How do I get started selling on Ebay?

[California]

How do I get started selling on Ebay?

I've had a seller's account since 1998, and sold a lot of stuff after Y2K when there was a flood of surplus-auction electronics (from Y2K upgrades) that could be resold at ridiculous markups. At the time I made $14k, one year. I have 100% positive feedback, 300+ times, and many more sales than that. But after Y2K I've sold only rarely.

But its a new world now. I need to learn how to use the current tools. Postage to print out for the shipping label instead of going to the post office, for one. Listing tools. I assume most of what I had to hand-push is now automated and available for a fee.

The kids are pestering us to get rid of all the treasures we've accumulated and inherited over many years before they have a mess to deal with like I inherited. For example a 45 lb blacksmith vise from the 1920's, value $100+ that I don't need. I have 3 excellent inherited vises in use and six more that are just hogging my limited storage space. Thorsen (Made in USA) socket sets. All stuff I, or Dad, recognized as valuable and underpriced so we bought it, but there's way too much of this stuff. My kids recognize they are facing the same chaos I inherited - 20 years of dump runs, a flea market sale (mostly furniture), and gifts to others and there's still too much stuff here. At least we're down to stuff we realized has value so we saved it. But five 'telephone bits'? (24 inch long 3/8 drill bits). One is plenty. The rest have to go. I have probably 40 lbs of drill bits that Dad got at surplus auctions when McClellan AFB that did aircraft maintenance, was decomissioned. Spare set of pipe threader dies? Don't need that!

What modern tools do you guys use to write listings and pay postage from home? And any new gotchas to avoid?

 

[OzKioti]

Check out Ebay's commission percentage. It's increased over the years!

 

[Oaktree]

I'd be interested in knowing more about this too. Like you, I've got a lot of stuff I never use that I'd like to get some money for but really haven't a clue how to use Ebay.

Curiously, how does a newbie get established? I've heard that few if any will buy from you without a track record. Kind of like can't get a job without experience, but can't get experience without a job.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I got out of Ebay completely when they started taking away a seller's ability to combat fraud. It became a circus. It became so "buyers" could get away with murder, and you had no recourse. I walked away when the non-payers became "normal", and if you gave them a negative feedback for non-payment, they would retaliate with a negative feedback, which Ebay would not remove or interfere with. Or the seller would say the item never arrived and demand payment returned, which Ebay would come after you for and REQUIRE you to return money for an item that the buyer either received OR they were too cheap to pay for the shipping insurance. But the BUYER got all the breaks when there was any doubt. Sellers were left holding the bag. It just got to be way too big a hassle, so I walked away.

My story is similar to yours California, I sold a bunch of electronics back around Y2K. I ran it as a side business and made a ton of cash. I was still in the main frame computer industry, and it was a free for all. Customers were calling us begging us to take all their main frame stuff for free. If we'd come get it, and "decommission" it for them, they'd help us load it. This was all running stuff when we unplugged it, not "junk yard" stuff. Usually full software sets and complete manual sets also. Semi truck loads of it. Was a booming business with an artificially looming sunset. The whole Y2K crock was the second biggest scam inflicted on modern man. We had mainframes from the 60's that would quite easily run ANY post-2000 date you cared to enter. Those few that couldn't, it only took a coder (one of us) a few lines of code to sort it out, something ANY programmer (of the times) worth their weight in warm goat pee could handle. It was all just a scam to force an entire industry to dump hardware and retool (it was the retooling -interface- that cost the huge $, not the computer hardware itself).

 

[Code54]

You might want to think about Facebook marketplace for your tools - local pickup, no shipping. Very simple and no cost (FREE)

 

[California]

Y2k was a scam, yep. In a Large Public Agency, we had to respond to a consultant who wanted EVERYTHING inventoried. As the network/PC/help desk specialist tasked with doing the inventory in our 60 person branch, I questioned if they were serious about including battery-powered wall clocks.

