Selling stuff on Ebay

[biglouis]

 Your have a collection of items that you either inherited or assembled when you were younger. You have no one to leave them to now and could use the money. You decide to sell them on Ebay.
 
A dealer purchases several of your items over the weeks and months. She pays your asking price immediately with no haggling and leaves 5 star feedback (important on Ebay). Subsequently you find that she is re-selling the items at 4 x what she paid you for them on a high class site. You have no access to sell on that site because you need trade references/an invitation and there is a strict vetting process. Its not like Ebay!
 
Do you:-
 
a)      block the dealer from your items because she is profiting at your expense and getting much more for them. You would prefer to sell to other collectors
 
b)      continue to treat the dealer as a valued customer. The fact that she can get more for the items is just how the trade works and she is higher up the food chain with a more exclusive customer base.
 

[Michael Rolls]

If I got the price I wanted, I would go with your option (b). Why worry about what happens to the items after you have sold them?
Mike

[GrannyMac]

I agree with Mike, option (b).

The exclusive customer base is only available to a few who have built up the necessary contacts.  They source items from dealers like BL then sell on to those who are prepared to pay over the odds without having the slog of finding items.  Having had a share in a cabinet in an antiques centre I became fairly aware of the increased prices some items eventually fetched.

We watch Drew Pritchard (Salvage Hunters) and I'm often gobsmacked at what his clients fork out!

[digitalis]

My guess is that there are other selling sites where you can fix the prices you think your items will reach. E bay sorta drag nets the ocean bed getting decent goods for rock bottom prices. That said,some prices set on selling sites just sit there unsold...then go to E Bay.

With Mike,option B.

[Raven]

Think I'd be asking that Buyer for an invite to the other Site.

[klondike]

Use buy it now and ask at least double what you think it is worth.

[biglouis]

It I who sell on the higher priced site where you have to go through a strict selection process etc. Then others in turn buy from me to sell in their exclusive shops in London and New York. There is a pecking order in antiques as there is in most retail areas. And it takes time and contacts to build up a blue chip clients list. And along with that client list go big bills for rent, staff, etc.


When a customer sends me a photo to show her wearing a purchase on some grand occasion I always appreciate it. The Russians like doing that sort of thing. But once I have sold an item it belongs to the buyer. If someone can get 4X what they paid me that's business.

A seller on Ebay blocked me because she found I was reselling the items I bought from her. She is obviously not a good businesswoman but few collectors are. They are too attached to their items and act as if they were re-homing puppies and kittens rather than selling merchandise.


Over a year later and many of her items are still languishing on Ebay and she could have had my money in her pocket. She has to pay every time she relists them. Some of the items I bought by using another ID (I have about 10 ebay IDs) and others I got a confederate to buy. But only the desirable pieces I really wanted.

I have a few old customers on my blocked list but they were scammers or rude and abusive or just plain akward. Customers who dont haggle, pay quickly and leave a 5 star review are to be treasured.

[Raven]

Yes I agree about the good buyers on Ebay. I have 100% feedback at 3107 , I mostly buy but sometimes sell if I'm having a clearout..

[Jacqueline]

I've had mostly good experiences on ebay.  There again I'm not in the big league, often had more than I expected to get on items.  Great for a  clear out.

[digitalis]

Interesting to see comments on E Bay. I have always fought shy of E Bay: another account,some differing views. Most here seem okay with the site and conversant with its procedures. I must admit I feel unsure about its administration(too scared to use it!). I'm the same with Ryan Air. Too scared to book anything there: too complex; I'd feel too vulnerable. Coming to this site(PF)I always thought I was a youngster here. Not so,or those older than me are sharper than myself. I like to be proved wrong(at times)! Have often proferred doom and gloom for some site or business,only to later see its been very succesfull. Howsabout that! Best wishes to all you successful cats out there!

[Michael Rolls]

I've sold a few things on E-bay, but have bought many more. I find it an excellent source for many, many items and the prices - provided one CHECKS - are usually very reasonable.
Never forget - whatever you wish to buy is only worth as much as you are willing to pay, and something you wish to sell is only worth as much as someone else is willing to pay for it - everything else is smoke, mirrors and rubbish!
Mike

[biglouis]

If depends what you sell on Ebay. I sell the more mundane stuff that isnt good enough for the classier sites. The crowd who buy antiques and collectables are very different from the kids who buy electronic stuff.


Most of the antiques people on Ebay are ok but Ive had my share of would be scammers over the years. On the whole scammers are not very bright.

[klondike]

The stories I like about eBay purchases that went wrong are where somebody buys a dining set or whatever cheap and they hadn't read the advert properly and one for a dolls house turns up.


There are umpteen things you used to get in a hardware shop, Woolworths, or from a market stall etc. and those places no longer exist but there they are on eBay for a pound or two delivered. There is rarely a week goes by that I don't get something off eBay.

[Alex22]

I've bought loads of stuff from e-bay and had no problems so far.  I'm not sure how to go about selling items, I mean how do you know how much to ask for an item and what are e-bay charges  ?

[klondike]

You can put them up for auction. Usually you only get a listing fee if it is sold. You'd need to sell by PayPal and the sellers fee and PayPal fee combined are about 20% iirc. I do sell stuff but not often as you need to put a decent listing together to get the best price which can take a while. I usually go for a pretty low start price and set the start time to get a finish on a Sunday at 7 or 8pm. Usually there are a few bidders right at the end so it makes sense to end the auction when there are likely to be people around.