1,000 ebay list challenge

blackbetty_3

sorry everyone i have not been here and got a bit lost on the amounts too as had family probl;ems and they just took everuthing over. I did a huge boot sale and that brought in some money, but because things got so bad money wise ebay have frozen my account as I owe them £60 and am trying to get it together. i was doing so well too! it just takes a little hiccup and family to be a worry and im back at the bottom again. never mind I will keep on trying!

[Deleted User]

So sorry to hear of the horrible time you've been having, blackbetty.
I hope the family issues are easing now. I sympathise so much because I know only too well from bitter experience how real life can suddenly scupper our best efforts at getting ourselves straight financially.
I'm really pleased that the Carboot went well. A bit of ready cash is a lot better than ebay getting their mitts on it through fees etc.

I've not been having much success myself with ebay (like you, too much other stuff going on) but have been doing a steady trade on Amazon marketplace with books. Many of these had been listed for yonks so I haven't had to spend too much time listing recently and it was a very pleasant surprise when several sold recently. Must be bcause the long dark winter evenings make people feel like staying in with a book. Or maybe its because people want them for Christmas presents. Either way, it has spurred me on to list some more. I had 2 DVD box sets for Christmas last year which I never even opened and I listed them last week and they both sold within 24 hours of listing:j. Admittedly they were the cheapest price of those listed but I wanted them to go and I was delighted with a bit of cash. Amazon's seller-fees are a bit steep though but in my experience things tend to sell eventually, sometimes straightaway.

Take care of yourself and let us know how things are going when you find a bit of time. I'm sure your thread inspired quite a few people.

Hammockthing

Blackbetty, doing car boots is probably better than doing ebay. I have an ebay shop with over 13000 feedback. If I could get off there and just rely on my site selling, I'd love it. Ebay is referred to as evilbay for a good reason. Anyone who mails me thru ebay before buying - I suggest that they mail me at the address given in each listing (you're allowed to put your actual email address in listings, so do it but don't invite people to buy outside of ebay). You should also create a 'me' page, and unless I've read the rules on this (several times) incorrectly, I am allowed to name and even link to my website. I've had the name and link there for a few months now so it must be the case. Few people know this rule.

Listing all your stuff on ebay is not the good idea it would have been just a few years ago. Fees are so high now that no one with a website will ever be paying fees as high as they're charging. I think ebay have reached the limit in fees, any more and people will see sense and sell elsewhere.

I've had my shop on ebay for years now and have reduced the number of items to the minimum and put the rest on my site. I know loads of tricks, if you want to show me your listings, send me your user id, I can tell you how to make much better listings.

blackbetty_3

thank you hammockthing that sounds like really useful information but I only usually sell home things and not really a business thing. i have often wondered about setting up a shop on ebay but have never really come up with amazing ideas of what to sell! what do you sell?

its a shame there isnt anyone to really compete with ebay as then they might think twice about what they are doing, their fees are really high and then you pay in paypal too and now pay for postage its like being taxed all the time for selling, its greedy

Hammockthing

Well, I don't want to say out loud in public here what I sell but I can pm you. It's not really relevant anyway, it would be almost impossible to do what I do (and I wouldn't recommend it either).
No, there are ways to make your items get more views and get a higher price. You don't need to be really good at IT, just a few simple skills with photos and creating listings.
You know how some listings are really long and have photos all the way down, that's not the result of paying for a shop, it's just self-hosted photos. There are some things you need to know before you do it but that's one way to create a more attractive and more informative listing.