What's your favourite task relating to selling on eBay?
Now for a more fun topic... what's your favourite task in regards to selling on eBay? I realize everyone likes the ka-ching receiving money part, but if you didn't have sales to attend to on a particular day, what would you most like to be doing?
My favourite part is the treasure hunt to find things to list. On my most recent two trips I got some items to list and I have to say that day of sourcing was the most fun on the entire trip. It's kind of like having a psychological high searching through treasure, I feel like a kid at Christmas when I find something.
I was at the B&M store this past week doing some "looking around" as we call it when I go there to source. I found a box in a corner that had some stamp albums and I felt very excited digging through the box to see if there was anything good in there. I similarly like buckets of coins or tokens to fish around and see what I can find. I often focus on things I know are popular (especially if I know what it is, and the B&M store has no clue, I get my best stuff that way). I often get Arabic coins that they couldn't be bothered with identifying. As long as it's clear enough to take a good picture, I'm all for taking them for eBay.
I try to have at least one sourcing day each month at the store, and whatever I get to look at tends to be whatever's lying around that they haven't gotten to yet. (Or sometimes I get a text to come in and see if a collection interests me or not, that's pretty exciting, but only lasts for 30 minutes at lunch time). In the case when I'm offered, I usually take it home and have a good look there... it's so tempting to look through it when I'm supposed to be working, but I resist the urge until my shift is over (if I got it at lunch that is).
C.
hefor_21
·1 year agoI know I'm a bit of a weirdo, but I love listing items. I often run out of things to list and, oh no, I have to go shopping. lol
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@hefor_21
I wish I loved listing more -- I'm slow at it.
iwasl_55
·1 year agoEbay has taken all the fun out of doing anything. Back in the day, ebay was a super fun website that flourished. Not only could you find tons of cool, rare stuff for great deals, you could sell literally anything. But they sucked every last little bit of fun from this site. And scared away all the buyers and customers. Rare unique items just don't pop up on here that often anymore. This used to be a utopia of rare unique items. All for great prices.
I liked back in the day, going back like 20 years ago, when you could send offers at whatever rate you wanted. And I liked that you could set an auction, and a buy it now price at whatever price you wanted. Now ebay forces you to set the buy it now price 30% higher than the auction opening bid. And because there wasn't these insane fees, I could sell my stuff for cheap, and make a great profit. I could set an auction for $9, and the BIN price for $10. And it always guaranteed a sale. I wasn't trying to have a bidding war. I just wanted to sell my stuff for cheap. And back then, you got your money right away. None of this waiting 3 days. It was through paypal, which nobody liked. But at least you had it immediately.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 year ago@sin-n-dex
Thought of 1 more. It's more of a perk like receiving awesome happy feedback. I promote a portion of my items. Not because I want to. It is more because the eBay higher beings wrote it into some sort of a non written in stone requirement. First thing I do now when something sells is check to see if it sold as promoted and the fee involved. If it wasn't promoted makes my day someone was able to accidently find one of my listings just by using normal search!!! Big YAY when that happens!!!
Unfortunately buyers leaving feedback and items not selling when promoted are like spotting Sasquatch or the Loch Ness monster. Extremely rare occurrences.
coinslabz26
·1 year agoWell I imagine most of us are choosing to sell the items we enjoy ourselves, particularly in the collectables space (for me). Sourcing products can be very fun and there is always something cool to find, buy, or upgrade.
I had a friend when I was like 6 or something who was very into collecting rare action figures and comics. I remember us going to the store in 1992 looking for the old color changing Invisible women and the clear Ice Man that changed color when put in the freezer. Ever since then it was always a chase for that rare "thing". So I think that is what molded me and what I probably like the BEST. We would also buy trading cards looking for the rare bonus cards. We liked coins to but in that era the only way to find anything rare was at a coin shop. Funny too, I just got off the phone with him a little while ago as we remain really good friends.
There is a lot to like about the entire process. For me I also have a lot of fun hunting for rare die varieties on rare coins.
I enjoy working with a community of like minded collectors and I also have a very high repeat customer rate. It is awe inspiring to see how many repeat buyers thanks to ebay adding that new feature that identifies them at a glance. The selling recap email we just received also provided some UNREAL insight that was PLEASANTLY surprising.
I think just the culture, community, and products are all enjoyable!
pickapaper
·1 year agoIt's a lot more fun to buy than it is to sell and I love to buy!
