Selling on Ebay - any tips?

[Erin]

Golden butterfly, it is good to get in there right last minute. If it's something you truly want, put in a generous bid last minute. Always bid a few cents over on the dollar, or on the .50... like $90.04 or $99.53... a lot of people put in whole numbers.

As for the sniping programs, biddnapper(.com) is very easy to use. It goes in at about the last three seconds with your maximum bid.

 

[Erin]

Am I covered by paypal in case he doesn't send me the bag?

Up to a certain amount. I think the amount is $2,000, if I'm correct, but this is only if you're using funds directly from your Paypal/bank account. Credit Cards are exempt from this. (Please don't quote me - but this is what I believe it is... you should definitely check out the options on Paypal.com)

 

[Vintage_Addict]

i guess with waiting to bid the only problem is if the seller, like me!, uses Buy It Now. then it can just disappear.

the perils of ebay!

 

[softgrey]

vintage addict...
when you do a buy it now...
do you also do a starting bid?...
and what is the dollar difference between them?...

i cannot figure out how to price things...
but i would much rather use buy it now...

any feedback would be much appreciated...
thanks...

 

[Vintage_Addict]

hi softgrey

i don't know if i am the best pricer i am still figuring it out. but with similar items that i sell often what i have done is- check other sellers that i admire, and i usually find them by looking at completed sales searches for what items sold at the highest for that category. and i "emulate" their tactics and price similarly. there seem to be pretty consistant acceptable prices for items. i am really obsessive with checking other people's completed sales.

and i do use a starting price too. i also choose that in the same way.

the Buy It Now price is usually 2,3 and 4 times the start price.

i hope that helps a bit.

 

[vintage_princess]

I use auctionsniper.com al lthe time when I'm not around my computer for the end of an auction. It gets on my nerves to see new ebay bidders bidding way early on in an auction, when it's a popular item that will definitely be bid on within the next five days or whatever it has left. Then another newbie bids on the item, then the first newbie buts over that newbie, then a friggin bidding war starts and they end up driving the price up for THEMSELVES if they actually want to win the item. If they had just left it alone till near the end of the auction, the price would be WAY lower. Of course, this annoys me most when I want to win the item myself, and annoys me least when I'm selling the item. But overall, it just makes more sense to wait and bid. You save so much money that way, because a great item will most definitely have many more bids if you start bidding on the first day of the auction , or whatever.

This really annoys me too! I can understand completely when I want to bid on something and the price goes up buying people NOT waiting and bidding early. It really makes the price go up..

 

[Hebden]

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's posted in this thread My first eBay auction ended today and the information here was so useful.

 

[z.cesca]

Hello! I am a seller and am pretty flexible when it comes to returns... However, my buyer purchased something on 5/12/06, received it on 6/3/06!! (yeah, she was out of town and forgot to tell me), notified me she wanted to return it on that day.... and since then, she has responded to my e-mails about every 6 days!!!!! Now, she told me she was out of town b/c her friend had to go through chemo and all this stuff, but she also said she would be BACK in town on 6/13. The phone number she has registered on eBay no one answers - ever, nor does it have an answering machine. What do I do? I want to be flexible since I was notified of the return, but the woman is showing no signs of life (to me) - but as of the 18th, the eBay username has been bidding/buying, so someone is there. I have sent e-mails, messages through eBays, called... nothing. She is a reputable buyer, with feedback in the 1800's (99.6% positive)... but she has had the item for 18 days now! What do I do? Someone please help! (sorry for the length...) TIA!

 

[softgrey]

i need to do some of this soon!!!!!!!

 

[sgaotw]

Am I allowed to post my ebay seller ID? I want to know what I can do to increase sales. Thanks!

 

[z.cesca]

^I don't think so... but you could ask an administrator

 

[Keya]

Hello! I am a seller and am pretty flexible when it comes to returns... However, my buyer purchased something on 5/12/06, received it on 6/3/06!! (yeah, she was out of town and forgot to tell me), notified me she wanted to return it on that day.... and since then, she has responded to my e-mails about every 6 days!!!!! Now, she told me she was out of town b/c her friend had to go through chemo and all this stuff, but she also said she would be BACK in town on 6/13. The phone number she has registered on eBay no one answers - ever, nor does it have an answering machine. What do I do? I want to be flexible since I was notified of the return, but the woman is showing no signs of life (to me) - but as of the 18th, the eBay username has been bidding/buying, so someone is there. I have sent e-mails, messages through eBays, called... nothing. She is a reputable buyer, with feedback in the 1800's (99.6% positive)... but she has had the item for 18 days now! What do I do? Someone please help! (sorry for the length...) TIA!

When I'm contacted by a buyer wanting to return an item I give them 7 days to return the item (and since I'm a dork I give them a "return code" that they have to inclose with the item. Like if they asked for a return on June 23rd, the code could say RET3006 (meaning that it needs to be post marked by the 30th or else they're just too late ) Stores here generally don't accept returns after 7 days either, we don't have any of that "return within 30 days" crap here. Bottom line is, you should've given her a time limit, or else she's free to use the item and return it when she please.

 

[z.cesca]

Thanks for your input! Per my return policy, as stated on all my items, the items needs to be returned withing 14 days (it has since been changed to 7, but when she purchased the item it still said 14). I just want to be able to honor the return! Whoever thought of a seller TRYING to give someone back their money! Anyway, I decided to contact the last person she left feedback for (on the 20th) and find out if maybe someone else is using the account (which would explain the activity)... Oh well, I guess I'm going to have to wait and see!

When I'm contacted by a buyer wanting to return an item I give them 7 days to return the item (and since I'm a dork I give them a "return code" that they have to inclose with the item. Like if they asked for a return on June 23rd, the code could say RET3006 (meaning that it needs to be post marked by the 30th or else they're just too late ) Stores here generally don't accept returns after 7 days either, we don't have any of that "return within 30 days" crap here. Bottom line is, you should've given her a time limit, or else she's free to use the item and return it when she please.

