Experiences with selling on ebay

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SwissTbone
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Experiences with selling on ebay

Post by SwissTbone »

In the last few years I have regularly sold my horns here on the classifieds or on other marketplace sites. Also on Facebook.

But I never sold or bought a horn on ebay. Today I am ready for something new :-)

- What are your experiences with selling on ebay?
- I know there are fees, how high are they?
- What are the advantages/disadvantages on selling on ebay vs selling on another marketplace?
- Do you think you fetch higher prices on ebay?
- What are the tricks to make your product stand out from all the other articles that are sold on ebay?

Thanks!
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Burgerbob
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Re: Experiences with selling on ebay

Post by Burgerbob »

I've never had a ton of luck selling on eBay. I've had some, but sometimes I'll skip the hassle and list only on here and facebook.

You will reach a different clientele with eBay, which can be worth it.
Aidan Ritchie, LA area player and teacher
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SwissTbone
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Re: Experiences with selling on ebay

Post by SwissTbone »

Burgerbob wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 12:43 am
You will reach a different clientele with eBay, which can be worth it.
That may in fact be interesting!
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greenbean
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Re: Experiences with selling on ebay

Post by greenbean »

- What are your experiences with selling on ebay?

Buying? Sure. Selling? No, not any more. Not worth it.

- I know there are fees, how high are they?

10% of total. That is right, the fee applies to the shipping cost, too. Nice company, eBay!

- What are the advantages/disadvantages on selling on ebay vs selling on another marketplace?

You can reach more people. eBay will always side with buyer in a disagreement, no matter how carefully you disclose condition. Many buyers will file complaints to get you to give partial refunds.

- Do you think you fetch higher prices on ebay?

No. I think the prices are more variable (less predictable) - sometimes higher than expected, sometimes lower.

- What are the tricks to make your product stand out from all the other articles that are sold on ebay?

I would try to take really good photos.
Tom in San Francisco
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JohnL
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Re: Experiences with selling on ebay

Post by JohnL »

greenbean wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 8:26 amI would try to take really good photos.
+1 to that (as long as the item is in good condition).
Better pictures from you translates into less risk for the buyer, which will generally encourage the bidders to be more aggressive.
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SwissTbone
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Re: Experiences with selling on ebay

Post by SwissTbone »

Wow 10% fees? Pretty crazy...
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hyperbolica
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Re: Experiences with selling on ebay

Post by hyperbolica »

I buy on ebay from time to time. I don't sell so much any more. As a buyer, real deals are hard to find there, and as a seller, I can't remember the last time I wasn't disappointed in a sale. Reverb really isn't any better. Sometimes I run an item at a price where I know it won't sell just to get offers. That is the one way you can kind of control the selling price without needing to accept a single lowball bid, on top of paying fees.

On the good side, as a buyer, I was able to return an instrument I bought on eBay that was improperly described without any hassle or cost. I would have been furious if I were the seller. (I negotiated a lower price, then returned the item because he had described it as "compensating" when it was non-compensating, and he had to pay all the shipping.)

To me, aside from the high fees, the worst part of dealing with ebay is paypal. Paypal charges fees in addition to ebay. In the last year, I've had more incidents with paypal where I can't get my money, or they can't tell me what happened in a particular transaction. I've dealt with them since they started, but only in the last year have I regretted it. Use an alternate payment method if you can.

One of their tricks is that paypal is actually behind a lot of the online credit card transactions (that have seemingly nothing to do with paypal). I bought an item from an online vendor where the item had already been sold. Getting my money back took 2 months. The vendor couldn't tell me what was going on. Once I figured out it was paypal behind it, paypal wouldn't tell me the state of the transaction either. "Wait for it to work its way through the system". Plus, they automatically make payments that someone somewhere considers recurring payments, but they don't warn you, and you've got to be a detective to figure out that these exist or how to stop them. If you have no money in your paypal, no problem, they will take the money out of your bank account, whether its there or not. Really infuriating. I break the link to my bank, it's just too risky whatever they decide to do.
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bassclef
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Re: Experiences with selling on ebay

Post by bassclef »

greenbean wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 8:26 am 10% of total. That is right, the fee applies to the shipping cost, too. Nice company, eBay!
Don't forget the 3% that PayPal takes.
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SwissTbone
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Re: Experiences with selling on ebay

Post by SwissTbone »

Well... all of that doesn't sound good. I think I will continue selling where I am used to.
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Like trombones? Head over to https://swisstbone.com/ to see some great vintage and custom horns!
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