Your Ebay Experience

[Fred Weiss]

What best describes you experience with Ebay?

[Graphic Language]

We've both bought and sold on ebay. Some good experiences, some bad.

I sold an XMPCR (XM Radio for a PC) that was used for 1 month before they pulled them from the market (someone figured out how to rip MP3's from them). I paid $19.99+SH for it when I got it, it sold for $300+S/H within 3 hours of listing it. If you have something that's the current "Cabbage Patch" or "Furby" it'll sell for rediculous prices... people will get into bidding wars. I've sold some "yard sale" personal stuff that was probably collector stuff for teh right people... some of these items might have fetched 25 cents at a yard sale, but we got what we purchased or more for them on ebay. Collectables go really well on there.

I've bought a lot of parts for my kid's racing atvs.. happy results except for one time that I took a chance and got burned for $15 (the part was not what we had hoped for). I got our Credit Card terminal on there used for less than half of what they go for new.. ours looked new, even had the protective sheet over the display.

We've sold some stuff on there in the past... Item's that we listed whit a starting bid that we would make a small profit on didn't get looked at. If we started the items way low, we'd get bids, but we'd be lucky to break even. We had some banners and mag signs out there, but they didn't get bid up, and were not really worth our time, so we've given up on that. About the only thing that we can make money off of is some RTA stuff that we use vinyl scraps to make. We've got some standard stuff that the local MX and quad guys get, so there's no design time.. just load up some scrap, cut, weed and tape. We can get about $3-4 for a 6x6 decal or $9-11 for a 12x12 plus s/h. these are things that we do when we're not busy or or in the evening when bored.

Bryce

[SteadyBenny]

I attempted to sell signage there, but unless it's at give away prices, forget about it!
I've sold some personal items there. I've bought a handful of computer components on eBay, but mainly when I think computer parts, I think NewEgg.com.
I don't like eBay sign makers. There's no secret about that. I view them as stealing the crumbs from my mouth. I've been fighting over crumbs my whole life, that's just the way I see things.
From what I've seen, you have some REAL LOSERS on eBay, a few examples of mediocrity, and people (like me) who believe that they can sell a sign product like this at a profitable price and then give up after a while. I just can't go down to $20 for a 2x4' banner. Just isn't worth the effort, maybe $25, here in the shop they are $3.50 a sq. ft. That's a simple one color on 8 oz white. I try to always upsell to 10oz (which only costs a little more) for $4 a sq. ft. once they touch the material it's easy. You can't feel the material on eBay. Likewise magnetics I use 100 psi, not 85psi. You want to say it on eBay, I used good materials, my designs are good, this is good value... but it translates into "he's higher priced, screw him" there.
There is hardly a day when somebody doesn't mention eBay to me trying to brow beat me on my already cheapest-in-town prices.
eBay bugs the crap out of me, but I'd rather not get into details on how I handle it specifically.

[seaviewsigns]

i've yet to encounter a customer referring to seeing something on eBay, but if it does happen i'll say good luck and happy bidding... that's not a customer i'd want anyway. that's a one time, one shot, $10 job. how many of you guys have had these people come back for other things? maybe i'm missing the point of that one customer, but come on. of course, i'll cut/paint/airbrush anything for anyone, any size, any time, b/c you never know what they might need tomorrow? but if someone was to throw ebay in my face, i'd have to respectfully decline the job.

cory

[Graphic Language]

Out of the few banners and mag signs that we sold on ebay, we have had 2 repeat customers that purchased items from us at our regular price. We've writen up some nice little 8.5x11 fold in half flyers with a product list, some prices and specials that we may be running. We toss one in each order and carry them around with us to hand out. If they like what they got, they know how to get back in tough with us again.

One guy that got banner from us on ebay also called back and had us make him a set of mag signs at our regular price. Another customer that bought a banner has ordered another banner and 10 coroplast signs... I think she was trying to get the 2nd banner for the ebay price, and we told her that we could not honor that price for a regular order, and we thought we had lost a sale... a few days later, she called back and ordered the 2nd banner and coro signs. These 2 panned out, even though they got their ebay orders way lower than we would have liked to see them go, we did sell some items at a regular price and may see future sales from them.

