Getting started selling on ebay

[lunchlady]

Good Morning!
I want to start to sell some things on ebay, and need some advice. I am thinking that I should have an account separate from my regular household checking account for fees, money earned, etc. Also, I'm confused about shipping costs. Do I need to have a scale? or is the "flat rate shipping" a better way to go?
I have plenty of past experience with buying from ebay, and know that shipping costs were always a factor in which auction I would go for. I'd love to hear from anyone who can give me any suggestions or tips on getting started. Thanks!!
~Chris

[Amy752]

You could set up a seperate account - depends on how much Ebay selling you plan to do. I don't find it necessary for myself - that's an individual decision. As for shipping, I stay away from flat rate. This is just my opinion, but I think people prefer "actual shipping" because then they know they're paying for the shipping itself only, and not any hidden extra costs. If you don't have any kind of scale, you'll need one. I use my kitchen scale for smaller items and my bathroom scale for bigger stuff. Hope that helps a little. I'm sure others will have more input. Good luck!

[34saving]

I never had a separate account, but I guess if you're going to be hard core (ie, do it as a business instead of reduce clutter) you should probably have one for tax purposes. Yep. You'll need a scale -- try your local goodwill. I disagree with Amy though. I always round up a bit and I always list a flat shipping rate. Why? Because everybody else is making money on shipping (or at least covering their ACTUAL shipping costs including packing supplies.) So, if you have a higher starting bid you'll be less competitive. JMHO.

Here's how I calculate shipping: 1) Weigh. 2) Round to next pound or two pounds on bigger items. 3) Go to USPS.com and find ship rate to zip 90210. 4) Round to next dollar. Shipping is much more expensive than it seems like it "should" be. Almost everybody I know (including me) under-estimated shipping charges in the beginning . . . .

[Lostsoul33]

You will definetely need a scale unless you plan on running to the post office with everything to get the item weighed. I bought my scale on ebay and it was $30. It weighs anything up to 25 pounds. It's perfect!
Will you be accepting paypal? If so, you could always use that as your extra account.
As for the shipping, I charge actual cost plus 25 cents. Barely anything and nobody ever complains. I don't believe in making money on the shipping. I like to make money on the item. I have actually overcharged people on shipping when I was first getting started. I came home and refunded the money to them right away. I undercharged too and I just accepted the loss and chalked it up to experience. I have been selling on ebay for a few years now and my feedback is 100%. When I bought stuff on ebay, I always check to see how much they paid to ship it to me and how much I paid for shipping. If it's an amount that I feel is unreasonable, I won't buy from that seller anymore. That's just my opinion though. Good luck! There is definetely some money to be made on ebay.

[Kirby]

I'd stick with flate rate if you think your profit margins will be small for that particular item. That way you can generate a little income off of the shipping. I know it seems odd, but that's what most eBay'ers do.

[CJsoccerchic]

It seems to me that not enough thought is put into "handling" costs. after all, that's what the "h" in s/h means. handling being the bubblewrap and tape and packaging that will be used to wrap your merchandise. I paid like $10.00 for 20 small bubble wrap envelopes - that's $0.50 per envelope and I have to add that to the shipping cost. In addition to tape.. it's not much, but all these things add up...

[MrsChambers]

we should take a poll about shipping and e-bay!

[exvargas]

Originally Posted by lunchlady

Good Morning!
I want to start to sell some things on ebay, and need some advice. I am thinking that I should have an account separate from my regular household checking account for fees, money earned, etc. Also, I'm confused about shipping costs. Do I need to have a scale? or is the "flat rate shipping" a better way to go?
I have plenty of past experience with buying from ebay, and know that shipping costs were always a factor in which auction I would go for. I'd love to hear from anyone who can give me any suggestions or tips on getting started. Thanks!!
~Chris

You need to go to paypal and set up a paypal acount to buy and sell so that it is secure. go to paypal.com and get there phone number and asked them how it works and they can explain in detail.

[greedy4chips]

I would not say that overpricing your shipping fee is at all unrealistic. You have the expense of the carton, packing material (bubble wrap or beads), time spent doing it, gas to and from the post office, etc.

If you were selling 100 items per day you could certainly reduce the excess shipping amt. If you are selling a highly competitive item like a computer Hard Drive, the customer will take into consideration your shipping charge anyhow when bidding on an item.

Since it is an auction you cannot be sure of the price you will get for your product. Some auctions vary for whatever reason.

I would never bid more than what I wanted to pay for an item + shipping anyhow.

[Sivart5]

We bought a small kitchen scale from Walmart for selling items on Ebay. If I remember right, it was only about $5.00, and we rounded up to the nearest pound also. I believe one pound is the same price to ship no matter where it is being shipped, but more than one pound will vary the price (unless that has changed).

With also being an Ebay buyer at times, I always like to see what I will actually be paying for shipping before I bid. If the shipping seems too inflated, I usually move on to find something a bit cheaper. So don't raise the price too much

[Dixiechick]

Originally Posted by lunchlady

Good Morning!
I want to start to sell some things on ebay, and need some advice. I am thinking that I should have an account separate from my regular household checking account for fees, money earned, etc. Also, I'm confused about shipping costs. Do I need to have a scale? or is the "flat rate shipping" a better way to go?
I have plenty of past experience with buying from ebay, and know that shipping costs were always a factor in which auction I would go for. I'd love to hear from anyone who can give me any suggestions or tips on getting started. Thanks!!
~Chris

Hi there!!! We must be twins!!!

Dixiechick