Tips for selling on Ebay

Chezza71

Adam_Rokkster must be doing something right - 0.01p to £72 in 6 bids!! And in one day! How on earth did that happen?

snow_white_10

I bought a brilliant used car on eBay in January, and I bet I'm not the only one. Maybe I was luicky and I'm not saying it is advisable for every one perhaps, but if you want to have a go you need (at a minimum);

a fairly local seller
a long established seller with 100% feedback.
a friend/partner with used car expertise to check the paperwork and test drive the car before handing over cash!

snow_white_10

I can spell really, though I think luicky could be a great new word!

System

Lastly, who on earth would buy a used car off Ebay?  Thats like handing your wallet over to a car salesman and saying "help yourself"  [/quote]

I have now bought two cars off ebay.
Both of which were significantly cheaper than trade price. I have now given up on buying cars from the local car auction because there are too many members of the public there running the prices up on the decent cars. Also if you compare ebay with buying from a car auction consider this. At a (real) auction you will not know if you are buying from the owner or a dealer, you wont have the opportunity to ask any questions, you have no come back at all beyond the laughable cover given by the indemnity that you will pay far too much for if you are not a trader.

You will have the choice of thousands of cars On ebay so if you are looking for a specific model/colour/type it will be available sooner or later. The seller will describe the item, normally with far more information than on an auction entry form. Most sellers will list the bad as well as the good about thier car. You can email any question to the vendor, and keep their reply in case you need it later, You will have days to do your research to find out what the car is worth if it is as described. When you win your auction (only ever with a sniper bid in the last 20 seconds) print the listing and take it with you when you go to collect after you have run a H.P.I. check, that way if the car is not as described either dont buy it, or re-negotiate if you still want it.

If I had bought my cars from a garage I would have paid as much for either of them as I paid for both of them and they are both under 4 years old !. ;D
I would recommend taking a friend who knows their way arround a car with you when you collect if you are not mechanically minded though.
There are bargains to be had, just look in my drive !
Happy bidding.

abjem21

Forgot to mention checking the vendors feedback is mandatory, remember you can email other people that have purchased from them to ask if they are trustworthy.

System

with all due respect, i just clicked the link and saw way too much 'crap' that i could be bothered reading.  

Well, as you can see the listing is doing very well. There is one other selling the same product and they haven't received a single bid. IMHO it depends on the product. In most cases there isn't a huge amount to say and no point in stringing it out- but with something like this when each component has a lot of USPs it's worth selling it for all its worth.

As another tip - I have contacted as many people from completed auctions selling the same item within the last week as I can to inform them of my auction. I deliberately only chose those the last one or two bidders in each auction (as they were closest to the successful bid amount). This should generate some further interest. Note though, that in this case, I have only just done this so the existing bids are as a result of my listing - and I remain convinced the quality of the paqe design is making a big difference.

Adam

System

Believe it or not - used cars are now the fastest growing item for sale on Ebay.com (US). I stop short of saying the second biggest seller because I haven't got the report in front of me (Economist - May 04), but I am pretty certain that is what it said.

scheming_gypsy

Adam.. i didn't mean any offence with my post but for me personally it's just too much info.
I have a habit of looking on Ebay for something, if i see one i like i'll do a search on google to find the same item, check the prices then look for the condition of the goods on Ebay to make sure it's fully working etc.

As impressive as it looks i just can't get my head round reading it all..

fragster

the logitech MX mice rock btw, i have an MX500 here, best mouse i've ever used by miles, the optical sensor is superb, though i hear even better on the mx510!

Rokkster

Adam.. i didn't mean any offence with my post

None taken I probably did over do the copy a bit on this one - but seems to be having the desired effect, so can't complain  ;)

Like you I'm a seasoned net user and I research every aspect of an item before I hunt for it on Ebay - including spec, reviews, and prices (Kelkoo, Dealtime, Ebuyer etc).

However, I never cease to be amazed at how many Ebayers don't follow these really simple steps and end up paying ridiculous amounts for what is probably graded or imported items!

Wasn't it P T Barnum who said - there's one born ever minute!!