Damaramu 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 Ok so I'm considering selling some old useless junk on EBay. Have any of you ever sold anything on EBay? If so do they really rape you out the ass with those charge? Because it sure looks like they take a lot of money off of what you're making in the end. 5.25% off of items up to 25.00 to be precise. So is it actually profitable to do this or just a big hassle? Also does anyone have a PayPal account? I need one so that people can pay me with it but that also seems like a hassle because you have to go through them crediting like .37 to your account and then checking the transaction and getting back with them and all kinds of other shit that seems like a big hassle with my bank. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the max 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 That bank account thing isn't so much a pain in the ass when you consider how much of a headache it saves you in the long run. God forbid you check an online statement once a day. It took two days for it to appear in my online statement and everything was verified and setup five minutes later. ebay's fine, as long as there's actual value in what you're selling. Don't sell crap that nobody wants, sell electronics, dvd's and sports stuff and you'll be fine. And be prepared as a seller for every excuse in the fucking book when someone suddenly decides that they don't want the item that they won the auction for. And be prepared for bitching and moaning if you give neutral or negative feedback on one of those people. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mole 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 Stop it Dam, eBay is legit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 I know they're legit I'm just wondering if all the paying and shipping turns into a hassle in the end and if Ebay charges you out the ass when you sell something so that in the end you're left with a couple of bucks. Well I'm testing the service out. I put an old Magic Booster pack I found up to be sold. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Princess Leena Report post Posted January 13, 2006 I used to sell games on there. You'll definitely make a profit selling those, but the hassle can get to be high. Have to buy the bubblewrap envelopes to put them in, wait for someone to buy, send it all out, hope everything goes right. After a friend got royally screwed (lost a few hundred dollars) by someone bullshitting that he never got his order... I didn't want to take any more chances. eBay will always side with buyer, so beware. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mik 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 Well, if you ship within the United States, you will be covered by Paypal seller protection plan as long as you ship with delivery confirmation. It was .55 extra, but with the new rate increase at the post office - I'm not sure what it is now. I've sold hundreds of items, and was even briefly a powerseller. eBay sent me a whole bunch of free stuff after that. It's almost impossible to sell stuff with 0 feedback, so you're not going to do as well as you'd like until you have a reputation as someone trustworthy. The only way to do that is build up your feedback. Good luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 But how do you build up your feedback if nobody will buy from you? So the big ticket items I think I'll get a lot of money off of I should hold off on until I have a higher feedback rating. Correct? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 See some of the things I was going to try to off-load over time were video games, magic cards, old dungeons and dragons books, old books, all my old WWE action figures, baseball, football, basketball cards and then maybe after a while try to sell junk that you see being sold on there all the time that somehow fetches a profit. I was just looking at random stuff to sell in my room like old sports illustrateds and other such random crap. But that stuff is later after I've built up a good feedback. Also I went ahead and put an item up for sell on Ebay just to test it out(an old deck of magic cards). I put down that I accept PayPal and Money Orders. When I clicked on PayPal it listed my email address and that is the address that I have PayPal through. I have yet to confirm my PayPal account but the auction won't end for 7 days. So what happens when they pay with paypal? Does it go straight to my bank account or what? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mik 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 Well, the way most people build up feedback is by buying first - I would think. There are also some auctions on eBay for .99 or so to "trade feedback." I started selling right off the bat, but that was in 2001 and I didn't really know better. I didn't realize until much later that it may have cost me. The keys to selling: good title that will hit on as many keywords as possible, picture is a must, and a clean description that lays out the shipping and all of that. If your auction looks like: This is a copy of Madden 2003 for Xbox. And that's it - you'll definitely get no bids. I mostly buy/sell sports cards so I'm not sure how it works in all areas, but if you look around eBay - you can see some well laid out auctions and try to mimick them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 Ok and how does the PayPal work and everything? Because Ebay didn't ask for any PayPal account information. It just asked if the PayPal would be sent to my email address or the account linked to it. It was weird. