getting into online selling??

[SticketsFTW]

Hello all, i recently aquired some stuff I have no need for and would like to sell at reasonable prices.

I have never sold stuff online before so I cant offer and ''seller feedback''

How does one advoid such problems when getting into online selling?

I plan on setting up a pay pal making payments easy for the buyer.

Shippings going to be the biggers issue I can see. Whats the most economical way to ship stuff? I plan on making the buyer pay the shipping on items.

Any advise is welcomed I dont plan of screwing anyone and I dont plan on making much money off what I sell. Breaking even or a few dollars ahead Is all Im interested in. As long as the buyers happy thats all that counts.

Cheers

Stickets.

 

[JeremyManning]

Definitely set up paypal and give buyers multiple payment options, helps, list price plus shipping, most stuff ships with small flat rate box if small enough, I aviod bags as they have the potential to tear and lose items. Take good pics of your items. And definitely ship to CANADA.

 

[SticketsFTW]

Shipping to Canada wont be a problem


I hope to have a few machinist tools for sale some time soon.

 

[BBQ&Love]

And definitely ship to CANADA.

I used to ship to Canada on eBay sales. Never had a problem. No more. Anyone that has a problem with that can take it up with eBay as their policies have made me decide I can't take the risk.

Off eBay I'll ship to Canada any day.

 

[DRhodes]

As Jeremy said the USPS flat rate boxes are your friend. That way you know exactly what it will cost you to ship the items. Listing on here is always better because you dont have to deal with ebays fees. I have sold many items on here and have never had a problem. Best of luck to ya.

 

[camarotoolman]

If its bigger and heavier, I go with Fed ex its alot cheaper than usps. Real lite suff say small wrench, I rap in cardboard and tape up rear good then mail. Stuff that is heavier but go in a frat rate box is good. I have had trouble with stuff going to cities, bums steal the stuff of porches, so have the buyer sign for it. That rap and tape the h out of it. Something like a big ratchet, I rap in heavy paper and tape good. Use conformation too. John

 

[scott37300]

Flat rate boxes are great. It all depends on what your selling, weight, shape, size, etc as to what the best way to ship is.

Personally I hate ebay and if you have never sold on there before you can get eaten alive! There are so many rules and fees and what not that you need to really know what you're doing. I used to sell a bunch of stuff on ebay but stopped listing on there for the most part. There are a lot of ways to screw the seller over on ebay, and lots of dishonest buyers out there. I have had good sales on ebay but there are also lots of risks, and fees!

I have sold some things in the classifieds on garagejournal and it's much more smooth of a transaction. No fees, no hassles. Just list an item with some pictures and prices and then someone will buy it if it's a decent deal. I trust the people on this forum a lot more than some random person on ebay.

 

[bc'z]

FWIW, ebay is a business. FEES, FEES & more FEES. It is the unknown. You may find a much better selling experience by joining forums like this one that have a sell page. Be patient. Newbies in any area are subject to speculation & concern. The best you can do is be honest, pack well, expect that if it can be broken, it just might happen, and communicate well with buyers.

Go to the USPS web site & spend some time getting an idea of costs, shipping options & the availablility of free stuff you can have sent to your door. Other sites to check are FedEx & UPS.

bc'z

 

[SticketsFTW]

I have a big tout of taps drills reamers carbide endmills countersinks ect... I was going to sell I guess maybe more then 1 package would be in order.

Is there a market for that stuff here I have alot of quality tooling in new or hardly used condition. I wanted to sell it all as a lot.

 

[Rarified27]

Everyone warning of ebay is correct- you really need to know what's up before you start selling there.

Especially watch for the inexplicable crop of buyers with names that are one character, three asterisks and another character (i.e. F***J). Lots of shady mofos...

Paypal does offer some level of protection, but there is danger in anything online. And the usps flat rate boxes are great overall, but the brand name delivery services are way easier to track items.

And PLEASE- pack your stuff safely. Nothing ***** more than getting a damaged item.

 

[bdk1976]

especially watch for the inexplicable crop of buyers with names that are one character, three asterisks and another character (i.e. F***j). Lots of shady mofos...

lol!

 

[scott37300]

Anothing thing about ebay for newbies, if you have less than 100 feedbacks left for you they hold your money for a certain amount of time, this means you have to pay for shipping out of your own pocket until they release it. I think it is 30 days or until positive feedback is left for you by the buyer.

 

[Gregg33]

Anothing thing about ebay for newbies, if you have less than 100 feedbacks left for you they hold your money for a certain amount of time, this means you have to pay for shipping out of your own pocket until they release it. I think it is 30 days or until positive feedback is left for you by the buyer.

Is that something new? I sold lots of things on eBay, but probably only have 20 + feedbacks and I usually get my $ paypaled as soon as the buyer gets around to it, usually a couple days.

 

[scruffy390]

I have sold a lot of items on ebay the last few years under the user id's scruffy390 & hawkeye390. The fees have discouraged a lot of sellers and I know of some sellers who sold several items a month have found other sources to sell there items now because of the fees. I would rather sell on ebay than out of my shop any-day and I continue to pay the fees to do so. When buyers come to my shop they always want something for nothing and haggle ya to death and take up way too much time.

You should study the ebay fees so you know what it is costing you to list your items. The other members have already gave excellent ideas on shipping but you should still study the different shipping company's yourself. One mistake I see some sellers do is limiting there sales with domestic shipping only. It is not very difficult to ship international and you will increase your sales price by doing so.

Research completed listings of similar items you would like to sell and notice the key words in the title. You get 55 characters for the title and use them and use them wisely. People do not search for words like "LOOK" so do not use it in your title. Do not use , * ! - or other symbols and do not run words together.

Take good pictures as if they can not see the description and wright a detailed description as if they can not see the pictures.

Communication is very important and most of my buyers are great people that I enjoy doing business with. When you do get the difficult buyer act professional in your communication. The goal then is to handle the situation with the greatest ease and not to prove that they are wrong and irritate them and make matters worse.

Prompt shipping is important and packaged well for safe shipping. If I have a large or unusual item to sell I will not list it until I have the appropriate shipping supply's.

I would not list expensive items until I had some experience and feedback. Start with your least expensive items first and the smaller easier to ship items. Sell a few items every week and after you get some experience start selling more items a month and your more expensive & more difficult to ship items.

 

[Scout Driver]

Post some cool stuff here and I will buy something from you.

Scott

 

[treasureseeker]

Tool and die items can be hard to sell as you have to find a buyer for the specific size you are offering. Used precision tools don’t have a strong following. If you choose to sell on here without any feedback I would suggest starting out small until people get to know you. Selling relying on PMs can easily lead to miscommunication, so I suggest clear and concise ads with photos, along with, where you ship to, type of payments you accept, length of time before you ship after getting payment, where you ship from and item condition.

 

[Bolster]

I would like to buy cutting tools like taps, etc, but unless the seller guarantees them as new and unused, what's the point of buying dull tools? Especially when new ones run $3 each? So if you sell here at GJ you can expect a pretty sophisticated crowd who will ask questions. But if you answer them, it's waaaay better selling here than on eBay.