Selling on Ebay

[Tilly2]

I have lots of figurines, ceramics and china which I have inhereted from my Mum. None of them are to my taste and so are wrapped in bubble wrap and in various boxes around the house.
My relatives are saying to me 'sell then on Ebay' but I haven't got a clue about that. (Neither have they!) I do have an ebay account but have never bought or sold anything. Does anyone have any tips about how I should get started. Is it a hassle, calculating postage, wrapping things securely and sending things off and and so on?
I would be grateful for even the tiniest tips.

[NOX]

the problem with ceramics on Ebay is that you have to be meticulous about description as china collectors get very bent out of shape if something is even minutely not as described, otherwise it's not much of a hassle. alternatively get a valuation from a local auction house and then offer to dealers if you want something a little less arduous.

[boxtops]

Tilly, it's not difficult, but the one thing I'd say is get enough stout boxes and bubble wrap before you start selling - you must wrap very well, otherwise things get damaged in transit.

Postage isn't difficult. You weigh your item together with the box and wrapping, then use this chart (for UK and overseas sales) and then go to the price for the weight of your item - if it's borderline, go to the one above.
http://c435158.r58.cf...l_Mail_Our_Prices.pdf

I'd suggest that you try it with just a couple of items, to get you started, and see how you get on.

[Tilly2]

Thanks for your advice, Nox and boxtops. I'll take some photos of a couple of items and see how it goes. Any advice about what kind of payment I should ask for? Is it necessary to have a Paypal account?

[mrs_overall]

I am a prolific seller on Ebay but if I was in your situation I'd take everything to your local auction house. Much easier.
If you want to go down the Ebay route, yes you do need a Paypal account. I specify that I will only accept Paypal payments. If not, you have to wait for cheques to arrive, then wait for the cheque to clear before you can post the item.

[boxtops]

It's highly recommended to have a PayPal account - that way, the buyer doesn't have to have your personal details, and you have PayPal protection for transactions which might go amiss. I do take cheques but I won't then post the item until the cheque has cleared, which delays everything by several days.
One other thing - when you mail the items, always obtain a proof of postage and hang onto it until the person confirms receipt and leaves you feedback. If the item goes missing in the post, you'll need that proof of posting either to claim from the PO or as proof for eBay that you actually sent it.
You can print off a despatch note from the PayPal transaction page, which I always include in my parcels.
If you sell to people outside the UK you need to make sure that their address is "confirmed", if it's not, I email them and ask them to confirm their address before I post it.

[woofgang]

I started selling on ebay this year and found it pretty easy.
Yes you will need a paypal account. I think a verified one which takes about a week, you register for verification and add your bank details, they send you some small amounts of money, you tell them what the amounts were.

Yes amass your packaging mountain before you start selling.
Do good photos one of the item, one of any makers marks and then ones of any damage. be careful in your description, "damage as per photo" is a useful term.
I found it quite fun watching the bidding.
I committed to post within 2 working days and was careful to factor in enough p and p cost for a signed for service covered with enough insurance.
Give it a try with a few small pieces, see if it is for you, there is also a service where a seller will sell stuff for you but the commission is a bit hefty.

[grasscarp]

I always put the start price as the lowest amount I am happy to get. I think to have reserves are confusing, and often there is only one bid on an item. Also I think the listing fee is to do with the start amount so you pay less for lower ones. Every so often ebay have free listing days, so if you have a lot of things to list then you may as well go for one of these - usually on a weekend. Oh and length of auction. I tend to aim to end the auction on a weekend when I think more people will be bidding. So if I list on a weekend and do a 7 day auction it will end on a weekend. If I list on Wed or Thurs I make it a 10 day auction. If people ask questions about your item tick the box to show the answer on the listing. That way people will see there are others interested, and your answer may be useful to them too.

[woofgang]

i agree about the reserve, tried it the first couple of times then never bothered, just set the starting price at what i wanted to get. A buy it now price can be useful, but what i had never realised is that once the auction starts ie the first bid is made, the buy it now price gets removed.

[Mosaic]

If you search your local adult college courses, you should find buying and selling on ebay among them. If you don't, move to Lancashire as we have them here.

[Tilly2]

Thanks to everyone for your advice. I'll give it a go.

[roslyn251254]

Perhaps before you list various items, have a look on ebay to see if similar items are selling and for how much

[roslyn251254]

Remember to take into account that postage is going up next week too!!