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Ebay resellers - tell me your story...

535 229 April 21, 2016 at 06:15 AM in Chat
I've never really sold much on Ebay, more of a buyer, but the few things lately that I have sold were nowhere near worth the hassle. How do those of you that sell make sure it still makes you money? Apart from dumping stock found with price mistakes it seems that the steadily increasing Ebay fees, Paypal fees, and 'buyer-centric' policies have made Ebay selling a lot more difficult, less profitable, and more cutthroat. I'm just curious to hear from anyone who's actually making it work.
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Joined Mar 2005
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dataplussystems
04-22-2016 at 04:29 PM.
04-22-2016 at 04:29 PM.
Quote from xxxHolic :
13% fee + paying tax. I wonder why people are still selling on eBay.
You could also ask why people who pay 50%+ in combined federal, state and city (NYC for example) taxes continue to work at jobs.
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SnakePlisken
04-25-2016 at 04:50 AM.
04-25-2016 at 04:50 AM.
Quote from iRabbitt :
when i was young and had no sense, I sold my vibrating butt plug on ebay without using any common sense.
way back then, did you connect to it using dial up on a 300 baud modem?
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iRabbitt
04-25-2016 at 06:10 AM.
04-25-2016 at 06:10 AM.
Quote from Sun_shine :
way back then, did you connect to it using dial up on a 300 baud modem?


the thing nearly disintegrated at 9600 baud!

laugh out loud
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Joined Jul 2014
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FHRITP
04-26-2016 at 11:34 AM.
04-26-2016 at 11:34 AM.
I only use craigslist. Probably sold around 100 items over the past 3 years. Have made a lot of money in profit. Not sure what else to tell you. Ebay sucks...avoid it like the plague.
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MsGal
04-26-2016 at 11:59 AM.
04-26-2016 at 11:59 AM.
Quote from FHRITP :
I only use craigslist. Probably sold around 100 items over the past 3 years. Have made a lot of money in profit. Not sure what else to tell you. Ebay sucks...avoid it like the plague.
That's what my dad does. He quit selling on Ebay a couple of years ago because of the fees and now he makes pretty good money selling on CL.
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FHRITP
04-26-2016 at 12:10 PM.
04-26-2016 at 12:10 PM.
Quote from MsGal :
That's what my dad does. He quit selling on Ebay a couple of years ago because of the fees and now he makes pretty good money selling on CL.
Yeah craigslist is awesome. Almost all cases of a craigslist deal going south is because of something dumb that could have been prevented.

Really the most annoying part is when people email you and seem interested...you email back and they never reply. Or you have those who email a dozen times and never actually buy anything.

Other than that its fine. I do not haggle in person...I will set a price through email and thats it. Only do local pickups...I will never go anywhere to meet someone. It only took one time for a no show to end that. Use a google voice number..download the app. You can make calls/send texts through GV.

My strategy is to always list something for less than what anyone else is selling it for. I never get greedy...thats typically why I can unload whatever im selling relatively quick. And the most important part...do not sell someone something that has problems or is broke (unless stated in the ad and they know it has issues.) You have no idea who the person is you're meeting. Do you really want to try to rip someone off then have them come back looking for you? Just avoid it. Be honest and you'll have much better results.
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MsGal
04-26-2016 at 12:18 PM.
04-26-2016 at 12:18 PM.
Quote from FHRITP :
My strategy is to always list something for less than what anyone else is selling it for. I never get greedy...thats typically why I can unload whatever im selling relatively quick. And the most important part...do not sell someone something that has problems or is broke (unless stated in the ad and they know it has issues.) You have no idea who the person is you're meeting. Do you really want to try to rip someone off then have them come back looking for you? Just avoid it. Be honest and you'll have much better results.

