Selling a large tent - is ebay suitable for this?

martindow

1.  I have a large tent that I want to sell.  It will be collection only, cost over a thousand pounds and I'm sure that any buyer will want to view it before buying.  As I understand it ebay makes it difficult for a buyer to contact a seller.  Is there any way to use ebay for selling this?

2.  I also have a small bell to be sold.  Can I include a sound file in an ebay listing?

Dark_Star

You can include a short video so you could show the bell ringing with sound.
Might work for the tent too? 24 photos plus video. 
What do similar tents actually sell for?  

savergrant

As regards the tent ebay blocks exchange of contact details prior to purchase. Once paid the buyer will have a collection code to give to the seller. So the buyer can pay but then view the tent before giving you the collection code. If they aren't happy they don't give you the code and you refund.

dinosaur66

i sell on ebay since 2001 and have a shop

but all large items like this i sell on my local facebook marketplace and not via ebay

last year i sold my van / 3 twenty foot gazebos /a 25 by 25 foot old style market frame

i had the market stalls set up on my front lawn for when buyers came round so they could see them

as long as priced ok just takes no more than a week to sell and be collected

martindow

Thanks all.  I can't imagine that as a buyer I would contemplate paying a large sum in advance of viewing.  And as a seller if someone did this and then decided not to continue with the sale, would I not then lose out on fees which would not be refunded?

Maybe Facebook marketplace is the way to go as dinosaur suggested.  Is that normally done with cash payments?

soolin

martindow said:

Thanks all.  I can't imagine that as a buyer I would contemplate paying a large sum in advance of viewing.  And as a seller if someone did this and then decided not to continue with the sale, would I not then lose out on fees which would not be refunded?

Maybe Facebook marketplace is the way to go as dinosaur suggested.  Is that normally done with cash payments?

There would be no seller fees if this was sold as a private sale, so seller would just refund and lose nothing but time and effort. 

On FB marketplace sellers can ask for whatever payment type they like , and cash on collection would be a fairly normal way of doing things , and personally I think I would prefer that rather than messing around with managed payments etc for an expensive collection only item.

OP, perhaps try local selling first and if you get no real interest then opt to try eBay. 

savergrant

soolin said:

martindow said:

Thanks all.  I can't imagine that as a buyer I would contemplate paying a large sum in advance of viewing.  And as a seller if someone did this and then decided not to continue with the sale, would I not then lose out on fees which would not be refunded?

Maybe Facebook marketplace is the way to go as dinosaur suggested.  Is that normally done with cash payments?

There would be no seller fees if this was sold as a private sale, so seller would just refund and lose nothing but time and effort. 

On FB marketplace sellers can ask for whatever payment type they like , and cash on collection would be a fairly normal way of doing things , and personally I think I would prefer that rather than messing around with managed payments etc for an expensive collection only item.

OP, perhaps try local selling first and if you get no real interest then opt to try eBay. 

Tbh i'd be pretty uncomfortable with carrying a large amount of cash to a stranger's house, and there are a few bank transfer scams so I don't mind ebay holding the money. Obviously it's not 100% as there is a risk of the "buyer" grabbing the item and running off or the "seller" accepting the code then not handing over the item. Probably less of a risk with a huge tent than with, say, a diamond ring...

martindow

I'm resurrecting the thread as I have received a query from a prospective buyer.  The tent is on eBay and they have asked to see it.  I think that I can't risk giving my address via eBay, so this is only possible if they pay, then get given my address and then I refund if they don't want to proceed.

Is there any way round this?  As a buyer I would run a mile if asked to pay four figures just to view.  What would you say?

I'm beginning to wish I hadn't bothered with eBay for this.  I did try on another site but have had no real response there.

QrizB

I'm not exactly recommending this, but can you send the prospective buyer a photo of the tent the just happens to also contain your mobile phone number?

I've noticed that quite a lot of private sale listings on eBay include the seller's phone number in one of the listing photos.

messia07

In that case, Apologise and state you are unable to offer any viewings but you’re willing to Provide as many photos as needed - you can send photos via eBay message system. 

Just make sure to be truthful in regards to condition, stating if there is any damage.

- i just wonder if a tent would sell better, closer to summer time?

martindow

Thanks for the suggestions.  I think you're right about the time of year.  I put it up so that it would be there ready when people were thinking about spring and summee and I'm quite surprised to be asked about it so early.