Friends and relatives want me to sell their personal stuff on eBay

[Elwood P Dowd]

In the past week I've had three people approach me about selling their personal items on eBay. They either don't own a computer, or they don't know enough about eBay or PayPal to navigate through the process. These folks are coming up short every month and simply need the money to pay bills.

Then there is this story from another friend who went to one of these places that specialize in that business. He couldn't believe how many people were hauling in personal belongings to be sold. The place had several employees and was doing a booming business. They had everything from lawn mowers and generators to jewelry and stereo equipment.

Our citizens are becoming like the farmer who sells a few acres every year to keep from losing his farm. How much longer before the crash, and we lose our farm?

[babylonsister]

1. The barter system via e-Bay. Hmmm. Time is marching on,

isn't it.:(

[Sydnie]

2. Cheney predicted it, didn't he?

Didn't he say that Americans would make extra money using places like ebay? I think he intended to imply that the money would be for "luxuries" not food and gas though, huh? :shrug:

[salin]

4. I thought he was trying to suggest that 'new jobs' ala self-employed

were growing (ala "the economy is going great guns!") - and gave the example of folks on Ebay. I read it as if he was suggesting that folks were making a GREAT living off of Ebay and it was a great sign of how great the economy was doing. Either way indicates the guy is (probably proudly) out of touch.

[caledesi]

3. This is sad. The farm won't last.

In terms of Ebay - I have bought and sold (in the early years) on Ebay since its inception. I can tell you, now that everyone and his brother is now aware of Ebay, they believe it's a real money-maker; it isn't. Nowadays, it is very commercial. Most items are sold from close-out companies.

I know bec like I said I used to sell in the early years when there were hardly any commercial companies. I used to go to garage sales and pick up stuff and sell it and did pretty well. All has changed. I still buy sometimes...but basically it's discount buying, hardly what it used to be.

edit: usual stuff

[pitohui]

6. yeah it's noiwhere what it was

some of these so-called power sellers must be thieves who hijack trucks to sell on ebay because their prices are too far below wholesale -- and for new items!

a friend's store was being robbed blind for a year by an employee before she discovered the employee was stealing and selling items well below her cost on ebay

you simply can't compete w. that

a different world from when ebay first started and you could really believe that most people are good

[caledesi]

7. And don't forget the shipping gouging.

Years ago when actual individuals sold on Ebay it was ACTUAL shipping. Now there is overpricd shipping and that new nasty word - handling. Ebay is NOT what is used to be.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

12. Most of the sellers that gouge on shipping and handling charges seem

to be selling electronics and it is absurd. I sell on eBay and do charge shipping and handling, but the handling part is minimal as I use it to cover the excellent packaging supplies that I use to insure that the crystals and minerals that I sell reach the buyers safely. But when I see someone charging $10 to mail computer memory via first class mail, it gets me sick to my stomach.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

10. It depends on what you sell on eBay. I am a "so called Power Seller"

and have sold crystals and minerals there for the last 6 years. I start my auctions very low to make them affordable for most people and have consistently done well even though the amount of crystal and mineral sellers are increasing.

It's all a matter of which market you're selling to there.

Also, I buy off of eBay all the time and purchase at a lot less than if I were to give my money to Wal-mart. I am supporting in most cases the small business person and I also like to buy used books, cds, dvds and even used electronics. I consider it useful recycling.

[babylonsister]

13. I agree; it depends on your market, who's buying or selling, and

how trustworthy you/they are. I like the feedback factor.
I've bought plants, a pool float, a Polaris, plylocks for the next hurricane here, and my husband buys and sells stuff also.
You have to be smart.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

28. It's true, you do have to be smart when shopping there. Feedback

is very important. On larger purchases I will read the feedback and sometimes someone with an apparently good feedback number might have received a sudden flurry of negatives. That often means, keep away. They are going through something in their lives and there can be a problem. Sometimes I've purchased from people with a low feedback number but will often ask them a question about the product, and if the answer has "good vibes", I will go through with the bid or buy now.

And yes, the plant and seed selection is fantastic! :)

[Elwood P Dowd]

16. I also do the "useful recycling" off eBay

When I need a new cordless phone, I buy it off eBay. I purchased a $1,000 DVD player off eBay for $75.00. The DVD part was acting up, but the CD playback was flawless. I only wanted a decent CD player, and this unit received rave reviews for it's CD playback. For $50.00 I purchased a professional Sony VCR built like a tank. It's been working like a top for years - better than the new garbage you get at Best Buy. The only problem it had was no remote, no manual, and some scratches. Didn't need a manual and found a remote for five bucks!

