Ebay sellers thread (other platforms too)

[QuarterMillionMan]

You're right I'll list the other foreign currencies as "buy it now." I like auctions because in 7 days the items usually sells. Compared to buy it now the item can sit for long periods of time sometimes months on end.

[disneysteve]

You're right I'll list the other foreign currencies as "buy it now." I like auctions because in 7 days the items usually sells. Compared to buy it now the item can sit for long periods of time sometimes months on end.

I think buy it now can sell just as quickly as auction if the item is desirable. If not, it's going to be a slow process either way. I've had plenty of buy it now items sell the same day I listed them or within a day or two. Those Lenox carousel animals I mentioned earlier, I bought on the 9th. I listed them a day later I think. One sold on the 12th and one on the 13th. Five of eight packs of cross stitch fabric sold within 2 days of listing this week.

I think the currency is a "long tail" item. It's something that will take time to sell. You have to wait for the right buyer to come along. I sold one item today that I probably listed last summer. I sold another item today that I got in late January and probably listed in early February. Not everything is a quick flip.

[disneysteve]

Resellers often refer to their "death pile". That's the pile of stuff we all have that we haven't listed yet. It's dead inventory since it can't sell if it isn't listed. Some also joke that the death pile will still be there after they die.

I'm spending some time today working on my death pile. One YouTuber I follow likes to call it her "money pile" instead because that's really what it is. A pile of stuff that will make us money if only we get it listed and sold.

I worked this morning but since coming home, I've listed a total of 11 items from my death pile (only 5 actual listings as 4 of them were for more than 1 item). Total listing price of the items is $70.96. Even if I take less on some of them, I'll be happy with whatever I get from stuff that's been collecting dust.

I'm also working on listing the items I bought at the estate sale on Wednesday. I've done several of them but I bought 31 items to resell which is a lot for me to get at one time so it will take me a little time to get them all listed.

Part of the reason I'm doing this is obviously to sell more stuff, but I'm also able to do it since I got an ebay store subscription recently so my selling limit is now 1,000 items rather than 250 before. I'm up to 323 items now.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Invicta mens automatic divers watch broken blue dial for parts or repair | eBay

I listed this broken Invicta mens automatic divers watch which has 10 watchers and 2 bidders thusfar. I think people fix these watches and I'm guessing it'll sell for $20, brand new it's $100. I still haven't bought a scale so I am overcharging for shipping at $10 (I don't want to take a loss on shipping so I am overcharging for shipping). A first class padded envelope might cost $8 to ship, or a small flat rate box cost $8.50 to ship so my $10 shipping is in the ballpark.

[disneysteve]

I listed this broken Invicta mens automatic divers watch which has 10 watchers and 2 bidders thusfar. I think people fix these watches and I'm guessing it'll sell for $20, brand new it's $100. I still haven't bought a scale so I am overcharging for shipping at $10 (I don't want to take a loss on shipping so I am overcharging for shipping). A first class padded envelope might cost $8 to ship, or a small flat rate box cost $8.50 to ship so my $10 shipping is in the ballpark.

I would not ship a watch, even a broken one, in an envelope. Use a box. I almost never use flat rate boxes as they are almost always more expensive than a plain box. The watch should be able to go first class (up to 1 lb) which will be cheaper. Just get a small box and use that.

[disneysteve]

I listed this broken Invicta mens automatic divers watch

There’s a problem with your listing that you need to be aware of. eBay doesn’t have a “for parts” condition option in the watch category for some reason. Yours is listed as “pre-owned” which isn’t accurate. Your title and description state the damage but ultimately that doesn’t matter. The buyer could get it and file an item not as described claim because it’s broken.

You can’t fix this so what you need to do is immediately after the auction ends, message the buyer. Make sure they are aware that the watch is damaged and are okay with that. Save their response in case they still make a claim.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Ok thanks for the pro-tips. I will message the buyer to acknowledge the watch is damaged. I may have to use a small flat rate box since I don't have a scale to weigh an ordinary box. And I don't want to have to go to a post office. I want the convenience of finding a blue mailbox on the street but I notice it is getting harder to find those blue mailboxes that has an opening wide enough to deposit a small flat rate box. Most of those blue mailboxes only have a slot wide enough to fit letters or envelopes, not boxes so I may have to go to a post office.

