eBay selling tips?

[karyann]

I've been thinking for a while about selling some stuff on eBay, especially stuff that's harder to sell on Kijiji/craigslist. I know many of you here are used to selling there, so do you have any tips and tricks for a newbie? Like how to avoid being tricked by buyers, or general information like how to get your money with the lesser transfer cost from paypal, or anything you wish you would have known before starting to sell.

Thank you fine folks!

[90snostalga]

Based on personal experience, I would recommend to never leave feedback with a buyer first.  Almost every time, I have left immediate feedback for fast payment or whatever, they file a "item not as described" claim.  It's like they want you to leave feedback first so they have nothing to lose.

[turf]

Based on personal experience, I would recommend to never leave feedback with a buyer first.  Almost every time, I have left immediate feedback for fast payment or whatever, they file a "item not as described" claim.  It's like they want you to leave feedback first so they have nothing to lose.

I don't think buyers get feedback anymore.

Anyway, like has been described; get ready to be scammed. eBay almost always sides with the buyer too. My local game store sells on eBay too. The owner says he just assumes 10% of his sales will be scams. So, get ready to deal with claims.

[90snostalga]

Based on personal experience, I would recommend to never leave feedback with a buyer first.  Almost every time, I have left immediate feedback for fast payment or whatever, they file a "item not as described" claim.  It's like they want you to leave feedback first so they have nothing to lose.

I don't think buyers get feedback anymore.

It's been a while since I've sold on there.  That's crazy tho' that Ebay took feedback away on buyers.  That seems like it would leave more room for them to scam.  Get Ready Karyann! 

[badATchaos]

Not so. Buys can receive feedback. Most of 100% rating comes from buying. That is how they catch fraudulent buyers.
Here's mine.

[karyann]

Yep, I buy often and always receive feedback too, so that's still up at least. But wow, 10% scam? That's... a lot. And scary 

[slothingXPIG]

Based on personal experience, I would recommend to never leave feedback with a buyer first.  Almost every time, I have left immediate feedback for fast payment or whatever, they file a "item not as described" claim.  It's like they want you to leave feedback first so they have nothing to lose.

I don't think buyers get feedback anymore.

It's been a while since I've sold on there.  That's crazy tho' that Ebay took feedback away on buyers.  That seems like it would leave more room for them to scam.  Get Ready Karyann!

buyers still get feedback but it's now(has been like this the past 3 to 4 years) you cant leave negative feedback... some advice... remember that buyers get treated like gold by ebay and sellers get screwed, thats just the way it is now on ebay.... also depending on what your selling sometimes auction are better, like when i sell video games i use buy it now, seems like auction is terrible for games.. vintage watches is half half for me... sometimes when you sell a item do what yo can to keep the customer happy, negative is very poor looking. plus you cant be a power seller if you have too many negatives(power seller means you get discount on your final fees). dont let the customer bully you either, i get that alot, people trying to get stuff for half off and shit. they do it. but sometimes you just get screwed... i had a guy give me a neutral because i didnt leave him immediate feedback as a seller.  a big scam ive came across is they buy it complain and want a refund they send you back a different item on purpose to get something for free and try to screw you over, but luckily ebay will sometimes side with seller depending on how you deal with the situation. just use common sense and dont be a push over for customers but at the same time be as nice as you can... also people will hold the feedback against you nowadays since you cant leave anything but good for them. dont let a 5$ item ruin your feedback. best of luck too ya!

[90snostalga]

Yep, I buy often and always receive feedback too, so that's still up at least. But wow, 10% scam? That's... a lot. And scary 

Yea, your pretty much better off select your stuff to me 

[slothingXPIG]

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=twjwatches&ftab=AllFeedback
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=vintagewarren&ftab=AllFeedback

my ebay accounts

[turf]

Yep, I buy often and always receive feedback too, so that's still up at least. But wow, 10% scam? That's... a lot. And scary 

Now keep in mind, I don't sell on eBay. It's all hearsay.

[foxhack]

I've been thinking for a while about selling some stuff on eBay, especially stuff that's harder to sell on Kijiji/craigslist. I know many of you here are used to selling there, so do you have any tips and tricks for a newbie? Like how to avoid being tricked by buyers, or general information like how to get your money with the lesser transfer cost from paypal, or anything you wish you would have known before starting to sell.

Thank you fine folks!

1: Always insure everything (Priority Mail has free $50 insurance, $100 if you print a label with PayPal)
2: Anything worth over $250 should have Signature Confirmation and insurance
3: Take pictures of everything
4: If someone wants to return an item, NEVER give them any money first. Ask them to open a case with ebay so they have to send it back first and show proof that they sent it back. If they refuse to do that then they won't get a refund.
5: Take lots of pictures from all angles. You can have up to 12.
6: Describe -everything-. Even a small scuff.
7: Never ship outside the US. eBay's rules make it tough for sellers to be protected so it's not worth the hassle.

In my nine year selling career I've only been scammed twice, one was by an Italian (and he backed off after I mentioned calling the police so I got my money - this is why I no longer ship internationally), one was by some crazy lady who got a refund without processing a return.

[soera]

Ive only sold 2 items on Ebay but been a buyer for years. I will agree that Ebay does support buyers over sellers. My suggestion is to sell off Ebay first.

What is it you are trying to sell? Of course if its gaming stuff, your best bet is to sell it here! But if its not, there has to be some sort of local way to sell items where you are.

[stethebubble]

I've been thinking for a while about selling some stuff on eBay, especially stuff that's harder to sell on Kijiji/craigslist. I know many of you here are used to selling there, so do you have any tips and tricks for a newbie? Like how to avoid being tricked by buyers, or general information like how to get your money with the lesser transfer cost from paypal, or anything you wish you would have known before starting to sell.

Thank you fine folks!

1: Always insure everything (Priority Mail has free $50 insurance, $100 if you print a label with PayPal)
2: Anything worth over $250 should have Signature Confirmation and insurance
3: Take pictures of everything
4: If someone wants to return an item, NEVER give them any money first. Ask them to open a case with ebay so they have to send it back first and show proof that they sent it back. If they refuse to do that then they won't get a refund.
5: Take lots of pictures from all angles. You can have up to 12.
6: Describe -everything-. Even a small scuff.
7: Never ship outside the US. eBay's rules make it tough for sellers to be protected so it's not worth the hassle.

In my nine year selling career I've only been scammed twice, one was by an Italian (and he backed off after I mentioned calling the police so I got my money - this is why I no longer ship internationally), one was by some crazy lady who got a refund without processing a return.

and spell the item correctly!

[desocietas]

I don't sell things on eBay but I buy things on occasion and agree with what everyone else has said.

Just think about what you like to see when you look at someone else's listing.  Spell everything correctly, post lots of pictures, give as much information as you can about the item so that they buyer knows that you are aware of what you have (which leads them to believe that you care about the quality of the item).

Various things that prevent me from wanting something in an auction:
- incorrect spelling
- bad grammar
- not enough pictures
- using stock photos
- no pictures!
- shipping costs that seem too high (sometimes shipping prices sound like a way to trick buyers into paying more than they should
- generic descriptions of the condition (copying and pasting what "used" condition means, for instance... saying things like "may or may not include manual/case/etc.")

Hope that helps!

[foxhack]

Sellers aren't allowed to use just stock photos anymore, they have to have at least one photo of the item itself. Of course most sellers don't pay attention to that rule and eBay doesn't do anything to people who ignore the rule.

Oh, and listings with free shipping get higher search rankings than people who charge shipping costs. So it might be better to raise the price on the item a bit to include the cost of postage - or most of it.