Need some EBay selling advice?

[Graphicski]

5 minutes ago, maestro said:

I have included buy it now but didn’t notice best offer option. Perhaps I don’t qualify for that yet? Re the pricing I would be very happy to receive going prices

In my mind - especially if as a new seller - if your going to list as buy it now at the average going rate, then unless your items are rare then you could get lost in the competition. Another reason I list at 10p - sorry £0.10 - is that initially undercuts EVERYONE straight away, giving the item attention from the off. 

Also I use lego reselling generally as a bonus weekly income so a Sunday to Sunday bid listing gives me a definate weekly bonus (plus easier to plan posting around shift work) than an item sitting stagnant for an age and selling on night shifts or something 🤦🏻‍♂️

Edited September 4, 2021 by Graphicski
Typo

[maestro]

37 minutes ago, Graphicski said:

In my mind - especially if as a new seller - if your going to list as buy it now at the average going rate, then unless your items are rare then you could get lost in the competition. Another reason I list at 10p - sorry £0.10 - is that initially undercuts EVERYONE straight away, giving the item attention from the off. 

Also I use lego reselling generally as a bonus weekly income so a Sunday to Sunday bid listing gives me a definate weekly bonus (plus easier to plan posting around shift work) than an item sitting stagnant for an age and selling on night shifts or something 🤦🏻‍♂️

Your point is well made, appreciate your good advice. 

[Gonkalin]

I almost always do buy it now. I research for same sets / sold filter on eBay to see average selling prices. I list at high end of the averages. Doing this takes longer but typically sells for 20-30% more than auction in my experience. I’ve sold well over 1000 sets this way. Rare times that I do auction I start listing at $1. This gets lots of eyes on it and lots of bidding. 

[maestro]

I got off to a good start on eBay selling 4 sets though they were the fairly much in demand/rarish ones.

Now my eBay sales seem to have slowed despite getting very good feedback from those few sales.

I failed to sell UCS Red Five X-Wing & Pet Shop. Seems I can only sell to Ireland and UK at the moment which is quite restrictive since I don't believe there is much demand in Ireland for Lego sets, well not the pricier ones.

[Voltron]

2 hours ago, maestro said:

I got off to a good start on eBay selling 4 sets though they were the fairly much in demand/rarish ones.

Now my eBay sales seem to have slowed despite getting very good feedback from those few sales.

I failed to sell UCS Red Five X-Wing & Pet Shop. Seems I can only sell to Ireland and UK at the moment which is quite restrictive since I don't believe there is much demand in Ireland for Lego sets, well not the pricier ones.

Not sure if you have the option as based in Ireland, but you can turn on eBay Global Shipping Program. This means you can sell internationally, but only have the responsibility of shipping to the eBay fulfilment centre based in UK.

[maestro]

15 minutes ago, Voltron said:

Not sure if you have the option as based in Ireland, but you can turn on eBay Global Shipping Program. This means you can sell internationally, but only have the responsibility of shipping to the eBay fulfilment centre based in UK.

I certainly will check that. Thanks very much!

[maestro]

Seems when I use laptop (had been using phone app mostly) I can select Worldwide to send to. Hopefully this will help.

4 really good sets, all retired, 2 fairly 'rare' simply didn't sell

[jdr159]

I was wondering, I have some sets to sell on eBay as I don't have room at the moment for them, or as much time to build any more! Most are boxes in very good condition, but I have one which has a bashed box and wondering what difference in price to account for this in the listing. Any ideas? Thanks!

[gmpirate]

4 minutes ago, jdr159 said:

I was wondering, I have some sets to sell on eBay as I don't have room at the moment for them, or as much time to build any more! Most are boxes in very good condition, but I have one which has a bashed box and wondering what difference in price to account for this in the listing. Any ideas? Thanks!

Not that difficult.  Figure a price and see if it sells.  If it doesn't sell, lower the price.

[Gonkalin]

Prob 10% less than one with a good box.

[jdr159]

 

1 hour ago, Gonkalin said:

Prob 10% less than one with a good box.

Ok great, thanks! 

[KShine]

3 hours ago, jdr159 said:

I have one which has a bashed box and wondering what difference in price to account for this in the listing. Any ideas? Thanks!

And if the box is trashed - better off selling it without the box (and saving some on shipping).

[Voltron]

3 hours ago, jdr159 said:

I was wondering, I have some sets to sell on eBay as I don't have room at the moment for them, or as much time to build any more! Most are boxes in very good condition, but I have one which has a bashed box and wondering what difference in price to account for this in the listing. Any ideas? Thanks!

List for lowest BIN new price. I've sold plenty bashed boxes and not seen any dramatic difference in price. If box is very bashed up, open box and sell as opened box sealed bags. Some buyers that want to build the set prefer this as it confirms box contents.

[Phil B]

User requested a return on a set I sold. I offer free returns. Ebay gave me the option to send a partial refund instead, so I proposed a discount while saying that if they didn’t want $10 off the set, I’d gladly take the return. This was on 12/20, crickets since. Do I just wait? Any tips?

[$20 on joe vs dan]

3 hours ago, Phil B said:

User requested a return on a set I sold. I offer free returns. Ebay gave me the option to send a partial refund instead, so I proposed a discount while saying that if they didn’t want $10 off the set, I’d gladly take the return. This was on 12/20, crickets since. Do I just wait? Any tips?

folks are pretty busy/travelling/distracted this time of year...not surprising to get radio silence.

you should send buyer firm dates on his commitments and what will happen if he does not meet them; good to show all cards and leave the next step for him.