I will say that we got some odd ball customers to go along with these ebay sales... one guy ordered mag signs for his snowplow in April (If it had been April 1, we would have thought he was pulling our legs). Also, the ebay customers don't read the descriptions which can be very aggrivating... we would list a banner or mag sign with 1 color graphics and they'd want multiple... if we said no logos or clip art, they'd want us to vectorize a 96x64 jpg.

For those of you "patroling" ebay... get a hobby, get a grip, maybe some
medications.. it'll all be OK.:peace!:

Bryce

[Kevin T]

Bought an Imac on Ebay. A camera and assorted other bits and pieces. No troubles.:smile:

[7oaks]

My son & I buy a lot of things on Ebay. Never had a problem
getting adjustments or product. I buy all my printer ink on ebay. Epson photo 820--less than $10 a cartridge and glossy photo paper for presentations. Same in supplier for 21 years--order on Monday have by Friday.
Ebay is the best tool to find the value of an item.:thumb:

Ken

[ApexSpeed]

Hi, my name is Doug, and I'm an eBay addict.

[Jen Goodwin]

I bought some digital optical audio cables and a Sony phone. I bought the phone because it was a particular phone we had and loved. All the electronic stores around here stopped selling Sony phones...when ours died that was the only one we wanted and Ebay was the only place we could find it. The phone only lasted about 6 months...oh well. That's it for me, anytime I really wanted something, I got outbid at the last second...I'd rather just go buy it. Noone is there waiting to snatch it out of my hands at the last second and run to the checkout with it! :Big Laugh

[Graphic Language]

I'd rather just go buy it. Noone is there waiting to snatch it out of my hands at the last second and run to the checkout with it! :Big Laugh

You have not shopped at the Wal-Mart by my house on December 24th then:biggrin:

Bryce

[Decal_Designs]

I've been selling on eBay since February 1999. Although I have bought several items, most notably my Summa D60, I am a seller. I've sold everything from Winter Olympic pins, Fossil Watch tins, Victoria Secret bikinis, Harley gas tanks, Sunbeam popcorn poppers all the way up to a $9,000 Hobie 21 catamaran sailboat and many other items. I have had only a few problem buyers in all that time. As a seller, I've never lost money. As a seller, you have to honest, clear, descriptive and rapid communication is essential. I have a feedback rating of 1101 and it's 100% positive.
My eBay name is rycpirate.
I have looked into selling RTA vinyl which I am very interested in. I am not ready to start yet, but will be under the Decal_Designs name when I do. My interest is not in doing Calvins and the like, but rather in designs I make myself using the raster to vector method of producing cut decals. I have so much to learn still, but enjoy it very much. Right now I'm starting over and reading every single help page of Vinyl Master Pro.

I'm very familiar with eBay and it's positives and negatives. After doing some research on a few other choice RTA sellers on eBay which I keep track of, and analyzing their feedback ratings, multiplying their lowest priced sales by the % of feedbacks left which is only about 60% of all sales, figuring in eBay fees and materials cost and the small profit made on shipping and handling for each sale and many of these sellers are pulling in well over $30,000 a year net just on eBay RTA. It's a lot of work, but it is profitable. These sellers that I keep track of are mostly selling things other than Calvins and No Fear type stuff.

This is a major portion of what I want to do, but not limited to it.

When looking at vinyl signage in general on eBay, it gets tougher to make a good profit on banners and coroplast etc. However, it must not be overlooked as a source of sales and contacts for future signage. The tricky part is coming up with something unique for eBay at the right price and still make a profit. For eBay, profit has a lot to do with volume and also up-selling and cross-selling your new contacts using flyers, price lists, websites etc. There are many ways to automate much of this volume as a seller so it's not as overwhelming a task.

If you make something you think is fairly unique, sell that. That is what ebay buyers will pay more for.

Also, it is wise to separate your volume RTA sales from your other eBay sales. Selling anything in volume is bound to get some negative feedback. It is harder to satisfy every last person with RTA stuff.

[Jen Goodwin]

You have not shopped at the Wal-Mart by my house on December 24th then:biggrin:

Bryce

Oh yeah, very true about Wally World - especially on Dec. 24th :Big Laugh Too funny!!

