Ebay sellers thread (other platforms too)

[QuarterMillionMan]

I sold another item. Will be scanning in person today at my local USPS brick & mortar and no longer just depositing my item in the blue USPS mailbox receptacle.

[QuarterMillionMan]

My mom wanted a new cordless phone with answering machine so we bought one from Target for $59. She didn't want this old corded phone so I listed it on Offer Up for $15.

[james.hendrickson]

I've got some of old household stuff listed on Facebook Marketplace, but they're not moving.

Any ideas which of these places is best? Facebook Marketplace? Craigslist? Offer up?

[disneysteve]

I've got some of old household stuff listed on Facebook Marketplace, but they're not moving.

Any ideas which of these places is best? Facebook Marketplace? Craigslist? Offer up?

I think Marketplace is the one with the broadest reach but you can certainly cross post to other sites. In some areas, craigslist or offer up or nextdoor or others might be more active.

Make sure you renew your Marketplace listing regularly. If things have been listed for more than 2-3 weeks, try deleting and relisting. That'll bring it back up as a new listing.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Scheduled to deliver $28 weight bench to buyers residence at 1 pm today. I arrived at 12:45 pm and text’d “I’m here.” Buyer text’d back will be home at 3 pm. No deal, bummers.

[disneysteve]

Scheduled to deliver $28 weight bench to buyers residence at 1 pm today. I arrived at 12:45 pm and text’d “I’m here.” Buyer text’d back will be home at 3 pm. No deal, bummers.

You offered to deliver a $28 item? Why? And why did you go there without first confirming they were home?

I get a lot of stuff on Marketplace and Buy Nothing and I never do anything without confirming the transaction before I leave the house.

[QuarterMillionMan]

We both scheduled to meet at 1 pm on 6/29/25 at the buyer's residence. He asked if I could deliver and he offered to pay more than the $28 for the delivery but I would have taken $28 and I wasn't money hungry for "more for delivery" and it was only 7 miles away (I really want to get rid of it and I was willing to deliver it). I figured maybe he didn't have a car so I was fine with the delivery in order to get rid of it. I'm no longer use it as a weight bench and instead using it as a stand for 2 Igloo orange 5 gallon water dispensers so I was excited to sell it and buy this new shelf instead from eBay. This weight bench seems hard to sell so I'll change it to free but I won't deliver a free item and the new owner would have to come and get it and if I don't get any takers I'll dump it and get this much needed shelf.

6-Tier Wire Shelving Rack Adjustable Storage Unit with Wheels Best for Kitchen~ | eBay

[disneysteve]

We both scheduled to meet at 1 pm on 6/29/25 at the buyer's residence.

Did you contact them that day to confirm? I've set up meetings many times and when I reached out before leaving to say I was heading over, they said, "Oh, sorry, I forgot" or "Something came up. Let's reschedule." I would never go based on plans made prior to that day, and even more than a couple of hours before the scheduled time. If I say in the morning that I'm coming at 6pm, I still message them at 5:30pm to confirm that the time is still good for them. People are flaky.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Hum, I figured the guy had integrity offering to pay for delivery which I wasn’t expecting so I thought he was motivated to buy it but you suggested a point where I should have reminded him a few hours before I arrived. Lesson learned. And as you said people are flaky.

[disneysteve]

June 2025 wrap up

ebay:
$433.89 gross
$306.18 net

Replacements:
$4,313.76 gross
$3,134.37 net

Total:
$4,747.65 gross
$3,440.55 net

June went pretty much as I expected. ebay sales were very light due to the kitchen remodel. Replacement sales were solid because I got paid for the 5/22/25 delivery in early June. Other than that, I only made one sale to Replacements in June for $130. Nothing on Marketplace in June.

The past couple of weeks I have been listing on ebay more again. I'm still doing virtually nothing with china due to the remodeling sucking up my workspace. July may be a little better for ebay but much worse for Replacements. I probably won't get fully back into the china business until August.

I didn't post about it but I was in an accident on my way home from North Carolina last month. I'm fine but the van was totaled. The claim is working its way through the insurance companies currently. Until the claim is settled, I'm not able to rent from Turo so I can't make any plans that involve renting from them. I already know that renting anywhere else is cost prohibitive. I really don't know what the end result will be.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Can you discuss the accident & insurance in further details. The members of the boards here must be as intrigued as me if not more than me such as how the insurance works (ie, purchased from Turo, using your personal auto insurance, credit card insurance instead, etc)?

[disneysteve]

Can you discuss the accident & insurance in further details. The members of the boards here must be as intrigued as me if not more than me such as how the insurance works (ie, purchased from Turo, using your personal auto insurance, credit card insurance instead, etc)?

I took the standard (mid-grade) protection plan with Turo but my personal auto insurance remains the primary coverage with the Turo plan as secondary coverage. I filed a claim with Turo and they then contacted my personal insurance. We're waiting to see what if anything my insurance covers. Turo will address it once they know that. If my plan pays, then Turo doesn't need to. If my plan doesn't pay, then the Turo coverage kicks in. If neither pays, I will check what my credit card coverage might cover. I'm hoping that between the three of them, my out of pocket will be limited.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

that sounds like an excellent line of insurance coverages

[ua_guy]

Question... I sold another item which I had listed as shipping via USPS. I didn't realize UPS was way cheaper, by about $30. It looks like I can change the shipping method even though I've been paid (buyer paid shipping too). Is it wrong to change the shipping (faster, too) and pocket the extra cash, or, how does that work?

[disneysteve]

Question... I sold another item which I had listed as shipping via USPS. I didn't realize UPS was way cheaper, by about $30. It looks like I can change the shipping method even though I've been paid (buyer paid shipping too). Is it wrong to change the shipping (faster, too) and pocket the extra cash, or, how does that work?

Yes it's wrong. ebay policy requires you to ship with the advertised carrier. It's okay to upgrade service, for example if you listed it as USPS Media Mail you can upgrade to USPS Ground Advantage. You can't downgrade. You can't change carriers. Some buyers don't want UPS or FedEx because of service issues where they live.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/default/shipping-policy?id=5035

The policy states, among other things:
"Sellers must use the shipping service the buyer selected during eBay checkout.
In order to ensure a positive experience for all eBay users, the shipping service detailed in the listing and chosen by the buyer should be provided."