Is it easy to sell on Ebay ?

[ymba]

All,

I am thinking of moving some of my figures and was wondering if it is easy to get the goods on Ebay ? I know about the fees but is the trouble really worth it ? The shipping , the packing etc..

I have bought from the bay but just have not take the plinge to sell..

Cheers

 

[Jen]

Ebay sucks. I would try to sell here first.

 

[Mesa]

It gets tiresome. If you want a quick sale, sell here, after establishing a decent reputation, for a fair/decent price. If you are in it for the highest dollar, try Ebay, but know that you will give away at least 10% of your sales as fees to Ebay/PP and some buyers can be a pain in the ass.

In today's economy, not much of a seller's market by the way.

 

[Bannister]

It gets tiresome. If you want a quick sale, sell here, after establishing a decent reputation, for a fair/decent price. If you are in it for the highest dollar, try Ebay, but know that you will give away at least 10% of your sales as fees to Ebay/PP and some buyers can be a pain in the ass.

In today's economy, not much of a seller's market by the way.

Only if he asks practically nothing for it.

 

[Ven]

^^^^ing hate ebay.. always holding my money.

 

[Mesa]

It gets tiresome. If you want a quick sale, sell here, after establishing a decent reputation, for a fair/decent price. If you are in it for the highest dollar, try Ebay, but know that you will give away at least 10% of your sales as fees to Ebay/PP and some buyers can be a pain in the ass.

In today's economy, not much of a seller's market by the way.

Only if he asks practically nothing for it.

that's what I meant Banny.

 

[karamazov80]

Depends on you. The fees are the major issue to me. Packaging and shipping things up gets easier once you do it a few times, and figure out what you need and how to pack things up, etc. However, it might seem like it isn't worth the effort at first, as there is a learning process involved. You can print out shipping labels from Paypal and have the mail carrier pick packages up, which is useful, but you need a scale and a tape measure. Early on, I always over-estimated shipping costs, just in case. Now that I know how to get fairly accurate estimates (usps shipping calculator, and precise scale), I still over-estimate, to get an extra buck or two to help cover the exorbitant EBay/Paypal fees.

 

[Bannister]

that's what I meant Banny.

I will give the guy $10.00 for all his stuff. Take the deal man.

 

[Havok]

I've never dealt with Ebay, selling or buying, and don't plan to. People may call me crazy on this one, but I don't like using Paypal either, never used it. Just don't like the fees and it all seems like a hassle. I know they protect the buyer, but I've heard of people having trouble with them too.

 

[vader70450]

You guys complain about the fees that ebay charges....You cant beat the exposure you get for the price...look how many ^^^^ing people around the world visit ebay...put it this way....to have your ^^^^ advertised in a newspaper with the same exposure it would probably cost a couple grand...You cant beat ebay for number of impressions...so it cost a few bucks...its cheap if you think about it....and Paypal...those fees are part of doing business...come on they make you able to take credit cards as payment effectively making you an e-commerce seller...you guys should seriously rethink this one...ebay is a very effective medium...it even controls price on collectibles...that is probably the part we hate so much...dont get me wrong..some buyers and sellers alike suck...but if you are smart..read thru the seller and check feedback..you should have no problems...

 

[J-Wild]

He's got a point there. ^

Although I hate Ebay taking my monies away, they do give you more exposure than anywhere else, and they do need money to upkeep the site and junk.

 

[Karatka]

I've had well over 1,000 transactions on Ebay over the last 7 years, and can count on my fingers the number of problems I've encountered. Being a slightly cynical sort, most of the 'problems' people have had with Ebay and Paypal do seem to be a result of unrealistic expectations and failing to read the rules correctly. Basic common sense must still apply (if an offer seems too good to be true, it probably isn't true).

Yes, they end up charging about 10% on sales, but so do most 'normal' auction houses.

The big advantage of Ebay over forums such as this is that you can get more than your asking price for an item, if people are willing to pay it. The downside is you do need to do quite a bit of prep work - reading rules, sorting out accounts etc - but once this is done there's not very much difference between Ebay and a forum for selling. I think that Ebay works very well for what it was designed to do - low-value transactions on collectibles - though I'd hesitate to use it for high-value items (as in over £500).

 

[capthowdy]

I would if I were you. I've had very few problems with ebay, just make sure you factor in the fee's.

 

[ProgMatinee]

Cool. Do you have some PFs and a bicycle for sale?

 

[EVILFACE]

It has it's up and downs, but no place compares to the product you can find and they eyeballs you can sell to on ebay.

I don't see how anyone that collects something could not like it.

 

[ymba]

Freaks,

I thank you for all your words of wisdom. I fortunately donot have to sell my figures just yet but I can see one day selling them. I have bought a few figues on the bay and buying is great but selling, I can see can required some work. I see how some figures just sell with multiple bids and some just no bid or action.

Maybe one day I will open my own freaking auction house and invest in a site . Anyone need a job or partner in ? I bet if you have a few individual who has some smarts IT background, some seed money, it could work .cheers

 

[The Ween]

Yes and no.

Ebay has changed a lot over the past few years.

My suggestion is trying to sell a few small things, maybe once a week to start to get a feel for it. See if it's something you will mesh with and can accept the good/bad of it.

My other suggestion is to create a second Ebay account. Use it to buy a few things and build a little feedback. Then use that account to sell with.

It's easier for new sellers and it's harder at the same time. There's a lot of streamlining that didn't exist in the old days. ( You had to create your own invoices in the old days. Everything was more "open" in terms of information) At the same time there are a lot of rules and distinctions that make selling sort of complicated. ( Forced to use PayPal, DSR rating system, feedback changes)

Couple of early starting points

- Learn to write very simple HTML code in Notepad and focus on building a solid HTML template for your auctions
- Get a free photo hosting service ( Flickr is a good one)
- Start a free checking account ISOLATED from the rest of your banking and accounts and funds. Register with PayPal, Google Checkout and Revolution Money Exchange. Take the time to read their Terms Of Service.
- Find a local source of free boxes and packing materials ( hardware stores are a good choice)

Those are good places to start. You can also check out some books on Ebay at your public library ( they will discuss basic core concepts, they will not discuss focused run and gun tactics/counter tactics) The latter is something you will pick up on your own or learn from watching other sellers.

Good luck

Gekko

To add to this, until you get your feet wet, don't sell anything out of your own country.

 

[Rock83]

Depends on what you sell,ive always had better luck on ebay,but ive only sold 1/6 figs though.

 

[ymba]

What is the best way to get the most for an auction ? Is it better to put areserve on a figure or is it better to start at low amount like $1 ?

cheers

 

[karamazov80]

What is the best way to get the most for an auction ? Is it better to put areserve on a figure or is it better to start at low amount like $1 ?

cheers

Depends. If you definitely want to sell something, start at a low starting bid. If you aren't willing to sell for below a certain price, then let the starting bid/reserve reflect that. Setting a low starting bid will typically guarantee some action, but I don't know if it will affect final price more than having a certain minimum starting price or not.

Sometimes the best move is to set a "BIN" price. Some buyers either don't want to wait, or don't want to compete in an auction, and thus are willing to pay a little more than the going rate for something if there is a BIN price set.