Never sell on ebay!

[robindavis]

NEVER SELL ON EBAY!

Why you say? You've sold on ebay before and had no problem? Well, because if ONE LITTLE THING goes wrong, Ebay will not to anything to back you up. And the U.S. Postal Service will not do anything to help you find lost packages. Selling on Ebay is not worth the trouble.

As you all may know, I posted my 3Wheeling Magazines on ebay. I am a novice seller on ebay. I have bought before but never sold. Selling on ebay is not for the little guy or novice. There are so many things that could go wrong if you click on the wrong button or don't know what you are doing.

I made the mistake of not blocking international bids. I had a guy in the UK make three orders of magazines. I mailed him four USPS Flat Rate envelopes and only two of them made it. Because I used Priority Mail, they are not trackable. The US Customs Bar Code MEANS NOTHING. So, two envelopes are lost somewhere between San Diego and the UK.

The USPS will do nothing to help me because they do not recognize the US Customs Bar Code. I have called various USPS offices, including Consumer Affairs, their International Shipping Desk and their lost mail department. NOTHING. They can't help. I have called US Customs and they do not inspect outgoing mail; only incoming. So the US Customs Bar Code that Ebay and USPS supply on their printed label DON'T MEAN A THING!

So, with Ebay Resolution cases pending against me because USPS or Customs or UK Royal Mail has lost those envelopes, I have to refund the buyer his money. $500 worth of magazines that I don't have to resell and he does not have because those Priority Mail Flat Rate envelopes are sitting in Tim Buck Two somewhere and someone is reading those magazines.

Ebay is hard to contact, hard to get to understand that I don't have them. Pretty much it is "Did they get delivered?" If not then refund the money. They do not have a department to help little sellers figure out where the packages went.

I trusted Ebay. I made a mistake in doing so. I trusted the USPS and I made a mistake in doign so. I should have never shipped international to begin with. I made a mistake of trusting that the USPS would track the package, which it did not.

I am a little seller; the little guy trying to sell a few things on ebay. What I found out that is Ebay is not for the little guy. It's for the "stores". If you don't know what you are doing, you can get chewed up and spit out fast. That's what happened to me.

My recommendation is to sell on the message boards here with Pay Pal. I did that with a few magazines and the sales turned out just fine. Don't waste your money on Ebay.

I was lucky that I posted my ads when I get a free listing and free buy it now. Otherwise it would have cost me a fortune. There are listing fees, buy it now fees, duration fees (for the # of days you want it posted for), final value fees and pay pal fees. By the time you sell something you could see most of your profit eaten up in fees. On a $55 sale(magazine and postage), I probably saw $35 of it.

I would never recommend selling on Ebay. What a nightmare. I'm more stressed out from this than anything I can think of.

[D-dub]

Basic International shipping can take an extremely long time to arrive at its destination. I bet the shipments are still in transit.

[NINJA]

I'm really sorry to hear this happened to you. You are right, the little guy is at a huge disadvantage. That's pretty much how everything is run in this country.

[swampthang]

Wow! dude, sorry to hear this not only because you got a crappy deal but those magazines are a peice of our history and now there lost. I was just setting up a ebay acount last week and thinking about trying to learn to sell things on there but was confused about shipping cost and how to all that and the whole setting up a pay pal account too. Its kind of overwelming for a low tech guy like myself after all i dont even have a cell phone(how many people in there 20s can say that!) I guess ill stick with what i know 3wheelers. I hope all works out for you and thanks for the heads up dude you may have saved me from making the same mistakes

[Xfile]

I sell on e-bay a lot...I don't have a big store, I just sell some parts here and there. I suck at computers and know very little about them. E-bay is not that complicated---even for me. If you follow there advise on setting up your e-bay account properly, you will have very few problems. I have been selling since 03 and have maybe two or three minor problems that I easily worked out with the buyers. I still have 100% feedback. Just my .02.....

[250rmanfmf]

Yup, Thats the new EBAY! I sell lots of stuff on ebay and ebay has gone to a system that benefits the buyer more than the seller. I had a similar issue with a motor I shipped that got lost (How you lose a 90lb motor I dont know, ask UPS) and I had to refund the buyers money and I was out $300. Also that new star rating system is a joke as 4 out of 5 stars affects your rating and they can charge you more money for fees. Unless there is another site that can bring the type of buyers and sellers like ebay I have to stay as you can do pretty good.