My biggest self-satisfaction is when I come across something that I know absolutely nothing about but buy anyway, usually a group of items not a single item, "just from a gut feeling", and they sell very well. For example, one time I went to an estate sale that had a lot of craft items, which I know nothing about and do not mess with. I heard the person running the sale complain about "yarn" that was taking up so much space. I looked at what was there, it looked like really nice stuff and went over and asked the man how much he would take for all the yarn. All of it? Yes. He told me he would take $100 if I would just get it out of his way. I bought it and made over $3,000 selling it on eBay. Turned out the person whose estate sale it was, had been a textile artist and a lot of it was specialty stuff that was no longer available but buyers were still avidly looking for. This kind of thing has happened to me a few other times over the years.
Of course, we don't count all the items we buy that turn out to be duds or worth less than we paid!
luckythewinner
·1 year agoMy favorite task is withdrawing the profit from my eBay checking account.
sin-n-dex
OP1 year agoThat's everyone's favourite tasks!
But what would your favourite be if you had no sales for a few days?
C.
luckythewinner
·1 year agoI am on weekly payouts, so a few days would not matter.
Next up I would say is sourcing new inventory, or finding cool stuff in my unlisted inventory that I'd forgotten about.
yuzuha
·1 year agoDefinitely the sourcing, because I love playing crane games! There's no way I could possibly keep all of the prizes I win for myself even if I wanted to (I currently have 30+ prizes in the mail on the way to me from just the past two months of playing), so selling them to other people who want them is a win-win situation for me because I get to play to my heart's content without amassing piles and piles of prizes. 😊
stainlessenginecovers
·1 year agoMy FAVORITE task is getting on the Forum and telling others that....
F A V O R I T E does NOT have a 'U' in it!
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@stainlessenginecovers
It does if you're in Canada, as I believe OP is, and speak UK English.
dhbookds
·1 year agoOP is in Canada.........so has a choice
sin-n-dex
OP1 year agoSpell check on my computer tells me "favorite" is spelt wrong. I don't have auto-correct but do correct the underlined words because they bug me. Canadian English is mostly British English, but we have adapted some US spellings for things.
C.
sin-n-dex
OP1 year agoI write in British (Canadian) English, we put "u"s in everything. 🙂 Humour, Odour, Harbour...
C.
sreu3058
·1 year agoPicking out the free gift with purchase. I sell polished rocks/ cabochons/ some handmade jewelry, but I have a lot of natural polished cabochons I have collected over the years, and I select one to surprise gift with purchase I think will please the buyer. And, a happy kind review keep me going, too.
duffy4444
·1 year ago@sin-n-dex
Without a doubt, it's sourcing, especially dinnerware lately for resale on eBay as replacement pieces. I've finally located a store where I can get really good, high-quality name brand sets and partial sets at fantastic prices. In fact, I'll be the first one in the store tomorrow at 9am, when a Fukagawa set I'm looking at is an additional 50% off their already bargain prices. I also have learned a lot about the vintage dinnerware industry. Then looking thru my treasures at home and confirming the value of the stuff I get. For this, I always have 4 or 5 eBay tabs, one or two Amazon tabs, an Etsy tab and a Google search tab open on my laptop for pricing and listing. The time is quite enjoyable when I find I've made a great sourcing purchase.
I also really get a kick out of hitting estate sales, where showing up early and digging around produces probably the best prices. I put a lot of (deductible) miles on my car or truck, and always have boxes and tote bags inside ready to load up my goodies if I come across a good one. You'd be surprised to see just how little some places, including church rummage sales, will let some valuable things go for a really cheap price... that's where I'll be, and enjoying every minute of it.
Thanks, C, for encouraging us seller to take a step back and consider the enjoyment we do have, that all too often is crowded out by the difficult parts of being successful on eBay.
Cheers, Duffy
fbusoni
·1 year ago@duffy4444
Your post reminds me of the first purchase I ever made of dinnerware. I was at a local Goodwill, and espied these white, glossy plates with Peacocks printed on them. I picked one up and noticed that it was gleaming... upon further inspection it was clear that these items had never been used (no utensil markings on them, pristine condition). There were about a dozen of them, and the price was $2.99 each.
I did a quick search on Google and decided to invest in them to resell. I listed them and within an hour they were sold. I was hooked.
In the years since, I have found some exquisite dinnerware -- so rare, in fact, that Replacements in North Carolina has contacted me to ask about purchasing from me. (They are such utter cheapskates that it's impossible to have a rational conversation with them.)
