Listing items for a friend - but she takes photos & posts - what to charge?

[bravelygoods]

I have seen a few discussions about what to charge when selling for others on a consignment basis, but I'm in a different situation.

I'm considering selling goods for someone interstate.  She would take photos of the item and send me any measurements, etc.  I will edit photos, research prices, prepare the listing and respond to queries. Then she would post the item or meet buyer for pickup.  So essentially, I am just providing a listing service for her... researching and then putting the ad on eBay.  What commission would be fair to charge for this? 

[femmefan1946]

I would strongly advise you that you and she set up her own eBay account and that she not piggyback on yours.

If anything goes wrong with shipping, and shipping is the hardest part of selling online, then the complaints come to the holder of the account.

And that should be your friend.

Now, all your work becomes a job. How many minutes will it take you to"edit photos, research prices, prepare the listing and respond to queries. "?

Rather than a commission on sold items, you should charge her an hourly wage, because you are doing the work whether the item sells or not.

The minimum wage here in BC is 18 cents a minute. Is the work you will be doing more skilled than minimum wage cleaning or cashier or receptionist?

I don't usually quote Scripture but :

1 Timothy 5:18-- "The worker is worthy of his wages."

Or more secularly:

Well, maybe I'm not a fancy gentleman like you, with your... very fine hat. But I do business. We're here for business.-- Captain Malcolm Reynolds

[rolenboy01]

I would strongly advise against listing anything for someone else on your account.

[aramintaca]

Tell her to create an account in her name and you will manage it for her? IDK, this is still a quick way to end a friendship. How much is an hour of your time worth? Charge her that amount for work you do.ell her your price first and see if she likes your terms.

[labs118]

even ebay Valet has item on hand to list
Your going to take long distance word for condition of an item that you will be listing, can possibly get an  get an Item not as described case opened on ?

how do you answer questions on items you can't look at & then answer ?
You going to hold the money for up to 30 days under ebay MBG and 180 days on Paypal ?
Can't tell you what to charge because I would never do it.

I have sold items for very close friends for free but I have them here on hand
Agree with others , think your friend should open up their own account

Good luck to you
 
 

[ersatz_sobriquet]

It all comes down to whose paypal account. Who's responsible for the money end? 

[retrose1]

Do not do this - IT IS A SCAM.

Let me repeat - It is a SCAM.

In case you missed the important word - - - SCAM!!!!!!!

You do the listing and they control the item spells your account will be left with INR/SNAD disputes. 

How are you going to pay this person?  If she has a paypal account then you will be doomed.

I sell on consignment for a couple of friends and ex customers and I ALWAYS have the item in my hands.  The owner is not allowed to keep the item in their posession.  My reasons to the owner is that is so I can answer any questions that come up and I can know the condition and how it was packed in case there is a problem.

And I charge 50% and I pay the fees and one person (with high dollar watches that I don't list on ebay anymore because of the scam potential) wrote the listings for me.  I used to charge one third and they pay the ebay/paypal fees but that was a lot of paperwork to explain and usually came up to the same amount., so I switched to 50% flat for everything.

Think about what will happen if a problem comes up - who will end up paying for the problem in money and reputation.   If you do not have a plan for how to get paid now, what is your plan in case there is a INR or SNAD problem?  Who will end up losing the money in case of scam?  This is what you have to consider long before you start making listings. 

And make sure that you get the terms down in writing with signatures long before you start listing for them.

[dhbookds]

Assuming you are using your account.......she needs to pay the listing costs (if you are going to use your free listings, need to charge what it will actually cost to list).....and fvf off the top.  And remember to keep charging listing cost each month, if it doesn't sell immediately.

From there, the two of you need to make some decisions........I would not bother with anything less than $30 price  (recognizing that it may have to be lowered).  Then what % to you......again, I would go for 30-40%.  You need to sit down and do some real life examples to show that the fees + your % is going to lower her take considerably and be SURE she understands that.  Then decisions about how to handle returns....she would obviously have to refund thru you, but do you refund your fees.......and when do you pay her, so you don't get stuck with covering a return later.

Then you need to consider the income tax consequences to you.  I have no idea how Australia works, but here, without reporting all this, the sales would be considered taxable to you.......

If she is going to mail at the PO........you/she would lose whatever discount ebay may/may not offer on line and then she will have to send the tracking info to you to enter into ebay.  You do put your account at some risk.....that she mails on time/gets the tracking # to you in time, and the packing is done well.