My parents are hoarders (not the filthy, rotting food, and rats kind) and my dad has sooooo much stuff that when someone shows up to buy something he listed, he usually ends up giving them one or two things for free. The neighbors LOVE him. laugh out loud
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CheapestGamer
04-26-2016 at 07:16 PM.
04-26-2016 at 07:16 PM.
Quote from FHRITP :
Really the most annoying part is when people email you and seem interested...you email back and they never reply. Or you have those who email a dozen times and never actually buy anything.
Been there, done that multiple times. Got a whole closet full of t-shirts from those time wasting experiences.
Quote :
Other than that its fine. I do not haggle in person...I will set a price through email and thats it. Only do local pickups...I will never go anywhere to meet someone. It only took one time for a no show to end that. Use a google voice number..download the app. You can make calls/send texts through GV.
I only negotiate via email. That way I have a written record of what was said and by whom. Not only that but I NEVER meet at the house. I ALWAYS meet them at a neutral place(local mall, etc) and I never go straight back home after meeting them.
Quote :
My strategy is to always list something for less than what anyone else is selling it for. I never get greedy...thats typically why I can unload whatever im selling relatively quick. And the most important part...do not sell someone something that has problems or is broke (unless stated in the ad and they know it has issues.) You have no idea who the person is you're meeting. Do you really want to try to rip someone off then have them come back looking for you? Just avoid it. Be honest and you'll have much better results.
I usually price my item(s) 20-50% HIGHER than I want to try and actually get for them. Sad thing is most responses start in the basement and only go LOWER. It's one thing if I say 'make me an offer'. But I usually have a number in my head that I'm trying to get for the item(s) and once I see the first laughable offer is 20% of my listed price I'm more inclined to tell them to go fark themselves and never respond again. Craigslist has been a massive waste of time save for 1-2 experiences.
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Zoe Moon
04-26-2016 at 07:26 PM.
04-26-2016 at 07:26 PM.
There seems to be a lot of people in recent years who are using Etsy and similar sites to sell stuff that used to be offered on Ebay. Guess their listing fees and seller policies are better.
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FHRITP
04-27-2016 at 05:38 AM.
04-27-2016 at 05:38 AM.
Quote from CheapestGamer :
Not only that but I NEVER meet at the house. I ALWAYS meet them at a neutral place(local mall, etc) and I never go straight back home after meeting them.
Depends what you're selling. I used to live in an apartment complex so meeting people was easy...I would just meet them outside the building...they never knew what apartment I lived in. I recently sold a cybex smith machine that weighted 500lbs+. The person had to come to the house to check it out/buy it. Luckily I had no issues.

Thats where the honesty part comes into play especially if a buyer has to come to you.
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SnakePlisken
04-27-2016 at 06:01 AM.
04-27-2016 at 06:01 AM.
Quote from FHRITP :
Depends what you're selling. I used to live in an apartment complex so meeting people was easy...I would just meet them outside the building...they never knew what apartment I lived in. I recently sold a cybex smith machine that weighted 500lbs+. The person had to come to the house to check it out/buy it. Luckily I had no issues.

Thats where the honesty part comes into play especially if a buyer has to come to you.
how much did you get for the smith?
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shhaggy
04-27-2016 at 06:28 AM.
04-27-2016 at 06:28 AM.
Quote from Landers :
Holy shit.. people who are making income need to pay tax on that? Go farking figure..
I'm always amused when people say something like this. Oh, you mean this income I'm making is subject to INCOME TAX?! What the hell?!

Um, of course it is. I make income at my job and they report it on a W2 and I have to pay taxes on it. Why are people who make money on ebay different? Why should they make tax-free income?
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FHRITP
04-27-2016 at 08:26 AM.
04-27-2016 at 08:26 AM.
Quote from Sun_shine :
how much did you get for the smith?
$600...I actually purchased it for around $600 but it came with the cybex 5435 bench. I only wanted the bench so I sold off the smith making the bench free.
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SnakePlisken
04-27-2016 at 08:58 AM.
04-27-2016 at 08:58 AM.
Quote from FHRITP :
$600...I actually purchased it for around $600 but it came with the cybex 5435 bench. I only wanted the bench so I sold off the smith making the bench free.
that's slick!
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MoonSprite
04-27-2016 at 12:15 PM.
04-27-2016 at 12:15 PM.
Quote from boboli :
The thing that is suspicious - why is it PayPal reporting to the IRS and not Ebay? And why doesn't PayPal send sellers a 1099-K in the mail like every other tax reporting company?

Actually, Paypal DOES send out 1099k's in the mail (and it is available for download in your paypal account online).
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