OK - You are Inspiring Me - About to Make the Ebay/Amazon Plunge

[BethR]

After reading about all of the success many of you have had raising $$$ for Disney by selling unwanted items on EBay and Amazon, I think that I am about ready to give this method a try. As a matter of fact, DH and I were just talking this weekend about trying to clear out the junk (to US ) in this house and having a garage sale. But truthfully - most weekend days are pretty booked up and out neighborhood already had its sale soooo EBay and Amazon REALLY sounds like something that I would like to try.
So - I am looking for tips on how to start. I already have an account at EBay (registered but never attempted to sell anything.) So what do I do now? How do I start? I see that digital pictures are a good idea. What else do I need to know - what about this PayPal thing?
I would love to hear all of the details!
Thanks in advance!

 

[SalandJeff]

I've sold items on Ebay, but haven't tried Amazon. I've really good luck with collectibles (Snow Village, Lladro, Pez). My sister has also sold items, including a car stereo. You really need to include a picture and good description. If there are any defects, make sure you point them out. If item is in original box or package, say so. Also, I have put a reserve amount on items which is my bottom line for selling them. Make sure you let seller know if they are to pay for shipping and handling. I have not bothered with paypal (just never had time to check into it & set up). I usually say "bank check or money order only" in the text of my auction. I have not done well lately with books, I think because books are so cheap on half.com.

Good luck - hope you make lots of money!

 

[JRoglitz]

I just posted about 10 cookbooks two days ago on Amazon.com and have already sold two. I couldn't sell them on Ebay and got more on Amazon. I have been doing Ebay too for some baby items and such. Not had too many problems as of yet. Paypal has worked great! You get your money really fast. Be sure to list exactly what your item is and the description. You really do need to add pictures or you don't get as much for your item. I've already made about $1,000.00 for our next year's Disney trip. Good luck.

 

[Humpbacks1962]

I like Amazon for books because you only pay fees it your books sell. If your books don't sell, you can relist them for free. On ebay you have to pay insertion and selling fees, regardless. Yes, they offer to credit your insertion fee if your item sells the second time around, but if it does not, you're stuck.

I took the ebay plunge recently and sold $125.00 on the first day. Old videos and a sewing machine. It helps if I raise the price a little and offer to pay shipping if they use the Buy Now feature.

I am using Billpoint. It is convenient. Both of my first sellers used it within minutes to complete the purchase, I did not have to bill them! I have heard (and had) trouble with Paypal. They seem to screw up their records and make a lot of mistakes. I stay clear from them.

Wanda

 

[singitalto]

I have been selling on ebay for a couple of years now. Here are some tips:
1)Get a clear picture of item- make sure the file size is not too big, people with a dial up modeum's won't have the paience to wait for the picture to load if it is too big.
2) describe item accuratly, detailed descriptions are best
3) If you will be doing alot of ebay business buy a postal scale, this way you know how much shipping is ahead of time, don't forget to state that they are paying for shipping

I have used paypal and have had no trouble with it at all. I used billpoint once and I think everything was fine(seller was confused- didn't know he had to wait 3 days for money to clear)
I prefer paypal because it has NO fees associated with it. Billpoint does.

 

[Debbie in Townsville]

I've been selling on ebay for a few years, and have raised a lot of money selling things we didn't use anymore.

**I've used Paypal since they opened and have never had a problem. About 1/2 my buyers use Paypal. I also accept personal checks and have had only 2 checks bounce, but I was able to get them to send a money order to cover the check plus my bank fees.

**If you don't have a digital camera and can't borrow one, take pictures with your regular camera and have them uploaded on the internet when you get them developed. That's what I did for my first auctions - at the time some of the drugstores had a coupon to get them on the net for free.

**I sell EVERYTHING on ebay, and never bother with a garage sale anymore. I pull out the best name brand stuff and list it separately. Everything else I list in lots. I don't use a reserve, because it's stuff I don't want anyway. My auctions for our own cyber-garage sale stuff I usually start at about $2, figuring that in a garage sale I would only get about 25cents!

That's all I can think of now - let me know if anyone has any specific questions. As a SAHM, ebay has financed MANY vacations. My next goal is to pay FULLY for the 7 day DCL cruise just with ebay earnings.