I am all for another website to get rid of ebay.

Tyler

[hrspwr]

I have sold a few items here and there over time. My biggest gripe was all of the fees, they can easily chew up 15% of the gross. A bit excessive for my tastes.

[swifty]

i sell on ebay all the time heres the tricks ive learned the hard way also! NEVER SHIP OUTSIDE THE USA!! postal service SUCKS!!! ship ups only never have i had a problem with UPS trac # is free shipping is cheaper for 97% of stuff i used to ship postal only and got screwed just like you many times with the ohh we cant trac that sorry! and ohh sorry your 200x motor has a 3 in hole busted in the bottom of the case!! oh sorry we lost those dana 60 calipers that weigh 50 lbs.. those arrived at the guys house 2 month late!!! but did show up????

[willrideanythin]

Not justy the little guy, I make my living this way and deal crap all the time. its jsut less crap then other jobs.

[swampthang]

So how do you guys figure out what to tell people shipping is going to cost? Sorry for the ebay newb question but id like to sell on ebay but idk anyone thats done it to ask.

[fmnrd]

Ya Ebay has geared itself for the big time sellers . They want to be a mall of sorts . They love the sellers who sell 20 pairs of new shoes a day and don't give a s**t about the small sellers to helped build it to what it is today. The problem is they have no compition so they can basically do what they want . They have acually purchased 25% of CL .I figure it is just a matter of time before they figure out a way to ruin that as well . I wish a internet giant like Google would start an auction site . Google could lanch a auction site that could grow as big as ebay fast if they would make the fees cheap .

[shortline10]

I've had packages take up to 2 months to get to the UK . Kinda stressful and ebays time line is no good for international shipping .

[fmnrd]

I over estimate a the cost and set Fixed price .This way the buyers know up front what the cost is and can bid accoring . Plus I save a little on the final value fees and it helps pay for shipping supplies .

[shortline10]

Go to this link and click on calculate shipping . http://www.usps.com/welcome.htm



So how do you guys figure out what to tell people shipping is going to cost? Sorry for the ebay newb question but id like to sell on ebay but idk anyone thats done it to ask.

[Xfile]

Sell stuff that fits in flat rate box's...I don't care if it weighs 1 oz or 50 pounds, if it fits in a flat rate box...thats what I ship it in. then people can't complain about the shipping price, it's already set, so if they don't like it they don't have to bid.

[Vealmonkey]

I do not use the post office for shipping anything outside the us. I have been burned by sending an engine overseas and it ended up looking like it got thrown off of the back of the truck. I would rather spend the extra and ship ups outside the us and some bigger items inside the us as well. The post office is getting to be a big disappointment. Don't get me started on what my tax money pays for. It surely don't benefit me.

[sportvette]

robin -

see if you can convince that buyer to hold on and wait for the packages. it sometimes takes a real long time for international shipments. my 2 cents is that they are still in the mail also. sometimes shipments get caught up in customs or whereever and take forever. give it a little more time. when were your packages shipped out?

[bugler30]

My first ebay sell the buyer decided he didn't like the shipping costs after he'd bought the item...

[coolpool]

i sell on ebay all the time heres the tricks ive learned the hard way also! NEVER SHIP OUTSIDE THE USA!! postal service SUCKS!!! ship ups only never have i had a problem with UPS trac # is free shipping is cheaper for 97% of stuff i used to ship postal only and got screwed just like you many times with the ohh we cant trac that sorry! and ohh sorry your 200x motor has a 3 in hole busted in the bottom of the case!! oh sorry we lost those dana 60 calipers that weigh 50 lbs.. those arrived at the guys house 2 month late!!! but did show up????

Wow Swifty that's sure a kick to the nads for Canadians! It's unfortunate that we are'nt swimming in trikes and parts up here so we have to source a lot of items from the US. I've had items take 1 month to come from the US; I blame customs, not the US or Canada Post. BTW what's your ebay user name?

