Why sell things on ebay?

StaffsSW

Forgetful wrote: »

I dont even know why pple use ebay at all
I mean its not the safest place to shop and do pple want 2nd hand stuff that much???

And for the seller a fee is charged..whats in it..just cant see the point of ebay at all.

Ebay is perfectly safe if you are smart enough to follow a few simple rules, not to be blinded by greed and fall into the fraudsters lap. As for selling, it provides me with a second income that is greater than a lot of peoples' primary income, and it fits perfectly around my full time career.

Buy with Paypal from sellers with decent feedback, and there is very little that can go wrong. If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is, and other such fraud avoidance cliches.

Seller fees are pretty reasonable compared to the conventional Real Life auction houses, and also very cheap given the market exposure available. Where else can you spend as little as 15p and become visible to 300 million people worldwide?

I started my parents on eBay just over 3 months ago, selling their collections of pottery, militaria, Ty Beanies etc. All of it is second hand, as in a lot of cases, that's all that many people can afford. Many people are not too proud to admit to buying "non-new" items.

They were sceptical, and my mum hand never used anything more than an electric typewriter, but their sales levels indicates they are likely to be made Powersellers in February, and they have just booked a 3 week Med Cruise with their earnings so far.

My mum has been on long term sick leave and was deteriorating quickly, but eBay has given her a new lease of life and a reason to fight her illness. I'm trying to work out a medical retirement package for her, then let manage her own schedule and workload for eBay, and continue funding their luxury holidays.

It could be reasonably argued that ebay is saving my mothers life.

doodledo_2

stevew8975 wrote: »

Ebay is perfectly safe if you are smart enough to follow a few simple rules, not to be blinded by greed and fall into the fraudsters lap. As for selling, it provides me with a second income that is greater than a lot of peoples' primary income, and it fits perfectly around my full time career.

Buy with Paypal from sellers with decent feedback, and there is very little that can go wrong. If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is, and other such fraud avoidance cliches.

Seller fees are pretty reasonable compared to the conventional Real Life auction houses, and also very cheap given the market exposure available. Where else can you spend as little as 15p and become visible to 300 million people worldwide?

I started my parents on eBay just over 3 months ago, selling their collections of pottery, militaria, Ty Beanies etc. All of it is second hand, as in a lot of cases, that's all that many people can afford. Many people are not too proud to admit to buying "non-new" items.

They were sceptical, and my mum hand never used anything more than an electric typewriter, but their sales levels indicates they are likely to be made Powersellers in February, and they have just booked a 3 week Med Cruise with their earnings so far.

My mum has been on long term sick leave and was deteriorating quickly, but eBay has given her a new lease of life and a reason to fight her illness. I'm trying to work out a medical retirement package for her, then let manage her own schedule and workload for eBay, and continue funding their luxury holidays.

It could be reasonably argued that ebay is saving my mothers life.

:T A really good post and fair play to your mother.

I think people who claim Ebay is pointless etc don't fully understand it.

Ebay as a second income and yes I do declare earnings etc etc pays for my family and my sisters to go on two very nice two week holidays a year.

Not bad considering we all work full time as well and have kids under 3.

furrybloke

I sell my old stuff on there & swap for what I want. Basically cleared out a load of junk just before Xmas & got a 2nd hand wii with 4 games & my sons Xmas present (Brand new) with the profit I made.

I do 3 or 4 car boot sales a year & make £500 - £600 with the stuff that doesn't sell on ebay.

I am also building my footy shirt collection from there & car boot sales although I may have to sell off in 2010 to raise much needed cash for that year.

lisyloo

Ebay is awful for selling, awful fees, then paypal fees and a long time to get your money.

I think the fees vary but it does take a bit of common sense
e.g. listing an item for 99p is cheaper than listing it for £1.

I don't think the fees are that bad when you consider you can get top price for items compared with say a car boot sale.

If you don't want to use paypal then don't use it - but it might well affect the price you sell for.
If you don't want to use ebay then don't but clearly many (millions) of people find it good for buying and selling.

I don't think you should expect to get worldwide advertising and financial services for free.

scbk

Gumtree is ok but it's hard to sell stuff on it, doesn't seem to be many buyers

One problem with gumtree is the ads end up on search engines where dumb people from the south of england find them. They then don't read most of the ad and send you questions like "Hi there I'm interested in the car, which part of London are you from?" :rolleyes:

ormus

free advertising/marketing is great. but only if it works.
theres no point in me erecting a free sign on the pennine moors advertising
a used camera for 50 quid.

for a quid i can reach half the active camera buyers in the uk.
or i can reach a few no hopers on gumtree etc for free?

for a quid i can reach target market figures, ITV can only dream of (pro rata).