 

[Keya]

Thanks for your input! Per my return policy, as stated on all my items, the items needs to be returned withing 14 days (it has since been changed to 7, but when she purchased the item it still said 14). I just want to be able to honor the return! Whoever thought of a seller TRYING to give someone back their money! Anyway, I decided to contact the last person she left feedback for (on the 20th) and find out if maybe someone else is using the account (which would explain the activity)... Oh well, I guess I'm going to have to wait and see!

Since it's been more than 14 days I would've emailed her if I was you, and inform her that the 14 days have passed and if she still wishes to return the item she must(!) contact you within 48 hours and the item must(!) be postmarked within the next two days. I'd also inform her that if she fails to do so, you will no longer be able to issue a refund (and if the item is returned later than 2 days from now, you will not issue a refund and you will hold the item until she pays for return postage to get it back to her) If she ignores your email and gets back to you a week from now with some excuse about her three sick kids and senile grandma, tell her that you are sorry to hear that, but that there's nothing you can do and if she doesn't want the item she can resell it on ebay herself. Oh, and always(!) end emails with a friendly greeting like "have a nice day. thank you!" or something. I find that being professional (make up rules as you go and don't budge from them), yet friendly and helpful is the way to go.

 

[z.cesca]

Oh, I have e-mailed and sent messages (always extremely polite with my usual "best regards" bla bla bla). She had told me, the last time I heard from her, that she was out of town helping her friend who is going through the last steps of chemo.... but that she would be back the following day. I'm trying to be the nice person here and extending her the most days possible, but it has come to a point where she is nowhere to be found! I have sent various messages, both via direct e-mail and eBay, so it's not like I haven't tried! By the way, my grandmother passed away, but that didn't stop me from running my business! (nor do I tell my customers of that). What pisses me off is that her user ID has been active on eBay... so it's not like she is gone on a trip without Internet access... of course, unless she lets someone else use her account. Thanks for your help!!!!!!!

Since it's been more than 14 days I would've emailed her if I was you, and inform her that the 14 days have passed and if she still wishes to return the item she must(!) contact you within 48 hours and the item must(!) be postmarked within the next two days. I'd also inform her that if she fails to do so, you will no longer be able to issue a refund (and if the item is returned later than 2 days from now, you will not issue a refund and you will hold the item until she pays for return postage to get it back to her) If she ignores your email and gets back to you a week from now with some excuse about her three sick kids and senile grandma, tell her that you are sorry to hear that, but that there's nothing you can do and if she doesn't want the item she can resell it on ebay herself. Oh, and always(!) end emails with a friendly greeting like "have a nice day. thank you!" or something. I find that being professional (make up rules as you go and don't budge from them), yet friendly and helpful is the way to go.

 

[Keya]

^I'd just give up on her if I was you
You've done your part, and if you hear back from her a while from now, just say that you're sorry that you can no longer issue a refund due to the fact that the item has been in her posession for ** days (for all you know she might have used it) and suggest that she sell it on ebay herself.


Good luck with your selling!

edit: I'm sorry to hear about your grandma.

 

[z.cesca]

Keya, thanks for the advice! I mean, I have the money, so I shouldn't even be that worried... I just wanted to have a pleasant transaction with positive feedback, you know? Since I am still a novice at selling, I try to encourage feedback to build my reputation and a lot of buyers do not leave feedback, even though they have told me how much they love what they bought. Hopefully future buyers look at the feedback I leave so that they can see what I have sold.

P.S. Thanks for your wishes about my grandmother...

^I'd just give up on her if I was you
You've done your part, and if you hear back from her a while from now, just say that you're sorry that you can no longer issue a refund due to the fact that the item has been in her posession for ** days (for all you know she might have used it) and suggest that she sell it on ebay herself.


Good luck with your selling!

edit: I'm sorry to hear about your grandma.

 

[z.cesca]

oh, by the way, I even went as far as contacting the seller she last left feedback for to see if maybe someone else buys with her account. I apologized for being so intrusive, but I did explain that I was trying to honor my commitment to the refund... No answer from him/her either.

You know what I hate? Whenever I send an item, I e-mail the buyer with the tracking number. If an item is returned, I ask them to do the same. They NEVER send me the tracking number. Maybe she did send the bag, but as I have explained to her in various messages and e-mails, I need to know if that has been done so that I can let someone know that a package should be arriving. She knows that I am out of the country and that someone else is bringing me the bag, but I need to inform them of that beforehand... oh well. Enough about that. Thanks again for all your help!

 

[Zarina]

Does anybody know what happens to the auctiva window if I list some of my items on ebay.co.uk and some on ebay.com? Can auctiva manage to show all items anyway?

TIA

 

[Elegance.Is.Refusal.]

i havent been back in a while but i have the biggest dilemma

its just been my 21st birthday and my boyfriend suprised me by getting me some beautiful vivienne westwood shoes i was jumping around the room when i opened the box, but to my disapointment they didnt fit as the people in the shop advised him to buy me a shoe size smaller as they were heals now there is never anyway i could fit my uk size 6 feet into a uk size 5 its like the impossible... so here it is i have these beautiful expensive shoes that i cannot wear. due to the return policy at westwood which is you can exchange or get a credit note within 7 days and well he bought them about a month ago im stuck.

i havent really a choice but to sell them on ebay to get the money back i mean £300 on shoes that i cant wear im a poor student still paying off the stint that i had to live in london to complete my course argh!


any hints and tips for selling designer items on ebay? i was thinking of a starting bid of £200 is this a good idea? i've never sold on ebay so any little tips would be amazing