Ebay sellers thread (other platforms too)

[disneysteve]

I had an ebay fail tonight. My phone dinged indicating I had sold something. It was a Williams Sonoma mug. I went downstairs to get it off the shelf. When I came up into the better lighting, I noticed a small defect on the inner rim. I looked more closely and there were 2 small chips with a hairline crack running between them and I could feel it on the outside too. I have no idea how or when that happened but it doesn't matter. I can't ship it like that.

I messaged the buyer and profusely apologized, then cancelled the order so they'd get a full refund. I even gave them a link to another seller who has the same mug listed (for less than what I sold mine for actually).

Cancelling a sale generates a defect on my seller account, which was perfect until now. Defects remain for a year so I'll have that mark for a while. It won't affect anything as long as I don't get more of them. The defect rate needs to stay under 0.50% of my sales. I have 486 sales in the past year so 1 defect will only be about 0.20%, and my sales volume has been increasing which will make that number even smaller.

[disneysteve]

Sometime last year I got a Jagermeister tap machine for free on Marketplace. The thing is really cool but weighs about 50 pounds so I didn't want to ship it. I've had it listed on Marketplace for months and put it out at our yard sale in September but haven't found a buyer yet. I finally heard from someone a couple of days ago who was interested. He drove up today from Maryland and bought it for $100. It's been taking up floor space in the garage for a while but I'm quite happy with flipping a free item for $100 cash no matter how long it took. I'll take that deal any day.

I've said many times that someone could easily make a very successful business out of just selling things people give away for free online. I only claim a tiny fraction of what gets listed near me. If I had the storage space and inclination, I could get so much more stuff for resale. I try to stick to the things really worth the effort, but if anyone needs extra money, it's a great way to raise funds with zero upfront cost.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

It's a low entry point side hustle. No car, background check, or expense. You can start with selling your own junk and get the ball rolling. Unlike say Uber of delivery driver. Or even any sort of job you have to work at and maybe have set hours

[QuarterMillionMan]

Amazon.com: YETI Rambler Half Gallon Jug, Vacuum Insulated, Stainless Steel with MagCap, Black : Home & Kitchen

I rec'd this exact Yeti 1/2 gallon jug as a Christmas present which I see is worth $100. Let's say I list this on eBay for $50 and accept offers and shipping $25 which shipping method should I go with? USPS large flat rate box is about $20. Would FedEx or UPS be cheaper?

[QuarterMillionMan]

I should add that the first thing that I did was to make sure it fits and it fits nicely.

[disneysteve]

Amazon.com: YETI Rambler Half Gallon Jug, Vacuum Insulated, Stainless Steel with MagCap, Black : Home & Kitchen

I rec'd this exact Yeti 1/2 gallon jug as a Christmas present which I see is worth $100. Let's say I list this on eBay for $50 and accept offers and shipping $25 which shipping method should I go with? USPS large flat rate box is about $20. Would FedEx or UPS be cheaper?

Shipping is based on weight, dimensions, and destination. I use the shipping calculator at pirateship.com personally. I'm in NJ and use an address in CA as that's about the farthest point for me and I base my charge on that. Priority Flat Rate boxes are almost always a much more costly option. I never use them. I list everything USPS Ground Advantage but will sometimes switch to Priority or UPS Ground after the purchase if that's cheaper.

Amazon says that jug weighs 3.5 pounds. I just used the Pirate Ship calculator for a box that is 13x12x6 (the dimensions of a large flat rate Priority box) weighing 4.5 pounds to account for the box and packing material. From NJ to CA would cost me $13.42 with Ground Advantage which is the cheapest option. To Chicago it's only $9.24.

Your safest bet is to use ebay's calculated shipping. All you do is enter the weight and dimensions and it will charge the customer the correct postage to their location. That avoids you undercharging or overcharging. You can opt to pass on your ebay shipping discount if you choose. Otherwise the buyer pays retail which is a lot higher ($20.50 to CA, $13.75 to IL).

