Seller identity

[sydneyromer]

I am just trying to sell second hand clothes and accessories, not so much but more than 50 items, this translates to my personal info being distributed to 50 strangers ( assuming I sell them all but they are almost free, the prices unbelievable) Is there any way around this? Please let me know.

Many thanks

[clarry100]

If you start at 99-cents and you only get a single bid at that price and the auction ends you are commited to complete the sale at that price.

So if your costs are more than the 99-cents then yes you will be out of pocket.

[curraone]

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@sydneyromer wrote:
I thought that the .99 was only a bid starting point and that we can always turn down bids.

Do you mean to say that if you put a buy offer of .99 then the transaction will go thru without me having any say? Has that ever happened?

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It happens all the time -  there is no reserve on these kinds of auctions - all your items might go for 99c if you don't change your starting price.

Your return address on postage items can be a PO Box as mentioned earlier.     The buyer is going to end up with your name, email, phone number, town so they can find out your address if they really want to, I wouldn't worry about it really.

Just work on your listings to give good titles and descriptions, with a reasonable starting price.   Good luck from me too.

[peri-landlubber]

What the other members might have forgotten to say, the postage & handling has eBay final value fee on it as well & on top of that there's Paypal's commission to handle that money as well as whatever U sell the item for.

($0.99 + $7.20) x 9.8% = $0.81 + (Paypal $0.30 per item + 2.4% of the total they collect = 50 cents).

So without turning around those 2 conglomerates are charging you a minimum of $1.30

In your postage U need to charge for wrapping the item, especially if it's bubble wrap.

[medalsbadgespatches]

Hi Sydneyromer, I won a .99 cent auction once with free post. Cost the seller over $13 for postage.

Think long and hard aboout .99 auctions because if they sell for .99 you are obligated to fulfil the contract with the buyer.

[i-love-my-sheep]

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@sydneyromer wrote:
i-love-my-sheep, Thanks for the input, I thought that the .99 was only a bid starting point and that we can always turn down bids.

Do you mean to say that if you put a buy offer of .99 then the transaction will go thru without me having any say? Has that ever happened?

Thanks heaps for the well wish.

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As mentioned, if you only get one bid, you are committed to the transaction. You can't end the item early because you didn't get the price you wanted, it's a breach of policy and you can get into big strife.

When I first started, I listed everything at 99c, because I thought it was the way it was done, and everything was selling for 99c, so I was losing money big time. I was paying eBay more than what I got from the sale. I soon learned to start the auction at the minimum price I was willing to accept, also factoring eBay's fees into the starting price. Even now, most of my things sell with just one bid (although last night I had multiple bidders which was a nice shock!).

[bene308]

I'm not sure if the books would see for more. If a buyer looks at it with postage of $7.20 they can buy the books cheaper online. Would it be better to offer books as a bulk lot so it's only one postage cost like a 3 kg parcel

[i-love-my-sheep]

How thick are the books? Would they be less than 20mm/2cm where they could go either in a padded bag or a cardboard envelope? If they are only thin, I'd post them as a large letter.

I guess you could sell them as a lot. If they could be sent as large letter, I'd definitely put the price up, add in what postage would be (you can work it out on the Aust Post postage calculator - sing out if you're not sure how to use that), a bit more to cover eBay's fees and list with free postage.

If you can give us the dimensions of the books, we can probably help out as far as postage costs go.

[cherry*135]

eBay still has that little pop-up when listing an item that recommends starting an item at 99c. They really shouldn't have that anymore as there is not much chance of a seller even coming out even at that price. 

[sydneyromer]

omg!, don't want to be non compliant, thanks again for your generosity in sharing your experiences.
Hope you have more shocks!

[sydneyromer]

(Good luck - noted) many thanks!!
I came to terms with it now - my info
I will do - work on my listings with clearer adjectives and will be more realistic with the prices.
I really appreciate your inputs.