Help with first time Ebay sale

Nikiya

Hello! I am going to publish an item for the first time, taking advantage of a two day “1p fee” offer. I have read all the recommendations in this site and one of them is to get “Online trackable proof of delivery” in case someone claims the item has not arrived when it has.
The Royal Mail site gives two options under "Tracking": "Proof of delivery" and "tracked", not the full wording as above. "Tracking", however costs more and it would mean an increase in the price of the item. Would "proof of delivery suffice??"
I am planning to ask for a price instead of doing an auction, since this is a brand new article with tags. Should I accept returns?
I am not a trader and would not like to be involved in an argument if, for instance, I get the item returned but not in exactly the same condition and some minor changes might be difficult to argue. This is not something to be tried on and it is not breakable.
Many thanks in advance!!

soolin

Nikiya wrote: »

Hello! I am going to publish an item for the first time, taking advantage of a two day “1p fee” offer. I have read all the recommendations in this site and one of them is to get “Online trackable proof of delivery” in case someone claims the item has not arrived when it has.
The Royal Mail site gives two options under "Tracking": "Proof of delivery" and "tracked", not the full wording as above. "Tracking", however costs more and it would mean an increase in the price of the item. Would "proof of delivery suffice??"
I am planning to ask for a price instead of doing an auction, since this is a brand new article with tags. Should I accept returns?
I am not a trader and would not like to be involved in an argument if, for instance, I get the item returned but not in exactly the same condition and some minor changes might be difficult to argue. This is not something to be tried on and it is not breakable.
Many thanks in advance!!

We have some sticky threads you may find useful. For seller protection this explains the basics:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3146680

Basically the price of the item is a factor is helping a seller decide what postage to use, but it is worth noting that standard parcels now have proof of delivery .

This thread talks about returns:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/71969472#Comment_71969472

It is also worth adding to that information by saying set your preferences tightly, you can find them in your 'account' tab under site preferences, at the very least block buyers to countries that you do not ship to and block buyers who have 2 or more strikes.

With a BIN you can also opt for 'immediate payment required' which saves time wasters as they don't buy the item unless they also pay.

If you are really new to ebay as a seller then your prices won't match other sellers especially if you are selling in an often scammed category, so choose your price carefully by researching sold (not listed) items on ebay. As a newbie it might be wroth restricting your sale to UK only. You are also likely to have your funds held by paypal for 21 days but will be expected to ship regardless.

Pun

Have a look at the MyHermes website, which is usually cheaper for items Royal Mail would class as small parcels - and miles cheaper for parcels RM class as medium parcels! Includes tracking, too. Do read the section on their website about areas of the UK where they don't deliver (e.g. Channel Islands) and/or charge a supplement - you may want to exclude bidders from these areas.