Advice For A First Time Seller

[uneasymamal536]

So I have been a member on eBay since last year and up until this point I have only been buying. I’ve got a lot of stuff I don’t use anymore (wallets, watches, collectibles) and I figure now is a good time to sell them for some extra cash. My problem is that some of my items that I wish to sell are quite expensive, and combined with the fact that I don’t have any feedback as a seller, I am worried that I may have trouble getting sales. I have about 8 or so positive feedbacks as a buyer, but nothing beyond that. Any advice would be much appreciated. 

[katzrul15]

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Take it slow.  Can you list some items that are not as expensive initially?  e-Bay may limit how much you can sell initially anyway, etc.  

Read as much as you can about listing, fees, selling requirements, returns, etc.  

And use this board (and others, especially shipping) as a sounding board to post questions, etc.

Buy your postage thru e-Bay - it is cheaper.  If you think you are going to sell a while, invest in a good small scale, they are not very expensive (about $22 on the River/free shipping).

Lastly, take good pictures and take a lot of them.  Especially for items that are used/previously enjoyed.  Note the defects, if any in the descriptions and in the pictures.

Good luck!  We were all you once - a Buyer, who decided to sell.  

[magicjohnsonsvariety]

Start with your lowest priced items first and move up from there. If there is demand for what you sell, sales won't be a problem...however, scammers might be. They look for new sellers, so educate yourself on ebay's policies first. Build up your Feedback using lower priced, commonly sold items...

Good Luck.

[kensgiftshop]

@uneasymamal536 

As a new seller, your monthly listing limit will be pretty low until you get a little selling experience.

Starting out, I wouldn't list anything you can't afford to give away.

[lamber9347]

@uneasymamal536 Well you had the right idea to post here and ask questions like this first, good for you. Online selling can be very fun and make you some extra money while decluttering your house. However there is much to learn so find some time to start reading this forum. Make sure you understand the policies on this platform. Any issues just come here and post them, you will receive some very good advice. 

You should start selling small items to build up feedback as a seller. As a new seller with low FB you will be a target for scammers, so get more experience before you list anything expensive. Do not list anything valuable for now. Make sure you leave FB for your buyers so that hopefully they will reciprocate. Concentrate on selling small items for now, then you can start listing higher priced items. Everything comes to those who wait. Best of luck to you....

[luckythewinner]

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@uneasymamal536 wrote:

My problem is that some of my items that I wish to sell are quite expensive, and combined with the fact that I don’t have any feedback as a seller, I am worried that I may have trouble getting sales. I have about 8 or so positive feedbacks as a buyer, but nothing beyond that. Any advice would be much appreciated. 

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There are 20 million active sellers, and all 20 million of them started out wih no feedback as a seller. 

That aside ... 

I would strongly suggest that you start with a few small items to get your feet wet. 

[hotspotauctions]

Definitly start small. The mantra here is don't sell anything you can't afford to lose. You mentioned wallets and watches. If you mean designer wallets and expensive watches,  you will be a potential target for scammers, especially with just a few feedback. Anything over $750 will need signature confirmation. I have not sold here in a while, but when I did, I did so with regard to weighing the risk of losing the item to the benifit of selling it.  My experience with fraud was maybe 2 transaction a year, and I sold a lot. But I sold mostly tools and industrial supply items, so I can't speak for other categories. 

[shadow_dave]

I have been an ebay member for about as long as ebay has existed. Sold quite a few used items over the years.

But recently sold a $100 set of weathertech mats for a car.

Long story short the buyer filed a fraudulent "not as described" claim...ebay automatically sided with the buyer even though I have written and photographic proof tha tthe item is EXACTLY as described.....and stuck me for almost $70 in shipping both ways, seller final value fees and paypal fees.

I am fighting to get my hard earned money back.....$70 on a $100 item!

[soh.maryl]

You have been given excellent advice by many buyers and sellers.  Please heed it, especially the part about starting out small.

Another suggestion I might make (and I feel strongly about this):  Please read eBay's Money Back Guarantee for buyers before you begin selling here.  You might point out that it's information for buyers and, yes, that's true.  But if you read it from a seller's perspective, you will see exactly what protection eBay offers buyers if/when a transaction goes wrong.   

Sometimes there are sellers who come to these boards and complain indignantly that a buyer has opened an item not as described case and the seller KNOWS for sure that the item is EXACTLY as described.  If that buyer opens an item not as described case, it doesn't matter what you know, eBay will be requiring you to accept the return and refund in full upon receipt.  Not trying to scare you away, just want you to know of the possibilities.

[duncanvr]

As a new seller I would AVOID selling expensive items until you learned all about known scams on ebay. New sellers are targeted by scammers. So take it slow learn some info on this board first there are plenty of post. List cheaper stuff first and make sure you ship as fast as possible. Make sure your shipping policy is set up from the word go that means block locations you don't feel comfortable shipping to.

[shadow_dave]

Wow.....my post was edited by the moderators of this forum ----

"Members are not permitted to tell others to stop selling on ____or to leave ____ for any reason, which includes promoting off ____ sites, groups, or forums by name or by providing links."

I wish they cared as much about  me losing money from a buyer who committed fraud as they are about their rep...LOL

[magicjohnsonsvariety]

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@shadow_dave wrote:

Wow.....my post was edited by the moderators of this forum ----

"Members are not permitted to tell others to stop selling on ____or to leave ____ for any reason, which includes promoting off ____ sites, groups, or forums by name or by providing links."

I wish they cared as much about  me losing money from a buyer who committed fraud as they are about their rep...LOL

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It's like the cop who writes a parking ticket while ignoring the bank robbery.

[iart]

My advice is to act professionally, take good care of your customers and avoid being greedy.

(and, like others suggest, start slow, small and less expensive)

[verdebeta]

I'm glad I read these posts.  I've never sold on-line before, but have a good buyer rating on eBay.  I've been considering decluttering my house, but I don't have a lot of free time.  I have books read once, CDs, DVDs, Christmas collectibles, clothing and more.  I like the idea of selling what items I can for a low price to "get my feet wet" and to avoid "scammers".  Could someone elaborate on how the scammers might scam me?  

Also, what kind of scales do I buy to weigh these items?  Do all items have to be weighed?  I thought I could just put my item in a shipping box.  As you can tell, this is the first time I've read anything so any advice will be appreciated! 

[katzrul15]

You can buy an inexpensive scale on here or amazon for $20 or less that will do the job initially.  You want to use e-Bay's postage if you can, as it is discounted off the USPS retail amounts and will save you money.

Lower feedback sellers are often an issue, but if you list items Fixed Price with immediate payment required, you should be fine for lower priced items.  Someone on here today (sorry, forget the seller - ) shared with another poster that they too sold DVDs, CDs, etc to build experience and feedback.  I remember reading that and thinking what an excellent idea that was.  Easy to pack and ship and get a feeling for how everything works.  That other poster's suggestion is a great one.

Fees can eat up your efforts - there are online calculators that help you figure out your fees, etc.

You will need to sign up for Managed Payments and attach a checking account to your Selling ID.  Many of us set up a separate one (lots of free ones) to keep the finance side of things separate from our home bank accounts, etc.

Many knowledgeable folks on this board and other boards (shipping, returns, payments) - read as much as you can and if you have questions, never hesitate to ask - someone will work to answer and guide you if they can.

Good luck to you and Happy Sales!