Colinjb Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 I have recently been tasked with selling on a load of collectables. Ebay seems the best market for it but ive never sold on there before. Obviously, I know accurate descriptions and accurate photographs are required, but the practices with Paypal and the rest are unfamiliar to me. Any advice regarding the easiest way to receive payment? Obtain postage supplies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smirking_Saint Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 Paypal is by far the easiest way to do it, make sure your posting prices are accurate to the size of what your selling and to where. You can get stung with that. Posting supplies ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleoldladysaint Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 (edited) The most important thing of all is to make sure that everything you sell goes 'recorded delivery or some other 'sign for' method. If a buyer says that their item has not arrived and informs eBay, Paypal will take the whole amount from your account and refund it to the buyer unless you can give a tracking number. It will be no use at all to offer a post office receipt as 'proof of posting'. Edited 16 November, 2012 by littleoldladysaint error in wording Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 I have recently been tasked with selling on a load of collectables. Ebay seems the best market for it but ive never sold on there before. Obviously, I know accurate descriptions and accurate photographs are required, but the practices with Paypal and the rest are unfamiliar to me. Any advice regarding the easiest way to receive payment? Obtain postage supplies? You have to offer and accept paypal. You cannot sell in a BIN format until you have established a selling history. Postage depends on what you are selling, weight etc. I'm a Powerseller and, believe it or not, actually run courses, which people pay for, on how to sell on ebay! Drop me a line st16sfc@gmail.com and I'll give you some guidance if you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 The most important thing of all is to make sure that everything you sell goes 'recorded delivery or some other 'sign for' method. If a buyer says that their item has not arrived and informs eBay, Paypal will take the whole amount from your account and refund it to the buyer unless you can give a tracking number. It will be no use at all to offer a post office receipt as 'proof of posting'. If that happens simply claim it back from the PO. No drama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spudders Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 Remember that the time you start the listing is the time it finishes. These days a lot of people watch and wait until the last minute to get their bids in in the last few seconds, so you want the listing to finish at a time when people will be about. I always start my listings on a Thursday at about 7pm and do them for 10 days so that they span two weekends and finish on the Sunday evening at 7pm. PayPal is the best way for payment and as smirking says make sure you get your postages correct. If in doubt package stuff and take it to the post office to get the postage costs before you even list stuff (take photos first). I’ve made the mistake of assuming ‘that’ll only be a couple of quid postage’ and ended up selling stuff for less than the postage in a couple of cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinjb Posted 16 November, 2012 Author Share Posted 16 November, 2012 Keep the advice coming guys, great stuff so far. Here's a reflection of how base a point i'm starting from...... View from the Top: Selling in a 'BIN' format..... what does that mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 Postage and delivery depends on what you are selling. After their price rises a pair of trainers averaged around £6.50 to ship 1st class recorded. Same trainers now go for £4.99 via CollectPlus. No brainer when you are shipping 500 odd pairs a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 Keep the advice coming guys, great stuff so far. Here's a reflection of how base a point i'm starting from...... View from the Top: Selling in a 'BIN' format..... what does that mean? BIN instead of auction. A BIN listing costs 40p as opposed to the sliding scale of auctions. As a private seller though you get 100 0p insertions per month but that means they have to start at 99p or less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinjb Posted 16 November, 2012 Author Share Posted 16 November, 2012 BIN instead of auction. A BIN listing costs 40p as opposed to the sliding scale of auctions. As a private seller though you get 100 0p insertions per month but that means they have to start at 99p or less. Ok, Buy It Now. Got it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smirking_Saint Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 BIN means buy it now, for a set price basically Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperMikey Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 Deary me Col... BIN = Buy It Now. Setting a price at which the item can be bought outright and instantly, as opposed to having to wait until the auction expires. Great advice about what time to list your items as well, nobody's going to bother "sniping" if the auction finishes at 4am on a Thursday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 Use a set design and stick to it. Photos are more important than blurb. Sell you low value items 1st so you make all the usual fu.ck ups cheaply. Never, ever, ship to any address bar the paypal registered one and never, ever, accept paypal for a home collection item! