[Racer81x]

This is a question for people who sell a lot on e-bay.
I have a lot of non gm and non car stuff I might start putting on there. Most of it is not high dollar rare stuff, just stuff that is sitting around and I just want to get rid of, most of it I don't care what is sells for.

What is a better way of selling stuff?, just say it's a $50 item. What are the cost of doing a $50 buy it now, compared to starting it at $9.99 and letting it do a auction? and say the auction ends and it goes for $50. Also of starting the auction at $50, and you only get 1 bid of $50, Which way would they take less from the seller?

Also I see some people have e-bay stores, is it any better to get one, or just a pain in the butt? Any discounts for having one?

Any other input on selling on ebay?

[marxjunk]

23% is what they end up with
3% for payal..be careful..read everything..they get their 23% no matter how you list, they may give listing fees up, but they get it on final value...no way to "save" monry, they get theirs no matter what


buyer protected..you are not anymore...and buyers use it to their advantage

i sell on there when theres nothing else to do, but forums are the best for me..i would rather discount a little and actually sell it on a forum than deal with ebay anymore

a shame too..i have made a bunch of money over the decade with them..and i mean a lot.

i used to sell $20 stuff and do well..it always started at 20 and i let it run..now the same part starts at 30 or 40, and most of the time it wont sell..shipping too high for big stuff..

i use USPS flat rate boxes..so if it doesnt fit..i dont sell it.

still...for unusual or rare off brand stuff..nothing better...millions of potential views versus loosers that are local, and beat ya down before they even come see it...

i still sell on there..but not much...but getting ready to run some AMC stuff i gforgot i had...many many more people on there than local.

i guess i'm saying..its expensive..you cant pay 20 for a part and sell it for 35 anymore..not enough money in it...and what can ya buy for 20 anymore?

if your new..read the help forums it will help a bunch..lots of pics..lots and lots of pics...

[abefromen]

Ebay's fees have got out of hand. They get a percentage off what you change for shipping....shipping!

I too used to use them all the time to sell stuff but not anymore. Unless you have something rare folks will fight over it's just not worth it anymore. Their greed will be their downfall.

[GTOWAGON]

eBay and paypal fees have gotten out of control plus with paypal now unti you have a certain seller rating they hold your funds for 10 days after the item has been received by the buyer and if the buyer complains that the item was not as described you will get nothing. I only list vehicles on eBay and always put my phone number in the listing then serious buyers can contact me directly and every time I make a sale and eBay gets nothing. Small items I just list on Craig's list and while it is a bit of a pain everything sells and it dosent cost anything I have also noticed that I am selling a lot of items to people far away and want them shipped

[straycat]

I have never done Craigslist but a lot of friends are happy. I agree E bay fees are out of control. I use it as a last resort.

[AZ64GP]

I know what you guys mean. I sold some of my Pontiac parts for the first time on Ebay a few weeks ago. I have always had luck selling stuff on Craigslist, and it's free! Sometimes though you need a bigger outlet for possible buyers, and Ebay does fit that bill. It expensive though! I sold a '63 Pontiac Tri Power set up. I sold it for $700, which is about 25% more than I paid for it. I was ecstatic at first and then realized that Ebay takes in fees. Between the auction fees (setting up the auction and paying for it) and the % fee that Ebay takes one the item sells, I literally made $23 on the auction. I made a little bit more money on shipping, but not much. Ebay is awesome to buy car parts on (I have saved a ton of money over the years buying new and used parts for all my vehicles on Ebay), but it's a rough way to make any money selling parts. I think selling the parts on this forum (as someone mentioned) or Craiglist are an easier way and better way to sell.

Chris

[Chris65LeMans]

I don't have time to meet personally with prospective buyers for a $50 item. If it doesn't sell on Ebay, I donate it or throw it away.

As has been mentioned on here; stick with cheap to ship stuff. I bought a $65 (including shipping) stereo for the garage, and the seller paid $30 to ship it; but shipped it terribly, so it arrived broken. I got stuck paying $50 to ship it back for my $65 refund. Seller out $30, I'm out $50 - everyone loses.

[GTO JOHN]

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html

Above is an overview of ebay fees. 13% is what mark probably meant to post for selling costs on ebay. Typically 10% to ebay and 3% to Paypal.

See this thread for more input
http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...highlight=ebay

Best way for a casual seller to sell stuff on ebay these days is list 50 or fewer items a month, and starting bid is the lowest you want to take for it. If no sale, then no cost to seller. If sold, then figure a 13% deduction from total with shipping costs. So you want to actually sell it for $57 to get your $50.....

here is a fee calculator http://www.fees.ebay.com/feeweb/feecalculator

A few years ago I sold an Olds 455 block on ebay for $455. By the time ebay was done with me I netted $403 and the buyer even paid cash on pickup (no Paypal)

My current order of preference on selling parts:

1. through my own website www.minnesota-muscle.com which currently grades out on page 1-2 of any cursory Google search for GTO parts. I have sold parts all over the USA and to 4 continents around the world so far. Costs me $65/year to host and I control payment method and shipping. I launched the website back in 2008 in anticipation of leaving ebay due to their excessive fees. Since then I have saved thousands in listing and final value fees that otherwise would have been eaten up by the ebay machine.

