View Full Version : Now I'm an Ebay seller!
Today I opened up an ebay account and listed a book. I promoted it to my neighborhood and listed it low at $.99 and now I've got 3 bids. yay! This is my practice sale so that I can see how things work.
My advice is to always list at the minimum you would be willing to accept (.99 might be it) and never play the game of "if I list it really low, it will get interest". Too many have sold at the price listed. Good luck. Bids are always good to have.
Sad Eyed Lady
3-5-11, 10:24pm
Selling on ebay is fun - and addictive!
I also have to share a recent story.
Went to a country auction to try and buy yarn for mom. Did not see any but saw a lot of sewing stuff for me and a friend and a huge box of sewing patterns. Recognized some patterns that had value and told hubby to spend up to $40 (they were running two auction rings). Long story but he got them for $11.
Found 43 lots in this box for Ebay. Grouped some that I thought had little value and sold some separately. Had one lot of 41 new patterns from one designer. Probably took one full day to list and photograph. Sold them for $500 with a net of over $400. Nice return but it was because I knew the product and even I did not think some of them would sell that well. One woman bought $225 worth and most of the patterns that I had I grouped because I did not think they had "much" value.
I find a couple of these one time sale items each year. Keeps up the interest. Auctioneers do not think much of "women's things" and the go fast and cheap. Wish I had found the yarn though since that is what we drove there for.
sweetana, that's a great story. So glad you did well! Also your advice about minimum listing price is good, I wonder about that.
I doubt that I'll sell more than 5 things total. I've clenaed out a bunch of stufff already from our house and don't have much left ot sell. But if I score a great hing like you did at a sale, I can list it on Ebay.
Sad Eyed Lady
3-6-11, 10:21am
I also have to share a recent story.
Went to a country auction to try and buy yarn for mom. Did not see any but saw a lot of sewing stuff for me and a friend and a huge box of sewing patterns. Recognized some patterns that had value and told hubby to spend up to $40 (they were running two auction rings). Long story but he got them for $11.
Found 43 lots in this box for Ebay. Grouped some that I thought had little value and sold some separately. Had one lot of 41 new patterns from one designer. Probably took one full day to list and photograph. Sold them for $500 with a net of over $400. Nice return but it was because I knew the product and even I did not think some of them would sell that well. One woman bought $225 worth and most of the patterns that I had I grouped because I did not think they had "much" value.
I find a couple of these one time sale items each year. Keeps up the interest. Auctioneers do not think much of "women's things" and the go fast and cheap. Wish I had found the yarn though since that is what we drove there for.
Yes, old patterns can "fetch a goodly sum" on ebay sometimes. I bought all that I could find, (made an offer to take them all), from our local mission store and had so much fun sorting and grouping them. They all sold and I was pleased with the profit, although not near what you came out with! You just never know what someone is looking for out there!
Also I bought a huge box of old detective magazines, (1950's mostly), at a flea market for $5.00. When I brought them home my husband said no one would want them because they had that old musty smell. Well, a few days of baking soda sitting in the box with them, and a few days of airing outside in the sunshine and they were presentable. Again I grouped (usually in 3's of like kind) and listed them. They all sold with a very good profit margin. One person bought several and I asked him if he was a collector or wanted them to resale, and he told me he was a detective, (he sent me his card with payment), and enjoyed reading the old cases in these magazines.
fidgiegirl
3-6-11, 11:58am
My advice is to always list at the minimum you would be willing to accept (.99 might be it) and never play the game of "if I list it really low, it will get interest". Too many have sold at the price listed. Good luck. Bids are always good to have.
I would argue the opposite. Unless it's something very important to you, start it low to get the interest. My hubby just listed a fish shower curtain (imagine it . . . ) at $6.99 and had no bids. He relisted at .99 and finally it ended up going for $7.75, more than the original auction start price. However if it is something worth more you can set it higher. You can also put a reserve so that if the final price isn't as high as you would like you are not obligated to sell, but you can still get it going at a lower price.
One thing I learned (the hard way) is that you HAVE to accept debit cards through PayPal. Just beware that there are no "practice" sales in the mind of eBay and that you don't want negative feedback. Feedback carries a lot of weight. If you are unsure about anything, just ask! Once you have it all figured out, it is fun.
Have fun!!
Eggs and Shrubs
3-6-11, 12:07pm
In 1974 I went to see Pink Floyd. Bought a programme for £0.15. Sold it on ebay for £45 last year.
It's a bit of fun and can be lucrative.
I started everything at 99 cents. There were only a couple of items that sold for that price, and both were thrift shop purchases that weren't worth much more. I had fun and did pretty well when I sold on eBay. You may find you enjoy it well enough to keep at it--good luck!
Oh I know, I'm treating my practice sale as a real one. I will really sell the book to whichever neighbor wins the bid. I had 2 of these books, anyway, and only need one of them.
Ok, I will ask abotu Debit cards. I don't remember that I could opt out of debit cards on PayPal.
I'll be selling low end things, (under $50) so I will just trust that most people will pay , and if not, oh well.
Husband has found that totally accurate descriptions of condition is imperative. For books, marks, inscriptions, folds, tears, etc. need to be described to ensure people have accurate info to bid on. He must be doing something well since he is over 4700 feedback with 100% positive.
We have found that our book buyers and my craft stuff buyers are a great group to work with.
How do you post it for neighbors or a town only? That's a great idea! I am contemplating having a rummage sale, but this might actually work better.
How do you post it for neighbors or a town only? That's a great idea! I am contemplating having a rummage sale, but this might actually work better.
My neighborhood has a listserv. I posted it there and gave the ebay item number.
Good on you Iris! How lovely reading everyone's stories.
Today I opened up an ebay account and listed a book. I promoted it to my neighborhood and listed it low at $.99 and now I've got 3 bids. yay! This is my practice sale so that I can see how things work.
yay, now I've got 6 bids on this book! The price is up to $5.50!!!!
I paid around $15 for the book. Am I making a profit? I told you that this is my practice listing.
ha ha ha just kidding.
I wanted to offer something that people in my neighborhood would definately bid on so that I could learn the mechanics of a sale.
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