I've bought a lot. But never tried to sell anything. I'm testing the waters on this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Upholstery-button-maker-machine-and-dies-same-Handy-Jr-/220943570372?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33714355c4
If I come out OK, I'll try some other stuff (non-upholstery related).
But with E- bay getting 11%, and Paypal getting 2.9%, I'd probably do better selling it privately. We'll see.
Got one just like it I bought it yeas agoand used it twice. Once on my own boat I've got engough button pard I'll never use
you have to watch out with ebay, it's not anywhere near the cheapest place to shop
or sell anymore.
You need to add around 30% more than you want to get, as thats around what
ebay and paypal take from your sales.
SD, I think your listing, pictures and explanation (about the removal of the handle) is great.
The only other thing that I might suggest is include what a new unit and molds would cost....this way it allows the buyer to compare and contrast the price your unit vs. the price of a new one.
I have been selling fabric and leather on eBay for over 10 years. Right now we have have over 1,300 items on line and have shipped to 27 foreign countries and all 50 states.
I feel that what I sell on my eBay site is fabric/leather and value.......I always try to include what the true wholesale value of the piece that I am selling in the title ...take a look at one of my leather listings:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160708326636
I know that eBay and PayPal can seem a little pricey but eBay can allow you to "touch the world".....the more you sell, the better marketer you become.
Good luck with your auction. Steve
Sofa let us know how that works out. I have a lot of small "box size" stuff I think I could sell on E-bay but have never taken the plunge.
Quote from: kodydog on January 31, 2012, 04:52:02 pm
Sofa let us know how that works out. I have a lot of small "box size" stuff I think I could sell on E-bay but have never taken the plunge.
I will report back with my net profit after E-bay and Paypal get their cut.
Yeah, small box size stuff is the way to go.
A good rule of thumb for eBay selling. If you can hold the item in your hand at arms length its ebayable ;D
Quote from: MinUph on January 31, 2012, 05:20:25 pm
A good rule of thumb for eBay selling. If you can hold the item in your hand at arms length its ebayable
I assume that you're referring to not only size, but weight as well.
I've shipped out 2 button maker sets in the last year. The USPS's new flat rate boxes are great ("If it fits...it ships"). Those button presses are pretty heavy, but they fit in a flat rate box (along with dies).
Wait until you get that message from Paypal telling you how long
it will be before you get your money.
DBR, I think you are referring to the eBay policy for new sellers.
If you are new to eBay.....they will hold your money for 2 weeks before it is released. I do not agree with this policy but they started doing this to insure that products are shipped in a timely manor and that the seller is not a scam artist.
I agree that this hurts 99.99997% of all the new sellers on eBay, but over the 10 years I have been on eBay, I have always gotten my money.
At this point in my eBay career, as soon as the buyer pays.......it is in my PayPal account. Life is Good.
If you print your USPS or UPS label within the eBay check out system, your money will be released quicker.
eBay is a tool.....understand it's strengths and weaknesses and work within those boundaries. Steve
Sterry56 -
Agree, but Sofadoc is a first time seller and it was with that in mind
that I made my post having been a first time seller myself last fall.
Musta done OK since the page wasn't "available" just now! Good for you.
I sometimes browse e-bay, but have never bought anything.
Quote from: bobbin on February 01, 2012, 01:26:14 pm
Musta done OK since the page wasn't "available" just now! Good for you.
I don't know why the page was down, but it's back now. The auction doesn't end until Sat. night.
Quote from: sterry56 on January 31, 2012, 10:21:44 am
The only other thing that I might suggest is include what a new unit and molds would cost....this way it allows the buyer to compare and contrast the price your unit vs. the price of a new one.
I thought about doing that, but wouldn't that be the same as a self-imposed price ceiling? If I tell them they can get a new set for around $250, wouldn't that cause the bidding to slow down as it nears $200?
Doc, yes! Never tell them what it cost originally. I have sold tons of stuff on ebay, and a lot of times my items fetch more than I paid for them!
Never mention a retail price on an item if your holding an auction and not a Buy It Now transaction. I have seen people bid on items on an E-Bay auction and run the price up and buy the item for more then what they could go to WalMart and buy the same exact item for. if you mention a price then your giving them price guidance which will hurt your auction price.
I actually knew a guy who used to buy certain items out of the Walmart automotive section and resell them on e-bay through auctions and time and again these dumb bidders would buy it for alot more then they could have gotten it had they went to WalMart. And then the kunckleheads had to pay shipping on top of that.
I sold a Gibson guitar once on E-Bay. I had a couple bids and then it died at $ 250 with no activity for several days. On the day the auction was ending the price soared and just before it closed the price went nuts. It ended at over $ 1,000 because 3 bidders went to battle near the end.
Of course the winner contacted me and said " Sorry my wife had a hissy fit and I cannot buy it now ". I repeated the auction again and this time sold it for $ 1,200 and again the winner contacted me and said he had an emergency come up and couldn't pay. I ended up selling it privately to a professional studio musician in Nashville.
I no longer sell big ticket items on E-bay. They are a major headache.
Chris
I am reminded, again, of the great, late, George Carlin.
If someone steals from you, they are a thief. If you steal from someone, they are dumb. LOL
On a different note, and in keeping with this forum's tradition of getting off topic, several months ago I heard a guy say,
"If, during the course of your day, you run into an a$$hole, then you ran into an a$$hole. If, during the course of your day, you run into 5 a$$holes, then you are an a$$hole."
