First time seller needs advice please

wageslave

I have an ebay account with very little feedback although its all positive. I have bought a few things but never sold anything. I have some new electrical goods I'd like to sell. Should I just start my auctions at 99p and hope for the best? How on earth do I estimate postage? And lastly do I accept paypal as a payment method. The goods are the kind of stuff I would hope are easy to sell. An ipod, a games console etc.

Sorry for all the questions but I am totally new to this.

wageslave

I have read through all the back posts and think I know what to do. Sorry I took up thread space. Should have did a little research earlier. The only worry I have is do I unbox my swag to photograph it or just photograph it boxed? Sorry for being a nuisance.

FloFlo

Hi, my concern would be that the type of things that you are selling often attract scammers and genuine buyers will be put off because you are a new seller. The best way to start is by selling cheaper items first and building up feedback and experience.

kittykirsty

Someone should be along soon with more advice for you, but i can try and answer a few of your questions now:

If you start your auctions at 99p with no reserve then you run the risk of them selling for a lower price than you had hoped, however the kind of items you're describing sound as though they're more likely to sell nearer the price you had in mind. A 99p listing will generate interest and will also ensure you pay the cheapest listing fees.

If you're going to list for 99p i would recommend that you make sure that your listing looks good, that you take quite a bit of effort over it, and that all your pictures look good. Anything that looks too basic, or with spelling errors etc will not generate as much interest as far as i have seen. Also, it's worth researching what time of the day and what day it's best for your listing to end on. If you can make it a longer listing that covers 2 weekends then that will get your more item views, however it's not an exact science on when the best day to end your item is.

To estimate postage i would use a good set of kitchen scales, digital if you have them (or can borrow them for a day from someone), and weigh the items boxed. Also measure them. Then go to the royal mail website and have a look at their pricing structure. You will probably not get it exact, but as long as you're not operating at a loss that should be ok. If delivery works out a lot cheaper than you asked for in your auction then you can always slip the extra money in with the parcel, i've seen lots of people posting on here that they do that. Also don't forget the cost of the packing materials in your p&p total.

Not accepting paypal as a payment method will dramatically reduce the amount of interest on your item. IMO there are a lot of problems with the paypal system, but as long as you check out your buyers to the best of your ability through feedback, registered address etc you should be ok. With electrical items especially, beware of "Nigerian" or "419" scammers trying to buy your item. They will generally offer to pay you by western union sometimes asking to give you some extra money that you then have to send to someone else. You will send the item when the money comes through, and send off any extra money that they've asked you to, the transaction will get reversed and you will be left swindled of your own money/your item. Luckily these sellers are usually easy to spot, and a google for 419 scams will give you lots of interesting reading!

HTH somewhat!

kittykirsty

oops, sorry, long post so didn't realise it had crossed! I personally would take the stuff out of the box and photograph it all together. If it is brand new and never been taken out of the box before, state that in the description, that will all help your items popularity!

frivolous_fay

Set your buyer requirements to the strictest possible settings - and keep a sharp eye on your bidders if you're selling expensive, portable items like phones.

Don't send phones overseas!

forumfan_2

Unless you are desperate to sell these items now I would list some cheaper items first so that you can show you are a reliable seller (ie. you describe your items accurately, deliver quickly, package well, etc).

wageslave

Thank you all so much for your help. Your kindness to a stranger is very much appreciated. I get or got very cheap electrical stuff through my job but it was against company regs to resell it. I have now been made redundant and selling a pack load of stuff through ebay seems a good way of earning a few bob. I will try the cheaper stuff first. What kind of stuff do you think would sell best? Whats a 419 scammer?

Avoriaz

A 419 scam is a slang name for an advance fee fraud. It usually involves someone claiming to have access to a large amount of money and requiring your assistance in getting it out of their country. You are offered a large share of the money in return for your assistance. Unfortunately you have to give them your bank account details and/or send them money for administration etc. It is a con and you will never see a penny.

Nigeria is the source for many or most of these scams. The Nigerian Criminal Code article 419 deals with this type of fraud. Hence the slang name.

More details here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_fee_fraud

forumfan_2

wageslave wrote: »

I will try the cheaper stuff first. What kind of stuff do you think would sell best?

I would try something like clothes/shoes/bags if you have anything that might sell (you could look on completed items to see similar things). High street names such as Next, Gap, Clarks, etc sell well as do designer names like Burberry, Mulberry, Quiksilver, etc but they must be genuine or they will probably get pulled (do a search for VERO on eBay).

State the condition of the item, even the negatives (eg. frayed hem on jeans) as it wont stop people buying but will prevent a neutral/neg on receipt. Advise fabric/material content and if machine washable and if it is from a pet free/snoke free home then mention this too.

I usually take a good, close up photo of the item (no one is interested what your carpet/duvet cover looks like!) and select the gallery listing option - this is the one that gives you the thumbnail picture on the search page and in my opinion is the only enhancement worth paying for. If you need to show more than one photo then do a search for photo hosting on MSE and you should find advice on how to do this without paying 12p per photo - it sounds complicated but once you've done it once you'll think you're a whizz kid!

Maybe books or CD's athough I've never sold these items so perhaps someone else can comment on this.

lswwong

Folks

Just want to thank everyone for a very useful post. I happen to be in the same dilemma - really want to flog some unwanted stuff on eBay but am a bit unsure/timid about how to go about it. This thread has given me useful info and confidence.

I think I will start with things like nice free cosmetic samples (packaged as a small gift) I got when I purchased some stuff and small items of household things to build up feedback.

Hope the OP will have a good experience selling stuff on eBay!

Regards,

Lou