[rockongraphix]

when i first got started i sold a lot on ebay , now i sell a select number of items that i know will sell , all my own work, last month i did my own survey and ebay is only 5% of my sales , 25% is repeat cus, and the rest is all word of mouth business,so in a way all my ebay money goes back into it for the fees and for my other hobbys( trains and nascar)
michael
Rockongraphix

[laforestsigns]

im a power seller on ebay and it can go a bunch of different ways. 1 to sell cheap little decals you have to give the stuff away to sell it barely worth your time. 2 if your creative you can clean up!!!! i started selling window flames last summer on ebay 11X16 cut out of avery etch material selling for 80 bucks a set ive sold over 200 sets you so the math. but on the other hand ive run into the 20 dollar magnet deal also and simply tell my customer 1 you don't know who your buying from 2 after waiting days if you don't like the product your pretty much stuck with it. after a few minutes unless here really cheap you can sway them to buy from you . but it does hurt and always has peaple asking questions on how you arrive at pricing , and how can this guy sell it cheaper. on one good note though a few weeks ago i had an ebay magnet make it to my shop garbage!!! cheap magnet cheap vinyl and enough bubbles to float the titanic!! ill post a pic soon i have it in my shop to show customers what they get on ebay.

[zamboni]

I'm a regular buyer on Ebay. It took me two years, but I bought ALL of my screen printing equipment and supplies on Ebay at a fraction of the price you would pay for new or even used. I did buy my new supplies like inks and coatings from retail, but everything else.. from squeegees to the printers and dryers came from Ebay. Mind you, I wasn't in a hurry, and was willing to wait a couple of years before I got the heavy equipment at a good price and close to my location.
Only ever got ripped off once, and a year later when I had tracked the guy down and sent an old boys rugby team to his house, he came through with the Epson printer. (It was a 3000). And this guy lived 1200 miles from me.
Bought my cutter on Ebay as well, but again, for the vinyl, I like to see it up close so I buy that new at retail.

[SteadyBenny]

eBay... gotta love the pro's!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20946&item=5973491054

[jimdes]

I buy and sell on eBay all the time but only collectibles.

You have to be a little savvy when it comes to reading descriptions and you had better know what you're buying. There are some undesireables on there but for the most part, the majority of eBayers are reputable. My biggest beef is eBayers marking up shipping costs beyond what is necessary.

I have an extensive baseball card and post card collection that I am constantly upgrading and building, without eBay, there is no way I could have amassed the collection I have today.

My only bad experience was the purchase of a reprinted Mickey Mantle rookie card that was sold as "the real thing." After some wrangling, I was able to get my money and shipping costs back. The card had been altered to remove the reprint information and it wasn't until I weighed the card that i discovered the abnormality. The purchase was through a long time reputable company that had recently been sold to a less desireable owner for the sole intent to defraud people. The new owners have a two year lease on a very small office in a federally sponsored program now!

My best experience was the purchase of a bulk lot of baseball cards for $100. I was able to assemble a complete set of 1972 Topps in VG-EX condition (about $1300 retail at the time) and found 50+ cards in the $10-$20 range. This single purchase has more than covered all my losses on eBay!

My best advice for buying: beware and read everything in the listing.
My best advice for selling: be honest, include shipping in the selling price and take a lot of pictures on premium items.

[Greg]

My eBay experiences have mainly been in the selling category. Before "signs" it was sports cards from my own collection (approx. 500,000). I now have an eBay Store for vinyl and between the fees, cutthroat competition, and management of the store I'm probably closer to breaking even than I care to think about. Sometimes I will toss some sports cards, household goods, etc., online as regular auction items.

On the other hand, the eBay Store generates leads that have resulted in 90% of my larger sales since I don't have a "shop".

Particularly vexing is the idea that you can pay eBay for an online store but the official rules state that you mustn't sell anything outside of eBay.

I've purchased a few "Beanie Baby" items for my wife's collection with no trouble.

[Ian Stewart-Koster]

bought lots, laser printers, toner, screen-printing carousel, computer parts- no problems except in buying twice from some amateur sellers who refused to sell after I'd won the item, then posted negative feedback on me- wierd- as I did nothing wrong.
Don't be afraid to use the 'ask seller a question' button, as I've received stuff not quite as good as described, and have had the fault remedied when I could remind them of their response to the question.

