EBAY advice needed

[Mudweiser]

Hi everyone. I am new here and have been reading alot. I am wanting to get started selling some of my stuff for extra cash to pay off debt

I was hoping for some advice, tips, and things to look for or avoid.

Any help is much appreciated.

Tim

[poundwise]

My advice is to sell as much as you can on Craigslist, rather than eBay.

Listings are free and there are no fees for selling items.

Get Rich Slowly: 24 Craigslist Tips...

[disneysteve]

I would start by doing some buying on ebay to get your feedback rating up to at least 10. Many buyers won't deal with brand new sellers so it can pay to get yourself established first.

Before listing any item, do a search for current and completed auctions to see how that item is selling and in what price range.

Be sure to write an accurate and detailed description and have clear, close-up photos of your items. Also, be extra careful to spell everything correctly, especially in your item title. If it is spelled wrong, it won't turn up in searches.

Accept PayPal only for payment - no personal checks, no money orders (with the possible exception of USPS money orders, but I don't even do those).

[Goldy1]

GO TO EBAY.COM AND CLICK ON COMMUNITY AND THERE ARE TONS OF message boards to help you with anything.
Just be careful to charge enough for shipping and add a small handling fee or you could be out money. If it's "junk" no one probably wants it. I am glad I go trid of a lot of my old stuff before e bay made all the changes and stuff.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Goldy1

If it's "junk" no one probably wants it.

That's why I recommend doing a search before listing anything. You might think something has value and find out that it really doesn't, or you might think something is junk and find out that it is actually of value to collectors.

One of my favorite ebay stories: When my wife and I were first married, we rented a house from her great aunt. The house had not been cleaned out before we moved in. While cleaning the basement, I found a bag of old Kool-Aid packets in her pantry. Any normal person would have tossed them in the trash. Not me. I put them on ebay and sold them for over $40!

So don't ever assume something is junk without checking it out first.

[moneybags]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Accept PayPal only for payment - no personal checks, no money orders (with the possible exception of USPS money orders, but I don't even do those).

Ebay requires Paypal payments (or CC or ProPay) only on most transactions now. It is one of the new lovely Ebay rules that the sellers love . Search "payment methods" on Ebay's help page and you can see the few categories where money orders are allowed.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by moneybags

Ebay requires Paypal payments (or CC or ProPay) only on most transactions now.

Actually, I did hear that. That's a great idea. It will eliminate so much fraud dealing with checks bouncing and counterfeit money orders. Plus it speeds things along. Auction ends, I get payment by PayPal within minutes and I ship the next day. Sure beats waiting for a check/money order and having to wait a couple of weeks for it to clear.

[moneybags]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

That's a great idea. It will eliminate so much fraud dealing with checks bouncing and counterfeit money orders. Plus it speeds things along. Auction ends, I get payment by PayPal within minutes and I ship the next day. Sure beats waiting for a check/money order and having to wait a couple of weeks for it to clear.

I've always preferred Paypal payments, but many people don't want to pay the additional fees, so they should have that option.

[cptacek]

So what if you have something that isn't on ebay now? I mean, a totally unique thing. I have some tin hand cranked water pumps that I would like to sell, but I don't know where to set my price point (i.e., lowest amount I will take for it). I found one that was made of copper selling for $350, but I don't know if anyone would want the ones that I have.

[Mudweiser]

I feel I have some direction, thanks for all your input. I think deciding on a price will be hardest part for me. As far as shipping costs goes should I package what I am selling and take it to the post office to see how much it will cost to ship it? It seems like alot of people make there money on the shipping.

I have a paypal account and an Ebay account. I guess I need to get busy now.

[cicy33]

Originally Posted by Goldy1

GO TO EBAY.COM AND CLICK ON COMMUNITY AND THERE ARE TONS OF message boards to help you with anything.
Just be careful to charge enough for shipping and add a small handling fee or you could be out money. If it's "junk" no one probably wants it. I am glad I go trid of a lot of my old stuff before e bay made all the changes and stuff.

Ummm, I have been to those boards and some of those posters are rough! I read it mostly for entertainment!

[momof1in150]

Originally Posted by Mudweiser

I feel I have some direction, thanks for all your input. I think deciding on a price will be hardest part for me. As far as shipping costs goes should I package what I am selling and take it to the post office to see how much it will cost to ship it? It seems like alot of people make there money on the shipping.

I have a paypal account and an Ebay account. I guess I need to get busy now.

We have a scale at home and only charge actual shipping. You can calculate the shipping on USPS - The United States Postal Service (U.S. Postal Service) if you have the zip code, weight and sometimes size of package. It might help to explain on your listing that you will only charge actual shipping so they shouldn't pay for an item until you invoice them.

[cicy33]

I have also recently discovered that if you don't use the shipping calculator then they system will only let you charge a certain amount of shipping. yet I see other people over charge on shipping all the time. not sure how they do it. I remember awhile back that the shipping calculator was not acting right and people were getting low figures than actual shipping which caused problems for sellers.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Mudweiser

As far as shipping costs goes should I package what I am selling and take it to the post office to see how much it will cost to ship it?

If you are planning to sell more than a couple of items, buy a scale. You can get one on ebay. You need to pack and weigh the item before listing it so that you can include the shipping costs in your listing.

Originally Posted by momof1in150

It might help to explain on your listing that you will only charge actual shipping so they shouldn't pay for an item until you invoice them.

You need to determine your shipping cost before you list. You shouldn't list without a stated shipping cost. In fact, I'm not sure if you are even allowed to do that anymore.

[Mudweiser]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

If you are planning to sell more than a couple of items, buy a scale. You can get one on ebay. You need to pack and weigh the item before listing it so that you can include the shipping costs in your listing.

You need to determine your shipping cost before you list. You shouldn't list without a stated shipping cost. In fact, I'm not sure if you are even allowed to do that anymore.

Makes sense....thanks

momof1in150 - I will give USPS website a look. Thanks

[My English Castle]

Hey Disney Steve- Weren't you going to start an ebay challenge for us?
Hoping that competition will force me into listing some things!

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by My English Castle

Hey Disney Steve- Weren't you going to start an ebay challenge for us?
Hoping that competition will force me into listing some things!

Oh yeah. Forgot about that. How much was it going to be for? $50/month maybe? I think that came up in my blog. I'll check.

ETA: I found it. It was $100/month. I'll start a new thread.

[Mudweiser]

Just a side question: When you sell items on Ebay and Half.com, is that taxable income needed to report on taxes? Do I need to keep track of all my transactions?

Thanks - Tim

[disneysteve]

Tim, the answer is that it depends. The standard answer is that ALL income is reportable. Realisitically, if you are selling personal items, household stuff, old clothes, used toys, etc., most people don't report that because you are selling for less than you paid for the items, so there would be no tax due.

If, however, you are selling items at a profit, either things you bought intentionally to resell or things you already owned that have appreciated in value like collectible items, that is taxable income.

So the legal answer is that everything should be reported. What individual sellers choose to do doesn't often follow that, though.

Personally, I do ebay as a small side business. I have a business license. I have a tax ID. I collect and report sales tax. And I report and pay taxes on my ebay income.

[Mudweiser]

Thanks