Selling on Ebay

[scots_lass]

I have a couple of things(non-bike related) I was thinking of selling on Ebay. Anybody got any tips for a novice? What if things are too heavy (gym equipment ) to post. Should I still offer to deliver via courier or whatever? And how on earth do I pack the stuff?

 

[fossyant]

Too heavy, then ask for pick up. To send via courier, you'll need a stack od cardboard - maybe pop down to a furniture store to see what they can let you have ?

 

[accountantpete]

For heavy bits just offer local pick-up and put a reasonable starting price on them -otherwise you can end up selling for 99p due to the limited number of potential buyers.

There is a Postal Charge calculator on the web - that will give you an idea of the cost. Couriers tend to be costly.

For boxes,unless you want to pay for new boxes, Supermarkets or local electrical stores are great.

 

[gbb]

As accountantpete says, think about the item your're selling. If it has value, but is too heavy to post, have it as a local pickup only, BUT make sure it doesnt go too cheap. You can do that by making your starting price the minimum you're happy to let it go for.
Remember the fees...its somewhere in the region of 10%, then paypal fees as well. Between them, they take a fair percentage.
Be as accurate as possible with your description, especially if you're posting it. There's nothing worse than an unhappy buyer, and you'll bear the cost of putting it right. Ive fallen foul of that recently...one missed important piece of info, buyers unhappy, refund and bear the cost of the buyer returning it to you. For me, its a one off, so you just swallow it.

A good photos helps, and make sure your auction doesnt end at a funny time...you'll get fewer bids.

For smaller or lighter items, use the Royal Mail portal online to calculate postage. Just make sure you select the correct package type (letters or small packets), select the weight and it'll tell you how much it should be.

Be prepared before you list anything, there's nothing worse than selling an item...and not knowing how you're going to send it or pack it.

 

[accountantpete]

Almost forgot - put the gear for auction which finishes at a good time. I do a 7 day stint so put them in on Sunday to end around 7-10pm on the next Sunday as there is a good audience at that time.

 

[Fnaar]

I sold a car seat once, for local pick up only. Winning bid was from a guy the other end of the country. He said he'd be coming up my way, but he didn't turn up. He sent me a letter with an apology and a tenner for my trouble, and said to sell the seat again if I wanted. Eventually I gave the seat to a friend of a friend.

 

[Over The Hill]

You cannot go too far wrong with it. Just check the add or get someone else to check. I did once put something on for free posting when I meant to charge £6. My fault for not checking it.

With the postage - make sure you know how much it will cost to post in the packet. Use bubble wrap rather than cardboard if you can as it is much lighter and the box can bump up the price. Most bike bits are fine in bubble wrap. I dont have much to spend on bikes so get all the bits I need on there.

Photos are essential. More than one. All the info is vital too relevant to the type of fitting and size etc.

I am up to about 80 items (sold 20 bought 60). Not had a problem yet that has not been sorted out OK.

I cleared out my garage and was about to dump a pile of things (old vice, old sat dish etc) and got £60 for it all!

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Almost forgot - put the gear for auction which finishes at a good time. I do a 7 day stint so put them in on Sunday to end around 7-10pm on the next Sunday as there is a good audience at that time.

Ending Fri - Sun night is good too because lots of folk will have had a couple of 'sharpeners' and their wallets will be looser!

 

[accountantpete]

Ending Fri - Sun night is good too because lots of folk will have had a couple of 'sharpeners' and their wallets will be looser!

Have you got that £600 Sinclair C5 non-runner going yet?

 

[Brains]

I always delay the start of my auctions so they start on a Thursday PM and I go for 10 days so that I get two weekends in

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Have you got that £600 Sinclair C5 non-runner going yet?

*cough* working on it pete

 

[scots_lass]

Never thought about the timing of the ad. Thanks for that. I have taken the plunge and put a couple of things on Ebay and one on Gumtree. Don't know which will be the better of the two. Fingers crossed.

 

[scots_lass]

I have almost sold my item on Gumtree - someone is coming to look at it tomorrow. And I have 8 watchers on one of the items on Ebay. Is that good? It seems a bit creepy to me!

 

[accountantpete]

The more watchers the better!

Basically if click the "watch" option you get a running update of the item on your My eBay page - some people do this so that they can make a late bid (as most experienced buyers do), others are selling something similar and want to know what price you get.