[atc350xer]

Sell stuff that fits in flat rate box's...I don't care if it weighs 1 oz or 50 pounds, if it fits in a flat rate box...thats what I ship it in. then people can't complain about the shipping price, it's already set, so if they don't like it they don't have to bid.

I try to use the flat rate boxes too... I've screwed myself out of $$... I won't buy from the people that try to make even more by way over charging on shipping, so I underestimate sometimes. And I NEVER ship outside the US.

[300rman]

When shipping ANYTHING, ALWAYS get tracking info for proof of shipment. And if the item is worth anything, ALWAYS insure the item for loss or damage. its cheap, and if the item is lost, they will give you the money that the item sold for, so you dont lose your money.

[swifty]

coolpool its islandcityantiques=== yeah it sucks i always have guys from canada ask about shipping stuff and i hate to turn u guys down for some reason my post office and the only close ups pick up make it a big pain in the trailprotrailprotrailprotrailprotrailpro with paper work and ive had 2 of the 3 things sent to canada not make it so i personaly just avoid it, my mom sells 50+ items a week on feebay and ships world wide she has pretty good luck she has way more paticence than me. lol she gets like $300 for one garage sale barbie doll or ugly dish's she paid a dollar for and sends it to japan its crazy what people buy for big$$$$$$

[swifty]

also coolpool i see your display pic is of the us90 im sure you have seen, bid or asked on many of my auctions as i was real big into us90's for a few years selling parts, buying, bidding against a lot of the other us90 nuts like you .lol i may have sold you parts or bought from you at one time i think there was always like the same 6 of us guys bidding on all the us90 parts when you could see bidders display names on ebay

[2Tim215]

Robin, Always use a Tracking Number and if using the Post Office print your labels through PayPal and the delivery confirmation is free. Also consider UPS as stated above. They have guidelines but will honor any claim if your item was packed correctly. I have an account with UPS and the Post Office. UPS is a lot cheaper with insurance, first 100.00 is free and each 100.00 after that is a fraction of what the Post Office charges. Tracking number is free to and can be watched as the package reaches each point along the journey. eBay is not what it used to be when I started in 1998. They bought two payment companies that I know of, I believe the first one was called BidPay, then they bought PayPal so now sellers get hit with approx 15% when you combine eBay fees and PayPal's. I don't like to use eBay anymore but truthfully they do have a large audience compared to anything else. I hope that the other Posts are correct and that the package is still in transit. I quit selling internationally years ago for the same reason, it was taking buyers a long time receiving packages although I was always a prompt shipper. I on occasion will ship to Canada only, usually by request and always after checking the buyers feedback. Hope this helps and turns out to be just a delay!

[sixpackrt]

Always use delivery conformation and anything you can't afford to lose! Insure it if they don't get it and its not insured you lose.and have them sign for anything over $100. To many scammers out there saying they didn't get the package if they sign for it and say they didn't get it it's mail fraud. On Egay seller is responsible for insurance not the buyer.

[jensenracing77]

i use Ebay as a last resort. between there fees and pay pal fees and the time involved in posting and following the item with answering questions i just don't like using them. like mentioned above, with USPS always get delivery conformation.

[pantera1975]

I always use free shipping method and start the price higher or flat rate. ALWAYS USE TRACKING WITH usps. And I don't sell out of the us and If some one asks I'll check only if they give me all the info I need to check you would be surprised how many people ask and never respond back after I check for them. UPS seem more expensive for smaller packages too

[nd4speed]

I havent figured how to block international bidders either, and I've sent stuff all over the world with success. Right now I put ridiculous shipping fees in the international areas to keep these people away or they will have to buck up.

But there are some obvious holes you can fall in and get scammed.

Not being able to track outside the US can screw you. Regular Us Post shipping to other parts of the world is painfully slow and can take a month or more. I shipped small envelope to UK and it took 3 weeks I think.

If your auction is setup wrong, International bidders can pay price + USA shipping without you sending an invoice! WTF! I had it happen.
I told that guy from Australia I wasnt shipping anything until he paid me more money for shipping.
Then I had no tracking with US Post. So he could have Paypal scammed me saying he never got the item.

I wonder if it works like this in reverse? Or is it just the Greatest Country in the world cant track packages in a world economy?
The little guy is stuck in a system designed to keep him poor. Dont doubt that.

