eBay

walkerfarm1108 · ‎10-14-2005

Word has gotten out in my small rural community that I am selling on eBay and I've been approached to sell a couple of items for someone else on commission. I read somewhere that some people do this for 20% if the item sells. I'm just wondering if any of you have experience with this and if you do, do you charge to ship the item for them? Do you list under your ID? Is it worth the effort, since time listing for someone else is time taken from my own listings. Anything you can educate me about, before I take this step, I'd like to know. Thanks.

scribble_on · ‎07-07-2012

I dont know about selling something I dont know nothing about.

I’ve sold a few things for friends, but it makes me nervous. One piece was something I’m not terribly familiar with, and the buyer – who paid a small fortune for it – was not happy with the condition when it arrived. Things ended okay; he was very understanding of the bad situation I was in, not knowing about the piece. I gave him a substantial partial refund, still made good money on the item, and he left me glowing feedback. But never again will I sell something based on someone else’s research/description.

If you decide to do it, I recommend setting up a separate ID for the consignment stuff. That way, if things go South, you still have your own ID to use.

BTW, I take half the sales price. Listing on Ebay is an enormous amount of work if you do it right, and I wouldn’t do it for less. It’s the same percentage I take on consignment items in my B&M.

oliver906susan · ‎07-07-2012

BTW, I take half the sales price. Listing on Ebay is an enormous amount of work if you do it right, and I wouldn’t do it for less. It’s the same percentage I take on consignment items in my B&M.

Do all of the fees come out of your 50%?

Founding member of the Pack of Disgruntled Failures.

city*satins · ‎07-08-2012

I operated on a 50/50 basis too. Nowadays, consignment stores are increasingly moving to 40/60 and do a heck of a lot less to sell the item.

50/50 is at least as good a deal as a consignment store offers, and there's no risk of shoplifters.

THIS SPACE LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK

scribble_on · ‎07-08-2012

Do all of the fees come out of your 50%?

Yup. The way I see it, Ebay fees are like my B&M expenses. I don't charge my consignors for credit card fees, or other costs associated with having a shop.

Some shops do, but I think giving the consignor the full 50% is a fair trade off for not having to risk my own money on those items.

scribble_on · ‎07-08-2012

Dang it Sue, your lines are contagious!

:^O

redbud_farm · ‎07-08-2012

i use consignment shops at times, high $$ items . and pay mostly 25% as items sell quickly at my required price. nothing under $100.

but selling on ebay for others is a different animal. first have the one bringing the items sign an agreement setting terms. and you keep the item , nothing like selling it and finding it's broke/sold/lost.

make sure that in the agreement they state they will not bid on any of your items while their items are listed. know where this caused a consigner some problems. she now gets their ebay id if they have one before accepting the item. then adds them to bbl

age is a measure of time , wisdom is the measure of how we used that time

discuss*stuff · ‎07-09-2012

As a general rule of thumb...I don't sell anything on eBay that I can't afford to lose.

ebay...the new spectator sport

sonic*bruise · ‎07-09-2012

Not to mention that as the seller,

you're on the hook for returns for 45 days.

Rather doubt the consigner will want to wait that long for their $$$$$

I've sold stuff for folks in the past,

mostly music and audio gear with which I am rather familiar.

I would never attempt it now, with the current seller climate.

oliver906susan · ‎07-09-2012

Dang it Sue, your lines are contagious!

:^O

Sorry - they come and go. Sometimes I just ge huge spaces!

Founding member of the Pack of Disgruntled Failures.

chickfillhay · ‎09-28-2012

Awesome! I would love a copy of that spreadsheat.

I have ladies in my area who want things sold for them. They also want me to teach a class. Either in their homes or at our local college. But I think selling the items individually would be the best don't you think?

Thanks