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The Transformers Pay It Forward thread has now been created. :)
Selling is taking up more of my time than I thought.
It doesn't help when Auspost calculator isn't accurate and then having to spend more time chasing up buyers to refund a few coins.
Nope it isn't. When i first started ebaying i had a blast selling stuff. Now i hate having to use ebay. It sucks so baaaad.
I agree.
As I noted in the ebay discount sale topic, it took me three days to take photos and edit them of the 190-200 items I was planning to list.
It then takes a while to list each item (selecting all the particular variables that aren't the default settings, plus searching sold listings to see what is a fair BIN price is because auctions on Australian listings don't often get much attention).
So I managed to stop at about 32 items because that already took me about 5-6 hours... and because the prices I had to list them at to include free shipping wouldn't make it worth listing anything under $30.
(I don't trust the shipping estimates, particularly when you have to combine shipping - if you underestimate it you lose money, and if you overestimate you risk negative feedbback for over-charging the buyer unintentionally.)
On top of all that are all the questions and offers you have to answer, as well as the "false buyers" who buy something that wasn't available to their area, or it was an "accidental purchase", requiring items to be relisted and opening a dispute for the buyer to agree to as well or else ebay thinks you sold the item.
Then, as if it couldn't get any more time-consuming (for no extra return), you have to deal with a Transformers toy that has electronics and batteries in it, which Australia Post now will no longer ship by air.... and since they don't have seamail to China, I spend significant time ringing around other shipping companies (including a delightful 31 minutes on hold for one company), just to find out that most others don't airfreight items with batteries, or if they do, they charge between $150-$350.
After all that, I've only sold 11 of my 32 items, and they are only a day or two from needing relisting (which I'll need to reduce some prices if I want to offload them).
And I haven't even gotten to the ebay and paypal fees yet.... which I'm sure will just make my day when I find out what they amount to.
Ebay is definitely best for scalpers and owners of investment items, who have the small number of the rarer items that desperate people are willing to pay a fortune for, and cost the sellers very little to acquire, sell and post.
(if we had a collectables fair in Brisbane like most of you other capital cities have, I'd sell them there)
Okay, rant over. :p
And yes Griffin the fees. Ebay take some from the final price. Then some of the postage cost...so your at a loss just sending it. And let's not forget the paypal fee. For the last 8 months my ebay fees have been up to and including $350 a month
I haven't used them myself but u guys know there are various means of listing to Ebay yeah? Apps and services that make it much quicker. When you think of some sellers listing and relisting hundreds or thousands of items, they must be using them to do it so quickly!
A lot of customers change their minds last minute.
I feel that is too much of a hassle to sell my toys on eBay or gumtree.
Too many no shows and unreasonable request has surfaced time to time.
It's really not that difficult when selling on EBay. Once you have a listing that is perfect and covers all the postage costs etc, all you need to do when you want to list a similar item is just change the title, description and photo. Everything else stays the same. It takes me about 1 minute to do a new listing. Trust me, I've been doing it for years with over 3000 feedbacks. It's actually a lot quicker than trying to sell something on a forum like this.
The big time-waster is searching for details on each item like when it was released, as well as looking up sold listings to see what I should list it for so that I don't waste my time by over-pricing it, or missing out on money by under-pricing it.
I do copy listings after a while, but depending on the price or rarity, I change the shipping options (like where it can be shipped, and if it has free shipping) but each time I thought of something else, I would have to go back and add it to the previous ones.
And now that I can't sell toys with batteries overseas, I have to make sure that is taken care of as well.
With all those variables, I don't think I could trust an automated listing.
eBay don't take any of the postage cost? how can they? unless you're using their flat rate post maybe. Ive only ever shipped parcels that are a measured weight and dimension.Quote:
Originally Posted by VERT
I rarely have issue with the estimated shipping being incorrect. I just find it a drag when I'm using multiple different boxes to go in and edit the box size and weight every time I list a new item.
Last week I had someone offer me $11 each for two items I've got listed at $28 and $35 respectively. they might be a little high but they are certainly worth a lot more than $11 each. the offer didn't even ask for a combined postage quote, which I personally would have asked for before making a ridiculous pair of offers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by UltraMarginal
Yep as from a few months back ebay now hit you with a percentage of the post cost as well as the sale cost :(
Wow I didn't know that - just checked my invoices and looks like they started September. I always refund any postage overcharge so on top of the standard final value fee and paypal fee we are getting charged a final vale fee on shipping! :mad::mad::mad:
I think their sole intention with regards to paying final value fees on postage cost is to encourage more sellers to offer free postage.
That's B#$%^#$t!!
so I offer free shipping and add an excessive amount to my BIN price. They really don't want to have anyone using them who isn't a business do they.
"come use our service, but if you want to sell stuff and maintain a 100% rating we're going to drop so many little charges everywhere that you can't possibly break even"
jerks.
That would mean I would need to increase my buy now price to cover the worst case scenario (posting to WA) so all other buyers then see this increased price and go somewhere else..... :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by Omega Metro
How can ebay charge us a fee when they are not actually providing a service on postage.
Whaaaaaat?Quote:
Originally Posted by VERT
Do they still charge the listing fee? It would annoy me when you pay listing fee, final value fee and then paypal fee.
Now a postage fee
THIS.Quote:
Originally Posted by Skullcruncher
bugger ebay!
