Selling through Ebay

incensicle

Okay, this has probably been done before but what do people think about selling through Ebay?

A quick read on their business forums seems to bring up a lot of vitriol, but surely it can't be that bad, after all a lot of people do it!

I've got a website that people can buy my goods through using paypal buttons, but obviously ebay gets a lot more visitors than it does!

I would obviously keep my website, but maybe run and ebay shop as well, or maybe it would be better to just use the listings and not bother with the shop facility.

Any experiences and advice would be very welcome

andyhm

I have been doing this for some time and there are a few areas that might prove difficult.

eBay selling prices tend to be lower than elsewhere so something that you sell on your website for say £50 might only fetch £40 on eBay. If this pushes your margins too much it might not be a runner.

eBay and Paypal fees can add up and eat away at your margins - 95%+ of your buyers will want to use Paypal and it isn't cheap.

Some things do well as auctions and some do well as buy-it-now items - there isn't much logic to which will work - try it and see is the best approach.

It can be wildly erratic - I have had things that sell every few days every time I list them for months on end and then you can't sell that item for a month - then away you go again selling every time - weird.

I bought and sold on eBay and everything was fine for some time but recently buying suitable stock has become a problem and I am struggling.

I usually sell worldwide - it increases your target audience by a vast percentage and if you are selling something that is less than 2kgs packaged then postage is not a major issue. Some countries have pretty ropey postal systems which you need to be aware of and parcels can take a while to get there.

incensicle

Thanks for the reply. I use paypal on my site and it is pricey, but worth it for the convenience, but adding ebay fees as well does make quite a big chunk. I thought I could make my postage costs a little bit higher on ebay to cover some cost and so the actual product would be the same price on ebay and my site.
The reasons I thought it may work for me are that as it is a hand made product I do have a more flexible margin so i can absorb some of these costs, and they are also light to post, which is good. Also although there are a few people selling similar, no one will be selling the exact same as me.
I have thought of a few questions
Would you recommend an actual ebay shop?
Do you pay more if you are registered as a business seller?
Is it possible or even desirable to link ot your website from your ebay listing?

soolin

For specific advice try asking on the ebay and others...forum (see my sig), however as a gernal response you cannot put links to your website in your ebay listings. Business sellers do not pay a fee to be registered but a shop does have a monthly cost so you would need to do a comparison on prices to suit your goods.

I run a business and use ebay as well as a presence in a real B and M shop, different things sell better in different places. There is stuff I sell in person that I could not get a decent price for on ebay, but there is also stuff that sells for a lot of money on ebay that I could barely give away in RL.

Just make sure when using ebay that you understand how it works and read the small print. Some basic advice is in this post:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1623183

incensicle

Thanks! Do you know I thought I had seen an ebay board hidden away somewhere....now I know why I could'nt find it ... I was looking for it in Up your income!

Savvy_Sue

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soolin

Welcome to the ebay board!

Hammyman

Hi.

Selling on Ebay. Well there are an unbelievable number of halfwits and morons buying on Ebay. If you're doing high volumes, the asinine questions you will get asked will drive you mad sometimes. Expect to do lots of refunds to these halfwits when they've bought the wrong thing and want to return it. As a business, you have to accept that regardless of the reason.

I sell in the IT category and on a £150 sale, Ebay and Paypal fees come to around £10 which I think is reasonable. I have an ebay shop so listing a £150 laptop on BIN costs me about 70p.

EGR

If you are selling expensive items on eBay I would suggest sending the item by recorded delivery. This way you are protected from liars who say they did not receive the item. You might also want to consider selling via Amazon; however their fees are a lot more than eBay’s.

martindow

EGR wrote: »

If you are selling expensive items on eBay I would suggest sending the item by recorded delivery. This way you are protected from liars who say they did not receive the item. You might also want to consider selling via Amazon; however their fees are a lot more than eBay’s.

If they are expensive (over 46 pounds) they need to be sent by Special Delivery as RD will not cover them. Under 46 pounds save yourself 75p a time and insure items first or second class with a certificate of posting if you need to claim. Most buyers are fine; there are scammers but they are a very small minority.

I occasionally use Ebay to sell items but use it for clearance and ends of lines. I send a leaflet with items and hope that some might come to the web site in future. I don't think it is a good idea to auction lines you have on your site so you are selling at different prices as this could severely annoy customers. These should be BIN at the web price.

Cool_Mint

Start small and work up to bigger selling, you've got little to lose selling low-value items. If you sell anything of high value you need to be very careful; assume that the buyer IS trying to scam you and think in terms of protecting yourself.

scams:
False address: Scammer uses a pub or unoccupied house to set up an address and phone number.
International false address: Everyone knows never to send items to places like Nigeria but scammers sometimes use proxy addresses.
Collect in person, pay by Paypal: No proof of item having been sent the scammer files an item not received" complaint with Paypal.
Bait and switch: Seller promises one item, sends an inferior item.
Hijacked accounts: Buyer asks for item to be sent to an address different to the listed address.

It can be a bit scary but you quickly get a feel for when something isn't right, most scammers are easy to spot.