I'm new to Ebay Selling [Archive] - Retrogaming Roundtable

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Darth Sensei

11-21-2005, 10:51 AM

SlayerX

11-21-2005, 11:05 AM

I myself accept PayPal, Money Orders, and Personal Cash. From now on though, with the amount of buying that i've been doing on ebay for christmas, and myself, I am thinking of accepting PayPal only, that way the money doesnt go onto my credit card, and max it out again.

Paypal is instant payment (whenever they send it), and Money Orders/Cash are usually 2 - 2 1/2 weeks since im in Canada, and most of the transactions ive done on ebay have been from the USA.

briskbc

11-21-2005, 11:41 AM

What payment options do you guys accept? Is it realistic to only accept paypal?

I only accept Paypal as a matter of convenience for me. I hate going to bank with a cheque $9 US. It has only been in the last year that I have started taking Paypal exclusively. At that piont only 10% of my ended items were being paid for with a money order.

How likely are you to get burnt if you accept personal checks?

I've only had a check bounce once in the 7 years I did accept them. I started putting restriction in my auctions where if an item ended higher then $25 (including shipping), I would not accept checks.

Also, how many of you US ebayers only ship to the US?

As a Canadian I can say I really appreciate it when sellers do ship to Canada. I admit I get a bit frustrated when they don't but I don't complain. It's their stuff. It's their right.

I do put restirctions on shipping overseas unless it is a rarer item. That is mainly becuase I am unfamiliar with the shipping costs (which are generally huge for something over 1 KG).

tylerwillis

11-21-2005, 06:10 PM

I write in my auctions that I only accept Paypal, but if someone asks beforehand, then I'll take a money order. Personal checks if they have like 500 feedback.

I use to do the opposite, but I had way way too many non-paying bidders.

I only ship to the US, simply because I can print labels at home and have a carrier pick them up. Can't do that for international rates.

kevin_psx

11-21-2005, 06:56 PM

Used to accept checks/money orders but it's too inconvenient to verify they paid - that it doesn't bounce - to drive to the bank..

Now it's paypal only. They can pay with credit card.

Vroomfunkel

11-21-2005, 07:21 PM

I have online banking and my bank gives me pre-paid envelopes to deposit cheques with, so it is no hassle at all to bank cheques and confirm they have cleared, so I prefer not to get bitten by eBay twice (once for auction fees and again for Paypal fees).

I have never had a cheque bounce on me. I have had problems with Paypal though. I request that people pay by cheque / money order / bank transfer unless they are overseas. If UK bidders volunteer to cover Paypal costs then they can use that - but Paypal is more of a convenience for them than it is for me, so I don't see why I should foot the bill for it ... if cheques are less convenient for you then I guess Paypal only will be more attractive to you.

But you do risk excluding people who don't have access to Paypal - and as far as I am concerned, the golden rule is that the fewer people you allow to bid, the less your item will sell for.

My adivice : set your preferences to block bidders with overall negative feedback, and state that for payments by cheque or money order you will only ship out after you have confirmed that the payment has cleared.

For most low value items, I will post out before it clears, but higher value items I always wait. Never had a payment bounce yet, but I'm not going to risk it either!

Vroomfunkel

chaoticjelly

11-21-2005, 07:50 PM

What payment options do you guys accept? Is it realistic to only accept paypal?

How likely are you to get burnt if you accept personal checks?

Also, how many of you US ebayers only ship to the US?

Any advice is appreciated.

Selling on ebay for several years I accept most payments except American checks (would probably cost me more than the check was worth to cash it)

The huge huge majority of people I deal with do use paypal, so it is feasible to use only paypal but as others have said, there will be some people that you will be excluding... I hardly get any cheques nowadays but its not too much trouble to take them in..

Before Paypal became really popular I used to take cheques in all the time, cash them and then send the items straight away in fact I still do it. I only dont send the item straight away if the item is of high value and the buyer has very low feedback! Its worked fine for me so far....

