ebay isn't worth selling things...

i_love_it

OP eBay takes a while to get the hang of selling successfully.
If you do have more items to clear the preparation is well worth it

As other posters suggested some small scales and a tape measure are worthwhile ( essential even) investments

As is a current price list from the post office & sign up to collect plus ( courier - cheaper for many items than post office) you can sign up via your eBay account though you do need a printer

Look out for free listing weekends were you can start your auction at the lowest price you would like to achieve yet higher than 99p for free and nothing lost if they don't sell

Search eBay for similar items to yours to see if there is a demand and what you may achieve price wise

Save packaging from any internet shopping you have delivered or you can buy cheap posting bags from amazon

Spend some time on this thread just reading various posts as it is a mine of knowledge for tips and pitfalls to avoid

It sounds like you are just starting out but with a lot of preparation and a little knowledge increasing as you go you do soon get the hang of it & turn your unwanted items into extra cash

campdave

Price at a level you're welling to put up with the hassle, not just at the level to get the free listing.

It's daft to list at 99p and then moan it's not worth the effort.

Prothet_of_Doom

The most successful ebayer I know personally weighs everything, and the start price is the price the item cost him, plus the postage that he's worked out, plus the cost of the packaging plus £1 plus 10% of the total.
That way if someone wants it he makes at least 10% plus £1.10 for his trouble.

kalsha

i love it has the best advice. I used to think that Ebay wasn't worth it for small items but that is how I started - with small 99p items. And now I am still selling 99p items together with higher priced items. If I am going to the PO anyway, it is no more effort to post a 99p item.
I never make a loss as all the postage is carefully worked out before listing. Sometimes I just breakeven but I still feel good selling that because the way I look at it is that at least I didn't add to the landfill by binning it.
There were quite a few items which I was going to bin but decided to list at 99p and they fetched over £5 - so you never know!
Just don't give up!

Flyonthewall

Prothet_of_Doom wrote: »

The most successful ebayer I know personally weighs everything, and the start price is the price the item cost him, plus the postage that he's worked out, plus the cost of the packaging plus £1 plus 10% of the total.
That way if someone wants it he makes at least 10% plus £1.10 for his trouble.

Where do fees come into that?

porto_bello

kalsha wrote: »

Sometimes I just breakeven but I still feel good selling that because the way I look at it is that at least I didn't add to the landfill by binning it.
There were quite a few items which I was going to bin but decided to list at 99p and they fetched over £5 - so you never know!
Just don't give up!

I share exactly the same philosophy: Over the years, I must have avoided at least a dustcart's worth of junk from going to landfill and at the same time, there have been some decent cash rewards!

And if eBay fails and something fails to sell after a few attempts or the size/weight makes it inefficient to buy on eBay, I take it to a charity shop - very little of my unwanted clutter ever goes to landfill.

[I don't bother with gumtree as I've no intention of handing my bank details to local gentleman with a postal address in West Africa;)].

GabbaGabbaHey

porto_bello wrote: »

I've no intention of handing my bank details to local gentleman with a postal address in West Africa

Why not? The only thing that he could do with it is to pay money in to your account.

nickcc

Just bought a USB to Samsung S3 cable, thought at 99p was probably not worth buying as the postage must equal the cost of the item, well just tried it and it doesn't work but at 99p should I have expected it to. Thing is that at this price who's going to bother complaining.

Flyonthewall

nickcc wrote: »

Just bought a USB to Samsung S3 cable, thought at 99p was probably not worth buying as the postage must equal the cost of the item, well just tried it and it doesn't work but at 99p should I have expected it to. Thing is that at this price who's going to bother complaining.

Should you expect it to? Yes! Of course.

Who's going to complain? Well I would.

I've bought cables at 99p before - worked fine and I wouldn't expect any less. Had they not I would have complained right away. 99p adds up if you keep throwing it away like that. I could use that 99p on something else.

Cables like that don't cost that much for businesses to buy in bulk and they can send them out pretty cheap too in bulk so they can afford to sell them at 99p.

nickcc

Flyonthewall wrote: »

Should you expect it to? Yes! Of course.

Who's going to complain? Well I would.

I've bought cables at 99p before - worked fine and I wouldn't expect any less. Had they not I would have complained right away. 99p adds up if you keep throwing it away like that. I could use that 99p on something else.

Cables like that don't cost that much for businesses to buy in bulk and they can send them out pretty cheap too in bulk so they can afford to sell them at 99p.

But what happens when I have to send it back tracked at about £4 and only get the 99p refunded ? Or have things changed since I was last ripped off by a scumbag seller.