You do have to watch postage charges- reputable sellers are mostly quite OK. I've done a lot of overseas bidding too, with good prices & success.

[Tony Teveris]

I only bought 1 item on Ebay just before Christmas and with in the last month I have gotten a number of SPAM emails saying my account has been accessed, or a new email has been added to my account. I just gont one from PayPal which I used on Ebay. All BS according to PayPal and Ebay. The emails look real with logos and other info. If I could just reach through the screen I'd .....

T

[Graphic Language]

I only bought 1 item on Ebay just before Christmas and with in the last month I have gotten a number of SPAM emails saying my account has been accessed, or a new email has been added to my account. I just gont one from PayPal which I used on Ebay. All BS according to PayPal and Ebay. The emails look real with logos and other info. If I could just reach through the screen I'd .....

T

It's called Phishing... don't fall for it. http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/p/phishing.html

but it's not ebay or paypal's fault... it's dirtbag theifs... lots of Nigerians. someone could easily send out emails saying that Signs101.com needed you to update your password and personal information and set up a web page that looked just like it, and possibly get some info on you.

Bryce

[mystysue]

I Sell on ebay as does my B/F but we dont sell vinyl or signage.. We are in the process rite now of buying a Sign store. so not been in the business long.. (we will have the store in about 4 weeks)..... I even bought my car on ebay and got a killer deal from someone who lived 25 miles from me.. I got a 2000 NewBeetle Turbo.. for 5,800 2 years ago.. (its still worth more than i got it for).. I have been selling vintage jewelry on ebay and at times can do quite well with it.. but its not a fun catagory to do the listings for..

My B/F sells Radio Control Boat Parts as that is One of his web Businesses. and what he sells the most of is products we have developed or packaged with our business web site listed in the name of the product. so. when people get the product once they are more than likely to order the next time or get differant products from our website instead of ebay. And we always include a maginet business card in with our orders.

I do believe that ebay while you may not make alot with some of the products you sell can lead to more business in the long run.

[jenrood]

I buy and sell on ebay no problems:cool1:

[anothersign]

We have bought and sold on e-bay and had decent luck. We sold two computers and bought two new dells and they have worked out great!

We have never tried to sell banners or magnets or anything on there. He (the other half) considered buying a cutter on there awhile back, but after research and further consideration decided that was not the way to go.

I will say that it can become addicting...:Oops:

[Tim N]

Jimdes did you buy a large lot in Jamestown, NY a couple years ago?

[gerald]

I don't buy anything of real importance to me or anything of high value/price. I don't trust Ebay enough to spend anything over a couple hundred dollars. I bought a digital camera for 225.00. My biggest purchase thus far. I did sell a Compaq server that I no longer needed for 1200.00. Both went fine. I've bought numerous small items. Mostly PC related.

[Pro Image]

I just bought a IBM laptop loaded with XP Pro and all the goodies for 320.00...got dvd burner from another seller, other drive and docking station form another seller.........I have about 400.00 in a laptop that sold for well over a 1000.00 new..............I bought my Fastrack 750 for 550.00 and a Encad 850 42" printer for 1900.00 and they are both great machines...............

[Pro Signs & Graphix]

Selling in EBay can take a lot of work - although a person can do well. As for competing with EBay - never. We have purchased a lot from EBay. We are extremely reluctant to purchase supplies, as we have seen our competition purchase too much junk.

Buyer beware holds true. We are extremely careful where we buy from. We will not buy anything that must be shipped from Asia. The UK, Germany, and Australia require caution.

All in all, only one purchase had problems.

[jmerlos]

I have also been using it for about 4 years with about 200 feedback ratings at 100% positive with about half being items sold and bought, I even sold my old car there

[imaSIGNr]

I have had some good deals on ebay .I have never sold anything. I have been burned 3 times in the last 2 years as a buyer though. One seller even had a perfect feedback and they must have left the country or could have died or something, but suddenly I didn't get my item. I reported it. Nobody did anything about it. I watched and then the seller was getting nothing but neg. feedbacks.Then disappeared.
I had a couple other bad buys. I mean I did not even recieve the item and ebay or Paypal did nothing about it.....
I don't use it anymore. Occasionly I look to see what is there, but I'm affraid to buy......