I have actually been counting every day since, and I will admit that there have been a few days where I quit counting at 4. LOL
gene
Hey Guy's, Thanks for reminding me of the different strategies that occur when you have an auction vs a Buy It Now listing.
We always sell as a BIN......we determine the price point we want and then we want to sell it ASAP. With a BIN listing, you do not have to wait a week to sell the item. I know that we are missing on "bidding wars" but we are happy with our pricing recipe.
We have a group of customers that monitor our new listings and they make purchases within minutes of a fabric being listed.
While we are on the eBay topic.....have any of you lost an item you are bidding on because someone bought it with 3 seconds left on the auction? I know I have. Here is how they do it they use a "sniper" service .
The one I use is AuctionSniper http://www.auctionsniper.com/ This is a cheap way to win auctions. It frees me up from having to be a the computer and it always me to "set" my maximum bid level. Steve
Sterry56:
I've used https://www.quicksnipe.com/ for some time now with lots of success, and it's free!
BigJohn, "FREE".......Life is Good! Thanks for the link. Steve
Quote from: Mojo on February 02, 2012, 04:39:55 am
I sold a Gibson guitar once on E-Bay. I had a couple bids and then it died at $ 250 with no activity for several days. On the day the auction was ending the price soared and just before it closed the price went nuts. It ended at over $ 1,000 because 3 bidders went to battle near the end.
Of course the winner contacted me and said " Sorry my wife had a hissy fit and I cannot buy it now ". I repeated the auction again and this time sold it for $ 1,200 and again the winner contacted me and said he had an emergency come up and couldn't pay. I ended up selling it privately to a professional studio musician in Nashville.
Ya know Mojo that would really suck. To go to all that the trouble then some idiot backs out of the deal. It would seem E-bay could somehow verify before they let any old clown start bidding. How do they know its not just some punk kid messing around.
Chris:
When you have someone back out on an auction do you still have to pay Ebay? If you do it would really bite!
Quote from: BigJohn on February 02, 2012, 07:53:14 pm
When you have someone back out on an auction do you still have to pay Ebay?
According to E-bay's resolution center, if a buyer has a history of unpaid items, they get their buying privileges taken away.
After the seller has taken the required steps, they can request that the case be closed, at which time they would be refunded the "final value fee".
The seller also has the option to offer the item to the next highest bidder, or re-list the item.
Here's the final tally:
I set the opening bid at $100. In the final 10 seconds of the auction, the bidding went from $107.50 to $142.50 (no doubt the handywork of Bidnip, or some other sniping service).
The button maker set was almost brand new. Rochford sells the same set for around $250. I could've easily sold the set privately for $125.
So the set sold for $142.50+ $20 shipping.
E-bay got $15.13 (9% of the final value) Paypal got $5.01 (2.9%)
E-bay also had "insertion fees" which vary, depending on how many pics you upload. The first pic is free. Additional pics are .35 each. Enlargement option is .50 per pic.
So what do you think of your overall "e bay experience"? Are you about to become the next big thing on e-bay, or is selling privately easier?
My best ebay experience was selling an out dated, professional audio/hearing tester......that I literally picked out of a dumpster while looking for boxes to ship ebay items in. Listed it not having a clue whether it worked or not and clearly stated the fact. In the end it sold for $130. Not bad for a little dumpster diving.
Quote from: bobbin on February 12, 2012, 03:16:25 am
So what do you think of your overall "e bay experience"? Are you about to become the next big thing on e-bay, or is selling privately easier?
The button maker experiment was technically a "wash". I've been watching similar sets on E-bay for over a year. I've seen used ones sell for more than the cost of a new set. I guess the ONLY time that E-bay shoppers exercise good bidding judgement, is when "Ole Doc" is the seller. >:(
I recently inheirited over 700 Beanie Babies in "mint" condition that have been stored in air-tight containers for over 12 years. During the Beanie Baby craze, some of them sold for obscene amounts. I have no idea if there is still a big demand or not.
If I thought people would get into a bidding war for them, I'd try selling them individually, on in small lots on E-bay. But if I'm going to just end up selling them for 5 bucks apiece, I'd just as soon go the private route. Selling them on E-bay would involve taking and uploading a ton of pics, as well as a lot of packing and shipping.
sofa,
Give the beanies a shot on eBay. You might be surprised. I've had some auctions take off in the past and it is allot of fun watching the war. Packing and shipping a beanie can't be all that much work. A little box and some paper. You can use USPS to ship them and they will get picked up at your mail box. Just include the cost in your auction. Try one or two at first. Have fun with it.
You could make a template of the best selling auction and reuse it just changing the pertinent information. eBay has a tool you can download and use for building auctions. It would help using this. It's called Turbo Lister.
Quote from: MinUph on February 12, 2012, 06:35:20 am
sofa,
Give the beanies a shot on eBay. You might be surprised.
I guess I'll go through them, and see if I have any rare ones. If all I have is a bunch of "99 centers", I'll probably just try to sell the whole lot locally.
An elderly retired couple live next door. Back in the day, they were antique dealers, where they made a decent living. But, now in their retirement, they tell me that they make more money selling small antique items on E-bay than they ever did in their "heyday".
stuff you get for free or for very little is easy to sell on feebay.
its when you buy from manufacturers and get a tiny margin
is when you have trouble selling.