[QuarterMillionMan]

In anticipation of my sale of the watch, I went to my neighborhood blue USPS mailbox about 1 mile away which I know has a wide opening in order to test if a small flat rate box will fit and low and behold it fits. And an added benefit of a small flat rate box is that it is insured up to $50. A first class envelope as you pointed out has a max weight of 1 lb which I was not aware of and my watch is heavy and might be close to that max weight so I don't want to risk it and it is not insured . I'll be using the small flat rate box to ship it.

[disneysteve]

That makes sense. Flat rate is easy especially without a scale. And it’s actually insured for $100.

I don’t know how things are in your area but generally using a mailbox is not recommended for anything because of increasing theft. I definitely wouldn’t put a package in one. Best bet is to mail it inside a post office. That doesn’t mean you need to go to the counter during business hours. Most have a drop slot in the lobby and those are often accessible 24/7.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Ah yes my USPS does have a slot in the door in the lobby where items can be deposited but only can be accessed during business hours. I see the insurance went up to $100 now. Once I dropped off a digital camera using a small flat rate box into the blue USPS mailbox. The buyer never received the item and filed a claim with eBay. I refunded $35 to the buyer. In addition, I filed a claim with the USPS for the insured value of $35 for the digital camera thinking USPS would deny the claim but I would try it anyway. USPS approved the claim and sent me a check for $35 for the value of the digital camera. I guess once the item is inside the blue USPS mailbox it is consider in possession of the item by USPS. I thought the item would need to be scanned in order for it to be considered in possession by USPS. I was happy to get the reimbursement. And also I had mailed a first class envelope with an eBay shipping label that same day in that same blue USPS mailbox containing some RAM which was only valued at maybe $20. The buyer also filed a claim not receiving the item (a different buyer). I refunded the $20 to buyer but I had to eat the loss since it was not insured. This led me to believe that someone had fished out the items from the blue USPS mailbox. So yes I believe you about theft happening out of those blue mailboxes but it's so convenient to just drop it off at my leisure and it can be done on weekends and after business hours. Since my watch will be insured, I will use the blue mailbox again and file a claim again if it gets stolen.

[disneysteve]

You really are taking your chances mailing anything anywhere but the counter at a post office. A lot of sellers do home pickup or use the self-serve kiosk at the post office and run into problems because the item never gets scanned in so there is no tracking or proof of delivery.

I take every single package to the counter and have it scanned in right then and there and I get a receipt. It's a pain but it's the only way to protect myself. As you've seen, using any other method is a big gamble.

[disneysteve]

I just sold a bar of soap for $15.95. These are the kinds of under the radar type of items that I love selling. I found 3 bars of old soap buried in the basement at an estate sale last month. They charged me $2 for all 3, so $0.67 each. That means I sold it for nearly 24 times what I paid for it. This was the first of the 3 to sell but obviously I'm already in the black just from the one.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Wow, you take every package to the counter and scan it and get a receipt. I need to up my game too.

[disneysteve]

Wow, you take every package to the counter and scan it and get a receipt. I need to up my game too.

Yes. I’m at the post office nearly every day. I’ll be there today with 2 packages. Every order I send out is done that way.

[disneysteve]

I didn't tell my most recent estate sale story. The company I like best had a 3-day sale last week starting on Wednesday. The billed it as a "mystery sale" which meant they did not post photos in advance or give any list or description of the types of things that would be sold. They just said the house was the most packed they've seen in their 12 years in business. They said it was a "picker's sale".

I got there at 7:50am for a 9:00am sale and there were already 24 ahead of me in line. The ad wasn't kidding. This house was jam packed. I would best describe it as a clean hoarder house. There were boxes and bags and stacks of stuff everywhere in every room and every space. Some of the rooms barely had a path big enough to walk into them. Some areas could only be accessed by climbing over or moving a bunch of stuff. I don't know if anyone had actually been living there but if they had, I don't know how they managed.

I spent about 3 hours picking and ended up with my trunk filled with bags. I bought a total of 34 items (2 for personal use, 1 for business supplies, 31 for resale) for the whopping cost of $40.

So far, I've listed 10 of the 31 items. I made my first sale today for $45 with a net profit of $39.45 so that one sale basically made me even and I have the other 30 items to sell. Once again, I'll probably end up with at least 10 times my investment and probably more once most of the stuff is sold.