 

[Kaa]

Hi Beth!

I just wanted to give you an eBay buyer's perspective. I hate having to go purchase a money order, so unless I want an item BAD, I only buy from sellers accepting PayPal.

This sounds like a good idea. I hate having garage sales and I have tons of stuff I should get rid of. Debbie - Do you also sell clothing on eBay? I am particularly interested in the possibility of selling my son's clothes. I like the sound of possibly getting a dollar or two for a Disney shirt I would normally put 25 cents on for a garage sale.

Good Luck Beth!

 

[disynut]

I too am interested in doing this. How do you go about figuring shipping charges if you don't have a postal scale?

Thanks
Jennifer

 

[KerriKaden]

How do you get your pictures on ebay? I just bought a digital camera, but I don't have a clue about uploading them onto the net. I would like to do this!
Another question, can you just state that the buyer is to pay actually shipping cost, that way you don't have to say an exact figure until you know where you will be shipping? Does that make sense? Thanks so much.

 

[Qwackertoo]

I've had a couple of garage sales this past few months, (mostly baby items and lots of kid's clothes and toddler toys), sheer magnitude would have made it a nightmare selling it all on ebay and the payments and packing and shipping. Also sold some big ticket items via the classified ads in the local paper and also sold some collectible type items via ebay. My total so far is around $7,000.00 haven't added up recent sales in this past month. I STILL have alot more to get rid of!!!

IF you are really really SERIOUS about getting rid of clutter and excess stuff around your house you might try visiting the www.flylady.net email group and get rid of all that clutter once and for all!!!!! I'm still just a Fly Baby but my house is getting in tip top shape!!!!!

 

[Debbie in Townsville]

Tammy - I sell almost all the clothes my kids outgrow on ebay. I pull out the really worn/stained ones and get rid of those. Then I pull out the name brands & Disney clothes and list each one of those separately starting at $2 each. The rest, I sell as a LOT, one lot of boys size --, and a separate lot of girls size --. ALL my Disney clothes sell. Some do sell for only the $2, but MOST go above that.

Jennifer - You don't have to have a POSTAL scale to start. I used a weight watchers food scale to start. Later I bought a good digital scale at Sams Club for $25, and a larger Pelouze scale that goes to 100lbs that was more expensive! When I started on Ebay, I made-do with what I had or could borrow. After I made some money and decided to keep selling, I invested some of my profits into getting better equipment.

Cheryl - After you get your pictures onto your computer you have to upload them to webspace. If you have AOL or Compuserve, you get webspace for homepages that you can use for photos. @Home gives users webspace, but you can't use it for ebay. There are also free photo hosting sites, and eBay has a photo hosting service that you pay for. I use Compuserve, so I haven't used any free ones or ebay's - so I can't help much there.

Personally, I like to include the shipping IN the auction. I believe it's just easier, because you eventually need to know the shipping costs anyway. Some people don't bid on auctions that don't include the shipping. Or they email you during the auction and want to know how much it is. Or they find out after the auction closes and are unhappy with the amount. A LOT of buyers do not know how much postage costs.

Here's a link to Ebay's Sellers Guide that has links to more info including photo hosting.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sellerguide/index.html

Hope that helps!

Debra

 

[Luv2Roam]

www.half.com is good too. I have some books listed and sold one. They calculate a fair mail rate and reimburse you.
My sister has sold SEVERAL of her used CD's on half.com.
I too usually stay away from sellers who want check or m.o.'s. I have sent both, but it is more trouble than it's worth, IMHO.

 

[DMRick]

I've been selling on eBay for a couple of years now. If you plan on selling a lot, there will be a fee for using Paypal. I believe they only let you get paid up to $100 a month under the free plan. I sell more than that, so I had to get a business account. Just go to Paypal.com and you can read up on it. C2it, is another pay service (I already had their credit card, so I signed up for that too). The buyers pay the fees on that..but C2it starts them out with $10..and it's less than a mo cost, so they don't seem to mind it. I have never gotten stung on a check..and I sell lots, but when I sold my Universal Tickets, I did ask for a mo, since Paypal will do charge backs (I was afraid the person would use the cards, then tell me they were blank..so I wanted to protect myself).