selling on ebay

[frank]

I do not know if this has been asked before, if so please direct me to that thread. I have a three things to sell and was thinking about ebay. they are pretty specific items and the total asking price I would be trying for is about 200. and I would be paying the shipping. does anyone here list on ebay and know about the fees, charges and paypal fees? so starting at 200 what could I expect to get after all the fees are subtracted? or would I be better off going with another method? is it even worth the hassle?

 

[CoolRich59]

I don't know of a previous thread, but you may find this article useful: https://www.wikihow.com/Sell-Books-on-eBay

 

[OldShooter]

ebay is my last choice for selling. They deal with sellers in a high-handed way, always favoring buyers in disputes and in some cases telling sellers what they can charge for shipping. My feedback is 849 and seller feedback is 113. BTDT, but less and less. By the time eBay gets done whacking you with seller fees, they can approach 25%. Recently, too, they started competing with their own sellers by selling adverts on sellers' auction pages.

• Local Craigslist is my first choice for common items, especially difficult to ship. Free.
• Facebook, I believe is about the same though I have not used it.
• DW uses a "neighborhood" forum and I think it is also free.
• Mostly/lately I have been selling some camera equipment. For specialized things like that, there are lots of hobbyist boards. https://www.fredmiranda.com/ is an example. FredMiranda has fees, but most board do not. I also use MU_43.com for cameras/no fees.
• You can also sell to specialist dealers but prices are not going to be good.

For prices, go to eBay and search the "Sold" items. IIRC the price of sold items are shown in green. Those pages also list "Completed" items, which did not sell. Pay no attention to those prices.

I never offer free shipping and I often charge 3% for PayPal (which eBay arrogantly does not permit).

Re "the total asking price I would be trying for is about 200" just remember that the market will tell you the price; the market is not interested in what you want or in what your item(s) cost you.

 

[CoolRich59]

ebay is my last choice for selling.

This is very helpful.

I had bookmarked that wikihow article because I have some books I wanted to sell and thought eBay would be a good way to go.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[cbo111]

I would recommend trying Facebook Marketplace, Next-door, or local craigslist first before using Ebay. I sold a flight headset on Ebay a couple years ago for $425 and Ebay skimmed about $60 because it was "electronic equipment." And the PayPal system that is used with Ebay charged me an additional $15 service fee. Ebay is pricing itself out of the market for resale items.

 

[sengsational]

For prices, go to eBay and search the "Sold" items. IIRC the price of sold items are shown in green. Those pages also list "Completed" items, which did not sell. Pay no attention to those prices.

That's the process I use. You can get a list of both "completed" and "sold". That's what you want to see how much you might collect. Usually you'll need to add the shipping amount to the big green price for each. So yes, the total price (including shipping) is what it is.

I was curious how much of the buyer's money I actually got, and it's true that UPS or USPS, plus eBay, plus PayPal, they take a lot of it. None of those expenses happen with some other avenues, but then you need to take phone calls and arrange in-person exchanges. That may or may not be a positive or a negative. I imagine some people would like nothing better than chatting on the phone about selling something and arranging a meeting. That ain't me, though. The ease of taking a few pictures and the endorphin rush of waking up to a sale, throwing it in a box and printing a label...then getting a positive balance in my PayPal to blow on something is the kind of entertainment that I don't mind. I sell primarily so a "good thing" gets used, as opposed to thrown in the trash.

I was curious how much "the other guys" were getting from my "hard work", so I made a spreadsheet on a couple of items, just to see what "their cuts" were.

ETA: I left off the state sales tax in the figure below (they buyer pays it, but it has no effect on the revenue or fees). But tax does enter into the calculus of using eBay or not. It tilts toward an in-person transaction and away from eBay.

 

[OldShooter]

One thing I should have added: The more obscure and specialized the item, the more you are likely to end up on eBay, simply because they have the most eyeballs. For example, I recently sold a pair of grid filters for a specific model of photographer's studio flash. But you never have to start on eBay unless you're in a hurry. Start somewhere easier and cheaper. If the item doesn't sell, then maybe consider suffering with eBay.

 

[frank]

I know the fees are confusing and then I noticed that paypal is now charging a service fee. it seems like the 200. after the shipping at 36. and the fees at 25 percent would leave about 114. minus paypal fees. so ebay is looking less likely all the time. anyone else with similar experiences?

