Selling High Priced Items

[j02237589]

I have had 65 of my items sold and my feedback score is 47.

I realize you shouldn't be selling anything online that you can't afford to lose, but that aside, I was wondering...

Typically, it's smarter to not sell higher priced items when you start out because that makes you a prime target for scammers. At what point is it better to start selling higher priced items? Could someone maybe give me a range of prices I could go up to after accumulating a certain number of feedback? (Example: 0-50 feedback - $5-$150). 

Thanks!

[1grandmashope_1]

I think the question is what can you possibly afford to lose?

To all your future successes, 

Grandma 

[rebell45]

High priced items in certain categories had much higher risk than others. Cell phones and other electronics, designer sneakers, etc are much higher risk areas than toys.  You are doing fine.

[18704d]

There's no range, in my opinion.

It has to do with .. what you sell.

You can have 5000 fb, and attract scammers with auctions in a few high risk categories.

The ability to 'absorb' losses though, is in proportion to how much you regularly sell.

A seller selling a 500.00 item (is that "big"?)  can do ok if they have a profit margin sufficient, to handle 1 fraudulent loss in 20 or 30 sales.

That doesn't matter if they have 50, 100, 500 or 1000 feedbacks, in my opinion.

I know sellers with less than 100 feedback, that have easily sold items for 500 dollars, even 1000 dollars..

because they were rare rare items... not the traditional high risk items.

(and I'll admit.. if they're smart.. they won't spend that 500 - 1000 dollars .. after fees.. for at least 6 months)

Besides .. higher risk items..  sometimes Fixed Price, Immediate Payment Required

stops A Lot of scammers too.  (at least in scamming you Before you've got proof that you've really been paid)

Lynn

[18704d]

Ok.. I've just reviewed a few of your current listings... another thought:

IF... if .. you really want to make sure buy-it-now people.. look 'safer' to you before they buy

by seeing they have long standing accounts with a lot of good 'feedback left for others'

You can do this by adding Best Offer

and reviewing the fb of those who make offers.

I actually have done this, on my selling account.

I had a rare 1950s automotive item, that primarily attracts buyers in the US and Germany .

I'd seen almost All completed listings showing 1000.00+ for all sales of this.

I put a Best Offer on my listing.  I got two offers.

One for 900.00 from a user with a new account and very low feedback ( 0?) 

But That alone, isn't proof of .. well ...

And the second offer was 800.00

That member made the offer on a long standing account.  One that showed all the things they bought and sold.

I looked at it.. and saw how they used the buying side of their account to purchase from the U.S. and then sold those same items world wide.

I figured, if they did this.. they were in it for the long run, and Liked sellers like myself, that stumble upon rare things.  (if not.. they Needed sellers like me, to keep profiting reselling).

So.   I accepted the 800.00 offer.  Shipped.  And never had any problem at all.

I did find, later, out of curiousity, that they split up the parts of my item.. and resold for a total price that doubled what they paid me.

They were happy.  I was happy.  (I had only paid 90.00 for it)

Hope that helps,

Lynn

[j02237589]

This is a good idea, I may try this in the future.

But I don't think looking at buyer's feedback is going to tell you if they're a scammer or not all the time. I had two scammers make offers and asking me to message them outside of eBay and when I checked their feedback, they had accumulated a lot of positive feedback, one even had a feedback score of over 100 since he bought so much. 

But in some cases, it does help to check the feedback and account details of the buyer.

Thank you for your help.

[oldtownrhoda]

You really have to look at the feedback carefully. Have they gotten a few in the last month, but then all the other feedback was from a year ago? Also, check to see what feedback they have left to the sellers they have purchased from. I find that to be much more important then the (usually automatic) feedback they have received.

[southern*sweet*tea]

Start self-insuring. Start RIGHT NOW. Take a small percentage of each sale and stick it in a separate account as a loss fund. Do not touch it. Some people call it cookie jar insurance - toss a little bit of change into the cookie jar each day and it adds up over time.

Let the money grow. When you have a loss - be it transit damage, an item not received, or yes, fraud - you will not be at a loss financially if you have that much in your loss fund.  Do not start selling higher priced items until you can easily cover the loss out of your cookie jar.

I personally will not sell anything over a couple hundred dollars online. I'm risk averse. I may not make a lot of money, but the money I do make, I keep.

[femmefan1946]

There are two "tells" on feedback.

The first is looking at FB Left for Others.

If they are thanking many sellers for "working with them" or "prompt refunds", you don't want to deal with them. They may not be crooks, but they will be high maintenance.

The second is when the FB was left.

If there is a long gap between the last FB left (either by the buyer or by a seller), there is a good chance it is a highjacked account.

Oh another tell-- the account was only buying, is suddenly selling, and the items being bought and sold are vastly different (car parts and baby clothes ).

Any can be innocuous, but it helps to be wary.

Another question is how much are you actually losing to fraud, or even to unhappy customers?

The retail norm is around one percent.

If you sell $10,000 a year for 2500 items  and lose $100 on 10 items, you are at a normal rate of loss.  (And the losses are deductible.)

Losing less is painful, but normal.

Losing more means it's time to look in the mirror and see where you are running into problems.

[luckythewinner]

---

@j02237589 wrote:

Could someone maybe give me a range of prices I could go up to after accumulating a certain number of feedback? (Example: 0-50 feedback - $5-$150). 

---

The magic formula you are asking for does not exist. Any buyer can steal any item from any seller by filing a fraudulent claim. Period.

Every transaction carries a risk of fraud, and there is no "safe" amount of feedback that will protect you at any given price point. 

[gracieallen01 · Accepted solution]

When one has the experience and knowledge of how the scammers work, yet without the attitude of 'I know it all', then go for it.  Not everybody always makes it to that point, though.  NOBODY is EVER safe from scammers, and the ones who think they are frequently are the ones hit hardest.

There is no limit on when scammers will stop trying to scam a seller. The frequency just seems to be less if they think the seller has been around for a while and know the games. However, the scammers still try it on the 'old-timers' with lots of feedback - who still get hit for a loss on occasion. One has to know how the games are played and go into it with their eyes wide open - but remember, you will NEVER be completely safe.

[cccentral]

Late Reply for anyone who reads.  Buyer feedback is a good starting point.  Honestly,  I have been scammed buy just as many high feedback sellers; especially in the collectibles industry.  They are notorious for doing buyers remorse returns and many other shady return practices such as swaping out parts and or claiming wrong item sent.  Just last week one clown seller claimed I sent him a childs t-shirt instead of a  $120 figure.  I caught him lying based on the pictures sent.  I issued a return label and question his suspect pictures and he refused to reply and ebay closed the claim in my favor. I also requested that the incident was place on buyers account.  Everyone (sellers)  file a complaint against any suspected fraudulent behavior to keep Ebay community safer.  70%+ of fruaudulent claims closed in my favor on higher ticket item.  ($50-2000+).  Often lower price items I will just issue a refund or return if I feel it is not worth it to pursue.   Time is money and often you have to let it go and focus on selling more inventory.  

[jffly]

would it be wise to add postage that needs to be signed for so there is proof of delivery sent back to you?

[ckimodog]

@jffly 

This thread is 3 years old.  I doubt the op is going to reply. 

[kh-cathy]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.