[Mardi]

I started using e-bay actively about a month ago, mainly in search for a Roland PC-60/600 that I am trying to find. Couple of good deals got away within last seconds of the bidding :( I was pissed…..invested couple of hours researching e-bay bidding process and came up with Auction Sentry (http://www.auction-sentry.com). A priceless little program for less than $20 that allowed me to track auctions I want, not have to sit in front of the computer to place a bid and control exactly when I want my bid to be placed. It was the best 20 bucks spent, and if anyone is planning to make even few purchases on E-bay, I highly recommend it! I am in no way shape and form associated with the maker of the program, but just can not help sharing my enthusiasm about it. Try it (30 day trial) and see for your self.

Since I started using it I finally managed to make few purchases that I consider to be great deals. If you know the value of what you want, and do not need something right away, it is a place where likely you will hunt down a good deal.
I did run in one instance of waiting too long for an item, which got resolved immediately after my inquiry with e-bay resolution center and pay pal, one instance of item not performing well that resulted with full refund including original shipping cost (apparently a honest mistake) and one instance where I backed out not realizing the huge cost of shipping where the seller was very understanding and had no problem with me retracting my (minimal) winning bid.
I have not sold anything there yet, although I am thinking about it.

Over all a positive experience although I have noticed that it is getting infiltrated with scammers! If e-bay does not address that problem, it will get a really bad rap over time.
My advise…be careful with popular large ticket items.

[Air Art Girl]

I have both bought and sold on ebay. Done quite well on selling but have only sold personal items not many items produced at the shop. What I hate about ebay is that it is over saturated with "ebay stores" You look for an item and the same seller has 50 of them listed. It takes way too much time to weed thru the crap to find a private seller. I wish you could exclude the store sellers or choose to view the store sellers seperately. I have found Craig's List to be sometimes better for some items.

[436HENRY]

I have been on ebay now since 05 I have bought somethings. but mostly I sell several items I make in my own shop to sign people the business has realy grown I have sold in most of the united states and many foreign countries. I have strict rules on selling when contacted thru ebay I will sell only thru ebay I never go around.ebay. Another sore point with people is shipping cost. I only charge what the actual cost is and no more. I want ship until the invoice is sent. the excpetion is buy it now . I give a iron clad money back guarantee in including freight never had to use it good feedbacks are important mine is positive 350 no negative. a lot of people think thay don't have to pay income tax 0n sales you do so keep good records you might need them. ebay is great just play by their rules remember the customer is always right. Another thing i ship the day I get paid. Try ebay out its great Thanks for looking Henry Goines

p.s look under vinyl sign supplies and vinyl sign making and signs.

[RE-APP]

I love ebay when its time to get rid of things I no longer use. I also enjoy getting hard to find items from there. You name it, its there pretty much there.

[Buddy]

Sold a lot of guitars on eBay. One for $2750 and shipped to Japan. Shipping was $450.

Got ripped off for $1600 once on eBay. Customer just gave me a good all American screwin'. I bought his product and paid my money....he thumbed his nose at me and said see ya buddy. Sue me if you think you can collect.

[RE-APP]

That happened to my brother when he purchased a GPS. Paid about $400 or so and never recieved it. When he put the heat on the seller, the seller said "what money?" and "what GPS?". The seller was new to ebay and screwed several others at the same time. He then closed his ebay account (or ebay closed it) and counted his earnings.

[maxxgraphix]

"IT" sucks.
I refuse to do any business with FEEBAY ever again!
If you sell on Ebay I won't buy from you.
I won't do PayPal either.
FeeBay will suck the life ($) out of you until you can't go on. They raise fees every 6 months or more. Change the policies whnever they feel like it. Harbor known scams. Make deals with PowerSellers to cut out the little guy. Always screwing with the search functions and adding worthless features to charge you another nickle. Worst customer service (NON EXISTANT) for any company except the IRS.

I'm not the only one that feels this way. http://www.powersellersunite.com
was created to discuss Ebay without fear of being Pink Slapped!

Just my 2 cents.

