Obscure items/descriptions & Ebay top buying/selling tips

Mardrew

Hi

I wonder if I may ask your help. I have to deliver a short course - An Introduction to Buying & Selling on eBay - and was wondering if: -

1) Anybody could point me in the direction of any unusual/funny items currently for sale on eBay e.g. I read the post yesterday about the worn trainers selling for £20+

2) Any items that could be used as examples of how not to do an item description e.g. with very negative wording

3) Any items that appear to be selling for in excess of their current shop value. (I want to make the point about knowing an item's value before bidding and not getting carried away.)

4) You could let me have your top tips for buying and selling that would be useful to people just starting out on using eBay. (I have bought items off eBay but only ever sold a couple of items.)

My learners are going to be aged between 50 - 80.

Many thanks

HugoSP

As far as 3 goes - Have a good look at items such as X boxes PS 2s etc. These seem to sell for money that is very close to the purchase price. You can make the point that often the lure of getting a bargain fools several people into fighting for it and bidding close to, if not over the price you'd pay in a good retailer - not to mention the extra savings you may make with bundles etc.

Also, have a look at some items such as Haynes Workshop manuals for cars. Often you can get these for around £14.99. However I have seen them sell for more than that on e bay, when you factor in the cost of postage.

If you want to underline the point even more, try Amazon. Type in the name of a popular book and see how many people have one for sale - at a higher price than Amazon are selling for!

For 1) Try typing in "nothing" in the search criteria. I once found someone selling bagged air from a seaside resort.

H

jo_b_2

Mardrew wrote:

Hi

I wonder if I may ask your help. I have to deliver a short course - An Introduction to Buying & Selling on eBay - and was wondering if: -

4) You could let me have your top tips for buying and selling that would be useful to people just starting out on using eBay. (I have bought items off eBay but only ever sold a couple of items.)

You might find some useful pieces of information in Martin's eBay article:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1111684159,46237,

Contains_Mild_Peril

For 2, I don't have any particularly interesting examples, but I recently saw a "child's vintage brown leather breif case" listed with a £4.99 start price under tickets and travel > luggage > briefcases. It finished without a bidder. The item in question could more accurately be described as a schoolbag or satchel, and if it had been listed in the vintage clothes and accessories and accessories > bags (women's or men's, take your pick) categories with appropriate and correctly spelled keywords, it would probably have made about £15-20.

angelcake

NO I will not help cos the people you will be teaching will be our competition!! GRRRR :mad: Not doing it at strode college by any chance??

Just kidding I will look for some!!

I always check the stuff sellers I have used before and have been really happy!, I have a few favs who are reasonable on postage and are really friendly etc, perhaps you could email them and ask them, I'll just name a few..... milsna ju2003connor bigmark987 these are not super duper sellers but just people who sell their own things etc.......

I will check my ebay to see if I saved some of the funny ones!!

apprentice_tycoon

I hope that you don't think that I'm being picky and negative but if you've only sold a couple of things do you have the experience needed to pass on to your learners?

Mardrew

apprentice_tycoon wrote:

I hope that you don't think that I'm being picky and negative but if you've only sold a couple of things do you have the experience needed to pass on to your learners?

As an employee I have to teach the courses I am told to. Yes, I do feel nervous about talking about the selling side but I don't have any choice in the matter which is why I would welcome any sellers top tips. (If I'm honest, as much as I've bought quite a lot off ebay I don't have the time, at the moment, to sell as I believe it could initially be quite time consuming to do it properly. Obviously people could tell me different.)