It does get complicated....just some thoughts.

[a_c_green]

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@karen_0404 wrote:

I'm considering selling goods for someone interstate.  She would take photos of the item and send me any measurements, etc.  

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Maybe we should just clarify up front: do you even know this person? If it's your Aunt Martha, then we can rule out a scam and talk about this some more. If it's just someone who contacted you regarding a "business proposal" or some such thing, then we can stop right here.

Basically, you're taking on all the risk with what you're describing, and odds are that it will not end well. Your role here seems to be mainly noodling around on the computer without actually having any first-hand knowledge of what you're listing, not to mention how or when it gets shipped, etc., sort of like dropshipping but on a more amateur level, it seems.

If this is someone you care about, get them trained in doing this all themselves. If they cannot master operating a computer, I would not want to rely on them for any of the other tasks involved in selling here. That may be kind of blunt, but selling is not for everyone, and in the arrangement you've described, you seem to be taking all of the risk for both of you. If they go down, they'll take your account with them.

[siayan]

 You are putting yourself and your eBay account at too much risk. There are so many potential problems that are out of your control. Avoid this at all cost.

[papermoneyforme]

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@karen_0404 wrote:

I have seen a few discussions about what to charge when selling for others on a consignment basis, but I'm in a different situation.

I'm considering selling goods for someone interstate.  She would take photos of the item and send me any measurements, etc.  I will edit photos, research prices, prepare the listing and respond to queries. Then she would post the item or meet buyer for pickup.  So essentially, I am just providing a listing service for her... researching and then putting the ad on eBay.  What commission would be fair to charge for this? 

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You are asking for too many issues which could jeopardize your own account.

Tell your friend no, have him/her set up their own account and help him/her along with it.

[partial*eclipse]

If this is not somebody close to you, then it's a scam.

If this IS a friend or relative, you are still at risk for a huge variety of headaches, many of them financial.

Don't do it!

[retrose1]

OP, years ago there was a girl that came here who was being scammed by the very situation you describe.  She was pregnant and looking for ways to make extra money and had a small ebay account that she was selling a few low cost items on.  Some here might remember it.

She listed the items for the other person - it was high demand tech stuff, and the owner did all the work of picture taking, writing the description, packing and shipping - well, they didn't do the last two.  

What the owner of the items needed was a clean ebay account and a naive account holder.  And they hit the pregnant girl hard, when the INR disputes rolled in she was going to be out thousands, money she didn't have because the payment had been deposited into the owners pal account because they needed the money to ship the items and that made sense to the girl.  Not sure what heppened to her, it was a mess.

OP, insist that you have the items in your posession, if for nothing else so you can do the proper research on them and judge the condition for yourself.  Once you stand firm on that, the odds are good they will go away to find someone else to mess with.

If they are good with that, then come back and I can post some basics that you should include in your contract with them.  And as I said upthread, make sure that everything is written down with signatures, because that will save a lot of arguements later.  Even family members will fight about money.

[lintbrush*]

I would NOT list anything I can't put my hands on.  If there are going to be any mistakes relating to the item or completing the sale which could affect my account, they are going to be mistakes I made.

If your friend is going that far, then they may as well list it on their own account.  You can charge a consulting & research fee  

[starroute-us]

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@retrose1 wrote:

OP, years ago there was a girl that came here who was being scammed by the very situation you describe.  She was pregnant and looking for ways to make extra money and had a small ebay account that she was selling a few low cost items on.  Some here might remember it.

She listed the items for the other person - it was high demand tech stuff, and the owner did all the work of picture taking, writing the description, packing and shipping - well, they didn't do the last two.  

What the owner of the items needed was a clean ebay account and a naive account holder.  And they hit the pregnant girl hard, when the INR disputes rolled in she was going to be out thousands, money she didn't have because the payment had been deposited into the owners pal account because they needed the money to ship the items and that made sense to the girl.  Not sure what heppened to her, it was a mess.

OP, insist that you have the items in your posession, if for nothing else so you can do the proper research on them and judge the condition for yourself.  Once you stand firm on that, the odds are good they will go away to find someone else to mess with.

If they are good with that, then come back and I can post some basics that you should include in your contract with them.  And as I said upthread, make sure that everything is written down with signatures, because that will save a lot of arguements later.  Even family members will fight about money.

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Hi Rose,:)

I agree.

That was my first thought also as I was reading this thread..:(

@bravelygoods

JUst say no, it is a SCAM:(