ebay isn't worth selling things...

prowla

I had a few bits which were really just good for the bin, but I decided to put them up on ebay to see if anybody wanted them.

I offered them as local collection but said I'd be happy to ship at cost.

Well, I had three things sell for 99p each, and I went off to the PO to find the price of postage and went back to the buyers, two of whom paid and one didn't respond.

I then went back to post them and this sales assistant told me they'd be £1.54 more (packet versus large letter), so I've had to go back to the buyer and say 'scuse me; it's more.

I think I'm not going to bother with more items; I'll just freecycle or bin things.

Flyonthewall

You're not going to bother with ebay because postage cost more than expected? Or have I missed something?

You can get postage prices online. Measure and weigh the item, go through the options and it'll tell you exactly how much it'll be. If postage makes that much a difference to selling or not stick to collection only. If you freecycle it people will have to come and collect anyway.

PRT

You could do a car boot sale.

mrcol1000

I really don't have time for people who say they will tell you the postage cost AFTER you win. If you don't want to post then fine, just say collection only. A pair of scales and a ruler you can find out exactly how much it will cost to post online.

You could just offer them as a job lot and say collection only. Start them at a low enough price and someone will gladly buy them to sell them properly and make a profit out of it.

soolin

mrcol1000 wrote: »

I really don't have time for people who say they will tell you the postage cost AFTER you win. If you don't want to post then fine, just say collection only. A pair of scales and a ruler you can find out exactly how much it will cost to post online.

You could just offer them as a job lot and say collection only. Start them at a low enough price and someone will gladly buy them to sell them properly and make a profit out of it.

I suspect that is why items went for start price, who is going to bother getting a quote for postage when virtually every other seller states it up front?

Op I am also concerned that you appear to have asked the buyers for more money after payment, that is really a very bad idea.

prowla

Flyonthewall wrote: »

You're not going to bother with ebay because postage cost more than expected? Or have I missed something?

You can get postage prices online. Measure and weigh the item, go through the options and it'll tell you exactly how much it'll be. If postage makes that much a difference to selling or not stick to collection only. If you freecycle it people will have to come and collect anyway.

I mean I'm not going to do cheap 99p items on ebay, because it's not worth the effort.

So it's freecycle/freegle, or the bin.

Believe it or not, I don't have any scales - never needed them.

PRT wrote: »

You could do a car boot sale.

Yes, or even an online car boot sale - I might try that, actually; good idea.

mrcol1000 wrote: »

I really don't have time for people who say they will tell you the postage cost AFTER you win. If you don't want to post then fine, just say collection only. A pair of scales and a ruler you can find out exactly how much it will cost to post online.

You could just offer them as a job lot and say collection only. Start them at a low enough price and someone will gladly buy them to sell them properly and make a profit out of it.

Thanks for taking the time to let me know that. :-)

soolin wrote: »

I suspect that is why items went for start price, who is going to bother getting a quote for postage when virtually every other seller states it up front?

Op I am also concerned that you appear to have asked the buyers for more money after payment, that is really a very bad idea.

Sure - I offered a number of items as collection only, but a couple of buyers asked if I would send, so I said I'd let them know the amount if they won.

When it turned out that for one item the difference in the cost of postage was more than the item sold for, I just gave them a refund.

In the second case I sent the buyer a message explaining it and said I could happily refund, or they could pay the difference. They've sent me a message saying they'd like to pay it.

I wasn't really looking to make anything out of it, in all honesty; I just thought the computer bits might've helped somebody out. But I wasn't going to end up out of pocket for the pleasure of posting something to somebody.

Flyonthewall

prowla wrote: »

Sure - I offered a number of items as collection only, but a couple of buyers asked if I would send, so I said I'd let them know the amount if they won.

When it turned out that for one item the difference in the cost of postage was more than the item sold for, I just gave them a refund.

In the second case I sent the buyer a message explaining it and said I could happily refund, or they could pay the difference. They've sent me a message saying they'd like to pay it.

I wasn't really looking to make anything out of it, in all honesty; I just thought the computer bits might've helped somebody out. But I wasn't going to end up out of pocket for the pleasure of posting something to somebody.

They may be happy to pay it but that doesn't mean that they won't give you low stars because of it. They don't care if you're not making anything from it, it's not the price you originally quoted. If you were willing to post anyway it would have made more sense to get the exact cost and state it in the auction.

prowla

Flyonthewall wrote: »

They may be happy to pay it but that doesn't mean that they won't give you low stars because of it. They don't care if you're not making anything from it, it's not the price you originally quoted. If you were willing to post anyway it would have made more sense to get the exact cost and state it in the auction.

Yes, you're right; I'm just saying that for me it isn't worth the effort of offering up a few oddments.

Flyonthewall

prowla wrote: »

I mean I'm not going to do cheap 99p items on ebay, because it's not worth the effort.

So it's freecycle/freegle, or the bin.

Surely freecycle is just as much hassle if waiting for someone to collect?

Believe it or not, I don't have any scales - never needed them.

Not any type of scales? I mean computer bits are generally quite small and wouldn't weigh much so normal kitchen scales would be good enough for that.

Yes, or even an online car boot sale - I might try that, actually; good idea.

How is an online carboot better than ebay? Won't that still mean posting the item?

For a carboot remember that you will have to pay regardless of whether you sell. 99p on ebay may only go for 20p at a carboot. There will always be those who try and push the price down. That's a lot of items needed if the fee is £5+.

Poppie68

To be honest if you were willing to let the items go for 99p it's most probably just better to give them to a charity shop.

Flyonthewall

Poppie68 wrote: »

To be honest if you were willing to let the items go for 99p it's most probably just better to give them to a charity shop.

Not sure all charity shops would happily accept computer parts. Not all accept electronics and if they do they have to be tested. Harder for them to test something like that. Can't say I have ever seen computer parts in any charity shop. I agree for other things it might be the best option though.