Thinking about selling on eBay...

[Shaliken]

A hard selling lesson is, the customer isn't always automatically right. You'll have to stand up for yourself sometimes and weigh if you're willing to accept a negative feedback for it.

I have sold a lot and some - a distinct but irritating minority - customers are impossible to please and will simply never be happy, or try to demand too much, want an unreasonable discount, extras or shipping concessions.

I usually refund and block. After awhile you can identify this type from a mile away. When this happens, be polite, respectful and honest in all of your communications and take a breath and remember to deal in facts, not emotions.

Ah yes, this I know quite well..... Almost 8yrs of retail experience at Walmart will teach you that one quick, lol. I've sold nearly my entire collection of pokemon cards on facebook so far, and pickiness and scamming abound over there....and drama. I'm very firm and polite on my prices, but there's always one twerp who gets in a snit. 

~Shaliken

Post Merge: December 13, 2016, 02:59:28 PM

Thank you, guys! Oh man....I think I'm done researching for today....my brain hurts. 

~Shaliken

[flying_narwhal]

I'm very firm and polite on my prices, but there's always one twerp who gets in a snit. 

Yes! So true hehe!

[dragonfly]

Twerp is such a great word

[LadyMoondancer]

- A postal scale is an invaluable tool! 
- NEVER agree to send a package to an address other than the buyer's officially listed Paypal address.  (This is a common scammer tactic.)
- If you send an untracked package overseas, you risk dishonest buyers pretending they didn't get the package and costing you money.  You can send by Priority International Mail to get tracking overseas.
     - Or you can send them by the cheaper method anyway and hope for the best, which is what I do.  IMO the increase in sales covers the risk, even if I "lose" a few packages.
- Make sure you are not signed up for the GSP (Global Shipping Program), it is unnecessary and buyers hate it.
- BINs are a great way to sell because they are listed for 30 days.  Just search for completed, sold items similar to the item you are selling and set a price.

[Shaliken]

I'm very firm and polite on my prices, but there's always one twerp who gets in a snit. 

Yes! So true hehe!

 

Twerp is such a great word

Isn't it, though? 

- A postal scale is an invaluable tool! 
- NEVER agree to send a package to an address other than the buyer's officially listed Paypal address.  (This is a common scammer tactic.)
- If you send an untracked package overseas, you risk dishonest buyers pretending they didn't get the package and costing you money.  You can send by Priority International Mail to get tracking overseas.
     - Or you can send them by the cheaper method anyway and hope for the best, which is what I do.  IMO the increase in sales covers the risk, even if I "lose" a few packages.
- Make sure you are not signed up for the GSP (Global Shipping Program), it is unnecessary and buyers hate it.
- BINs are a great way to sell because they are listed for 30 days.  Just search for completed, sold items similar to the item you are selling and set a price.

*adds to notes*

I've been using a kitchen scale to weigh stuff for my Facebook sales and so far, so good. Anything too heavy for the scale has to be guesstimated or run to the post office for a quote(thankfully it's just down the street from me). 

I do ship a LOT overseas and so far no trouble(except for one impatient person in the UK, but we worked that one out). I do make sure they agree that I'm not responsible for their package once it's dropped off at the post office, and screen shot their agreeing for good measure. It's not much, but it's something, lol. 

Ugh, yes...I've heard horrible things about that program.....yeesh. 


Thanks, guys! 

[achab1984]

I have been selling on ebay for a while now. But I just hate how much fees they take out and also pay pal.

I have a scale and love having it! I have also shipped overseas. But I would wait on that one for a while. Wait till you get a hang of it.   

[Shaliken]

I have been selling on ebay for a while now. But I just hate how much fees they take out and also pay pal.

I have a scale and love having it! I have also shipped overseas. But I would wait on that one for a while. Wait till you get a hang of it.

Yeah, I'm suddenly debating trying an Etsy shop first....