All of that said, do a little research and check if YETI is part of the ebay Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) program. I'm not sure if you're actually allowed to sell them. It doesn't matter what's listed or sold. That doesn't mean it's allowed. You could risk suspension by listing it if it isn't allowed. Marketplace might be a better option in that case.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I never thought about checking VeRO (very good advice, thanks). I just used FedEx's calculator using the same dimensions 13 x 13 x 6 of the USPS large flat rate box and 5 lbs, estimate which I would wrap the box in grey plastic packaging material from Los Angeles to Ithaca, NY which is about as far as my mind can conjure up, and I see $27. I like your Pirate Ship cost of $13.42, I remember you recommended it to me a while back.

[disneysteve]

I never thought about checking VeRO (very good advice, thanks). I just used FedEx's calculator using the same dimensions 13 x 13 x 6 of the USPS large flat rate box and 5 lbs, estimate which I would wrap the box in grey plastic packaging material from Los Angeles to Ithaca, NY which is about as far as my mind can conjure up, and I see $27. I like your Pirate Ship cost of $13.42, I remember you recommended it to me a while back.

On the FedEx site (or USPS or UPS) you’re looking at retail prices. If you buy your postage at home from eBay or Pirate Ship you pay greatly discounted commercial rates. There’s really no reason to ever buy your postage straight from the company.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I learned once not to ship items in its original box exposed, it needs to be covered. At FedEx once I intended to ship a brand new Duck Feet swim fins in its original box. The cashier weighed and measured the box and said $100 for shipping. I asked why? He said something to the effect that the original box could get damaged which would decrease the value of its contents or something like that so I took it home and wrapped it in plastic packing material and took it back then it rang up for $20. Looking back as well I should have used eBay's shipping for FedEx which includes the discount.

[QuarterMillionMan]

If I sign up for Pirate Ship can I purchase the shipping through eBay's website or do I have to purchase the shipping directly through Pirate Ship? And how does Pirate Ship offer discounted shipping? I always thought eBay had the best shipping rates.

[disneysteve]

If I sign up for Pirate Ship can I purchase the shipping through eBay's website or do I have to purchase the shipping directly through Pirate Ship? And how does Pirate Ship offer discounted shipping? I always thought eBay had the best shipping rates.

You buy postage on the Pirate Ship site directly. You can link your Pirate Ship account to your ebay account so that the sales info transfers over automatically and when you buy a label the tracking automatically uploads to ebay.

PS offers discounted shipping the same way ebay does. They negotiate commercial rates with the shipping companies. Generally speaking, I find that packages over 1 pound tend to be cheaper on PS. Occasionally even under 1 pound. I almost always compare the two before buying a label. PS also offers Cubic Rate shipping which ebay doesn't. That's great for packages that are heavy for their size.

The only time you don't need to shop around is for Media Mail. That's the same price everywhere as USPS does not offer any discounts for that service. It's the same price on ebay, PS, or at the post office.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Good information thanks. Speaking of media mail, I could never find it on eBay's website. Maybe now eBay has it but I remember a few years ago I wasn't able to locate it on eBay's website so I took a loss and paid for first class postage which was a few dollars more than media mail. There's so much to learn selling on eBay. Using standard envelope for sending currency was a great tip from you that I learned where before I would send it with a forever stamp which was so risky.

[disneysteve]

Good information thanks. Speaking of media mail, I could never find it on eBay's website. Maybe now eBay has it but I remember a few years ago I wasn't able to locate it on eBay's website so I took a loss and paid for first class postage which was a few dollars more than media mail. There's so much to learn selling on eBay. Using standard envelope for sending currency was a great tip from you that I learned where before I would send it with a forever stamp which was so risky.

Media Mail will only show up if your item is listed in a category that qualifies. That means that it sometimes won't be there for you even if your item does qualify. In that case, you can either buy your label on PS or at the post office since there's no discount for Media Mail.

[QuarterMillionMan]

That makes sense why I couldn't find media mail on eBay's website. I forget what it was that I sold but maybe it wasn't classified into that category as you described.

[disneysteve]

I love selling free stuff. A couple of weeks ago I responded to a curb alert in my town. Folks were cleaning out the house, probably in preparation to move, and put a ton of stuff at the curb. I actually went there twice and got a whole bunch of stuff. One thing I picked up was a set of stainless flatware. 44 pieces total. It sold on ebay today for $64. Can't beat that.