One scam (i hope doesnt work anymore) is to start a Paypal dispute once you receive an item. Paypal sends you your money back once you create a tracking number to ship the item back. Instead of shipping the item back, poop in the box and send that back and keep your money and the item. Case closed. Good luck seller!!!!!!

No ebay bidder should be allowed to pay without an invoice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TRAILPRO

An actually invoice is a legal bill for an item or service. Look very closely at what you think are bills you pay and they will say STATEMENT (of your account). You are only legally obligated to pay an invoice (demand for payment of services rendered). So I will now make a statement: "All who read this now have an account with me and the account balance is -$100.00 USD."

You think anyone will send me $100?

[blue27]

insurance and tracking numbers, always, I have been screwed also, and yes I have had a motor lost by USPS.

[rdlsz24]

Really sorry to hear that Robin. Hopefully they will still show up

Rob

[250rmanfmf]

I always use free shipping method and start the price higher or flat rate. ALWAYS USE TRACKING WITH usps. And I don't sell out of the us and If some one asks I'll check only if they give me all the info I need to check you would be surprised how many people ask and never respond back after I check for them. UPS seem more expensive for smaller packages too

Yea, everyone here is saying UPS is cheaper than usps but I have found they are more expensive and are only cheaper on larger items. One thing to watch out for the free shipping method is, ebay created that telling us that it makes it easier for buyers to see what its going to cost but what it really does is make your buy it now price higher which means more fees for them. They are scamming bastards. I sell about 25-35 parts a week on ebay and have experienced it all.

Tyler

[nd4speed]

I just was making an auction page and got down near the bottom and changed my shipping to exclude Africa and Middle East and it erased my entire auction page!!!!!1

ebay is awesome

[bansheekx]

To exclude international buyers or buyer with low or bad feedback numbers got to the account tab on your my ebay page. Select site preferences on the drop down menu. Go down to shipping preferences and on the right click on show. There will be a list of options about shipping and one of them is to exclude buyers from bidding that have an address in countries that you do not ship to. Just edit it to what you want and click on the apply button. Go to buyer requirements and block buyers that have a primary address in a location that you do not ship to. Hope this helps. I learned this the hard way too! And also if you sell on ebay alot download and use turbolister. Its free and it will save you alot of time over the sell you item system of listing.

[bkm]

To exclude international buyers or buyer with low or bad feedback numbers got to the account tab on your my ebay page. Select site preferences on the drop down menu. Go down to shipping preferences and on the right click on show. There will be a list of options about shipping and one of them is to exclude buyers from bidding that have an address in countries that you do not ship to. Just edit it to what you want and click on the apply button. Go to buyer requirements and block buyers that have a primary address in a location that you do not ship to. Hope this helps. I learned this the hard way too! And also if you sell on ebay alot download and use turbolister. Its free and it will save you alot of time over the sell you item system of listing.
That was very helpful, thank you very much!

[swifty]

i just put rite in the auction listing in caps WILL ONLY SHIP IN THE US48!! but still every now and then i have a winning bidder from half way around the world that bids anyway and wins, but then you need to do the auction all over again

[2Tim215]

You can set your eBay account for United States only and eBay will automatically block international bidders for you. bansheekx gives the instructions above.

[honda200x1987]

There is one way to list on eBay totally free, Pay nothing to list or sell but only if you are selling a whole ATV OR CAR ,ETC. You cannot list parts this way though. It goes a 200 mile radius or so but I have gotten responces from California and I live in Illinois. I have sold 3 & 4 wheelers this way with no problems, you can list 6 per year then after that it's like $1 to list , they cannot charge a final value fee for selling because they have no idea if it sold. There is no bidding just a contact seller button with your phone number or they can email you. http://cgi5.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?SellHub3

[ATCeeya]

my friend sells things on eCRATER. I never used it myself. But I guess its free. His mom sells on it too and has been for awhile now. I been selling on ebay for a long time. I was able to make alot more money back when I started out. The fees all around really kill the profit. I been selling directly on forums much more if I have parts to unload.

