selling books on ebay to earn Pin Money

squeaky wrote:

We have an ebay forum - perhaps the tips could be posted there.

Squeaky - I don't like it anywhere else but here :eek: you get squashed like a small insect, it's cosy here with lots of friends chatting, not 'let's see how quickly we can find fault' - isn't recycling unwanted goods Old Style?

So Squeaky - what do you say, I have lots of tips, there are other ebayers on Old Style, I bet thet they've got tips too but I also bet they like me they wouldn't dare go down to the ebay board for fear of being squashed. There is more generosity up here and I think that the OS ebayers would want to share what they know here rather than there....

It certainly is. But recycling old books on ebay is also ebay.

You'll get me shot. Sheesh!

OK - we'll do it... but on the strict understanding that it's general tips on how to use / shop / sell on ebay to earn pin money. No specifics such as "My item no xxxx isn't selling... or Some buyer didn't pay... and so on" because those DO belong on the ebay forum.

Please sign the affadavit below:-

I'm busy scoffing a sausage and bacon casserole right now, but as soon as I'm done I'll split the ebay posts out into their own thread and I'll title it selling books on ebay for more Pin Money.

For buying

When you see what you want to buy make sure that you REALLY read the listing, like sizes and measurements etc. also check that they will take the payment in the way you want to pay - if they will only take paypal for example

Read the sellers feedback and decide whether you like/trust them, if you see some comments that you don't like then consider going elsewhere

Ask as many questions as you need for you to be certain that the article is what you want, ask for more photos too if it will help, if the seller wants to sell they won't mind (they may mutter to themselves)

After the sale email them to reassure yourself that they will pack the item properly unless you have seen 'good packer' mentioned in the feedback

For selling

I have more experience in selling china than other things but a lot of the tips will apply to most things

Before selling for the first time I'd suggest that you buy a few things first, that way you will get the hang of the process from the buyers point of view and you can build up some feedback, a seller with no feedback looks a bit scary.

Register with paypal, that's the easiest way to take a payment ( the buyer pays with a credit card through paypal as an intermediary)

When you have decided what you are selling look at other auctions for the same/similar so you can see what other sellers have written and see what points they mention, plus you can see what they have quoted for postage, when you weigh yours you can see if they've upped the postage to lower the selling price

Look in 'completed auctions' to see what price the item is likely to fetch, it's only a guide, not set in stone. If something went for a very good price it could be a fluke (maybe there hadn't been one for sale for a while and everyone fought over it - now there are loads of the same thing listed), if it didn't fetch a good price have a look at the listing, it could have been a bad description or a terrible picture and you can do better

When you write your title make it zing without being gimmicky, you have to get a lot of info in those few words - BIG TIP - spell it correctly, if people search 'wedgwood' they won't see it if you have misspelled it with an e as 'wedgewood' apart from with fatfingers - more later.

If you want to use a subtitle remember that they cost extra

Take lots of photos from every angle, you will only want to use 2 or 3 but if anyone does ask for more photos then you have them ready

Don't even think of listing something unless you know how you are going to post it, do you have a suitable box? weigh the item and box together then look on the Royal Mail website for postage rates.

Offer the items to sell overseas, there is money out there! what you think is mundane here may be really sought after in the USA or Japan- for this you really need to make sure that you are au fait with the postage. The key thing here is if the parcel weighs more than 2 kilos - if it does it will cost lots more eg under 2 kilos to the USA by air will be just under £19 a smidgeon over will cost £33.50 as it's not going to go with the Royal Mail, at this weight it will be with Parcel Force International.

Insurance - really important - a lot of people don't know that first class and recorded mail only has cover of £30 (it's always 10 x the first class stamp cost) so if the item costs more then make sure that you send it by Special Delivery at either your cost or the buyers cost, to send something with a value of £50.00 and it gets lost is a very awkward situation and you might feel that paying extra yourself for Spec Del is worth the peace if mind. For larger items Royal Mail parcels is cheaper than first class and you can insure with them for less than £1.00 but not for ceramics and a few other categories like antiques - you just have to wrap and wrap and wrap to make sure that it won't break, if it gets lost you're covered, if it breaks your not. Check this carefully with overseas postage before you list the item, there are lots of insurances on offer

Be very honest with your description, it's the only way to sleep at night.

Hunt for boxes everywhere, supermarkets, shops etc and get bubble wrap from either ebay or Viking Direct, I find the larger bubbles much easier with breakables as you can put lots of padding around quickly - imagine the parcel being dropped, confident? no -wrap more bubble around!

Sell at a good time, I find Sat and Sun evening to be the best, you can write up the auction anytime and have it scheduled to launch at your best time, it costs a few extra pence.

Be aware of the starting price increments, eg if you list an item to start at £30 it costs £1.50, if you start it at £29.99 it will only cost 75 pence...it adds up.

Fatfingers.com - this is a website that helps buyers spot misspellings - a buyer can key in the word they are looking for - eg.wedgwood, nouveau or miniature - ( my favourites to search) and fatfingers will show all the misspelled ones - this is a great tool for cheeky buyers to pick up wrongly titled stuff which will sell cheaply because few people will see it.

Make sure that you get proof of posting for all your stuff, then you can scan this for a buyer to see and claim if the parcel doesn't arrive

If you are selling some small things they always look good photo'd against a black background..easy...you need some cardboard about 2 feet by 3 feet (a cutdown box is fine) and some cheap plain black fabric. You use 2 file boxes or sturdy books laid flat on the dining table, stand the board upright between them, cover with the cloth and there you have a nice un-cluttered background.



There is bound to be more stuff that'll come to me later so I will add to this post as I think of it.

Good idea Myrtle, that's seems to get around the problem