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ced 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 eBay's worked just fine for me thus far (close to 100 rating now), though I may have to release the hounds on a potential delinquent bidder in about 24-48 hours here. If you're not sure what your item will go for, check around. I usually don't sell unless I know I'll get around a certain amount guaranteed. Knowing what I'll most likely get, I save on costs by making a low initial bid. Also check what people are charging for shipping. You'll notice that additional shipping costs are a bit steep. There's a reason for that. If you get payment through Paypal, you have to give up some information and probably a bank account number to direct deposit to unless you want to get dinged by having them mail you a check. If you don't want to get raped, specify that you don't accept credit card payments through PayPal in your auction. That just ends in pain unless you're getting business levels of credit card sales. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 What do you mean? Most people I see accept PayPal and I heard most people prefer to pay with PayPal. Well EBay didn't ask for any PayPal information. It just said it'd send the PayPal confirmation to my email. Does that mean I handle everything regarding PayPal from there? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 Also I'm just putting down a flat shipping cost on everything rather than offering up the other services. I just go off the shipping calculator that from the US Postal Service. I will just be taking everything down to the post office and mailing it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ced 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 What do you mean? Most people I see accept PayPal and I heard most people prefer to pay with PayPal. Well EBay didn't ask for any PayPal information. It just said it'd send the PayPal confirmation to my email. Does that mean I handle everything regarding PayPal from there? Anybody feel free to chime in here if I'm giving the wrong info. If you get a payment through PayPal, you'll have to open a PayPal account with the email you provided to eBay as a username. From there you can accept PayPal payments and they'll deposit it into your PayPal account until you decide to cash out. The way to cash out for free is to provide PayPal with a routing and bank account number so they can direct deposit the cash. If you prefer, you can also keep cash in the PayPal account and use it to pay for auction fees or other auctions which is pretty handy if you plan to use eBay quite a bit. Just make sure buyers aren't paying with debit/credit cards when using PayPal. PayPal takes a percentage out of the payment when buyers use plastic. On top of that, I believe to accept a credit card payment you have to change your account to one that takes a percentage out of all payments you receive, even cash. Not worth the hassle, in my opinion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 Well I already have a PayPal account and it's through the email I provided to EBay. Are you saying I'd have to enter a new one? I don't think I would... I also have provided a checking account and routing number to PayPal. I'm just waiting for it to verify now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ced 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 Well I already have a PayPal account and it's through the email I provided to EBay. Are you saying I'd have to enter a new one? I don't think I would... I also have provided a checking account and routing number to PayPal. I'm just waiting for it to verify now. Nevermind, I didn't know you already went through the process. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 Yeah but the only information EBay has is that I have a PayPal account with that email address. Is that all they need to know? Also how do you keep people from paying with credit and debit cards on paypal? I mean I saw someone say it in their auction description so I said in mine "please use your checking account or paypal balance. no credit or debit cards" but what if they decide to anyway despite you telling them not to? Oh yeah and how did you guys usually mail things? I'm unfamilar with shipping costs but according to the shipping calculator sending a Deck of Magic cards will cost like 3 bucks to just mail. I was just going to take this stuff down to the post office and send it off. I wasn't going to do anything fancy and send it by UPS or Air Mail or Express or Priority or whatever. Or should I? Or will taking it down to the post office and saying "i want to mail this package" work best? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spaceman Spiff 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 You should mention in the listing how you plan to ship out the stuff (as well as the $ amount for shipping) just to avoid potential problems. Something like "goods will be shipped out by regular US Mail." You could give them the option of using priority/UPS/whatever, just be sure to list the exact $ amount you'd charge in order to do so. Also, be sure to obtain tracking numbers for everything you ship. You're bound to receive complaints of buyers not receiving shipments, so you want to make sure you can track the stuff in order to cover your ass. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Baron 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 I'm thinking about selling the NES that I have, working. For the system, two controllers, gun, Super Mario Brothers/Duck Hunt, Super Mario Bros. 3 and Blades of Steel, how much is that worth? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 Hey those of you that sold sports cards.....how did you do it exactly? Did you price the item and put down the collector's price and then start the bidding high or did you just leave that out and start the bidding wherever knowing that people would get worked up over it? Is there a website that has good trading card prices? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bruiser Chong 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 Most sports cards aren't worth dick. At least, not compared to what everyone was thinking during their last real hot point in the mid-90s. It's best to just research specific cards on eBay, see what they're fetching and work from there. Nothing's going to make you look dumber than if you're trying to sell a card that normally fetches three bucks for $20. