How best to sell my phone on Ebay?

purplebutterfly

Hi there, please can someone a bit more experienced give me some advice? I've sold about 200 low-value items on Ebay over the years and never had any problems. Now I want to sell a mobile that I won in a competition and suddenly it seems that all the fees have changed! :rolleyes:

The phone is unbranded and sim-free - basically factory spec and brand new in the box. In the shops it is selling for £300 so I'm hoping to get at least £100 for it.

Am I best to start the listing at £100 and pay the proportionate listing fees - or start it at £20 with a reserve?

Apparently the new final Value Fees are 10% - so even if I make £100, that mean I lose £10 in FVF. Add on listing fees, Paypal fees etc and it does start to take a chunk out of the final sum.

Is there a way to sell whereby I minimise my fee charges or is this just something I should shut up and get on with?

It doesn't seem so bad when you're selling items for £5-£15 but suddenly the prospect of potentially paying £20 in FVF is making me wonder if maybe Ebay isn't the best place to sell?

If anybody knows of anywhere else that is good for selling phones, I would really appreciate some advice.


Thanks so much everyone :T

soolin

Firstly do a completed search for similar phones and get a better idea what you are likely to get on ebay. Then work out your charges.

Then compare that with using one of those websites that buy your phones from you and see if you can do better.

If not then minimise your listing fees, shove phone up at minimum cost you will accept, say £150 don't bother with reserves, also check out tips for new sellers here as you'll want to block overseas bidders.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1623183&highlight=tips+new+sellers

Also, and this is a personal thing, for phones I often add a note to say that I am aware of the 419 scam and will not ship overseas, so please don't ask.

Lastly make sure you know whether the phone is sim free or unlocked, it makes a great deal of difference to the price. Sim free just means it doesn't have a sim, unlocked means any sim can be used on any network.

purplebutterfly

Thanks so much, yes, it is unlocked and sim free and similar/same phones are selling for between £140 and £200.

I had never ever heard of 419 scam - so thank you so much for telling me! Blimey, it's a bit different selling a phone from selling clothes and toiletries

soolin

Do a Google search for 419 scam, it will make your hair curl!

Don;t forget special delivery as the only postage method.

Kavanne

Have you had a look at the phone on eBay to see what it's selling for? I've always started my phones (sold 1 new and 3 old) at 99p because if you list properly it will def. sell for a good price! 99p listing is free now too.

katy-lou

Is it a tocco ultra by any chance?

dollydoodah

Make sure you make a note of the IMEI number and I always tick the 'bidder must have paypal account' option. Touch wood I have never had an auction wrecker on a phone yet.

Kavanne

dollydoodah wrote: »

Make sure you make a note of the IMEI number and I always tick the 'bidder must have paypal account' option. Touch wood I have never had an auction wrecker on a phone yet.

Last one I sold had about 3 nigerians end it with BIN before I got a genuine buyer!! aargh. Got all my final value fees back though

soolin

dollydoodah wrote: »

Make sure you make a note of the IMEI number and I always tick the 'bidder must have paypal account' option. Touch wood I have never had an auction wrecker on a phone yet.

Same here, at one point i was selling at least a phone a week (ah, the good old days) without a single dodgy bid or fake buyer. I even had a very pleasant business man come to the house to collect a phone and pay cash as I was selling a highly sought after top of the range thingy (completely out of date now of course!) and when I had no change for the £5 I owed him he told me to keep it.

purplebutterfly

katy-lou wrote: »

Is it a tocco ultra by any chance?

No it's a Sony Ericsson

minnie123

I sell my upgrade phone on ebay every year and I always start it at 99p with no reserve. If you start it low in my experience you get a lot more watchers and a bidding war can start resulting in a higher selling price. I put a phone on one year and needed the cash quickly, so this time I put it on a buy it now - no one bought it so I relisted it the next week at 99p starting bid, and it sold for more than the original buy it now price.

I also set my buyer requirements - paypal account required

And Block buyers who Have received 2 Unpaid Item strike(s) within 1 Month(s) and Have a feedback score of -1 or lower.