I never have been able to figure out how brand new porcelain like this ends up in a thrift shop. I see it all the time. Any thoughts?
duffy4444
·1 year agoGreetings, @fbusoni ,
I certainly identify with your experience. The same thing happened to me, only I have yet to run across such beautiful peacock plates. But I'm still searching for really good stuff with anticipation a couple days a week, and have a fun time doing so. I currently have my eyes on a set of unused Lenox Chesapeake (no utensil marks, chips or wear) at one of my sources, but they still want too much for it. I'll have to wait for the next 5th weekend in a month, when everything in the store is 50% off. The thrill is waiting and hoping no one else picks it up and takes it home before me.
Dinnerware is now becoming the largest part of my inventory alongside needlecraft and patterns, and I've gotten the pricing, photography, and listing down to a science for my store. The only drawback is my wife wanting to know how soon I'll clear off the dining table so we can eat like real people.
In my previous post I forgot to mention I have an additional tab set up for Replacements in NC, which is a really good benchmark site for costs and rarity. I have yet to see them contact me, but maybe someday.
Here's one Soko China item I just listed yesterday. I picked it up at an estate sale last week for two bucks, and I can't even find it at Replacements:
Cheers, Duffy
gloryglorygifts
·1 year agoMy favorite thing on ebay is when I get a nice feedback from someone that recognizes the extra touches I put into the packaging or how quick they receive it. I also love when customers send me a message to let me know what they are doing with the purchase and who it may be for. I've gotten into some really nice chats with my customers over the years and that is just so rewarding.
BTW, you should check out my feedback from this week. One of them has a unique way of displaying the item received in the photo. It certainly made my month. It's unlike any I have ever seen. https://www.ebay.com/fdbk/feedback_profile/gloryglorygifts
sin-n-dex
OP1 year agoThat's awesome feedback!
I like getting those too, but it's not frequent. Most feedback says things like "as described, shipped fast, well packaged".
C.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·1 year ago@gloryglorygifts So, you think you would sell more, or fewer, necklaces if your buyer would model them for you like he did in the feedback photo?
gloryglorygifts
·1 year agoWell, since you can't really see the medal that would be a hard call to make. LOL
candd205
·1 year agoHe's very excited about his purchase. Great job.
gloryglorygifts
·1 year ago😂😂😂or he's cold. LOL, but thanks.
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@gloryglorygifts
I, too, have enjoyed some very nice chats with customers about how much they love and appreciate the items they've purchased from me and about life, in general.
As a general rule, after all the pleasant chit-chat, these are the customers who do NOT leave feedback. 😣
gloryglorygifts
·1 year agoLOL, 100% right.
iamthecrosseyedcow
·1 year agoOoh, another fun thread!! My favorites are three:
1. Sourcing, of course. Estate sales are far and away my favorites. I can always find a treasure or two that was over-looked...or a LOT of treasures that are under-priced, depending upon the estate sale company.
2. "The game". We're retired - I no longer have shops of my own and am too old to start a new one(s). Tempting sometimes, but we like our freedom. But, I still love the game of selling, which is why I am here after 25 years and counting on eBay (with a much reduced store) and why we now have too many booths in several in other people's shops. It does keep one active.
3. I love researching and waste a lot of time on it. I'm fairly good at it, but NOT efficient and so often find myself about 10 degrees of separation from what I was originally trying to learn.
allstar-comics
·1 year agoYou make the money buying so sourcing quality stuff that will sell for a good profit is my favorite part
meme6253
·1 year agoReceiving my money!
sin-n-dex
OP1 year agoI like that too, but I qualified my question "if you didn't have any sales right now", so no sales means no money. I figured everyone's favourite task would be getting paid, but what do you like doing when things aren't selling? (Complaining about no sales in the forum is a valid answer to this question).
C.
chapeau-noir
·1 year ago1. Research on interesting items.
2. Putting photos 📸 📷 through post.
candd205
·1 year agoSourcing is my favorite too. But I also really enjoy getting feedback from the buyer that describes a personal connection they have with the item and why they really wanted it. For instance I once sold doll magazines from the 80's. A doll artist featured in the magazine bought that issue. She told me she originally had a big box of the issue, but gave them all away over the years and was so glad to get the issue again. I thought that was sweet. Also sold an apron to a lady who had the same apron and it finally wore out, and the apron was produced by her uncle who was long gone. I also had postcards from an attache to another country purchased by the great nephew of the attache. I like these meaningful exchanges.
dhbookds
·1 year agoHunting is a close 2nd........but the research is more fun to me. Finding out how things were made, when, what the companies produced.......always interesting. Popcorn wall hangings are an example, lol.....
https://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20080407/NEWS/304079956/kage-s-colorful-glitter-plaques-fade-to-black
sin-n-dex
OP1 year agoI read all the replies, thanks so much for sharing!