2. Craigslist. Free to list and cash and carry.

3. PY forums. Free to list and usually 99% great people to deal with.

4. ebay. Expensive and with restrictions, but market is unmatched.

5. Hemmings. Nationwide market of your end user group.

6. Swap Meets. Low ballers beating you down but leads can generate huge potential

7. Gift to another friend or forum member who could use the part.

8. Scrap. Cash for anything metal and it is gone.

[GTO JOHN]

Forgot to mention there is an ebay store calculator also so you can determine if a store is worthwhile. There are monthly fees for having a store so you need to keep it up to make it worth it. Ask PY member brians who has had an ebay store for many years. Only way to go for him.

[Deadhead]

Selling non-rare items on E-bay is not very good at the moment. Very little moves, and you nearly always have to re-list even selling the run-of-the mill stuff for cheap.

Typically you can wait and get the options you want without paying extra for them on E-Bay. When I do it, I only pay a couple of the piddly ad-ons for .10. Last times I did it, I was only paying 15%. Been a year since I did much.

Craigslist would be good if you could ship all of it instead of having to be home, scheduling meetings with morons or talking to them on the phone. It takes way too much time to sell small parts on there for me. It is good for big stuff, but I can not imagine dealing with it for a $20 item.

Buyer's Mkt for regular items at the moment. Far fewer people with enough $ to restore their cars.

[arbys]

I think that eBay losing favor with many people, myself included. I would only use it as a last resort.

[njsteve]

PY should start a "pay it forward" section, where you can give away your unneeded stuff to someone on the site who actually could use it. The only condition is that the taker needs it and isn't going to just try to sell it somewhere.

They started one on Yenko.net and it is has been pretty successful. I was finally able to get rid of a 44+ year old, hood insulator pad from a 1969 Z/28 that had a mouse hole in it. A guy with a survivor car was overjoyed to get it. Since it was too big to ship he came by and picked it up in person...and brought a box of old Firebird parts that he had been trying to get out of his garage for almost as long as I was trying to get rid of that Camaro part. :-)

[Racer81x]

Thanks for all the info.

I use to sell a little on e-bay 5-10 years ago, but stopped when you had to use paypal, and couldn't have an option of money order any more, and I didn't have a paypal account at that time. I didn't know so much has changed since then.
I have bought a few things in the past couple years on there, but got fed up with hula girls and aftermarket valve stem caps, and other crap that comes up when I type in 1970 NOS Grand Prix, or 1960 ventura so I rarely look for anything for my cars anymore.

I'll probably only list a few things on ebay this month and next since it will be to cold to do anything outside.

I like using the forums, and craigslist, EXCEPT for dealing with the amount of stupid people, and no shows on craigslist.

[GTOWAGON]

A few things I have learned from selling on Craig's list
1. Always put a phone number in your listing use a land line not a cell this way you weed out all the people that will waste your time with endless texts

2. Never include an email contact you will get nothing but bogus spam

3. Always include pics this also weeds out he time wasters

I have a 100% sell rate with Craigslist

[BOB VIDAN]

Another thing on ebay: Start your item at the price you can live with unless you just want to move it, then start low. Be really accurate with your description. If you do and someone asks a really dumb question, answer the question only after you put them on your blocked bidder list. My favorite to date is a set of black seatbelts. Title said black seatbelts, pictures clearly showed black seatbelts and the description said same at least twice more. Someone asks "are they really blue?" Put him/her on the BBL then answered, no they're really red, I just try and mislead people.

[marxjunk]

ebay motors is the only section you can use a money order..its still allowed...but, it could take weeks to get paid, and since seller has no right to give neg feedback...they get away with it...

so if you want the m/o you can ask, but you must give the option for paypal..

[GT182]

PY has had a Pay It Forward thread to quite a while. It's a "Stickey" in the Performance Parts For Sale/Wanted section. Most stuff is free but shipping is usually paid to get it.

If you sell anything on eBay, make sure you specify that there is shipping on an item or you will end up paying the shipping.

[ta6point6]

I always list on forums at a lower price and if it dosent sell raise price for ebay. I usually try and include shipping in price and then add free shipping. When I ship items I always use paypal to mail it out so that the item has a tracking # plus it is a little cheaper then what post office would charge. Another nice item is checking comparible items that SOLD to see of it is worth your time of listing it. I bought a AR15 and air conditioning for my TA with all the parts I sold on ebay. It can be a hassle but worth it if you ask me

[1966geeto]

Craigs list is pretty scary be carful these people are coming to your house and the see your stuff found a guy actually walked around back of my shop to look in a car that I had sitting couple days later had some rims and tires disappear hmmm..

[fiedlerh]

When I sold on E-bay 10 years ago many of the buyers were in Canada. If you ship via the US post office no problem, just fill out the customs form with a value agreed upon with the buyer and put it down as "used auto parts" or whatever. Air mail is the way to go for lighter/smaller stuff. Ground mail can get stuck in customs for a week or so. Do not use UPS or FedEx to Canada or you can get hosed on brokerage fees.