Yes, literally everything! Ok, whatever.

An hour later I got a call from the Mac specialist in another branch. He was livid, raging, bellowing. He had already disposed of Mac monitors that were incompatible with his newest generation of Macs and now he was required to go find the monitors and copy the serial numbers. Just printing his inventory records wasn't acceptable.

Your Tax Dollars At Work.

 

[California]

I've avoided Facebook so far and don't plan to join it. Craigslist works for local - including all the 'interesting' folks who want to swap a 'treasured bicycle' or surplus vinyl siding instead of cash. (Real examples in my experience).

 

[Fuddy1952]

I sell occasionally on Ebay and have 100%+ feedback. I've been happy and their listing fee going up doesn't matter. Some things I was shocked how much they went for.
My advice to a newbie is try it. Two ways to sell, buy it now (a fixed price) or auction.
Now, a 45# anvil would probably be local pickup only (weight).
A few tips: We don't have a computer, I just use my smart phone. You'll need a source for boxes and packing, tape, printer and a scale.
A digital scale is cheap and I got a Canon all in one wireless printer at Walmart for $19.
I found this to be the best way to do it:
Suppose you're listing a wrench. Find a box slightly larger. Pack it so it's ready to ship (if listing a bunch of stuff, put a note on it). Measure & weigh box. Say it's 12"×6"×4", 1 lb. 4oz. On bottom I pencil this info.
When listening you can exaggerate size & weight some (you make a little profit on shipping).
I'm not computer savvy, so I use an app "screenshot easy". When it sells I go through the steps, when printing a ship label I take a picture with screenshot. Send that to printer.
I think most people like buy it now, free shipping so factor that into selling price if you want.
When listing give an honest description, noting any flaws. You can list up to about 10 pictures. If you're not sure something works say untested. Search for something similar to what you're selling to get a price idea.
About 20 years ago I met a local Ebay seller who owned nothing. He showed me how he searched finding items in demand. He would buy as he got orders, relabeled then ship out.
He said he averaged $200K/year doing that!
To me it's a matter of getting rid of junk that's gathering dust.

 

[Fuddy1952]

Oh...I forgot to mention. When shipping size matters. You don't need a shoebox to mail a socket. Boxes are easy to make. I use a 4"x4"x24" on workbench. Mark a larger box, put 4x4 on mark and bend. Cut excess off and tape it.

 

[Hay Dude]

I got out of Ebay completely when they started taking away a seller's ability to combat fraud. It became a circus. It became so "buyers" could get away with murder, and you had no recourse. I walked away when the non-payers became "normal", and if you gave them a negative feedback for non-payment, they would retaliate with a negative feedback, which Ebay would not remove or interfere with. Or the seller would say the item never arrived and demand payment returned, which Ebay would come after you for and REQUIRE you to return money for an item that the buyer either received OR they were too cheap to pay for the shipping insurance. But the BUYER got all the breaks when there was any doubt. Sellers were left holding the bag. It just got to be way too big a hassle, so I walked away.

My story is similar to yours California, I sold a bunch of electronics back around Y2K. I ran it as a side business and made a ton of cash. I was still in the main frame computer industry, and it was a free for all. Customers were calling us begging us to take all their main frame stuff for free. If we'd come get it, and "decommission" it for them, they'd help us load it. This was all running stuff when we unplugged it, not "junk yard" stuff. Usually full software sets and complete manual sets also. Semi truck loads of it. Was a booming business with an artificially looming sunset. The whole Y2K crock was the second biggest scam inflicted on modern man. We had mainframes from the 60's that would quite easily run ANY post-2000 date you cared to enter. Those few that couldn't, it only took a coder (one of us) a few lines of code to sort it out, something ANY programmer (of the times) worth their weight in warm goat pee could handle. It was all just a scam to force an entire industry to dump hardware and retool (it was the retooling -interface- that cost the huge $, not the computer hardware itself).