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 BIN/BO is the best format as you get people making offers and a 30 day lisiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinjb Posted 16 November, 2012 Author Share Posted 16 November, 2012 (edited) Never, ever, ship to any address bar the paypal registered one and never, ever, accept paypal for a home collection item! So rejecting winning bidders with dubious details, that is easy? And yes, thanks guys, I got there eventually. Due to the nature of the items I'm selling, Hornsea pottery.... a bidding process may be preferred I do not know the value of the pieces but there is an active community which actively chases them. They hated Mum when she was basically throwing money at accumulating them. Edited 16 November, 2012 by Colinjb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smirking_Saint Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 Use a set design and stick to it. Photos are more important than blurb. Sell you low value items 1st so you make all the usual fu.ck ups cheaply. Never, ever, ship to any address bar the paypal registered one and never, ever, accept paypal for a home collection item! Why is this ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 So rejecting winning bidders with dubious details, that is easy? And yes, thanks guys, I got there eventually. Due to the nature of the items I'm selling, Hornsea pottery.... a bidding process may be preferred I do no know the value of the pieces but there is an active community which actively chases them. They hated Mum when she was basically throwing money at accumulating them. If they pay via paypal you only ship to the address that they have registered to paypal. If they wanted to collect the item in person you'd refund them and they'd pay in cash, otherwise they walk away with the item and then claim, via paypal, that it never arrived and you can't prove that it did and paypal will refund them from your account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrek Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 You can buy all your packaging materials on ebay! Wilkinsons are generally cheap for bubble wrap, sellotape etc. Buy some scales and you can calculate shipping costs here: http://www.royalmail.com/price-finder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spudders Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 I guess it depends on the kind of things you sell and therefore the type of people you are selling to, but be prepared for a certain amount of stupid people and chancers on ebay. I get fed up with selling things as an auction and then getting messages from people asking if I have a BIN price, hopeing that can get it cheap or ahead of others who have already bid, even though in the listing I specifically state clearly that it’s an auction and as such it will run to the end. I also get fed up with people in different countries asking if I’ll send it to them, again despite making it clear in the listing I’ll only post within the uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spudders Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 You can buy all your packaging materials on ebay! Wilkinsons are generally cheap for bubble wrap, sellotape etc. Buy some scales and you can calculate shipping costs here: http://www.royalmail.com/price-finder I'd also say make sure you weigh AFTER packaged, sometimes that bubble wrap & packaging can push an item up into the next weight category Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 Packaging needs = Poundland. Poly shipping bags = Ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doddisalegend Posted 17 November, 2012 Share Posted 17 November, 2012 You have to offer and accept paypal. You cannot sell in a BIN format until you have established a selling history. Postage depends on what you are selling, weight etc. I'm a Powerseller and, believe it or not, actually run courses, which people pay for, on how to sell on ebay! Drop me a line st16sfc@gmail.com and I'll give you some guidance if you want. We've got a lady in the village who is some sort of ebay trader....... You don't ever want to get stuck behind her at the village Post office:? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doddisalegend Posted 17 November, 2012 Share Posted 17 November, 2012 I guess it depends on the kind of things you sell and therefore the type of people you are selling to, but be prepared for a certain amount of stupid people and chancers on ebay. I get fed up with selling things as an auction and then getting messages from people asking if I have a BIN price, hopeing that can get it cheap or ahead of others who have already bid, even though in the listing I specifically state clearly that it’s an auction and as such it will run to the end. I also get fed up with people in different countries asking if I’ll send it to them, again despite making it clear in the listing I’ll only post within the uk This ^^^ drives me nuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted 17 November, 2012 Share Posted 17 November, 2012 The few items I've sold on ebay, I specified cash on collection. No problems. I did ask the buyers to check the items thoroughly, agree that what they were buying was exactly as described on the listing and sign a note to that effect. Depends what size or value of goods you are selling, I suppose. I only ever used paypal once, and will never do so again, they are absolutely appalling. (yes, I know that ebay own them now, but once bitten....