Ebay - some tips for how to have a good time (ebay.co.uk)

Member Name: dmandrew

Product:	ebay.co.uk
Date:	06/01/09 (69 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Buy and sell from your computer

Disadvantages: Paying commission to Ebay and Paypal and the controlled delivery charges

I am going to assume that if you are reading this you know how Ebay works, so will not go into extensive detail about the basics of what Ebay is, but offer some advice on how to make the auctions work to your advantage based on my own experience. Take it or leave it, and good luck!

SELLING

This can be very exciting, or very disappointing. Before you put anything up for auction, have a look to see what sort of prices comparable items are getting, both on Ebay and elsewhere. Check out Amazon, and take account of carriage charges before setting your price. If you are selling books, check out Abebooks as well.

If you can afford to wait, Ebay quite often offer discounted prices for listing items. Sometimes, this can be as low as 5p. If you are selling quite a lot of items (this can be really good fun, especially if a good number start to attract bids) you can save a pound or two.

As the first photo for each item is free (the rest cost from 12p upwards for each one) then take the trouble to make it a really good an informative one: it is all the buyer has to go on. Very occasionally, I will use a second picture, but never more as it eats into profits.

Remember that Ebay will take about 9% of your selling fee and if you use Paypal (recommended), then that is another 3.4% plus 20p. Most people cover this by adding a little to the net cost of postage, which can be said to include packaging and administering. But don't overdo this - it's not fair, and people won't bid. I remember seeing saxophones for sale from abroad - the saxes were priced to open the auction at about £25, but delivery was £150!

Describe your item fairly. It's sensible to go into detail about performance, because customers will not always know the items on offer. But tell the truth about condition: it isn't worth getting poor feedback.

Be brave about your opening price. If you know from watching other auctions that the item you are selling is virtually guaranteed to sell well (the Rug Doctor carpet cleaner is a good example), you can save money by starting off at 99p! If your item is desirable, bidders won't let someone else make off with a dirt cheap bargain. But if nobody wants it, it won't even go if you try to sell it for a penny (Grumpy Old Men - the book - is a good example of that! There are nearly 200 for sale on Amazon).

Pick the time at which the auction will end intelligently. Consider the times at which people can easily get online. If your auction ends at 10:00 on a Monday morning, you will lose some potential last minute bidders. Late evenings or weekends make good finishing times. You can choose the item to be listed for 1, 3, 5, 7, or 10 days, so be creative. You can also ride on the wave of someone else's auction fever, if you see a similar item to yours on sale, you could put in a short-term auction to come near to the top of the list and attract attention.

BUYING

As with any auction, think carefully about how much you are willing to pay, and remember to include the delivery costs. It is quite easy to get carried away in the closing seconds (this if course is what all sellers are hoping will happen!) so be aware of market prices and don't go above your absolute maximum. Many buyers now stay quiet until the last minute, perhaps marking the item as one to be Watched, and then delivering a killer final bid timed to the last five seconds. Others prefer to put in an early low bid and then watch developments.
Use the search facilities on Ebay as much as possible, remembering that not everyone describes the same object with the same words. It's worth thinking about this when you sell as well, putting any possible alternatives in the description, so that they are picked up when people search.

OVERALL CAVEATS

Don't send out goods unless you have received the money, and don't bid on anything unless you have checked the sellers' feedback. It should be 100%, and you should aim to enjoy Ebay 100% too. Best of luck!

LATEST NEWS ON P AND P CHARGES

Ebay have recently (Summer 2009) changed their rules on sellers' post and packing charges. In some categories, notably media, such as CD DVD and film, you have to offer FREE post and packing, and in others, there is a cap on charges. Now a cap is not such a bad idea as some people try to rip you off rotten, but I have always felt that the Ebay market is self-regulating and does not need this sort of Big Brother behaviour. Grrr! Put them down to 3 stars instead of 5.

Summary: Sensibly used, a great way of shopping and of making a bob or two