Our “news“ media is a disgraceful bunch of liars. I did some whole house generators with my electrician. People were afraid planes would fall from the sky. Had one customer bug-out for Grand Cayman because he had a vacation home with a whole house generator.
Now it’s “the world will end if we don’t spend 50 trillion on windmills and solar panels”.

 

[tallyho8]

I use Craigslist to sell large bulky items that are too expensive to ship like appliances, furniture, etc. Also common items that I know I can sell locally.

I use eBay for those rare items I know I can't get a high price for locally and that are easy to ship. As long as you have a printer eBay will print the labels for you very easily and anything over a few bucks needs to go Priority Mail because they have tracking and it automatically has $50 insurance and free boxes.

Before I moved 20 years ago I sold rooms full of my old treasures on eBay and got good profits from it. Taking good photos of everything and explaining any defects in your listing is important to get top price and avoid bad feedback.
I have well over 1000 positive feedback on sales and no negatives.

Just about anything you sell now on eBay will have dozens of other people selling the same thing so if you don't have the lowest price or the whatchamacallit in the best shape you will have trouble selling it so be sure to check the other listings before you list your item to see how much they are going for and if they are selling. You do this by looking up the completed listings.

For any type of repair parts that you know people want immediately, be sure to list a Buy it Now price and that you will ship it in one day because you know these people aren't going to wait for an auction to end.

I have a neighbor with a backyard full of rotted or rusted out junk because he tried to sell it all at more than it was worth and refused to take reasonable offers and says he rather see it rot than "give it away". Don't be one of those.

 

[fried1765]

How do I get started selling on Ebay?

I've had a seller's account since 1998, and sold a lot of stuff after Y2K when there was a flood of surplus-auction electronics (from Y2K upgrades) that could be resold at ridiculous markups. At the time I made $14k, one year. I have 100% positive feedback, 300+ times, and many more sales than that. But after Y2K I've sold only rarely.

But its a new world now. I need to learn how to use the current tools. Postage to print out for the shipping label instead of going to the post office, for one. Listing tools. I assume most of what I had to hand-push is now automated and available for a fee.

The kids are pestering us to get rid of all the treasures we've accumulated and inherited over many years before they have a mess to deal with like I inherited. For example a 45 lb blacksmith vise from the 1920's, value $100+ that I don't need. I have 3 excellent inherited vises in use and six more that are just hogging my limited storage space. Thorsen (Made in USA) socket sets. All stuff I, or Dad, recognized as valuable and underpriced so we bought it, but there's way too much of this stuff. My kids recognize they are facing the same chaos I inherited - 20 years of dump runs, a flea market sale (mostly furniture), and gifts to others and there's still too much stuff here. At least we're down to stuff we realized has value so we saved it. But five 'telephone bits'? (24 inch long 3/8 drill bits). One is plenty. The rest have to go. I have probably 40 lbs of drill bits that Dad got at surplus auctions when McClellan AFB that did aircraft maintenance, was decomissioned. Spare set of pipe threader dies? Don't need that!

What modern tools do you guys use to write listings and pay postage from home? And any new gotchas to avoid?

Shipping price on a 45Lb. vice could be interesting.

 

[California]

Shipping price on a 45Lb. vice could be interesting.

I shipped heavier, and fragile, when I was liquidating that Y2K stuff. Exabyte and DLT backup tape drive libraries for example. One from California to Montreal, and I got a compliment as feedback, "Well packaged."

UPS will ship up to I think 70 lbs at standard rates, and 125 lbs special. I took a 60 (?) lb Exabyte tape library to UPS at Christmas time and the clerk said "That's what we need to clear the jammed chutes at the plant!" I've had UPS and FedEx accounts for 20+ years.

I have the laser printer, 20 lb (quarter oz graduations) delicatessen platform scale, packing materials. And some experience setting price and writing the ads. I usually looked at the range of prices for similar recent sales and set the BIN at 65% to 80% of the highest reasonable recent sale. Pretty much everything went for more than the average of recent sales. I think setting the BIN optimistically high is worthwhile, most everything sold the first time it was listed.