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 17 November, 2012 Share Posted 17 November, 2012 This ^^^ drives me nuts It's quite easy to set up your sales to only go to certain countries and thus making them invisible in those you don't sell to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 17 November, 2012 Share Posted 17 November, 2012 We've got a lady in the village who is some sort of ebay trader....... You don't ever want to get stuck behind her at the village Post office:? My local sub-PO just allows us to drop it all, they process it when they're quiet and then we pay next time we go in. Works a treat. With all the trainers going Collect+ I often drop them off of an evening when it's quiet. In and out in minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spudders Posted 17 November, 2012 Share Posted 17 November, 2012 It's quite easy to set up your sales to only go to certain countries and thus making them invisible in those you don't sell to. This does not prevent the problem though. If you are selling stuff that's sought after (or 'sort after' as many ebayers say) across different countries, people will go to the effort of searching different countries ebay individually, so this still happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottery st mary Posted 17 November, 2012 Share Posted 17 November, 2012 (edited) Contact me off forum and will give you my phone number and my wife will give you all the expert advice in the world for the price of your phone call. Ebay power seller . Edited 17 November, 2012 by ottery st mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez Posted 17 November, 2012 Share Posted 17 November, 2012 Starting price and reserve is very important. If you have an item that is pretty much guaranteed to sell and has lots of potential buys (think almost brand new ipad in perfect nick that someone could buy as a xmas gift) then you would be wise to start this at 99p and that way you will get a lot interest (watchers) and the final price tends to be higher. If you have an item that is very very specialist (say a door handle for an old car) then you may only have one realistic buyer out there so you don't want to start at 99p, you may want to start it at the minimum price you'd let it go for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 17 November, 2012 Share Posted 17 November, 2012 This does not prevent the problem though. If you are selling stuff that's sought after (or 'sort after' as many ebayers say) across different countries, people will go to the effort of searching different countries ebay individually, so this still happens. When it happens offer to sell it off ebay via bank transfer only. If they are genuine and really want it then you avoid all the ebay/paypal fees and there is no comeback from the buyer. I do that all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spudders Posted 17 November, 2012 Share Posted 17 November, 2012 Cheers VFTT, but to be honest I'd rather just sell the stuff in the uk and that's the point I'm trying to make, no matter what you put in your listing, even if you put stuff in bold red lettering saying UK only, No BIN, Paypal only, etc, people will still message and ask if you can post them to Croatia, can they pay be cheque, what's the BIN! I just find that a bit frustrating but I guess it's less likely for Colin as he's selling pottery and the kind of people buying this will be more respectable grown-ups. I get most of my frustrating messages when I sell my rarer trainers, which ironically seem to have a market of football lads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 17 November, 2012 Share Posted 17 November, 2012 Cheers VFTT, but to be honest I'd rather just sell the stuff in the uk and that's the point I'm trying to make, no matter what you put in your listing, even if you put stuff in bold red lettering saying UK only, No BIN, Paypal only, etc, people will still message and ask if you can post them to Croatia, can they pay be cheque, what's the BIN! I just find that a bit frustrating but I guess it's less likely for Colin as he's selling pottery and the kind of people buying this will be more respectable grown-ups. I get most of my frustrating messages when I sell my rarer trainers, which ironically seem to have a market of football lads It's always lads messaging with things like "alright mate, great tabs, would you take £40?" I just set the trainers as BIN or BIN/BO with the filters set to auto reject anything daft. I'd try the off ebay/bank transfer thing. Saves ££ and hassle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutch Posted 17 November, 2012 Share Posted 17 November, 2012 Cheers VFTT, but to be honest I'd rather just sell the stuff in the uk and that's the point I'm trying to make, no matter what you put in your listing, even if you put stuff in bold red lettering saying UK only, No BIN, Paypal only, etc, people will still message and ask if you can post them to Croatia, can they pay be cheque, what's the BIN! I just find that a bit frustrating but I guess it's less likely for Colin as he's selling pottery and the kind of people buying this will be more respectable grown-ups. I get most of my frustrating messages when I sell my rarer trainers, which ironically seem to have a market of football lads Football fans that lurk on the internet? Worst kind of people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now