 

[frank]

exactly where on ebay do I find the sold items? looked and couldn't find what you are describing.

 

[OldShooter]

exactly where on ebay do I find the sold items? looked and couldn't find what you are describing.

Do a search for your item then scroll down to find a group of check boxes on the left side of the page. Check "Sold" and eBay will helpfully check "Completed" for you because they know better than you do what you want.

 

[skipro33]

exactly where on ebay do I find the sold items? looked and couldn't find what you are describing.

Look on the left side column, scroll down and you'll find a box to check labeled 'sold'. Another is labeled 'completed' and includes both sold and unsold auctions that are now closed. I always use that to see what prices things have sold for and if a current item was listed earlier, for higher price perhaps, and didn't sell.

 

[easysurfer]

The fees are very confusing to me also.

I know there are different strategies to listing.

For me, I have the buyer pay shipping. If I'm selling something just to get rid of and not care for how less, then I list at starting bid 99 cents to draw more bidders.

But if I do care about the minimum I'd accept, then I list starting bid as that. Otherwise there is a chance (I know from experience) you may get only on bidder at 99 cents on something that you'd like to sell for $200.

 

[skipro33]

I've sold a lot of stuff on eBay. Now days I'll only sell stuff that doesn't have a local market. Instead I've been using Nextdoor, craigslist and Facebook market place. All are free or near free with craigslist charging $5 for cars or motorcycles. (I listed a motorcycle a few weeks back) Being local, there is no shipping involved. Very nice! Maybe I don't get top dollar, but I also have zero overhead. I think this breaks even or slighter better than eBay.

 

[ckelly78z]

I used to sell quite a few car parts on Ebay, but don't like the new structure. I now use FB marketplace because it is mostly local, or regional is someone is searching for that item. Craigslist has started charging for adds, and has lost most of it's viewers.

 

[JoeWras]

Just shipped some gifts via UPS this morning.

I almost fainted at the shipping charge. I apparently went over the dimensional limit by an inch or two and got slapped.

Even without that, shipping charges for mere mortals is crazy high!

I was considering doing the EBay thing some day, but this shipping issue has me putting on the brakes for anything with any size or weight at all.

 

[SilentWalker]

Just shipped some gifts via UPS this morning.

I almost fainted at the shipping charge. I apparently went over the dimensional limit by an inch or two and got slapped.

Even without that, shipping charges for mere mortals is crazy high!

I was considering doing the EBay thing some day, but this shipping issue has me putting on the brakes for anything with any size or weight at all.

Virtually everything that I have bought from eBay or Etsy from domestic sellers is shipped via USPS Priority Mail. Maybe a day slower but remarkably cheaper.

 

[Aerides]

Shipping heavy things is largely far far better with UPS than Priority - and even P-mail is not the bargain it once was, especially if you can't fit your items into the flat rate boxes.

And we're in the holidays - all the carriers have added a surcharge this year for Nov/Dec.

Regardless of which way you ship - do it online (paypal makes it easy if you don't have other services, even if you're not shipping from a sale you can just go to paypal dot com slash shipnow and sign in) and you will pay far less than the retail counter rates. If you have a printer, you can print and ship and drop off or have your carrier pick up.

 

[harllee]

I use to sell a lot on eBay and then the charges got too high-- now I mainly use Next-door, Facebook market place or Craigslist or just give things away. Now I will only sell on eBay if it is a unique item that I cannot sell locally and if the per item price is $250 or more--any less than that Ebay is not worth the hassle to me.

To find Ebay sold listings prices I think you have to have an account and be signed in on the account.

 

[NoiseBoy]

I second the advice to begin with your local, free listing services. In my opinion, FB Marketplace is taking over from Craigslist, but I still use both. My best net return from eBay was 80%, but I average keeping 68% of the combined selling + shipping fees. If your items are lightweight and easy to ship, then that helps too. I always paid for insurance on my items because eBay favors the buyers in any dispute. Since my main goal was to get these items sold and out of the house, pretty much everything was gravy anyway.

Take lots of good pictures and fully and accurately describe your items. It's not that hard to create a good post, but I am amazed at the weak efforts that I see out there on every selling forum.