[luke]

Please don't can the international shipping, some times it's the only way we can get the parts we need in the UK.
If a UK buyer wants a part from the USA quote for insured and tracked shipping, it's the safest way.
As for the fees and help when things go wrong, Ebay is all about looking after the buyer and their profit line ! The worst thing they did was stop the seller leaving negative feedback and making the resolution harder.
IMO ebay stinks of corruption :mad:

[Jez]

Please don't can the international shipping, some times it's the only way we can get the parts we need in the UK.
If a UK buyer wants a part from the USA quote for insured and tracked shipping, it's the safest way.
As for the fees and help when things go wrong, Ebay is all about looking after the buyer and their profit line ! The worst thing they did was stop the seller leaving negative feedback and making the resolution harder.
IMO ebay stinks of corruption :mad:

I'm with Luke - please don't can International Shipping entirely. Us non-US guys rely almost entirely on parts from US sellers to keep our bikes running and build those special bikes we've waited so long to do. Like Luke mentions, just make your international shipping policy that the buyer MUST pay for insured and tracked postage - They don't like it, they don't get the item. I deal with many sellers with such a policy and I have no issues with it at all. It's not that much extra when everything is taken into account and both the seller and buyer get the piece of mind of insurance.

[andrew j hyman]

I sell tons of stuff All over the world every day. I ship usps Priority mail ONLY . Most the time just use flate rate boxes . No problems Only once in a blue moon takes lont to get there. The worst place is Italy takes weeks . But They allways get the parts . I think in 8 plus years maybe 3 people said they did not get part. I think they wanted it for free ! One thing that sucks is fees 15% ebay and paypal . i think it is best to have all people to bid to price goes up. I also do sell a lot of parts of ebay too. check my ebay feedback KB748

[SeaBass8]

Good topic here.

I was just looking at an item on ebay and in the description the seller states:
"I never offer insurance.If you would like to be covered more.You will need to contact me after the auction and pay the addition fee"

But to me Insurance is for the SELLER not the buyer. If the item gets lost or damaged ebay/paypal make the seller refund.

I've sold a couple of things on ebay and here and I always feel better when I get the insurance.

[sblt500r]

i shipped a yz crank to portugal. didn't get there in a month. used priority mail shipping. guy filed a claim against me threw ebay, wanted his money back. but i kept putting the usps tracking number in. the case eventually ended, and i won the case, didn't loose any money. and at that time the case ended he still didn't get the package. but about a week later he got it, and he apoligized to me for giving me all the crap. took 3 months to get there. so it looked like to me if you keep putting the usps traking number in the resolution center, the case will eventually end and you will win. that was my experiance, just takes 30 days i think. i was all ticked off thinking i had to return his money, but just dragged it out and i won.

[Dirtcrasher]

I use USPS for flat rate and small items but NOT for large and heavy items such as motors/frames - they go to FEDEX.

Ebay really is a terrible deal for a seller. I guess the way they look at it is the final value fees being much higher than the listing fees so they don't care about the seller but are quick to help the buyer.

But then the buyer gets his money back and I assume the seller must still have to pay.........

It's not good if your selling unless your RPM_ATV with so many items being listed every day. I guess then you can afford to take a hit or two.

[ATCeeya]

Good topic here.

I was just looking at an item on ebay and in the description the seller states:
"I never offer insurance.If you would like to be covered more.You will need to contact me after the auction and pay the addition fee"

But to me Insurance is for the SELLER not the buyer. If the item gets lost or damaged ebay/paypal make the seller refund.



I recently shipped a guage cluster and it showed up with the plastic view part all cracked up. looked like a broken window. Buyer sent me a pic of it all pissed off thinking I scammed him. He must have been a few brain cells short because you could see clearly in the pics in my auction that it was not broken. There was no insurance on the package so I did some research and found that USPS would do nothing since their was no insurance coverage so I refunded the seller and had him ship it back to me. I covered all shipping (both ways) and full refund of item. Now, had I offered insurance and the item was damaged it would be up to the buyer to get his refund from USPS.

From now on if I sell on ebay, which I probably will, I will offer insurance if buyer wants/pays for it. If they dont get the insurance and an item shows up damaged I will not be offering a full refund.

[sixpackrt]

Guess what you will loose they will file a claim for item not as described and they will take the money out of your paypal account. If no money you will be in the hole intill you put funds in your paypal account.