I'm back on ebay yet again

[disneysteve]

tripods68, my advice to new sellers is to register and do some buying first to build up a feedback rating of at least 10. Many buyers are hesitant to deal with brand new sellers with zero feedback.

Ebay sells everything and anything from antiques and collectibles to common household items, toiletries, office supplies, clothing, etc., so there is something everyone needs on a regular basis (an often at pretty good prices). It could help you be more successful when you start selling to get that feedback up over 10 before you start selling.

[tripods68]

tripods68, my advice to new sellers is to register and do some buying first to build up a feedback rating of at least 10. Many buyers are hesitant to deal with brand new sellers with zero feedback.

DS. Good advice. How bout i start buying your stuff and you buy my staff so I can build my feedback rating to 10.

No seriously, I mainly used Craiglist in the past where i sold my parents car few years ago. I also found my car I'm currently driving for $3K (nissan altima) runs perfect (knock on woods) for the last 3 years. I also sold car parts which really been good. So my experience in EBAY is really brand new. We'll see.

[disneysteve]

DS. Good advice. How bout i start buying your stuff and you buy my staff so I can build my feedback rating to 10.

Sure. What are you selling?

I think ebay is a very under-used resource, especially in tough economic times. Years ago, it was mostly little guys like me selling collectibles and such, but today, it is many, many professionals, stores selling overstock, online businesses, even government entities selling merchandise. You can get some great deals.

[KatieNK]

I have been doing great selling on Craigslist. No fees and no driving to the post office.

[KatieNK]

I think ebay is a very under-used resource, especially in tough economic times. Years ago, it was mostly little guys like me selling collectibles and such, but today, it is many, many professionals, stores selling overstock, online businesses, even government entities selling merchandise. You can get some great deals.

True but I have gotten burned more in recent times than I used to when I first started. I have gotten damaged goods, the wrong item, or not gotten it at all. Mostly from the big business ebayers. Now I don't buy anything on ebay unless it is $10 or under.

[disneysteve]

I have been doing great selling on Craigslist. No fees and no driving to the post office.

No driving to the post office for me either. I print the postage at home and the mailman takes the packages at my office. They will also pick them up at your house.

[tripods68]

Most of my craiglist purchase/sold items were all local, so no shipping involved. I dealt with buyers on one-on-one basis. After reading KatieNK post, I'm kinda changing my mind now....uhmm.

[disneysteve]

With all due respect to KatieNK, don't let one person's experience turn you away from giving ebay a try.

I've been selling on ebay for over 11 years. I've sold hundreds and hundreds of items. My best year, I grossed over $13,000. In all that time and all those deals, I've had just a handful of non-paying bidders and only one bounced check way back when people still paid by check (it is all PayPal now).

Craigslist is great. I'm not knocking it at all. I used it this year to buy my daughter a "new" bike. If you are selling furniture, appliances, cars, bulky or difficult or costly to ship items, it is absolutely the way to go. For smaller things, antiques, collectibles, things that might have a narrower customer base, ebay is great. Your item gets seen by millions of people around the world (and yes I do ship worldwide). It is like having a yard sale except it lasts for a week and 85 million people show up. I've sold to buyers in virtually every developed country in the world over the years. I've also bought from buyers in other countries, as well.

Does ebay have some losers placing bids and never paying? Sure. Craigslist isn't perfect either. One of the women at my office sells on Craigslist and has told me several times that she set up a time to meet someone to sell an item and the person never showed up or came and decided they weren't interested, so you can waste a lot of time with that. With ebay, if the winning bidder doesn't pay, you just get your fees refunded and relist the item. No system is perfect, but I've done quite well with my years on ebay.

[gamecock43]

I agree ebay sometimes sucks but overall its great. I have heard horror stories of being scammed or complaints filed and money being wrongfully returned to the buyer- just headache stuff in general- but I have only had 1 bad customer. In over 600 transactions. Ebay is the way to go. ESPECIALLY if its 'junk' and you are not trying to get rich...the $5 and $8 items add up...suddenly you have a couple extra hundred bucks.