eBay

blingygirl57 · ‎07-26-2016

I was in the fine jewelry industry 23 years and I'm also a gemologist with technical expertise on stones, metals, labor and fabrication cost. I had been on Ebay before and listed a few modest value items not wanting to list my better pieces right away by testing the waters. I last month listed 20 items a few of those were better jewelry pieces. I've sold a few this month but notice paypal and ebay fees are taking a big bite . I'm seriously concidering not relisting or new listing my best expensive jewelry. I'm getting ridiculous lowball offers even on signed and designer items. I'm not desperate and the quality of buyer is bottom feeder types. I know finding a bargain is great but when I take the time and research to list my items against exact item listings and still get lowballed it's time to look at other selling avenues.

mstcwrld7 · ‎10-03-2016

Sorry to be repetiotious if other postershave said the same thing -- but OP you cannot expcect to get retail prices for new or modern jewelry on this site, particularly if what you are sellign is a common form. In that case youa re lucky to get more than what is considered wholesale.

If you are selling vintage Tiffanyor Cartier or rare NA jewelry or other desinger jewelry you may get closest to retail for these pieces.

I take B/Os on some items and have just been working on accessing a listing form that allows me to set my own minimum offers.

Some ebay buyers will offer scrap, or less, if they can. If there is no minimum offer on your listings. You have to exercise discipline not to let those bother you, if you get them.

When you,list an item click on Advanced at upper right of your screen a,nd you should see an advanced listing form with more options including minimum B/Os. If you are a small seller ebay will advise you not to use the Advanced form but you can ignore this and use it anyway if you want to.

o

If you cannot -- or do not want to -- use the Advanced form and you get ridiculous offers just hit the Decline button to get rid of them.

blingygirl57 · ‎10-03-2016

Thanks, my original post was over 3 more ago. If I had signed pieces I would leave them on consignment with a set min price I would accept. I chose not to relist items for now. I have a lot of items from a family estate which I'll hold for now. EBay is basically a garage sale.

mstcwrld7 · ‎12-16-2016

I have posted my views on this thread before but I will again, as it is not only the totally ridiculous low ball offers that are bothering me.

It is almost Christmas, and we are getting offers that are too low, on some of our best items. People want items that are worth hundreds of dollars, and they make an issue of a few dollars on shipping. We are not going to skimp on shipping -- and the necessary packing -- to make a bargain hunter feel that he/she has "won", especially at this time.

If a package gets lost or damaged we lose.

I would not call ebay a garage sale but the fact is most buyers are looking for a bargain. Some just want an item that is not easily or conveniently available where they are and sometimes these will pay a fair (retail) price. Most won't. Where a seller will hold the line is a decision that must be made over and over again. Some people will send you offers in a message even when you have listed at BIN wihtout a best offer option.

Right now we've been busy and not in the frame of mind to compromise too much on the price of our best items.

I think a seller really needs to make an accurate assessment of the desirability and rarity of each item. Some items we are glad to sell. On our best and rarest items we will wait for the appreciative and fair buyer who does come along, sooner or later, for those items.

But I repeat that modern jewelry is among the least rare items on the site. Even a diamond -- there are bound to be hundreds of items just like your diamond listed here. Most buyers look for the lowest price on a diamond of a given size, grade,color, etc.

Them's the facts..

distelfink · ‎03-22-2017

"I feel your pain !" I have been selling antique paper and rare books for more than 30 years. And I am a charter member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABA), so "I know my stuff !" I, too get very annoyed when I receive a ridiculously low offer for a fine, rare book. These "low ballers" are flea market shoppers and I am insulted by low ball offers ! I do "build a cushion" in my listing price of 20%, so I can do some negotiating, but it's absurd when you receive of $22 for an item you listed for $95 ! When this happens, I BLOCK the low ball bidder, so I don't have to deal with them in the future ! Happy Ebaying 🙂

pauliesthriftshop2016 · ‎03-22-2017

I would never sell jewelry or anything over $100 on ebay or anything i was afraid to lose. The scammers thrive here.

*cityofangels · ‎04-28-2017

When you sell by BEST OFFER look out becuse your going to get every nutball out there. I have no sympathy for a seller who selected that selling option. Buyer's are not mind readers and a seller may take a price one day they would not have taken a week ago. If you are thin skinned you don't want to sell on Ebay anyway. That being said as a Top Rated Power Seller, I only list with BEST OFFER when I'm fishing the market. Set your own price on BUY IT NOW and don't play the victim! You said in your post yourself you wanted to TEST the market. PS If you END an AUCTION early Ebay charges as if it SOLD! YEEKS!!!

ceara2002 · ‎04-28-2017

I'm selling from my personal collection, too, and I know what you mean about ridiculous offers on fine jewelry.

That said, I list as much information as possible about my pieces, including millimeter, approximate carat weight, size of the piece per se, weight, whether it has little or no scratches, stamps and markings, etc.

Vintage or new. Yada, yada. Yep, I've had the low ballers. Then once in a while I sell a piece. I've gone too low on some, but I want to move product. Will I sell a $1000 ring for $500? Nope. Will I sell it for $700? Depends on how badly I want to sell it and if the buyer has a fast pay feedback.