~Shaliken

[Stormness_1]

As a buyer, for certain routes and large packages, think in the kilograms - the GSP can be much, much cheaper for both buyer and seller. If I'm buying massive bulk lots (like 30-60 ponies) in the US, I look for the GSP, as the price can drop about $40 Australian in the right circumstances. Little things though, like single ponies and small lots, the GSP can triple the price for the buyer, at the very least! Just keep that in mind if you do decide to sell anything large/heavy.

[Taxel]

I have been selling on ebay for a while now. But I just hate how much fees they take out and also pay pal.

I have a scale and love having it! I have also shipped overseas. But I would wait on that one for a while. Wait till you get a hang of it.

Yeah, I'm suddenly debating trying an Etsy shop first....

~Shaliken

Etsy still has fees! Plus taxes and any legal paperwork, filing, etc you need to open a business in your area. It can add up very quick! I think its like $50 for the basic business registration or whatever its called here (of course I prefer the $100 option), which doesn't even begin to account for all the other fees and expenses.

[LadyMoondancer]

I've heard that you need to do a lot of self-promotion to be successful on Etsy.  (I've never tried it myself, though.)

[Shaliken]

As a buyer, for certain routes and large packages, think in the kilograms - the GSP can be much, much cheaper for both buyer and seller. If I'm buying massive bulk lots (like 30-60 ponies) in the US, I look for the GSP, as the price can drop about $40 Australian in the right circumstances. Little things though, like single ponies and small lots, the GSP can triple the price for the buyer, at the very least! Just keep that in mind if you do decide to sell anything large/heavy.

Thank you! I will be definitely doing smaller lots and such. It's very rare that I find a large amount of ponies at once, lol. *adds to notes* 

~Shaliken

Post Merge: January 03, 2017, 02:26:42 PM

I have been selling on ebay for a while now. But I just hate how much fees they take out and also pay pal.

I have a scale and love having it! I have also shipped overseas. But I would wait on that one for a while. Wait till you get a hang of it.

Yeah, I'm suddenly debating trying an Etsy shop first....

~Shaliken

Etsy still has fees! Plus taxes and any legal paperwork, filing, etc you need to open a business in your area. It can add up very quick! I think its like $50 for the basic business registration or whatever its called here (of course I prefer the $100 option), which doesn't even begin to account for all the other fees and expenses.

No worries! I'll be talking to my sister before I do anything crazy. She ran her Etsy for two years or so and will be able to outline exactly what I'll need to do before I can sell. Thank you for the heads up, though.

I've heard that you need to do a lot of self-promotion to be successful on Etsy.  (I've never tried it myself, though.)

Erm, yeah...My sister did mention that part. Luckily she's also willing to explain how she promoted her own shop, so I'll be picking her brain when I see her this weekend. 

~Shaliken

[Taxel]

I've heard that you need to do a lot of self-promotion to be successful on Etsy.  (I've never tried it myself, though.)

Yeah, with Etsy its learn SEO/pay someone to do it for you or your shop is almost guaranteed to fail. (Almost because if you have a following elsewhere you can get by just catering to your current followers in some cases.) It won't be as difficult with something like vintage MLP but its not as easy as eBay. You also shouldn't title things the way you would on eBay.

I don't know if I mentioned it yet on this thread or not (and I'm too tired to look) but The Joyful Entrepreneur on Facebook is a great group that can be super helpful for all things small business. WAHM Tax Group can also be very helpful.

[Shaliken]

I've heard that you need to do a lot of self-promotion to be successful on Etsy.  (I've never tried it myself, though.)

Yeah, with Etsy its learn SEO/pay someone to do it for you or your shop is almost guaranteed to fail. (Almost because if you have a following elsewhere you can get by just catering to your current followers in some cases.) It won't be as difficult with something like vintage MLP but its not as easy as eBay. You also shouldn't title things the way you would on eBay.

I don't know if I mentioned it yet on this thread or not (and I'm too tired to look) but The Joyful Entrepreneur on Facebook is a great group that can be super helpful for all things small business. WAHM Tax Group can also be very helpful.

*scribbles down more notes* Got it! Thank you! 

~Shaliken