Seems like sourcing is a number one favourite here, I think liking to source is what got us selling in the first place. I was always interested in coins and stamps, but when I learnt I could make money selling them instead of spending money on collecting, it seemed like a perfect fit. So now I get to do my hobby and find loving homes for my items at the same time.
C.
tarotfindsandmore
·1 year agoThank you for starting this thread. It's been a great reprieve from all the pissing and moaning we usually see.
You're a 100% correct in my case. When I hit 1k tarot decks in my own collection I knew it was time to pare down and come back here to do it. The rest of the things in my store are things that catch my eye that I would have collected or purchased to wear as a young woman. I don't like clutter and I do enjoy shopping for beautiful, often pointless, things. Selling on eBay allows me to cover both bases.
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@tarotfindsandmore
"I don't like clutter and I do enjoy shopping for beautiful, often pointless, things. Selling on eBay allows me to cover both bases.:"
THIS!!
chevymontecarlo88
·1 year ago@sin-n-dex
I also like finding home for the instruments i purchase. Finding someone that appreciates the historical and playability is rewarding. Another thing i find rewarding is educating those who have no idea of what they have that they want to sell. I built my reputation as someone who will help those get a fair price for their heirlooms/instruments where others (dealers) will take advantage of them. It's not always about the purchase/sale. Relationships (which some i have lasted for decades) is the key to success in what i do but the hunt for the grail is the most exciting.
fern*wood
·1 year agoDefinitely experiencing the rush of adrenaline I get when I stumble on to a great rummage sale in my spare time and fill my suv with boxes---then going through them at home.
sin-n-dex
OP1 year agoI think adrenaline sums it up... I feel like I'm on a high when I'm looking through stuff and finding good stuff to sell... if there isn't good stuff to sell and it's all junk, I'm not feeling so excited.
Who needs to do drugs when you get get high looking through a box of treasures?
C.
fbusoni
·1 year agoI love packing boxes. There is something wonderfully indescribable to me about carefully wrapping up something special that someone has ordered. Not sure I can explain why... possibly because when I was a child such gifts were few and far between as we were not well off.
Otherwise, my favorite eBay-related thing to do is to visit one or two charity shops in my area. I am retired and am thus able to drive around whilst the rest of the world is at the office. I would discuss some of the goodies that I have found recently, but I do not want anyone to feel envious. ðŸ˜
jg.mason
·1 year agoI'll go with high school here. I like the treasure hunt and then playing with my vintage stereo equipment.
allthingssurplus
·1 year agoAre we in high school or business. How about talking about how to increase sales and how we can get eBay to repair all the poor working programs.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·1 year ago@allthingssurplus I started a new thread on that topic, so feel free to discuss there.
@sin-n-dex sourcing/researching what I sourced if necessary. Definitely my favorite part.
fbusoni
·1 year ago@allthingssurplus
You? In high school.
For taking yourself SO seriously. 😅
fern*wood
·1 year agoI can't imagine what your least favorite tasks must be.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 year ago@allthingssurplus
@fern*wood
@sin-n-dex
Re: Least favourite
If i had to choose one it would be attempting to get a hold of eBay to fix known issues in a timely manner. Apologies for that. I slipped on my optimistic side getting out of bed this morning!!!!
sin-n-dex
OP1 year agoI have quite a few "least favourite" tasks... pretty much anything bookkeeping, doing listings on complicated items that require more detailed descriptions, and tracking down everything that's sold to ship it (shipping not so bad, but tracking them down can be a pain, especially if I spend 30 minutes trying to find one thing).
And of course it's a given that we all hate dealing with irate customers.
C.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoStanding barelegged in a vat of battery acid and repeatedly banging one's self on the head with a rubber mallet. I know that's MY least favorite task.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoOh, don't be a grinch! Those two topics are endlessly regurgitated here. Why not have a fun topic?
monroe67
·1 year ago"@allthingssurplus wrote:
"Oh, don't be a grinch!"
Grinch ? Scrooge !!
rileydone
·1 year agoI mostly sell rubber & clear stamp sets and my favorite thing to do, is to make a greeting card, that goes with that stamp set. Picking out the colors and design, gives me a lot of creative joy. The buyers get the card when they buy the stamps and so my little art projects are all over the country. Customers have told me they enjoy seeing how to use the stamp sets and love that they get the actual card. Lots of repeat customers.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 year ago@sin-n-dex
One of mine has always been the getting stuff from A to B. What I have done most of my working life. Shipping to anywhere and everywhere. Over the past almost 20 years I have shipped to approx. 75 countries world wide, all the States and Provinces + the far north. US Air Force bases in at least 5 countries and several located in the USA. Also have shipped to the Canadian embassy in Sweden and 1 strange order addressed to Canada Post. Not complaining. All good when any parcels arrives as addressed and customer is a happy foreigner. 😉
Now with duty/tax being collected all over the place, packaging regulations and the new rules for shipping to the UK this has become much more challenging. Throw in how expensive it has gotten shipping internationally and doing it safely it definitely is not for the faint of heart!! Especially for items of lower value.
