Any ebay sellers here??

[Rockett]

Hi
I've been thinking of selling on ebay to make some extra cash,but just wondered how others find it?
Is it easy to manage,have you had any problems,do you always come out on top after paying ebay fees?
What sort of things do you sell? I need some ideas!
Also,is there anything I should look out for security wise?I guess I'm concerned about having my personal details floating around, like bank account details etc.
Any advice appreciated :)

[stellaj]

butterfly- I sell things on ebay, probably 10 things a month. I mostly sell clothes that i buy at sales but i changed my mind about, don't fit etc. What did you want to know exactly? :)

[WeThree]

Hi, after buying on ebay for quite some time, i decided to branch out 'on my own' and start selling. I sell mainly the kids good quality clothes that no longer fit them, i laso have friends that give me bags of beautiful clothing, but they are like 3 sizes or so to big for my kids and i just have no room to store it all for that long! i also sell my old maternity clothes, Avon products (ones that i have already own, i use to be a rep) and anything else i come across, you would be suprised what you already have at home that you can sell. keep an eye out at opshops, markets and garage sales for things that you pick up fora steal and that you are confident you cna get a better for on ebay. if you havnt been buying for long, i suggest you do some of that first, not only will it give you some positive feedback but you will start to get a feel for things that sell well, how to word your adds etc. I have some things that i am positive will do well, but others that i think wont do, and sometimes ones that i thought would do better, dont! i have sent some of my customers an extra outfit before because of the price that they have bid on an item and i just think 'omg i wouldnt pay that much for it, better give them something ele as well', but if they didnt want it they wouldnt bid on it. Thats the best thing about ebay, markets and garage sales, people talk your price down, on ebay if someone wants your item they can only bid a higher price than the one you have specified! WARNING! Depending on how much you are selling it can be a bit time consuming and addictive! but if you are looking for a fun hobby that you can make a bit of extra money out of as well, than you should definetly go for it. The fees can be a bit high sometimes, but if you make sure you dont give your adds fancy boarders etc the fee to list an add is pretty minimal, also the lower your starting bid the lower the insertion fee (but you have to weigh up whether or not the item would definetly still reach the price you want if you start it at a lower bid) Anyway i think ive raved on long enough for now, please feel free to send me a private message if you want to know any of the specifics (photos, etiquette etc) Good Luck!!

[ThomasMum]

Oh lord Erin,...I hope you are not going to be like my DH Joshua, he's absolutely an 'e-Bay' junkie! Lol If I let him he would put bet on every single items on displays!!! And this has been going on since e-Bay was first introduced in the Online world...

Nice pic, Erin ;)

ML

(almost home time yay!)--work is very slow today for some reason...no meetings...zzz

[xkwzit]

Hi Butterfly
DH and I have sold some things on Ebay (mostly toys he no longer wants :D ). You should know that there are heaps of resources out there to help you.

The first thing I'd recommend is downloading their "turbolister" software (this is free to download). This program allows you to create your listing off line and then upload it to Ebay when you want your auction to start. I can imagine it would be a pain to start listing and then realise you hadn't all the info you wanted and either dither around for ages or have to start again later. You can also copy listings, very handy when you've got lots of listing to write.

You need to decide how you'd like to be paid. We use Paypal, as we already had an existing account for buying stuff on the net and were selling world wide. It is free for your buyers and they can pay with their credit card, but Paypal do charge you a small fee to accept money. There is also Paymate where there is a cost to your buyer as well as to you (I think). Most ppl who are selling only within Australia will provide their bank account details for their successful buyer to deposit the money directly to their account, no cost to anyone (although we weren't comfortable doing this). Buyers can also pay by money order. Personal cheques are the riskiest method of payment for you as a seller. If you allow personal cheques, make sure you tell ppl that you won't be sending their goods until that cheque clears.

Rumour has it that the best time to have an auction close is Sunday evening (and everyone is at home!). The second most successful time is Thursday evening. The default is a 7 day auction, where your auction will finish one week exactly after you listed (but you can choose 3, 5? And 10 day auctions too – I think it may cost more).

There are books that help you learn Ebay and how to sell. I read before I bought or sold on Ebay and found it really useful. There are also forums on Ebay where you can pick up hints and tips.

Cheers (and happy eBaying)

[Kamaikia]

could someone give me a general idea of what it would cost to place an ad. for example - a childs outfit - basic ad - $5.00 starting bid

[sopolicha]

Well, I have admitted to my haemmoroid so admitting to being a bit of ebay freak now does not seem so bad. Despite the flack I cop from my family and friends.

I can't believe what I have sold on there. I agree the Turbolister is excellent and I have only ever used my bank account details and have never had any problems (touch wood). You could always have a separate bank account just to be used for ebay.

It can be a bit addictive at first, watching what is going on etc so if you don't have broadband watch your phone bill. The most important thing I think is to be honest, if the item has any sort of stain, damage etc mention it, otherwise you might end up with some dissatisfied customers.

[littlepickle]

Yep, another ebay fan here!

I have been buying and selling on ebay now for over 5 years. I love it. I mainly sell clothes and cosmetics though and buy a lot of clothes particularly from the states.
I like turbolister too, its great, so much easier, but if I am selling more than one of the same thing, I will usually just use the manual method and do a "submit similar"
I have never had any problems, I also sell internationally and so have a paypal account also. It is good to sell internationally as the overseas bids usually push the price up a bit, you pretty much need paypal though as payment from international bidders can be a bit difficult without it.
I also use a "sniper" tool when buying as I like to come in at the last minute with a bid so that I dont get outbid. I know thats kind of cheating but as I am not free much in the day, it allows me to line up my bids so that I dont have to keep checking ebay

[WeThree]

Sorry thomassmum, guilty as charged :p i have become soo addicted to ebay and everywhere sale, markets etc i go to instead of thinking 'oh that would be a nice present for so and so' or' gee that would look nice on tilly' im always thinking ' i wonder how much id get for that on ebay?' lol
Kamaikia, A ad like that would probably cost you about 60 cents, 50 cents to place the ad and 10 cents if you wanted a nice layout for your add. if you want a border, bold print, a sub heading, stuf like that, then thats when it all starts to really add up. i find if you word your add properly, people are going to find what you are selling regardless of how big your add is, because if they are after a specific brand, size of clothing etc, then your ad will come up when they do a search anyway. if you start selling regulary on ebay they also charge a monthly fee and they take a tiny cut from each succesful sale as well (the cut depends on how much you sold the item for) :)
Ps i use direct deposit for buying and selling, but if you are going to give people your bank details, i would advise opening an account for this purpose only, after people deposit their money into it you can then withdraw it and put it safely into another account :)

[austi05]

I've been buying all my maternity clothes on ebay - it's been fantastic - can get things at a fraction of the retail price. Considering you're only wearing them for a 6 or so months, its really worthwhile.

[WeThree]

hey austi have you checked out the nice maternity jeans i have for sale atm lol! :)

[TwoBlue]

SELL, SELL, SELL !!!

Its awesome, easy and addictive (as you have read :p )
Have fun but be careful or you will become another Ebay Junky

[Rockett]

Thankyou all for your replies and tips.I am going to do it! Sounds easy and fun and,hopefully, I'll make some extra $$ along the way. :D