EBay - Info, tips, etc. on buying and selling

[scooter]

Gday all, I'm wanting to sell a pair of hifi speakers on ebay, but a bit gun shy on how to go about it, pitfalls, etc.

Also interested in info on buying - bidding tips, pricing, etc.

I have done the registering bit with ebay, have yet to read through their sellers tips and any other info on there, but thought I'd tap the fountain of knowledge on the BB.

Brudda from Traralgon, Vic - I think I saw you mention you were getting into it a bit ??

Share the knowledge all...............cheers.........Sean

[Sir Stinkalot]

Doesn't seem anybody is too keen to come forward .....

I have bought and sold a few items without any problem yet ....

Tips for selling:

Buy a few items first to get your ratings up ..... not many people will buy a high priced item of a newbie ..... if you havent got any previous dealings it could be very much the case you are just going to take the money and run. If you buy a few items you will get rating points and it will help you establish how the procedure works.

If you are selling make sure you take clear photos of your goods .... make sure they are clean and presentable ..... if you post blured photos of a dirty item it really isnt going to appeal to a buyer. Make sure you put a honest description of the goods ..... if it has a scratch post a photo of a close up ..... problems occur when buyers get goods that are not in the condition that they expect .... if you show a photo they know exactly what they are going to get.

Dont do a reserve priced auction .... think what your minimum price that you would like to get and make that your opening bid price ..... this way you will not be disappointed with the final price. Buyers get put off by a reserve price and tend to think it is more of a problem .... if you know you item is going to create plenty of interest you can start at a lower price to encourage competition ...... but remember if you start your $1000 speakers for $1 you may only end up with $10. As a seller I would always put the opening bid at the value I think it is worth .... if they are $1000 speakers start the bidding at $1000 .... if you get $2000 you made a good profit .... if you get $1005 you get $5 more than they are worth.

As for you postage and payment options, try and be flexible .... it will encourage bidders. Also make sure you answer questions quickly ... they may be the only people interested in your product. Get a quote for postage from the post office .... many people will only bid when they know the final price as postage costs can often kill a good deal. It may be a good idea to offer "free" postage .... to do this get a quote from Australia Post and then add this onto your starting bid ... so instead of having an auction for $1000 plus postage it then becomes $1025 free postage. This way buyers know that the price they are bidding is the maximum they will have to pay.

Many people bag Ebay .... I just make sure that if I am bidding on something I will not be disappointed if it is a dud ..... I don't buy high priced items that I cannot afford .....

[LineLefty]

It's amazing how many crap photos people post of items worth hundreds of dollars.

My advice would be to check the exact ending time of the auction. People tend to look for items where the auction ends at 4:30am. They get up, bid at 4:29am when they know that no one will counter bid. I'm nto sayign you should do this, I'm just saying be aware of it. There is a piece of jargon for this practice.................

[TassieKiwi]

It's called 'sniping'. As e-bay doesnt 'auto-extend', that is continue the auction if more than one bidder is active, one can wait for the last few seconds and then whack in a bid, knowing that there is a good chance of winning. So, it's NOT really an auction - just e-bay.

If you check out say some of the planes sold, you'll see anything up to 6-8 bids, all from different people, in the last few seconds of the auction.

[PaulS]

And you can even get programs to do it for you

See www.justsnipe.com

[TassieKiwi]

and

http://www.auctionstealer.com/home.cfm

[Grunt]

When buying know what it is worth before putting in a bit. This is true with any auction or buying second hand.

I sold a copy of the orgininal 'Gone in Sixty Seconds' for $32 plus postage. I bought it a K-Mart a month or so before for $13.95.

[ozwinner]

When buying know what it is worth before putting in a bit. This is true with any auction or buying second hand.

I sold a copy of the orgininal 'Gone in Sixty Seconds' for $32 plus postage. I bought it a K-Mart a month or so before for $13.95.

You bastard!! :mad:
I want my money back. :mad:

Al :mad:

[Grunt]

Using either of your mottos, Cavitate Emptor or Wankers Pay More. No. Anyway, I've already spent that money. I think I bought beer. It was good.

[Sir Stinkalot]

Grunt .... I bet it was a young kid spending all of their pocket money on the new version with Angelina Jolie and now you have gone and broken their hearts and ruined the Ebay dream ........ Well done

[jackiew]

When buying know what it is worth
.

This is also true when selling. I have had some interesting discussions at car boot sales where the vendor has set a price in excess of the brand new price and then refuses to negotiate. It seems a trifle bizarre that people turn up with complete tat, fail to display it in an attractive manner and then won't accept reasonable offers which would at least defray some of the cost of their pitch. I'm sure some people go home with 99% of the stuff they brought with them having taken less cash than the petrol it cost to get them there.

[scooter]

Thanks everybody for contributing, I think the go now is to take the plunge !!

Cheers...........Sean