Ebay selling advice?

By the time you list, pack, ship, pay postage, pay ebays' fees, pay paypals' fees, and hope that the buyer doesn't file a claim becuase they are unhappy with an aspect of the transaction, you will make a lot less than you thought when you sold it, about 30% less in the end.

 

Not worth it and I have sold off and on for years.

I have to go along with mrmike on this one- a real low ball opening price CAN backfire on you. The 1c opening bid doesnt always work- trust me. I took others advice when I started on ebay, starting with a low opening price. I was selling diorama kits, (aircraft + ground equipt+vehicle+ figures) Only a few bidders and the end bid didnt even cover my initial costs- legally I'm obligated to go through with the sale, and lose money. Think of the minimum you would take for each kit and have that as your starting point. I think people will still buy if it represents a saving on retail price- and it seems that you take pretty good care of your unbuilt kits.

Griffin25

...If you really want to get crazy offer free shipping to the contiguous USA...

Yes, $400 worth of kits IS worth selling on eBay.

I've sold a few things there, generally guitar parts or car parts I'm no longer using, either having upgraded to better quality or have gotten in deals that included more than the item I was after.  Also sold some shirts from places I no longer worked for, or craft beer shirts when I stopped drinking.

Seems to me eBay regularly offers free listings often enough.

As far as shipping only within the US, make sure you say continental United States.  A while back I had listed free shipping within the US.  The auction was won by an airforce service member stationed in Guam.

Ended up losing a little money on that deal.  Now I specifically say "continental US only. No, APO, FPO (thank you for your service!), AK, HI, PR, or the territories."

I've been buying and selling on eBay for over 20 years. I recently sold an unopened Gameboy for $425 and a pair of Dragon 1/72 scale Shermans for over $85 for the pair (two separate auctions sold to the same guy).

I'm not an expert, but I have noticed time of day of the auction ending time helps if it ends Sunday evening when bidders are more likely to be home.

I start auctions low and let demand set the price. Do some homework with a quick search of the items to see what they are being listed for and don't forget to search for recent completed auctions to see what they sold for or if they sold at all.

For my example, I noticed that the two Shermans I listed had recently sold for $25 and $45 each. I started both actions around the $10 mark. They sold for $33 and $52 respectively with 5 and 10 bids per.

For many of my 1/72 scale aircraft, there wasn't a lot of demand so I lumped them together in similar lots (WW2 German, WW2 US, WW2 Japanese, UK, etc.). For these kits, I wasn't trying to get real value money for them. I just wanted them gone in the easiest way possible. I also bunched them into amounts that would fit into a standard sized box. Likewise, I started these at $9.99.

Like Bish says, starting low is key. Ask for a reasonable price and most will pass the auction by because they are looking for a bargain. But if the item is in demand, bidders will raise the price beyond what a reasonable price should be.

Offer combined shipping. That way if one person is interested in several of your auctions, it motivates them to buy together. It's also easier sending several items to one guy than multiple items to different buyers.

I sell enough so that I wait for eBay selling incentives. When I sold the three items I mentioned, eBay had a 25% off final value auction fees for items listed and sold over $25 during the promotional period. It saved me over $10 in fees when the Game Boy sold.

My internet hiccupped (or FSM's site) during this reply so my last paragraphs got lost. Any way, descriptions are very important as well as photographs. A seller who says, "it looks complete, but I'm not sure" is going to lose bids that a seller who says they have inventoried the kit and it is complete.

If I am selling an opened kit, I will bag any loose parts along with the kit decals and clear parts. If there are a number of loose parts, I will add a sticky note to the bag inventorying the part numbers on the note.

Adding photos is simple if you have a smart phone and download the eBay app. I type up the auction on my laptop and then use the option to add photos from my smart phone. It then sends my phone a message and I can either upload a photo already taken or take them then.

Soome good advice there. I have recentrly been selling off a small number of items, which in turn has paid for stuff i actually want. I always look to see what the going rate is for the same kit from other sellers, and i usually put my starting bid a lower than those. Somtimes can pay off. I recently sold a Revell 72nd B-1. Another guy had one for a starting bid of £30, and it did sell. I started mine at about £20 and it went for well over 30. So somtimes starting low can pay off.

 

Yes Mike , Thin the herd as it were, is a more accurate description.

  I just want to get a fair price. I'm not giving away anything.  I've many times used the sold listings before bidding on items to see the reality.

 

Thanks for that.

By "getting rid of some of them" do you intend to lose a lot of what you paid for them? That's really not a good idea. I can only speak about my own experience, but I have noticed over time that sellers who start low generally end low (I keep an ongoing record of actual sale prices on subjects that interest me).

Before you list it will pay you to do some research. First, what is the kit selling for from  good online sellers? Prices have been going up steadily. Second, what do people actually pay for the kit on eBay? You can access that by "watching" the same item and then asking eBay to show you only Sold Listings in the left hand filter menu. Last, be really careful about shipping charges - you need to know exactly what it will cost or pick a charge that gives you the ability to adjust the charge if it is less than the longest distance you may have to ship the item.

I hope this helps you. I don't mean to sound like an authority; I think we're of a similar mind. I sometimes just lose interest in something and want to thin the herd or get some money for newer interests, but it is not necessary to give away your stash. Someone else will be happy to buy that kit for a fair value.

Happy modeling!

Mike 

Wilbur Wright

I have a 100% rating as a buyer in probably over 200 transactions.  I don't know if that will make any difference as far as trust.

All the kits were new, bought from Tower or Hobbylinc.   I always open the boxes in order to place the decals in acid free sheet protectors which prevents yellowing. The styrene stays in the sealed bags. I would set the price/bid to allow for a good deal while still making money. It's just time to get rid of some of them.

The kits are all large so shipping is an issue as far as cost.

Thanks for the advice men.

 

 

 

 

Just put all that in your description and you should be good. Also don't start the price at what you think is a good deal. Start at 1 cent. You will get a lot more interest because people have save searches they want to see stuff at $0.01 to start. You won't get burned at least I never have. More interest more bidders people want to win and become more competitive if you start at 1 cent. Start at $0.01 and priority shipping on the buyer  and you'll have plenty of bidders

WW,

If it's not too much trouble...what are you trying to sell and what scale?

I have a 100% rating as a buyer in probably over 200 transactions.  I don't know if that will make any difference as far as trust.

All the kits were new, bought from Tower or Hobbylinc.   I always open the boxes in order to place the decals in acid free sheet protectors which prevents yellowing. The styrene stays in the sealed bags. I would set the price/bid to allow for a good deal while still making money. It's just time to get rid of some of them.

The kits are all large so shipping is an issue as far as cost.

Thanks for the advice men.

 

 

 

I have sold a bunch of kits on EBay. It's quite easy. Some people are a little leary of buying from someone who has never sold anything so I suggest selling the first few one at a time. That way you can get the feel for it. Also be honest. Don't say it's new if the box has wear or anything has been opened. Describe the item clearly and take more than one photo. Usually eBay will allow a new seller a free listing on the first fIve items. If you really want to get crazy offer free shipping to the contiguous USA. People will pay up when they see free shipping and it usually ends up making you the same amount of money free shipping or if they pay for shipping. Also be sure to ship it as fast as you can after somebody wins the item. After you get a few positive feedbacks people will be more comfortable buying from you.

WW,

From what I hear it is very easy to set up a seller's account and start selling. $400.00 worth of kits to unload is worth it to me. Make sure if you deceide to move forward with this to post your seller's ID so we can take a look at what your selling. Good luck sir.