[436HENRY]

I sell regular on ebay and have for two years It's work but fun and rewarding. Now ebay want let you mention your web site on your listings or email But if you get a ME page you can list the site and have a link to your site You will have to work up to this. When I list a Item I tell the bidder to check my ME page and feedbacks it works. I list at vinyl sign supplies and vinyl sign making Thanks Henry Goines merchant

[jbailey618]

We've had great luck with eBay.

We don't sell retail, so we've never listed our products on eBay, but we've bought and sold quite a bit of equipment on ebay. I rebuilt a nice honda street bike a few years ago with parts from eBay sellers. As many have already stated here it's really a matter of buyer beware and doing your research. The only negative thing to happen recently was a bid winner not paying for an item then making a lame excuse saying he "thought" he paid for the item. After giving him an additional week to pay, we had to enter a dispute as a dead beat bidder and we prevailed getting our listing fees reversed. As far as eBay itself I have no complaints. Just be careful of the people you deal with is all.

If anyone is interested in a Nikon D1 Digital SLR Camera with lens let me know.. haha.. It's just about to go back on eBay....

[bob]

I'd rather be beaten with chains than participate in any way with EBay, and it's vicious offspring, PayPal. It's not the way gentlebeings should do business.

[Samm]

I buy and sell on ebay Heaps, am located in Australia, and most of my stuff goes to the US, Canada, and UK.

Pro Signs & Graphix, to quote you - "Buyer beware holds true. We are extremely careful where we buy from. We will not buy anything that must be shipped from Asia. The UK, Germany, and Australia require caution"

I can understand the buyer beware bit, and with some Asian countries, France and a few other places that holds true, but may I ask why the UK and AU?

Sam

[Samm]

PS...for those who mention getting outbid in the dying seconds, try using a sniper. I have saved buttloads by not getting into bidding wars.

Here (http://www.auctionsniper.com/default.aspx) is a great one, first 3 snipes are free, and it costs minimal after - I've been running on $10us for the past 2 years!!!!


Please use me as a referrer!!!! (cpknut)

xSam

[flat rock stan]

I sell educational DVD’s there 50 dollars cheaper that I do on my website but have had lots of people call and order from my site cause they don’t trust eBay. When I tell them we are the same people they still want to buy for more from my website! Hmmmmmm the weirdest thing I have bought on eBay is a swimming pool (endless pool) 3 years ago and saved a fortune. Some deals haven’t been so good though.

[SignosaurusRex]

Have not had any bad experiences on ebay. Have bought books, antique porcelain signs and rare advertising art & water tranfers. Have sold antique and fantasy signs & old ad art. no problems, "knock-on-wood".

[Techman]

I have a subscription to a statistics service for ebay. You look for HOT items or you look for how hot you item is.

I am really disappointed to see the stats. They are not that good.

There are a few hot spots and I can tell you this.
They are summer activity good with some hot sales going on. Home and garden is really HOT. Subset is kitchen and subset of the is kitchen appliances.
Home decor is the hottest right now.
I will not let on what but, I wanna save that for myself.

[Samm]

Check this (http://fatfingers.com/) out... we are all perfect (LOL) and dont make typos, but for those who cant spell to save themselves...!!!

Might just be a few Rolaands etc out there :biggrin:

xSam

[andy]

I won't buy from ebay and I won't ever sell on ebay.

If I'm going to spend money on something I want a proper guarantee and to deal direct with the supplier.

Paypal?- why bother. Get a proper merchant account from a proper bank and your money is safe. Paypal can freeze, empty and do loads of other things with your account and you have NO power to stop them http://paypalsucks.com

[Samm]

Paypal has been very good to me, not only for ebay purchases but for alot of other purchases. Being in AU and needing to buy overseas alot, and even with local sales, they offer the backup I need in case I get ripped off, which I've had a few try to do, and paypal has been there to help.

I think alot of people who start sites like the one shown are people on the other end, some who try to rip people off and then are stunned to find out that PP can actually take the money back paid to them, but of course some who are legitimate.

Like anything though, I Always use insurance, so I have nothing to worry about as if there is a problem, I'll get my money back Somehow.

Quite simply, PP is Alot safer than other means of payment, especially WU.

xSam

[FatCat]

Ya' pays your money...ya' takes yur chances.

Seriously though, I've bought and sold since 2001. Only a handful of minor problems not worthy of mentioning. Just be careful, research your seller (if you're buying) and make sure to read the fine print.

