Question for eBay buyers and sellers

[robertthebard]

Better let Larry do that... [img]graemlins/heee.gif[/img]

[DragonSlayer25]

Originally posted by Memnoch: Don't mean to take the thread offtopic, but geez hasn't eBay's stock gone down the gurgler in recent months. I foolishly listened to my broker when he said "buy" when it was "undervalued" at $34, now it's $23!!! Bastard.

A brilliant teacher of mine (taught personal finance) told me that you should always cut your losses at 8%, because the market hardly ever fluctuates back to a gain after that much loss. Better to just cut and run, rather than loose more.

[Q'alooaith]

Don't get too close when taking pictures unless you have a macro mode on your camera, set the camera on something solid so it doesn't move at all, ect.

If you've got no feedback on Ebay start with your lowest price end items, and work up to the ones that you want to net the most cash out of.

Sell units together, it's tempting to sell a squad model by model, but you get less bids and lower return doing it that way.

[Variol (Farseer) Elmwood]

Thanks Q'alooaith,
Do they have suggested rates for shipping? I am in CAnada and was thinking of keeping it to North America. Is there much difference going over seas etc?

[Bungleau]

Use the shipping calculator... Ebay provides you with one easily enough. You just need to know weight and dimensions, and then they plug in their zip code. Starting from where you are, UPS or FedEx will just figure it out.

Postage overseas can be a lot more, and you may need to deal with going through customs. US/Canada will be far easier.

Some people try to make extra cash on shipping and handling. I haven't done that, and find it offensive; however, you do need to pay for packaging, dunnage, tape, and such. I may add a couple of bucks for that, but that's it.

You'll want to give people an insurance option, too. Eliminates the "damaged in transit" blues...

As for payment, I use PayPal. Knock it or not, it's easy... real easy. All you have to do is to validate your account, which takes just a day or so. You have to confirm the amount of two small deposits they make, and you're verified.

[Variol (Farseer) Elmwood]

Good info Bungleau;
I know what you mean about the extra shipping, I've seen it myself.

What would you say the packing material would cost? I would need mostly small boxes 4" - 5" cubed and popcorn and bubble wrap. Also some bigger boxes for the manuals or padded mailers.

Can you also set minimum bids in order to not loose your shirt?

[ 07-24-2006, 07:22 AM: Message edited by: Variol (Farseer) Elmwood ]

[Bungleau]

I'd head down to an office supply store (Office Depot, Office Max, Staples, etc.) and check their prices on packaging. Then divide it out to find your per-package cost. Things like dunnage (the internal packing materials) are harder to estimate... fortunately, a roll of bubble wrap is fairly cheap.

For the sizes you appear to be talking, I'd add a buck over the cost of the box and you should be set. Either that, or round the box cost up to the next dollar.

And yes, you can set minimum bids. There is a fee for that, so be sure to factor that in.

Hmmm... seems to me I put together a spreadsheet when I was listing my first couple of items that helped me figure out the Ebay fees. Drop me a PM with your email, and I'll dig it up and send it over.

[Variol (Farseer) Elmwood]

Thanks Bungleau,
And I work for Staples, so watch that Office Depot, Office Max, talk! [img]smile.gif[/img]
I think really need to work on lighting more than anything with the pics.

What about time? Is it a long precess to list items? I know I would want to have descriptions for amny items I put up. I have some miniatures which won first place in Games Workshop painting contests.

[Bungleau]

The longest part of the process will be your typing time for your descriptions and such. Everything else is pretty much fill-in-the-blank.

Try one, and see how it goes. Pretty straightforward.

*edit* And cool on Staples That means your packaging cost can go even lower, based on your employee discount

[ 07-24-2006, 01:24 PM: Message edited by: Bungleau ]

[Memnoch]

Originally posted by DragonSlayer25: quote: Originally posted by Memnoch: Don't mean to take the thread offtopic, but geez hasn't eBay's stock gone down the gurgler in recent months. I foolishly listened to my broker when he said "buy" when it was "undervalued" at $34, now it's $23!!! Bastard.

A brilliant teacher of mine (taught personal finance) told me that you should always cut your losses at 8%, because the market hardly ever fluctuates back to a gain after that much loss. Better to just cut and run, rather than loose more. [/QUOTE]I'm in for the long haul though, most analysts (Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, etc) still have the stock at Overweight. I think the stock is undervalued at the moment. The strongest quarter for online traders like eBay is usually Q4. But it sucks seeing it go down and down and down.