 

[CRLLS]

I guess I don't really get the "eBay fees are too much" Generally speaking, eBay gets 10% and PayPal gets a bit more than 3%. If one adds a few bucks for handling on top of the shipping to cover eBays fee that you pay for shipping, it seems that a seller gets ~86% of his selling price. As a seller I only care about what I get, not what the buyer pays.

I don't sell a lot on eBay. I do buy a fair amount. I search the other venues for new items and am very cautious about used items on any site I am buying from. I am not above asking a seller questions that are not clear in their listing.

Virtually all other zero-cost selling sites like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and such are often a hassle with phone calls from would-be buyers who want to offer <50% of the listed price or never show up to pickup and pay for the item, wasting 1/2 to 1 hour of my time each time. I have also sold and bought hobby specific items on various web groups that I have belonged to. Only once or twice have I had "issues" with those transactions.

eBay is just one of many venues for sellers and for buyers to meet. In all venues, there are issues IMO. The issues are just different from one to an other.

 

[sengsational]

One thing I should have added: The more obscure and specialized the item, the more you are likely to end up on eBay, simply because they have the most eyeballs.

Yep. You sometimes need to be patient too. I replaced my furnace and before giving it to the scrap man, I pulled a bunch of parts off of it, took pictures, and put 'em all on eBay. It took 4 months, but all but one item was eventually sold. eBay will automatically renew your listing, but in the bargain, they turn on the thing that entertains lower offers. I don't mind that.. it's easy to reject low-ballers.

For me, I have the buyer pay shipping. If I'm selling something just to get rid of and not care for how less, then I list at starting bid 99 cents to draw more bidders.

For cheap stuff, I'll start at $0.99, with a reasonable buy it now, something maybe in the $10 range. But I put-in a $1.50 handling charge so I don't end-up having to box and send something for $0.99 (still, 68% of $2.50 is quite an insult).

I guess I don't really get the "eBay fees are too much" Generally speaking, eBay gets 10% and PayPal gets a bit more than 3%. If one adds a few bucks for handling on top of the shipping to cover eBays fee that you pay for shipping, it seems that a seller gets ~86% of his selling price. As a seller I only care about what I get, not what the buyer pays.

But the buyer might be comparing to getting something from FB marketplace, a retail store, or (gasp) a garage sale. So the overhead of shipping is quite huge on small value items. I agree, and don't blink an eye (well, maybe a tiny blink) at the 10% eBay gets and the 3% PayPal gets. Those are generally well worth it for the number of eyeballs. There's no way that a random furnace part that I pulled from a 1992 system would be worth anything at all without eBay.

 

[retire-early]

With eBay, ask yourself whether you are willing to lose both the item and the fees to a scammer.
I refuse to sell on eBay. I used to.
It is simply too easy for an experienced scam artist to game the system on eBay since eBay always sides with the buyer.

 

[travelover]

With eBay, ask yourself whether you are willing to lose both the item and the fees to a scammer.
I refuse to sell on eBay. I used to.
It is simply too easy for an experienced scam artist to game the system on eBay since eBay always sides with the buyer.

It is true that eBay favors the buyer even if they are dishonest or idiots. I got bit because I shipped to the buyer's address of record on eBay but he had moved and not updated his address, so I shipped to his old house. eBay took his side in his complaint.

That said, I've sold thousands of dollars of stuff that I'd never have sold locally when I downsized to move. So, for specialized, shippable stuff I still use eBay, anything else goes on Craigslist or Marketplace.

 

[sengsational]

With eBay, ask yourself whether you are willing to lose both the item and the fees to a scammer.
I refuse to sell on eBay. I used to.
It is simply too easy for an experienced scam artist to game the system on eBay since eBay always sides with the buyer.

I thought I was going to take a bath on an item I shipped recently. It was one of those rather heavy things that I put up for a low starting bid, and only one bid came in So I had to risk $12 shipping in order to net $5.

The guy said he didn't get the delivery, but I ship everything with delivery confirmation, and it said "delivered". I just kept clicking the stuff I was supposed to click, and answering the questions, and eventually it resolved without me losing out. I'm not sure how the buyer fared (if he got his money back or not). I tried to open a claim with the shipper, but that went around in circles. The result, though, was that I didn't give up the money I received. I was quite surprised at the outcome, because so many horror stories abound.