Buying and Selling on eBay: Tips, Tricks, Problems & Questions - Page 16

Quote:

Originally Posted by VLSI 

If I reject an offer, can the buyer still come back with another offer?

yeah there are like 3 counteroffers allowed until he can't offer anymore

Little help for a newcomer here. I don't have an ebay account but thinking about making one since i'm seeing some great stuff. I live in the EU first of all. What tips could I get and actually have my items the way as described? Are there always a chance of getting ripped off even if the buyer has many ''stars'' ?

Thanks

/ H

GRRRR, thumbnail photos are broken again...hopefully up tomorrow. Anyone else?

Quote:

Originally Posted by HansderHund 


Are you thinking of buying or selling? I'm in Europe as well and sell worldwide, though 95% of my sales come from within and neighboring countries. Yes, there is always the possibility of getting "ripped off" by buyers, but that chance isn't great if you take some basic precautions. I learned one mistake by not sending something with a tracking number. I don't believe the buyer ever received the item, but in theory I could have been ripped off. He was a professor at a university, so I lay the blame on the post.
A lot of eBay is learning by fire. It's great to read up on other people's advice, but you'll always pick up some tips.
For the beginner:
1. Take lots of good photos. If you don't know how your camera works, just learn the basics. Use all 12 of your free photos.
2. Describe your item in painful detail. Give every sort of measurement and flaw in the description.
3. Only ship to addresses through eBay. Don't give in to someone wanting you to send it to an alternate address.
4. Offer to ship worldwide.
5. Calculate the real cost of shipping and don't mark it up more than you have to (unless you have to buy some CHEAP packaging).
6. Package items well.
7. Look at successful eBay listings and learn what key words are used. Use these words in applicable listings. If you're offering your item world-wide, use the correct English key words as well.
8. Package your items well and ship insured for expensive options.
9. Since you live in the EU, add a small liability to your listing. Search eBay in your country and you'll see that every listing states something about it being a private sale and that there is no guarantee.
10. Don't expect to get rich. There is a lot of time that goes into photographing, measuring, describing and shipping your items. You need to do it well every time and you'll start out slow with sales. It gets easier, faster and more profitable with more experience.

Thanks a lot. I don't think I would sell anything on ebay but could happend who knows, very good advice. I'm thinking more about buying how I can trust the seller who has the item that I never have met. I have bought stuff here on B&S and that have worked out just fine everytime, is it almost the same on ebay?

A question was asked on the thrift thread if anyone used a designated account for thrifting.

Yes, I have a back account which is strictly for thrifting /ebay / paypal transfers. I used to just use my normal account until some asshole hacked my paypal and tranferred a non-existent $2500 to his account. Paypal caught it right away, but once the third party banking trasaction is started you have to let it run its course. It tied up all of my money for 4 weeks until it was all settled. Fortunately my bank knows me and spottd me the money until it was resolved...otherwise I would have missed the mortgage payment.

Moral of the story #1...use a separate account..never link your "bill paying" accounts to paypal.

Moral of the story #2... change your paypal password often.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HansderHund 


Yes, there is always the possibility of getting "ripped off" by buyers, but that chance isn't great if you take some basic precautions.

@HansderHund, you also mentioned earlier in the thread that you generally don't ship to Russia.. which leads me into my question..

I'm selling a 1 year old, thousand dollar sweater on eBay for $400.. It's only been worn once, and is basically in brand-new condition. I've included numerous pics AND a picture of the original receipt (I paid for it in cash, so there is no credit card number, and I blacked out my name/address) to guarantee its authenticity to buyers. I'm a very inexperienced eBay seller (and buyer, for that matter), and need some guidance. 