[HSG]

I buy and sell. The best thing about ebay is the availability of things that would be impossible to find locally. When my G4 Mac monitor died I was able to get a used one cheap, instead of buying a new expensive one. I was able to liquidate a lot of my Mother-in-laws stuff when we downsized her. I was able to buy her a living room full of new furniture with what we made. The downside is the occasional deadbeat buyer or seller, and the high price of ebay and especially pay pal's fees once you have a premier account. And you have to have one to accept credit cards. I was considering opening a store selling stained glass supplies until I did some research on the items I wanted to sell. To many were already being sold directly from the source at wholesale costs so it wasn't worth bothering with. also the fees associated with selling some of the low end items were too high.

[JimJenson]

rule number 1.

pay through paypal with american express. If you get scammed, contact paypal for a refund (dispute). If you get no-where, file a chargeback with your credit card company.

Problem solved.

[Samm]

I had PP drag their feet once as the person they were trying to get my money back from, emptied their account so PP couldnt get my money back.

I got my CC company to chase it up, as well as filing for a lost (insured) package.

I actually wound up with 3x the $$ back - the insurance came through, the cc got the $ from PP and PP got the $$ from the seller when she went to buy something.

I was honest, contacted all involved and said hey, once is enough, but they all said keep it.

Long story, but a bad US seller using an alias...chose me to scam, she wound up in court after I contacted the police in her area...turns out she sent the item to another address Knowing it would get returned to her, thinking she could just keep it! Seems she forgot it was insured LOL

And I'm in agreeance, it is getting expensive to sell on ebay :(

[gbahue]

I buy from ebay and amazon. Rairly sell. Have you tried craigslist.com? I found an epson printer that i bought from a shop going under.

[craigco]

I have bought and sold on ebay.

I have had about a 99% good experience. the problems i experienced were resolved.

[signrik]

Its the same old thing when somone gets big the media wants to slag them off they will allways tell you the bad things and not the millions of good sale and buys
We use ebay and we love it a few problems but mostly good .
I wish there were two ebay types because when somone gets a monopoly they dont quite give the same service as when they are in competion

[cwa]

I have bought lots of things -shoes,Cocaine Energy Drink cuz it is not available, and lots of NYC mini buildings which I collect and a signed copy of Frank Sinatra The Main Event (Album which I WILL belive is authentic).
I got a bogus Louis Vuitton purse and the company was not acknowledged by Ebay so I could not do anything, and I bought an IPod that funtioned only in Japanese. Just got to be more carefull

[Techman]

subscribe to a bay charting service, Then you can track whats hot and whats not, you will be surprised to know that.

There are millions of items listed. And that a large percentage of those items do not sell and if they do,, they sell at a lower price than many would suspect.

Yes there are many that do good. But the hype about doing tremendous amounts of money are very rare indeed.

[mountainmang]

buy mostly fishin and huntin stuff there...like others have said, it's hard to sell graphics unless you wanna give em away:rolleyes:

[schramm]

I have both bought and sold items on ebay since 1997, I have never sold vinyl on there as most people that do let it go for almost NO PROFIT and I have way better things to do.
I have over the years had more issues with PayPal then I have ever had with ebay. The main issue if there was any that I will state with ebay is the cost of selling your item. They have now lowered there listing price HOWEVER the backside final fee is killer!!! If you want to do business on ebay you had better know what you are doing as ebay definatly can make you or break you.

[Techman]

well, you can count on ebay and affiliates fees getting about a total of 11% now..

[shadi75]

I have an ebay store now and i been selling for almost a year now. For the money they take from me its not bad it like renting a store in a mega million online mall. I do hate there customer service thou there useless they dont know anything at all, i would expect much better service for the money i m paying and they dont care your just another 100 million customer. I also noticed that there are few trick to having your stuff sell more i havent found them yet, but I wonder if anyone else noticed that .

I do have to say becareful buying expensive brand names and electronics from ebay, alot of it is cheap stuff from china, on the other hand alot of other stuff that comes from china is really good deal for the prices. I do try to buy north american when i can. I been looking to sell car decals on ebay but i see one guy from hong kong selling the stuff for cheaper then it would cost any of us to make . The stuff looks really cheap, he is just ruining it for everyone else.