What I'm looking for now, is how to use the modern tools introduced since I last did a lot of selling. Particularly, how to print postage at home, and any gotchas dealing with Ebay and Paypal.



A couple of comments after re-reading the posts above: Shipping Included is more common now. I should do most sales that way except maybe heavy UPS stuff. I used to find the UPS cost for California to Miami, and declare that in the listing as Shipping Price.

And for the pro-end electronics, where possible, what I sold was tested with its factory diagnostics before it went out. So complaints were rare. I included in the listing: "This is used gear, we both share a slight risk that there are defects. I will be happy to exchange for another immediately if you discover that this fails the manufacturer's diagnostics". I never had to ship a replacement but did refund in full a couple of times on inexpensive stuff where the buyer was disappointed. Whatever that was, it hadn't cost me much.

 

[California]

Getting back to the simple question: How do I set up paying postage online and printing the postage-paid shipping label?

I receive stuff shipped this way. How?

 

[fruitcakesa]

Getting back to the simple question: How do I set up paying postage online and printing the postage-paid shipping label?

I receive stuff shipped this way. How?

You can set up an online account with USPS to buy and print postage. There also are different, less expensive shipping options online that are not available in a brick and mortar PO.

 

[California]

You can set up an online account with USPS to buy and print postage. There also are different, less expensive shipping options online that are not available in a brick and mortar PO.

Thanks. I have a UPS account where I do that. Sounds like USPS now has this too.

It looks like there is an app integrated with Ebay that captures and prints the customer address on the shipping label, as well as the postage. Anybody know about that? That would be a convenience. And can it do Priority Mail postage?

 

[5030]

I've avoided Facebook so far and don't plan to join it. Craigslist works for local - including all the 'interesting' folks who want to swap a 'treasured bicycle' or surplus vinyl siding instead of cash. (Real examples in my experience).

I don't fiddle with Farcebook either but I do use the Marketplace to sell stuff.

You really have to watch Flea Bay for hidden fees. They are sneaky.

CL is only my desperate choice. Too many scams and too may tire kickers.

I've never liked Farcebook at all. Too many not too smart people put personal stuff on there.

My wife reads it, I don't. Just a gossip venue.

 

[dfkrug]

Sounds like USPS now has this too.

I use USPS.com to print my eBay labels and pay postage. You can also do that thru eBay or PayPal, or open acct at some place like Stamps.com, I imagine.

You can get discounted postage this way, and have the mailman pick up your boxes. Or jump to the end of the line at your local PO and just sling your labeled boxes on the counter. That is what I do.

I have been buyer and infrequent seller on eBay since 1998. When selling, I prefer auctions, and always include shipping. Some folks think shipping is "free". I even sold a tractor on eBay, as well as a car, and the CADDigger 728 in my avatar. Those items had to be picked up.

I still use Craigs a lot, and look at FB Mktplace. In the latter case, I use a friend to message the seller cuz I don't want to log in to FB.

 

[tallyho8]

When you sell an item on eBay they notify you of the sale and then notify you when it has been paid for. The buyer pays eBay directly through PayPaL or a few other choices. Then you can click a link they send you and print the label with the postage at a discounted rate from regular USPS prices. Then eBay will subtract the cost of their fees and the shipping from your money and put the balance in your checking account.

 

[tallyho8]

The heaviest items I sold on eBay were an antique juke box from the 1940s that I shipped to a buyer in Germany and an antique industrial mechanical paper cutter that I shipped to the Caribbean. Each one was over 400 pounds.

On those sales I listed them as "pickup only" but wrote in the listing that I will ship it and package it but the buyer must make all arrangements with the shipping company including loading it into the truck and notifying me of packing requirements ahead of time and that I would take many photos of it before shipping and that liability for any damage goes to the freight company. No refunds.