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stahl 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 For the system, two controllers, gun, Super Mario Brothers/Duck Hunt, Super Mario Bros. 3 and Blades of Steel, how much is that worth? What is the conditions? With emulation now a days and those games, you might fetch 15 bucks. You would probably make more if you jakked up the shipping 5 bucks more then it really costs. I don't mind ebay but I have had paypal problems before with normal accounts. Their customer service is horrible. I had a normal paypal account that I just used for paying sellers on ebay. I had $1000 bucks to send to other sellers and that account went fine. Once that ran out they try to get you to do some expanded process number thingy that didn't show up on my statement and things just went downhill from there. If you contact your credit card to get the number, they sometimes contact paypal to complain, and then paypal can close your account. I also had an instance where right off the bat paypal demanded I go through the expanded use number process while not stating it in my account. I of course thinking I could pay for an ebay purchase no problem bid and won a 5 fucking dollar item and couldn't pay because I had to go through the process and wait 20 days for my statement since my capital one credit card I have can't be checked online (transactions/statements, etc). I contacted customer service because when I tried to pay it said I was over my sending limit even though my sending limit was listed as $1000. The email I received back said that if my credit card status says "expanded use number needed" that I still needed to go through the process. Of course my credit card status said "primary" and thus a few more emails were sent back and forth with paypal basically saying "fuck you, you need to go through this process if you want to send money". The thing that pissed me off was not that I had to go through this process, but that I had no idea and it wasn't listed anywhere in my account. You can't tell that you need to go through this process until you check out, and if you can't check transactions online, you are fucked as most sellers are pricks and won't wait a month for you to pay for something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 Yikes. That sounds bad. I set up my PayPal account but I need to verify it still and I'm waiting for the funds to appear on my online statement. I put on my two auctions(that have 6 days left but have no bids) that I will not accept credit or debit card payment through PayPal. I don't know if they will listen. I guess you can leave them negative feedback if they pay with their card on PayPal? All in all I hope this turns out well. I don't want for something to go wrong and I'm screwed out of money in my bank account or something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stahl 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 I guess you can leave them negative feedback if they pay with their card on PayPal? You could but always be careful with negative feedback. Most of the time it's not necessary to leave negative feedback. Plus if you leave a negative, they will leave a negative. It's always good to try to work things out first if there are ever any issues. I think you have the option also of not accepting the payment if it's from a credit card, thus the transaction will still be open to other methods that you list. I've never sold so I may be incorrect about the rejecting a form of payment, hopefully someone can clear that up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bruiser Chong 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 What is the conditions? With emulation now a days and those games, you might fetch 15 bucks. You would probably make more if you jakked up the shipping 5 bucks more then it really costs. Nonsense. A system and set of controllers in good condition alone will fetch you twice as much, with a great chance of them going for even more. I wouldn't inflate S/H rates, though. Two or three bucks above the actual shipping is more than enough to cover any feasible handling fees. Extreme cases of S/H inflation is against eBay policy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stahl 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2006 Don't be so sure about that. Look at this auction. It includes a NES system, a bunch of games, some sega crap and PS accessories and there is 2 hours left. Right now its up to only $16.50 http://cgi.ebay.com/NES-SYSTEM-GAMES-CONTR...1QQcmdZViewItem Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted January 14, 2006 Well I changed it from a premier paypal account to a personal paypal account. That way they can only pay with their checking account or paypal balance. The drawback is that you have a $500 limit on how much you can recieve each month. If I start auctioning to the point that I'm making more than $500 a month then I'll upgrade. So you get the payment in paypal and you confirm it through your email and it appears in your paypal account and then you can swtich that money from the paypal account to the checking account that is linked? Is that how that works? When you pay someone with paypal do you have to have money in the paypal account or can you just go straight from the checking account that is linked? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted January 14, 2006 About shipping -- just make the buyer pay for it. Much easier for everyone involved. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stahl 0 Report post Posted January 14, 2006 I've never seen an auction where the buyer wasn't responsible for shipping. Unless some dude threw in a buy 10 of my auctions and get shipping free. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted January 14, 2006 My friend was telling me about all the BS auctions they have that people actually buy. Like mystery boxes and what not. He's got a very very positive feedback rating so we're going to use his account to sell just bullshit. We're going to put stuff down as "adventure items" that we found on some distant quest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