[oneknightr]

Do people here still sell high $$$ sets on eBay? I'm hesitant to sell anything over $200 due to past scams I've read about here where buyers claim bogus bricks in a sealed box where we as the seller have no way to prove the pieces inside the sealed box are legit. I've been selling my big sets locally, but as we all know, that's a smaller market and I have to sell lower than if I were to on eBay. 

[$20 on joe vs dan]

4 minutes ago, oneknightr said:

Do people here still sell high $$$ sets on eBay? I'm hesitant to sell anything over $200 due to past scams I've read about here where buyers claim bogus bricks in a sealed box where we as the seller have no way to prove the pieces inside the sealed box are legit. I've been selling my big sets locally, but as we all know, that's a smaller market and I have to sell lower than if I were to on eBay. 

$200 is my cutoff personally as well (just sold a Droid Commander on Ebay for $200 + $25 ship).

local market is tight...like fishing in a very small pond (and we have a relatively "large market")

[scratchdesk]

20 minutes ago, oneknightr said:

Do people here still sell high $$$ sets on eBay? I'm hesitant to sell anything over $200 due to past scams I've read about here where buyers claim bogus bricks in a sealed box where we as the seller have no way to prove the pieces inside the sealed box are legit. I've been selling my big sets locally, but as we all know, that's a smaller market and I have to sell lower than if I were to on eBay. 

You can try to protect yourself a few ways I imagine.  Though none will be fool-proof.  I haven't sold much Lego yet but plan to in the future.  I have sold a ton of collectibles though and had many conversations with ebay support on how I can protect myself as a seller.

I'll generally write in my description some terms of the sale and expectations for the buyer.  For Lego I'd do something along these lines:

Please ask any questions prior to purchasing.

Product is a factory sealed collectible.  Item is being sold as is.  Pieces may be missing or incorrect in the package.  Returns will not be accepted on opened or resealed products. 
All items sold as is.  Unseen minor defects may be present on this item and its packaging.  Defects can include, but not limited to, nicks, scratches, dents, tears, creases and surface wear.  I do my best to show significant issues in the item photographs.  I do not make any claims to overall condition of this item.  By purchasing this item you are agreeing to these terms.  Thank you for looking!

High dollar items will be shipped with tracking and insurance.  Pickup arrangements can be made.

Disclaimer: International Buyers Please Note

Import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine these additional costs will be prior to purchasing.

 

Again, none of this is guaranteed to protect you.  But it can help in making your case if something does arise.  If you're super concerned about return fraud you can take photos of a packing slip with your item on a scale.  If it comes back a different weight then that may help as well.

Edited January 5, 2022 by scratchdesk

[Brystheguy]

13 minutes ago, oneknightr said:

Do people here still sell high $$$ sets on eBay? I'm hesitant to sell anything over $200 due to past scams I've read about here where buyers claim bogus bricks in a sealed box where we as the seller have no way to prove the pieces inside the sealed box are legit. I've been selling my big sets locally, but as we all know, that's a smaller market and I have to sell lower than if I were to on eBay. 

I do, but still prefer to sell those items locally. Knock on wood, but I have yet to have a problem with scams. I don't know if those scams are as prevalent as people think they are.

[Gonkalin]

Great advice above. Best to clearly state exact condition and be as specific as possible. I have free returns so last thing I want is for someone to return an item because it's not clear of the condition they are receiving. 

Having said that. I've sold well over 1000 lego sets on ebay and never have had the problem you're describing. Maybe I've been lucky. And I also sell sets over $1000 at times. I also communicate via ebay messenger with buyers regularly. This helps establish trust with seller. But if someone is going to try to scam you communicating isn't going to stop them.

I have had a few times in the 20 years of selling where a buyer claims the item never got delivered. But tracking shows it did so ebay sides with me. 

[$20 on joe vs dan]

23 hours ago, scratchdesk said:

You can try to protect yourself a few ways I imagine.  Though none will be fool-proof.  I haven't sold much Lego yet but plan to in the future.  I have sold a ton of collectibles though and had many conversations with ebay support on how I can protect myself as a seller.

I'll generally write in my description some terms of the sale and expectations for the buyer.  For Lego I'd do something along these lines:

Please ask any questions prior to purchasing.

Product is a factory sealed collectible.  Item is being sold as is.  Pieces may be missing or incorrect in the package.  Returns will not be accepted on opened or resealed products. 
All items sold as is.  Unseen minor defects may be present on this item and its packaging.  Defects can include, but not limited to, nicks, scratches, dents, tears, creases and surface wear.  I do my best to show significant issues in the item photographs.  I do not make any claims to overall condition of this item.  By purchasing this item you are agreeing to these terms.  Thank you for looking!

High dollar items will be shipped with tracking and insurance.  Pickup arrangements can be made.

Disclaimer: International Buyers Please Note

Import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine these additional costs will be prior to purchasing.

 

Again, none of this is guaranteed to protect you.  But it can help in making your case if something does arise.  If you're super concerned about return fraud you can take photos of a packing slip with your item on a scale.  If it comes back a different weight then that may help as well.

scammers gonna scam...but I do agree if your posting looks like you have your $hit together...scammers will likely move on to easier prey...it's like a bike lock basically tells would be thief to steal the other bike next to mine instead...but would not actually stop a persistent scammer.

Also I think its a numbers game w/ scams...so communication is king (I would say), scammers typically won't take the time to message back and forth in the beginning. ON my recent sale, I saw that the buyer had great feedback but none in 5 years...red flag! since stolen accounts are a thing...so I messaged asking to confirm the address...simple.  I know I could still get screwed but the fact the buyer responded gives me a positive vibe.