell anything since eBay changed the process to pay to a linked account and the registration process kept failing. When I contacted them about it they just suggested I bank with a well known bank as some of the smaller ones aren't recognised!

No, but I had a similar problem when I tried to change my linked account from RBS to Lloyds. I tried their login process several times to no avail, and was alnost going to close the Ebay account and start again, then I tried it saying "I don't have online banking" so avoiding their applet thing, and did the "make 2 small transactions" process instead, and it worked.

Paul