Hope this helps. All good advice here.

apache08 · ‎04-28-2017

I use auto decline but still receive those offers.

castlemagicmemories · ‎04-28-2017

Thread from 2016

d-k_treasures · ‎05-01-2017

@*cityofangels wrote:

When you sell by BEST OFFER look out becuse your going to get every nutball out there. I have no sympathy for a seller who selected that selling option. Buyer's are not mind readers and a seller may take a price one day they would not have taken a week ago. If you are thin skinned you don't want to sell on Ebay anyway. That being said as a Top Rated Power Seller, I only list with BEST OFFER when I'm fishing the market. Set your own price on BUY IT NOW and don't play the victim! You said in your post yourself you wanted to TEST the market. PS If you END an AUCTION early Ebay charges as if it SOLD! YEEKS!!!

That ONLY applies to actual auction listings with one or more bids - not BIN or BIN/BO listings.

_____________________________
"Nothing is obvious to the oblivious"

richdor9230 · ‎09-05-2017

Hello to you all . I am fairly new in selling on Ebay and am just irritated at some of the offers I get on very high end pieces. Just yesterday, some joker offered me a $1000 offer on an item that is listed for over $4000. I am not as credentialied as the original poster of this thread but I do know the value of things that I own and am aware of the escalating rise in gold prices recently. I could sell this piece for scrap and get more than the offer which was made. I did not bother to counter offer ---why? Because people like these are trying to capitalize on your perceived ignorance or financial distress, of which I am not at all. I even had one potential buyer try to bully me into selling a bracelet , knowing I don't offer returns . It was an exercise in futility in telling this person that I did not care that they thought I was not accommodating to them . I sell the way I wish to and make the decisions about my selling restrictions. I eventually blocked this person .

I am totally cogniscent that everyone loves a good bargain , me too, but dealing with insulting offers is getting me down. I know there are other avenues for sellers besides Ebay but right now, this is the best option for me. Please don't think I am whining---I am just flabergasted at some the things that I experienced so far. Thanks for listening to my venting over a frustration which I know many of you have when selling on Ebay.

reallynicestamps · ‎09-05-2017

I was not willing to give them half the selling price for using case space.

Aaah-- You have never worked in retail.

The markup on jewelry is huge, around 400% .

And most of that is overhead on the stuff that doesn't sell.

The jeweller is lucky if his supplier will take returns on unsolds.

Only 50% for secure handling, in showcase, by a trusted jeweller, to verified customers, is a great deal. Grab it!

And let the guy make a profit.

EBay /Paypal charges about 20% of your selling and shipping price. Your customer pays for packaging and shipping, but you are taking the chance of 'shoptheft' when a scammer claims Not As Described.

Some categories are worse for scamming than others.

You have to make your items seem attractive to real customers but show that you didn't fall off the turnip truck at birth.

The suggestion that you include your Gemologist certification is very useful.

reallynicestamps · ‎09-05-2017

Just notced you revived a very old Zombie thread.

But I think most of the advice still holds.

some joker offered me a $1000 offer on an item that is listed for over $4000.

Listed by you? Or is that the manufacturer's suggested list price? Or what you originally paid?

Markups in jewellry are very high to cover the overhead costs of the unsolds.

but I do know the value of things that I own

If you paid $4000 and were offered $1000 that's about what the jeweller you bought from paid. In other words wholesale.

Keep in mind, that you bought at retail and your piece probably did not go up in value.

and am aware of the escalating rise in gold prices recently.

http://www.bullion-rates.com/gold/USD/Year-1-chart.htm

I guess this is another Trump effect like the drop in the US dollar that has made our Canadian loonie rise annoying Canadian eBay sellers.

I eventually blocked this person .

Sensible move. Never respond to a bully.

You may also want to add automatic Blocks to your Seller Preferences against bidders with Unpaid Item Strikes, inactive or no Paypal accounts, or certain destinations.

You may also be happier using the Global Shipping Program (spit spit spit) for international sales.

dealing with insulting offers is getting me down.

Set an auto-decline on Best Offers.

You won't even see the lowballers and cherry pickers.

rixstuff · ‎09-06-2017

@reallynicestamps wrote:
I was not willing to give them half the selling price for using case space.

Aaah-- You have never worked in retail.
The markup on jewelry is huge, around 400% .
And most of that is overhead on the stuff that doesn't sell.
The jeweller is lucky if his supplier will take returns on unsolds.

Only 50% for secure handling, in showcase, by a trusted jeweller, to verified customers, is a great deal. Grab it!
And let the guy make a profit.

EBay /Paypal charges about 20% of your selling and shipping price. Your customer pays for packaging and shipping, but you are taking the chance of 'shoptheft' when a scammer claims Not As Described.
Some categories are worse for scamming than others.
You have to make your items seem attractive to real customers but show that you didn't fall off the turnip truck at birth.
The suggestion that you include your Gemologist certification is very useful.

May I also add that if you really want nothing less than $4K for your item, Ebay probably isnt the place to sell it. You might consider a local jewelry shop or a high end auction house. Sure you see LISTINGS with those prices, but do you find any sales? Probably not. This is a big electronic flea market. There arent many folks who would PAY that much and there is all kinds of risk for YOU as a seller of such a high end item. Search for the same item, price accordingly, and decide if Ebay will work for you on this item.

rixstuff · ‎09-06-2017

but I do know the value of things that I own

The regulars will roll their eyes as I reiterate (they have seen it a thousand times) that an item is only "worth" what someone will pay you for it. If you receive many "lowball" offers, that may be the market telling you what it is really "worth" - not what you paid, not what you want, what it is "worth" to them. An unsold item is "worth" nothing.