There are tons of deals on electronics, appliances, clothing, and other items that were manufactured in the 80s and 90s. These are often way, way better built than the crap coming out of China today. Most of this new electronics crap is basically disposable. Play with it a couple of years and then take to the city dump.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

26. It's great to see that you "get" it. The computer I'm on now was purchased

used in great shape, and cell phones! I have bought replacement cell phones for a fraction of their cost which is a good thing because myself and my 2 sons have had cell phone "tragedies". ie the time I left my phone in my robe, forgot and washed the robe. To replace it new would have been over $200. I purchased a similar gently used model for $40.00. Big difference.

I even buy packaging materials for my business there at wholesale prices.

All in all, if you are careful about the feedback of the seller, and actually read it, it is a safe, exceptionally valuable place to save money.

BTW... you haven't seen a 6' pookah on eBay have you??? Please let me know if you have! ;)

[pitohui]

5. i do it for 50 percent of the take

i've heard of people doing it for 10 percent but they soon go broke and crazy

make it 50 percent and at least all the packaging and standing in line at post office will result in a decent pay-off

and don't bother w. any old crap they bring over, the item needs to be shippable AND something that sells for at least $40 to be worth my time after the pot is split

people who want you to work for them for nothing -- unless it's your mom -- they are users and you should just laugh and decline


be aware that some items will sell more profitably and with less trouble thru your newspaper's classified ads or through your local craigslist, esp larger or car/boat related items

[Elwood P Dowd]

9. I know the ropes.

Been buying and selling on eBay for almost 8 years. I do it to make a little extra income.

You are correct about all the work and trouble. It takes about 15-20 minutes just to make a decent digital photo and post the damn item. Then you sometimes have to answer email questions. After it's sold, you have to package the item properly and drive to the post office or UPS outlet (with gas at $3.00 a gallon) to ship it. If they pay with PayPal, then you have to absorb the 3% charge. When you want cash, you have to waite a few days for a transfer to your bank or two weeks for a check.

I'm going to charge close friends and relatives 25%. If anyone else wants me to do it, then 50% is only fair.

[pitohui]

14. heh

i charge my best friend 50 percent -- but he needs the space more than the money and sometimes i suspect he would just give some of the items away for nothing if i wasn't selling them so i don't feel too guilty :-)

i don't actually sell at all for people i don't know well, it's more a favor i do -- but a favor with profits, tee hee

[goclark]

21. Would it be worth it to sell a ladies golf bag/clubs

that are like new?

I didn't see many for sale there so I wasn't sure it was worth the try.

[Elwood P Dowd]

22. Take some nice pics and list them

on a 7-day auction to end around 10:00 PM EDT on a Monday or a Friday. Start with a very low minimum bid ($1.00) and set the reserve at the absolute lowest price you're willing to accept. Be sure and give a detailed description, especially of the condition and previous usage. Mint, like-new, used-once, etc. attracts bidders. Do you know how to properly pack and ship a set of golf clubs? If not, you might want to advertise them locally in the classifieds.

[goclark]

24. Excellent ! Thanks for the ebay clues

I took the photos but I think the classifies would work better because trying to ship would be hard for me.

They are also so heavy that it may not be worth it.


Salvation Army and a tax write off may be better than shipping too.

[peacetalksforall]

30. Monday and Friday? Are these the most active nights? n/t

[newswolf56]

8. Current and future fuel prices are, quite simply, the end...

of the American Dream FOREVER, and very probably the end of the entire American experiment. And it is these skyrocketing prices that are driving the already-unprecedented sale of jewelry and other personal possessions.

Fuel prices are NEVER going down again -- $5 per gallon by Labor Day (for which I was jeered at two weeks ago) is now a restrained projection.

What's worse -- many times worse (because it guarantees socioeconomic collapse) -- is that the United States has no public transportation system to provide an alternative to ever-more-impossibly-expensive automobiles. Indeed -- purely because of the innate viciousness of capitalism (and the innate greed of all capitalist politicians) -- the U.S. has the worst public transport in the industrial world.

