For Those Who Sell Items on eBay...

Do you have any tips? I've bought things off of it numerous times, but I'm at the point where I need to get rid of somethings and I would like to try and get some money for them.

I know that there are quite a few people that sell things on a regular basis, so I was wondering if you have any tips/tricks to selling things. Thanks in advance.

So...no then?

I mainly buy. But some things I've noticed. In my experience things tend to sell for higher prices when the auctions end on the weekend (Sunday nights seem to be the best) and when they end in the evening. I think every steal I've ever gotten has been one that ended early in the morning. Also unless something is rare and you know there will be buyers for it, set a reasonable starting price. I'd also try to get a few sales before listing everything. That way you get some positive seller feedback going and hopefully more people bidding. Good luck with it.

theres no real tips or tricks. just try and describe the item as best as you can and take atleast one picture. If there are certain detail you need to show then take close ups of that but otherwise its pretty basic. Just type the subject of what your selling and make a description of it.

Make sure when your listing your items you spell everything correctly because if something is spelled wrong, the search engine will not pick up on it usually and thus less people will see it. On the other hand, thats kind of nice for potential buyers because sometimes you can nab stuff cheap since no one else saw the auction.

When making a listing, especially for music try and put a related band or artist in the listing after what the actual item is. This is another search engine trick that can generate some more hits for ya.

i look at like items and compare condition/price. It gives you a decent sense of what you might expect. I also weigh stuff for shipping in the box for a more accurate weight. And more than anything else - be extremely critical of the condition of the items. It is better to be more honest than less.

Those are all very helpful. I appreciate your help. Now we'll have to see what happens.

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Do you have any tips?

My advice? Save what you're planning to sell until the recession lifts. CDs were pretty good sells but the last year I've tried to sell twice and have been raped by the low bidding. I won't sell again for quite some time.

I had one sale where I ended up losing money on it. Foolishly thought a low shipping price would lure some bidding. Worse was the person never left feedback either.

I'm always amazed at how the same item can sell for such a different price. I'm always after Death shirts. I've seen the same shirt from US sellers with 100% ratings go for 70 or more only to see another go for 20. I got an incredible Spiritual Healing long sleeve for 24.00 plus it came with a Nuclear Assault shirt. I was stunned when I not only won but was the only bidder. I thought for sure people knew something I didn't but it was perfectly legit.

One thing I've noticed when selling; when you list a somewhat large amount of similar items, you tend to get higher prices. The couple of times I've listed, I was selling 30+ items (up to a few hundred) and my listings were VERY profitable.

Noticed from when I've been both buying and selling; when you list dozens (and hundreds) of CDs, video games, etc you tend to get more buyers that will try to win multiple items. You also attract buyers looking for a specific item who will then lay a bid on something else that catches their eye.

Also, as others have said, be as honest as possible with condition, description (style of music, genre of book, type of game...whatever), and state clearly shipping options and when you will ship. Make your listing headings clear and even throw in "buzzwords". Music, for instance....throw in the style (ex. Metallica - Master Of Puppets (1986) Thrash Metal) For video games and books, say something about genre (RPG, FPS for games / Horror, Fantasy, etc for books) in the heading.

I also AVOID setting reserves. In my experience, and personal preference, I back away from auctions with reserves. Cases like that usually means the buyer is EXPECTING top dollar. I like to point out in my auctions, especially if the item is really rare, that there is no reserve. In addition, make your starting bids low (I always begin at $0.99). Low starting prices tend to draw more bidders, as it also shows you're not expecting top dollars right from the jump.

I agree with everything in SideShow's post.

I have found that selling multiple items as oppose to selling 3 or 4 things brings in more bids & $$. It also helps offset the low bids on some things when other items go for big bucks. Being as honest and descriptive as possible avoids many headaches down the road too. Some folks can be real nit-picking bast*rds when they get their item and it has a speck of dust on the disc that you didn't describe.

I used to start allot of my music bids at .01 cent, but that trend seems to be dying off. Most music that I've seen/sold/purchased seems to start at .99 cents these days.

I would only start at the minimum price you'd be happy with. You don't want to let that priceless first edition sell for next to nothing. Of course, if you do take the risk, it can be profitable, as previously mentioned, but do be cautious. I've also always ended on Sunday evenings, don't know why but it seems to work okay.

Also, never describe an item as being in better condition than it is. It leaves buyers disappointed and could result in you losing money in return postage costs and negative feedback. Yes, it might reduce the price you get for the items, but at least you know that the buyer won't start opening disputes with you.

Try and list similar items together. I always seem to end up buying something I didn't really want, just to save on postage or because it's easy to get. It's also much easier to send multiple items to the same person.

Finally, always respect buyers and sellers and don't upset them. I bought a CD which was in pretty poor condition, but managed to get a partial refund just by telling them how disappointed I was, rather than swearing or abusing them.

I'm sure many of these points have already been mentioned, but hope this helps.

Lots of good advice here. The other thing in relation to condition of the items - list any drill-holes, saw-cuts, hole-punches, or promo stamps. Drives me crazy the number of things I've gotten with that never being mentioned. I've never given negative feedback over it but I do always mention it to the seller. Had one guy claim I should have noticed the tiny drill-hole in the blurry distant picture of his like-new perfect condition item. Another thing - take good pictures of what you are trying to sell.

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Another thing - take good pictures of what you are trying to sell.

With cd's, I usually just go with the stock photo that ebay supplies. The only time I post my own pic is if a stock photo is unavailable or I'm selling stuff other than music or dvd's. I'm sure to give a full description of the cd, so it hasn't been much of an issue for me.

As a buyer, do any of you take real pics into considderation over stock pics when buying music? Does it matter?

With higher priced rarities I like a real pic of what I'm bidding on. But for normal cds the stock pic with a description is usually good enough for me.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

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Another thing - take good pictures of what you are trying to sell.

As a buyer, do any of you take real pics into considderation over stock pics when buying music? Does it matter?

Yes I do. I feel the seller may be hiding a boot or something with a stock photo (Just one of my idiosyncrosies,I guess)

Thanks everyone for the tips. I appreciate it.

I'd always provide your own pictures, showing all damage to the item or to prove what is included and using HTML coding so that you can place images in the description instead of having to pay for them.
I've only had one bad experience when buying and that's when a CD turned up with writing on the disc and booklet. Did manage to get a partial refund, but I've now replaced it anyway.