I ship worldwide from the UK.. after all, eBay was designed to be "The Worldwide Marketplace" and sometimes I've gotten very high prices, BECAUSE I offered worldwide (someone from outside of the UK bid on the item and won it..) if I didnt offer worldwide I wouldnt make as much on eBay!

Griking

11-21-2005, 08:51 PM

I accept BidPay wich is easy as hell to accept and doesn't cost me money to use. I also accept US money orders, cash and finally PayPal.

I'll offer world-wide for most items except for larger things such as consoles because of the cost to ship them. I have made exceptions for people who email me and ask me to allow them to bid. At least by doing it this way there's no misunderstandings about how much shipping will cost.

I'll also only accept PayPal or Bidpay from international buyers because I don't want to have to bother with trying to cash international money orders.

Darth Sensei

11-23-2005, 08:38 AM

Bump. Anyone else with advice for the noob?

Vectorman0

11-23-2005, 08:50 AM

Shipping outside of the US will open up your auctions to many more people. If you are weary of shipping, just make it non-negotiable EMS only. Free insurance up to $100 with that too.

kevin_psx

11-23-2005, 09:22 AM

Shipping outside of the US will open up your auctions to many more people. If you are weary of shipping, just make it non-negotiable EMS only..
EMS?

Considered selling to Europe and Japan. I'm scared.

Vectorman0

11-23-2005, 10:37 AM

FABombjoy

11-23-2005, 11:24 AM

My selling philosophies:

Sell internationally - chances are you'll still have a US-based buyer but someone overseas will bump up the final sale price. If not, hey more money!

Accept Paypal, but only from seller protection enabled countries - US, Canada, and UK. Make buyers pay for trackable shipping, and if it ends over $250 make sure someone has to sign for it. Many of the bad stories you hear are from people that did not follow Paypal's procedures. Read THIS PAGE (http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/policy_spp-outside)for full details.

If they want it shipped their way, or to a non-paypal seller protection country, OR they want you to put a low value on the customs form, send 'em to Bidpay.

Only use the words "as-is" if it doesn't work. If it works and you put 'as-is' and it arrives non-functional, insurance will probably deny your claim.

evil_genius

11-23-2005, 11:41 AM

I prefer postal money orders, you can cash them at the PO.

Mayhem

11-23-2005, 12:26 PM

EMS Shipping is International Express mail handled by the USPS in the USA. All you have to do is fill out a customs forum, and it's just about the most secure shipping you will find. It can get pricey, but I go for it sometimes if I am having a valuable item shipped from overseas.

To add to this, it can be tracked and it offers insurance as default. Sending some valuable abroad? I agree, EMS is the best method to ensure it gets there and you know it's gotten there.

Darth Sensei

11-29-2005, 07:04 PM

Thanks guys, any other advice?

davepesc

11-29-2005, 09:17 PM

What payment options do you guys accept? Is it realistic to only accept paypal?

How likely are you to get burnt if you accept personal checks?

Also, how many of you US ebayers only ship to the US?

Any advice is appreciated.

1: I accept everything. Personal checks can take up to 14 days to clear. If you send me one, know this.

2: Zero, if you remember #1

3: Not me, I'm global, baby!

davepesc

11-29-2005, 09:24 PM

Thanks guys, any other advice?

Sorry to double post, but:

I'm not a "Power Seller," but my advice is to list your stuff at the minimum you are willing to sell. It's not worth the worry when your Super Rare game is sitting at $0.99 with 15 minutes to go and you're hoping someone is going to snipe.

Don't list your games as Super Rare if they are not. Believe it or not, we all know. And no one is serching for "rarez" or "L@@K"

Ship promptly and e-mail the buyer to let him know to look for a package. This is just courtesy. I think it's rude to take someone's money and leave them wondering if you ever got it or if you mailed their stuff.

Leave feedback, always.

As a seller, I leave feedback as soon as payment is confirmed. At that point, the buyer has completed his end of the bargain.