I offered free domestic shipping and international at the buyer's expense.. A buyer expressed interest and wondered how much it will cost to ship to Moscow.. before finding this thread, I made a call to a local, independent but authorized shipping and business services center for FedEx, DHL, UPS, and USPS, whom I've used before to ship internationally (to the UK). They notified me that shipping to Russia could be problematic, and the only way it could potentially work is if they ship to an office location of a company, as they cannot ship to individual addresses.. The buyer apparently doesn't work so that is not an option. I checked the buyer's profile, and what seems a little strange is that he wants me to ship to Russia, but his location is set to London, United Kingdom. Does this raise a red flag for anyone? The other thing that struck me as odd is that the buyer said that on the actual shipment day I might need to declare the item's price to be much lower than it actually is ($10-$20) as Russian customs are notorious for halting everything they consider to be too expensive.. I don't think I'd do this, but I'm not sure what to make of his request for me to do so.. After the discouragement from the shipping center and a few doubts about the buyer, I don't know what to think of this situation.. If I take proper precautions (shipping insurance, tracking, signature upon delivery, etc.) does this still sound like a potentially precarious deal? Obviously $400 for something I am just trying to get rid of is a big cash in.. I've tried to sell the item in the past with no luck, and strangely would always get exactly 4 watchers every listing, which made me think that eBay has bots that watch items so you think people are taking interest when they aren't.. Perhaps I need to bite the bullet and sell the sweater at a more affordable price?

The only other thing that might be worth mentioning is that I'm not concerned about rating or feedback.. If the buyer leaves negative feedback for whatever reason (say the package gets held up for a long time at customs) but I still get my money then I don't really care..

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by newyorknoir 

Quote:

Originally Posted by HansderHund 


Yes, there is always the possibility of getting "ripped off" by buyers, but that chance isn't great if you take some basic precautions.

 

 

I have a unique situation and I'm wondering what you guys think about this... I'm selling a 1 year old, thousand dollar sweater on eBay for $400.. It's only been worn once, and is basically in brand-new condition. I've included numerous pics AND a picture of the original receipt (I paid for it in cash, so there is no credit card number, and I blacked out my name/address) to guarantee its authenticity to buyers. I'm a very inexperienced eBay seller (and buyer, for that matter), and need some guidance. 

 

I offered free domestic shipping and international at the buyer's expense.. A buyer expressed interest and wondered how much it will cost to ship to Moscow.. before finding this thread, I made a call to a local, independent but authorized shipping and business services center for FedEx, DHL, UPS, and USPS, whom I've used before to ship internationally (to the UK). They notified me that shipping to Russia could be problematic, and the only way it could potentially work is if they ship to an office location of a company, as they cannot ship to individual addresses.. The buyer apparently doesn't work so that is not an option. I checked the buyer's profile, and what seems a little strange is that he wants me to ship to Russia, but his location is set to London, United Kingdom. The other thing that struck me as odd is that the buyer said that on the actual shipment day I might need to declare the item's price to be much lower than it actually is ($10-$20 he said) as Russian customs are notorious for halting everything they consider to be too expensive.. I don't think I'd do this, but I'm not sure what to make of his request for me to do so.. After the discouragement from the shipping center and a few doubts about the buyer, I don't know what to think of this situation.. If I take proper precautions (shipping insurance, tracking, signature upon delivery, etc.) does this still sound like a potentially precarious deal? Obviously $400 for something I am trying to get rid of is a big cash in.. I've tried to sell the item in the past with no luck, and strangely would always get exactly 4 watchers every listing, which made me think that eBay has bots that watch items so you think people are taking interest when they aren't.. Perhaps I need to bite the bullet and sell the sweater at a more affordable price?

 

The only other thing that might be worth mentioning is that I'm not concerned about rating or feedback.. If the buyer leaves negative feedback for whatever reason (say the package gets held up for a long time at customs) but I still get my money then I don't really care..

 

Thanks!

If it is sold though ebay, then ONLY ship the shipping address which is supplied when the buyer pays for the item with paypal. For international you can ship (IMO) 1st class registered mail though the post office (for a sweater this is going to be under 4 lbs, so no problem for 1st class mail + $12 for registered mail), OR use Express Mail. Both of which track the package and require the buyer to sign for the package (which is what you need for ebay/paypal proof of delivery) for items over $250. I would add insurance, and DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT lower the price on the customs form. Besides being illegal (pretty sure, you would need to double check), if your item is lost and "stolen" then you only have insured a $10 or $20 item and not a $400 item which is what he paid.

Sure other will throw their hat in the ring, but this is my opinion and have never had an issue shipping international to any country.