#2 would be doing the research of my finds.
#3 Money arriving to my bank account isn't bad either!!!
1786davycrockett
·1 year agoOh, very easily the hunt!
When my wife and I plan an out-of-town trip, I naturally scope out the surrounding area, for used book stores, antique shops, flea markets and thrift stores.
It never ceases to amaze me, the numbers of small, hole-in-the-wall joints that still don't bother to research their inventory on-line -- I have uncovered so many rare items in that fashion, simply because the store owner was simply overwhelmed with too much inventory.
One of our annual getaways is about 2 hours north -- we've been visiting there nearly every year for about 30 years. And, each time, I always have that urgent itch of anticipation: what will I find inside that old church basement this year? And, without fail, I walk out with a couple boxes of old books that the proprietor (bless you, Mark!) just can't be bothered to research.
The hunt has always been more fun than the selling itself -- and I've been "on the prowl" for over 60 years now.
Time, maybe, to leave a few scraps for the young'uns to scavenge. . ..
richard1rst
·1 year agoHaving made my fortune I now get to Metaphorically smell the roses. (Some of you have seen my classic cars).
I am a retired custom cabinet and woodworker - but I still have a full workshop. So on slow days, returning to my roots, I am doing a full house remodel. In years past, I was always building other people's designs where budget was always a consideration (or I didn't get the job). But now I get to do my own designs. Given that the first line of my will says "Being of sound mind and body I spent every danged penny I had before I died" (wish I could see my heirs faces) budget is no longer a consideration. Top Drawer all the way.
One long stairway just going up and one even longer coming down. And one more going nowhere - just for show.
bashort
·1 year agobuying stuff to sell , I love it so much that if I never bought another thing I will probably never get everything that I already have listed.
mr_lincoln
·1 year ago@sin-n-dex
Using the Scheduler once I have a bunch of listings in the same category ready to go live. It is especially useful for Auction format so they can be set to end on specific times sequentially ending "X" number of minutes apart.
The other benefit is once they are in the Scheduled file I can go in and Add my Notes which designate which inventory lot they are from so when they sell I know where to record the sale price. I wish Notes could be added in the Listing tool then I could just add it when I create the listing.
chevymontecarlo88
·1 year agoSourcing for sure. Especially when i get a call/lead about a vintage instrument and the details about it are unknown or somewhat limited. It still gets me going.
pastimpressions
·1 year agoComposing feedback for a valued customer who has expressed true satisfaction in what they have purchased/received from me.
This is a double delight when it is one of my repeat customers!
The single greatest experience in the whole process is knowing that an item I love has found a happy home and will be equally loved, utilized and appreciated. That is truly gratifying.
It is a poetic closure to the dance of the sale, the careful packaging, the shipment & the delivery.
It is the release of all tension in the anticipation of order fulfillment.
It may sound like corn straight of the cob, but this is on a former Boy Scout's Honor 🇺🇸
fashunu4eeuh
·1 year agoMy absolute favorite part is doing the research on interesting items i unearth. Things that my gut instincts say could do well on eBay.
lakefor94
·1 year agoSometimes I have a pickup truck load. (6 foot bed with a full topper, backseat and passenger seat full. On occasion, I have to take the 16' flatbed and pickup 2 or 3 wrapped pallets as well.
I get a kick out of sorting thru it and picking out the expensive and popular items. Those get listed 1st.
There are some items that I have to figure out exactly what they are and what they are used for. I run across some very nice surprises at times, monetarily. Fortunately, most items have a part number so it ain't that hard most of the time, but still interesting.
casprrr
·1 year agoI love treasure hunting! Unfortunately I end up buying a lot more inventory than I sell, but it's enjoyable. I also love researching and learning about the antique glassware that is my specialty.
tarotfindsandmore
·1 year agoI love love love sourcing for my store! I sell only fun, frivolous things. 99% of what I source I would never dream of buying for myself.
buyselljack2016
·1 year agoTransferring the $$ from my linked checking account after a payout would likely be my favorite task🤣