Ebay

[237SJ]

I have sold a few things on ebay before (such as bits of china that my mum had) but have never sold anything that I have actually bought. I`ve got a good idea for selling some collectables that I can get abroad. They`re not expensive (about £7.50) but could probably make a few quid. It`s just for fun really. How would I go about listing them? If I put the starting price as the price I paid, would that put people off? Are people attracted to items when they have a really low starting bid? Would it be better to do it as Buy it Now? Obviously, I don`t want to sell them for less than I paid.

[boxtops]

I sell often, but I tend not to use Buy it Now, I'd rather start the auction at the minimum price I'll willing to accept for the item. Make sure you are clear about your postage and packing prices (check the weight and get a proper postage chart from the PO or check on-line, don't guess) and you can add a bit to the postage to allow for packaging materials. Yes people do buy things with a low starting price, I often start at 99p for small items because you don't pay a listing fee for 99p start prices. I wouldn't buy things, though, just to sell them - I only sell things I've already got that I no longer want/need e.g. ornaments, brassware, books, clothes etc.

[boxtops]

PS It depends how big your items are, but for small fragile items, a bit of bubble wrap and a cat food box are ideal for packaging.

[237SJ]

Thanks for your answers. LOL I hadn`t thought of cat food boxes. I`ll go round my mum`s with the tape measure and measure the Felix boxes.

[EDDIE51]

First go to 'Completed listings' and see what similar items actually sold for.
That will give you an idea of price. If you click on 'bids' on the completed listings page you can see what the starting price was as well as the final price.
Once you know that price yours competitively , say a starting price a couple of £s lower. I would do 5 or 7 day listings. I find that things sell better if the end of the auction is on the weekend . Also make sure the end is at a sencible time , I mean not early morning or very late at night, i try to have things ending between 10am and 5 pm.
Don't worry about registering as a bussiness at this stage , people prefer to buy from private sellers. You need to be doing a hell of a lot of sales before worrying about declaring it for tax. I know people that sell 40 or 50 items a week and are still private sellers.
I often sell things as 'Buy it Now ' but with 'Best Offer' as well , price the 'But it Now' as a few £ over what similar stuff sells for and accept offers if you want to, that seems to work quite well and you can sell stuff faster as the buyers don't have to wait for the end of the auction. You can set up ebay to automatically accept or reject offers at the prices you specify, which means you don't have to keep watching all the time.

[Hopkirk]

I once bought a brand new pair of good quality safety boots for 99p plus reasonable postage, as no one else bid.

[EDDIE51]

By the way today 27th August is a free listing day , so get listing it does save a bit of cash.
Hopkirk i have had a lot of stuff for 99p , you need to look at those 'silly times' like 3am , amazing how many people list stuff at night and just don't realise it is going to finish at night when no one is around.

[ojread2]

if you list .01 - .99 p it's free listing any day