Re: Suggestions for selling on eBay?

On Sun, 7 Aug 2005 16:03:24 -0500, wolfb <stampwolf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Having read all the posts on the subject, a couple of things come to mind
> that might not have been mentioned. My simple rules for eBay listing are as
> follows:

> 1) Provide completed descriptions, so there are no surprises when the buyer
> gets the lot, and state that in your listing

Makes sense.

> 2) Keep it simple, avoid adding any sound or anoying graphics that generally
> distract from the listing.

So, the flashing rainbow-bars and animated whatever the heck that I find
annoying are to be avoided. Good to know. I assume "L@@K" in the
descriptions is likewise something to avoid - I wouldn't do it anyway,
but it's nice to know that it's frowned upon. I haven't been active on
eBay for years.

> 3) Always, I repeat, always state the shipping and handling charges. Be
> realistic. If you expect it will take you 30 minutes to box up an album,
> add a couple bucks to the S/H. If it is just a matter of placing the stamp
> in an envelope and droping it in the mail box keep the S/H around $1.00.

At what point should I insure a stamp? Who pays insurance?

> 4) Don't use reserves!!! I hate auctions that have hidden reserves. I'm
> not looking on eBay to play games. I refuse to bid on an auction that has a
> hiddern reserve. What I do if I really want to protect my investment, or if
> I sell an item with significant CV is to start it a some % of that CV, say
> 25%. Most items in the $15-45 CV range, I just start at $0.99 and let it
> fetch what ever it will.

So there's enough volume that you don't risk selling something for lower
than it should have gone? Is this a safe awy to do it?

> I have seen lots of items in the $5-15 CV range
> that start at $1.00 not get a bid. There are a lot of buyers looking for
> bargains. Many times it is hard to sell anything that catalogs less than
> $10, either that or I'm just unlucky.

Right now, I'm targeting things in the $20 to $500 CV range that I have
doubles of. I'll then fill in my Columbian series (the usual suspects
are missing), and move forward from there. I think.

> 5) One poster here stated that you should avoid adding catalog values to
> your listing. I'm not to sure about that. I always to include the most
> recent CV with mine. Although I don't have any true statistics to back up
> my claim, I feel that stating current CV helps on sales. There many
> collectors that don't have the most recent catalogs and it (in my way of
> thinking) is a courtesy. Most librarys have the most recent catalogs. Be
> sure to state what year your values are quoted from.

I just bought the Scott 2005 catalog, for help in grading and
identification. The one set of books is from my grandfather, and that's
the one I'll be adding to; the other set is from someone else and is
full of miscategorizations - perf'd stamps in "imperforate" areas, and a
lot of type misidentifications. Glad my grandfather had his so
precisely cataloged and identified; I haven't found a mistake yet and
I'm up to 1950 (where I stopped).

> 6) Keep piciture sizes less than 75K. You can get enough detail there to
> show the item completly. Ebay does allow unlimited html links to picture a
> hosting site of your choice. Most ISP's will host .jpg's for you without
> problem.

I've got my own servers, so space isn't a problem. So, a 75K image on
the auction, with a "click here for higher resolution scan" gives the
best of both worlds, I'm thinking.

> PayPal Notes:
> PayPal is a useful service if you use it correctly. You should definately
> become a verified user.

I was thinknig of keeping this entirely seperate - the "toy fund". Does
linking it to a bank account benefit me then? I mean, assuming that
PayPal doesn't dot-bomb on me.

> The other thing I want to mention about PayPal is that you have a choice of
> either a user account or a Business/Premier account. With the B/P account
> you can take credit cards as payment. There is a credit card transfer fee
> associated with this. It is in the neighborhood of 7%, or some fixed rate
> for small amounts. It really cuts into the profits when you have to pay
> those fees. I have both types of accounts but only list my stuff as not
> being able to take credit cards. There are a lot of buyers out there that
> aren't verified.

So, it's a choice of maybe getting a bidder with a 7% loss, vs. not
getting that bidder. So, if 7% is more than the bid increment, that's
fine; if not, then I lose money by selling to them, compared to the next
higher bidder. Or am I seeing that wrong?

> It is rare for a international buyer not to want to use a
> credit card. Many will try to pay with a credit card, because they don't
> know any different. Even though it is clearly stated in my auction
> description and payment notes that credit cards aren't accepted about 50% of
> international buyers will try to use a credit card. Then I have to deny
> payment and send them the user account that takes credit cards. I still
> have 2-3 pending at this time. It is against eBay rules to ask for
> additional funds (surcharge) for PayPal credit card use and can lead to
> ending your auction if someone complains.

Ah, that was my next question. Got it.

> The down side of a simple user
> account is that PayPal only lets you take in $500 monthly. Of course that
> may be a moot point in your case, as it is in mine.

I don't think I'll be getting rich on this; that's not the goal. As
much will go out as comes in, and I can pace myself no problem.

> Any Questions?

Of course! Thank you!

Dave Hinz

.

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