I would expect that it was probably instigated to stop people avoiding ebay fees by "shifting" the bulk of the item cost into the postage cost. The buyer still pays the same amount, but ebay didn't get their cut.Quote:
Originally Posted by Omega Metro
Or, it might have been done to make it fairer to those sellers who list "free shipping", who are already paying ebay fees on postage.
Or the more likely option, if they still charge the same percentage, it's just an easy way for them to increase their revenue.
I think it is to make some money out of people who list figures that are priced for next to nothing for the figure but then jack the price up on the shipping.Quote:
Originally Posted by Skullcruncher
I get 40 free listings a month. Gets eaten up real fast when re listing. Then yes $1.50 per item if around $20 most I get is $5 per item for the expensive stuff. Then sale fee. Then post fee. Then paypal fee. You have to sell more just to pay the bill at the end of the month.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tetsuwan Convoy
I've just pulled the pin on selling. Feels good but what am I gonna do with all that free time. :p
I managed to sell most of my extra mps with ease, is just a matter of patience.
Very too often you meet a lot of weird individuals but just ignore and sell your item.
now that you have some spare time buddy... you can help me sell toys! ;):p lolQuote:
Originally Posted by Megatran
I know what you mean though.... It's such a pain, but a necessary evil :)
I want to sell all my TFs (to concentrate on Lego) but just don't know where to start. My instructions for each Transformer is in a box and just a nightmare trying to match them up with the figure it belongs to.:(
Some of the Combiner Wars toys are quickly making some of my other older TFs redundant; but I don't know if they're worth selling cos I don't know if anyone would want them. :o But I don't want to give them away either, so I've resigned to keeping a lot of them to display independently in robot mode w/ the CW version in gestalt mode. One exception is Cloud Megatron, since I can't display CW Megatron doesn't combine -- Cloud Megatron is completely superfluous to my needs now. But given that I paid $70 (incl. shipping) for what is a Japanese exclusive figure, I don't want to give it away (so instead I'm trying to sell it for $60; which is somewhat cheaper than eBay's BIN price :eek:). I've decided that I will display CW Powerglide in weapon mode being held by Universe USA Ed Powerglide. :o
Hate waiting for prospective buyers to reply. In all fairness they could have more pressing concerns but the waiting... :eek:
I have been tossing up the prospect of selling my entire collection (execpt MPs and a few signed figures).
I have a very large collection (1800+) and would rather sell it as a whole as it would be alot of work to sell it individually.
I am running out of storage as my family grows and the sale of my collection would help with a deposit for a house.
Has anyone else gone through this a any advice would be appreciated.
I started last year selling the collection, and over the summer took pictures of everything else I hadn't got to and have just finished organising, cataloguing, uploading and pricing everything.
Pricing was the hardest part.
I know my collection wouldn't sell as a collection, which is why I needed to do everything individually.
I pretty much have everything catalogued on the Shmax website, so I have done most of the hard work...Quote:
Originally Posted by Zippo
I'm gonna eat my words and have another crack at selling. :o
This time though, it'll only be a limited number of items at a time. Need to psych myself up. *Cracks neck & knuckles Chuck Norris style*
You need to be aware that if ur selling as a collection/lot u wont get anywhere near as much as if u were to sell individuallyQuote:
Originally Posted by MayzaPrime
On eBay, I take a look through recently ended and sold auctions for the same or similar things and take an educated(ish) guess based on that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Skullcruncher
Because some of these have personal value or took some effort to acquire, do you actually care who the sale goes to? Do you feel like Andy when he passes the toys to someone who will enjoy or look after them? Why would sell here instead of ebay or gumtree or other sites?
Or is it different if it's MOSC/MISB - never been played with? Also different if you are ending your collection? Just sell & don't care anymore?
Luckily I'm yet to need to sell any transformers that I have a personal connection with.
I generally sell MISB spares so don't really mind where they go, I think if I had to sell transformers I didn't want to sell, I'd be hoping they went somewhere where they would be valued and enjoyed.
I don't use Gumtree, eBay is a necessary pain, here is a great way to sell, but compared to eBay a limited audience (who probably also just bought the same spare I'm trying to sell off somewhere else:p:rolleyes:).
It has become necessary for me to sell off my collection. Some pieces I will keep, but because my priorities have changed, I can easily let them go. Must admit it's a strange feeling. Never thought I'd be able to sell it off.
I started the hard task of selling my entire collection piece by piece last week. Its time to let go as I turn 40 in less than a month and I'm not enjoying the toys anymore. And I'm actually fine with it :D
I hate this selling thing. I have people asking for quotes and because I want to do it right, which involves packing said item up and measuring/weighing it to get an accurate price, it takes me ages. Literally weeks to get the time to do it. My life is so full on right now. All my time on here is done either when at work, or like now, in bed when I should be sleeping instead.
I completely understand people that refuse to post.
a small stash of old legends and deluxe bubbles help to make the space filling easier and it has little effect on weight.
but I totally get you, it's a time consuming thing. I'd hate to be trying to make a living out of it.
I think is more of setting up a rule not to fill up with 'fluff' releases that would not stand the test of time when it comes to medium - long term collectability.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulbot
Basically the person who buys all the mainstream stuff and then decides to sell will have difficulty. Mainstream releases are not as collectable as they were once.