Selling larger items - possible pitfalls

thingswerentthisbadinmyday

Afternoon all.
I used to be a frequent E-Bayer and although I still occasionally buy the odd thing, I haven’t really sold anything for about 18 months.
I’m aware (sort of) of the recent changes (buyers now pay a premium, etc) but I’m wondering if any fellow members would be so kind as to highlight for me any potential and obvious pitfalls I might be facing when trying to sell a bulky (fairly expensive) item which has to be collected.
Within the next couple of months, I might also be in a position to try and sell a piece of hifi kit which could be posted and advice as to what I should be looking out for when posting, would be helpful.
Any help will be very much appreciated.
Thank you.

caprikid1

Personally I would be nervous of selling hifi equipment as you are so exposed to getting a dodgy one returned, Ebay are not great with protecting Sellers.

Bulky collection only items should be no problem really, but try Facebook Market place first.

thingswerentthisbadinmyday

caprikid1 said:

Personally I would be nervous of selling hifi equipment as you are so exposed to getting a dodgy one returned, Ebay are not great with protecting Sellers.

Bulky collection only items should be no problem really, but try Facebook Market place first.

Thank you.
In which case the hifi item, which is small enough to be posted, I guess I should make ‘collection only’ - even though that will reduce potential buyers by a large %.
I guess the only other thing to do is to be aware of buyers with low feedback?

Spoonie_Turtle

Also check the feedback they leave for others.  It'll show what kinds of things they buy and whether they are fussy customers or usually happy with their purchases.

caprikid1

thingswerentthisbadinmyday said:

caprikid1 said:

Personally I would be nervous of selling hifi equipment as you are so exposed to getting a dodgy one returned, Ebay are not great with protecting Sellers.

Bulky collection only items should be no problem really, but try Facebook Market place first.

Thank you.
In which case the hifi item, which is small enough to be posted, I guess I should make ‘collection only’ - even though that will reduce potential buyers by a large %.
I guess the only other thing to do is to be aware of buyers with low feedback?

You can set it to ignore low feedback.

All depends on the value etc , taking videos of items working, recording security numbers and ideally security marking cases and detailed photo's can all help protect from scammers and could open up to posting, anything can be posted if you take enough time to protect it.

Of course Hifi varies considerably, so it's difficult to advise without knowing whether its a £10 Amp or a £30,000 turntable.

adrich

For bulky items, the biggest trap is the payment method. If you let them pay through the eBay app and then they collect, they can sometimes claim they never picked it up. Always insist on cash or use the eBay collection QR code to prove delivery.

I’ve actually started moving some of my bigger stuff to other local sites to avoid the fees. Just a heads-up if you go that route: be wary of scammers. I spent ages trying to find a craigslist phone number or actual support line to report a fake buyer last week and realized how much more "on your own" you are there. For the HiFi, definitely film it working and take photos of the serial numbers before boxing it up to protect yourself from "parts swapping" scams. Good luck!

soolin

adrich said:

For bulky items, the biggest trap is the payment method. If you let them pay through the eBay app and then they collect, they can sometimes claim they never picked it up. Always insist on cash or use the eBay collection QR code to prove delivery.

As you say the QR code must be used.

I’ve actually started moving some of my bigger stuff to other local sites to avoid the fees. Just a heads-up if you go that route: be wary of scammers. I spent ages trying to find a craigslist phone number or actual support line to report a fake buyer last week and realized how much more "on your own" you are there. For the HiFi, definitely film it working and take photos of the serial numbers before boxing it up to protect yourself from "parts swapping" scams. Good luck!

I had a look at Craiglist once and it was completely dead. Just took another look and in the Collectible category for London there are 10 items, 4 of which look fake and some are just rubbish from people having not a clue what they are selling. £19.000 for a princess Diana TY beanie and the location showing as Michigan USA. I used to use facebook marketplace but that died as well - I do find Vinted very fast moving though- although like anywhere you need to watch for scams.