[onesmf]

I agree with Artgirl. E-bay was a great source for buying items from individuals before it gained popularity, however over the years it has developed into a site for shops to market their merchandise at a nominal fee. It still remains a good source for goods if your are educated on what you are looking for and willing to sift through all of the noise to get at the deals. Make a great day for yourself!

[ddarlak]

i don't buy anything until i check ebay first....

[SOA]

My problem with ebay is im buyer not a seller!!!!!

[kraigsnowden]

I had a cousin that needed some fast cash around Christmas, and her husband won a PS3 right before Christmas at the company Christmas party. They called me to see if I knew anyone that would want to buy it for $200. I said sure, cause I figured if nothin' else, I'd use it for that much. Well, picked it up from her later that day, wrote a check, put it on ebay when I got home, had it bought in 15 minutes, had the money in my account from selling it before my cousin even cashed the check. $200 for about 10 mins work. Not too bad.

[Rodi]

Ebay is great, I have bought and sold many things of different price and quality. The closest thing to a hosing was I sold a kinda beat up 1961/62 Les Paul Special (Looks exactly like an SG) that was beat, I described everything that was wrong with it. I figured I would get 200 bux, but it sold for 3 times that. The guy who bought it, well he was not honest and tried to get me to send him 200 bux, after his girly girl friend had paid for it. This is what happened: he loved the guitar until he started bragging at some local music store who told him the color was not original… HA! They busted his chops then he comes back all pissed. It was funny, and honor to get a negative from him.
I sold my very valuable 1968 HiWatt 50 watt Head amplifier, that was the best, where Marshalls were a kitten this was a tiger, a real king of an amp the sound was unreal! Sold it quick.
Have bought tons of old software (I'm a sucker for that stuff!) and sold some hardware. Been good.
My wife sold enough to move us from Nashville back to CT (its a God story if anyone is intersted, sorry Bob!), and that was great. For a short time we were getting Money Orders every day, my wife was going to the airport post office, it was a real kick.

Always look out who you are buying from…

My vinyl cutter took a while to get and I had to really work to get it to be functional, starting with a PC program and a Mac Graphtec serial Cable! Cutter also made so much noise, I had adjust the way the bar, and I can't believe it cuts so nice (Slow speeeds only).

I'm still looking for FontCHameleon Pro 1.5 Mac or PC and Pixar Typestry Looks CD that is unlocked…

[knifemaker3]

I've sold on ebay since the mid 90's. I used to just sell my handmade knives on there.

More recently I've been selling some of my printed t-shirts on there. The key is to find something that nobody else is doing. Then, give great service and a great price and you will get repeat buyers.

I have a 100% approval rating right now on ebay. I've done it by quick shipping and a great product that nobody else offers on ebay.

BUT EBAY FEES SUCK!!!!!!! They make 1/3 of my profits by the time you figure ebay and paypal fees.

But, I do make a small amount of money on ebay, not as much as if I could deal with the people direct without ebay's fees. But, it gives you world wide exposure without having to maintain a website.

Consider this. If you are trying to reach more people than just your local market the first thing you are going to do is create a website. Your probably going to pay for said website and spend hours every week maintaining SEO and just the site in general. That takes lots of time you could be doing something else. Or, you're going to pay some company to do those things for you.

So, by the time you figure all of the money it cost to maintain a website both in hosting fees, seo company fees, and lost hours of your time maintaining it, ebay really isn't that bad.

There are several tricks to selling on ebay. But, it too takes time to maintain your ebay presence. I just consider it as one avenue to reach more people. Yes, you have to pay for their services. But you will gain more business. Plus, at least for me, I can set up a listing in ebay much faster than trying to maintain a website. But, I sell the same type of items all the time on ebay and when they sell just click relist and "PUFF" it's relisted.

Just my .02....When most people want or need to buy something they will go to ebay first! Esp. when online shopping in the comfort of their own home. I hope to get their business. I've had several repeat customers from out of state that I never would have had if it weren't for selling on ebay.

So, for me, it works.

Sorry such a long post.:Oops:

[omgsideburns]

the new feedback system on ebay sucks, if you sell once or twice a month, getting poor feedback (not even negative!) can restrict your account.

...but i still use it.

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