And now, because of a combination of factors (all ultimately attributable to this same ruinous greed) the U.S. will NEVER build the public transport it has desperately needed for so long. Thanks to the concentration of wealth, the requisite money is no longer available -- and will NEVER be available again.

Thus -- with the working class ever more savagely oppressed -- an explosion is inevitable. Thus the anticipated need to viciously suppress dissent -- that is, to brand us all terrorists and traitors merely for demanding adequate governmental services and living wages -- is precisely why the powers-that-be are moving the U.S. ever closer to overt Nazism.

And never forget: every one of us who is not independently wealthy -- that is, every one of us who depends on a paycheck (and now has to sell our treasures merely to afford gasoline) -- is part of the working class: we are the very people the ever-more-tyrannosauric ruling class increasingly despises and fears.

_________
Edit: clarity.

[CoffeeCat]

11. I'll bet that a confluence of factors has led to this...

People with high credit-card debt are having trouble--because within the past year their payments have skyrocketed due to new rules made by the credit card companies.

I know some people had their monthly payments increase by 40 percent.

Combine that with the new bankruptcy laws--which screw the average person and offer no protection at all. If you can't pay those new high credit-card bills--bankruptcy is no longer an option.

Combine that with the outrageous cost of medical care. One accident or serious illness and many people are screwed.

Combine that with the irresponsible bank lending practices--which allowed people making $60k to purchase a $400,000 home with no money down on an interest-only, adjustable-rate mortgage.

Combine that with the high gas prices.

...and you've got yourself a perfect economic storm--barreling toward the middle class.

Most working-class people in this country are soooo screwed.

[Bluebear]

15. Cheney says eBay is a forgotten part of American emplyment>>>

CINCINNATI -- Indicators measure the nation's unemployment rate, consumer spending and other economic milestones, but Vice President Dick Cheney says it misses the hundreds of thousands who make money selling on eBay.

"That's a source that didn't even exist 10 years ago," Cheney told an audience in Cincinnati on Thursday. "Four hundred thousand people make some money trading on eBay."

San Jose, Calif.-based EBay Inc. is an Internet auction site where anyone can sell just about anything, including clothing, cell phones, jewelry, memorabilia, trinkets and automobiles.

Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards responded that Cheney's comments show how "out of touch" he and President Bush are with the economy.

"If we only included bake sales and how much money kids make at lemonade stands, this economy would really be cooking," Edwards said in a statement.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/bush/articles/2004/09/09/cheney_economic_stats_miss_ebay_sales/

[Viva_La_Revolution]

17. Pawn shops are getting busier too...

according to a post on another thread yesterday.


:( Hang on tight. I fear it's going to be a bumpy ride.

[WinkyDink]

18. I just sold my first item: concert tix at cost. Sold within hours;

I wasn't looking to profit, so I was quite pleased!
But I also just received 2 picture frames today, and the glass of one was shattered. :( (ETA: I have bought over 200 items, and exactly 3 I was unhappy with, and one of those was because I misread the ad!)

HOWEVER, I have bought some FAB jewelry off e-Bay!

To get back on point: I'm really getting scared, yo. This gasoline business affects the price of everything, never mind just the cost of getting to and fro. And then who will buy the little doo-dads we try to sell on e-Bay? Not the newly-impoverished, and not those who prefer the looted treasures of Babylon.

My husband thinks I'm nuts when I mention the camps and their possible use for protestors.
But what will happen when we are left only with circuses and no bread?

[Elwood P Dowd]

20. Congrats on your sale

Note: When I buy something fragile off eBay, I offer to reimburse the seller a couple of bucks to put extra layers of bubble wrap around the the item. One time, I actually sent the seller a box of bubble wrap with instructions. Even doing that, you sometimes can't escape the gorillas working for USPS or UPS.

[napi21]

19. For all you folks bashing Ebay, I disagree.

I have been buying on Ebay for about 8 years, and selling for 5 years. I buy NEW merchandise, but only when I can get a great deal. I have sold some personal things and some things I've found at yard sales, but they're few and far between.

I don't make a fortune, but a couple of thousand a year. It pays for my HP internet service, and several other things I couldn't afford otherwise.

You have to pay close attention to feedback when you buy things. 150 positives and one negative that says something like the seller never contacted me doesn't mean anything, but the bad ones show up pretty clear in theier feedback!

I've gotten some unbelievable deals on Ebay myself too! You do have to be a smart shopper, but you should be that everywhere!

[Robbie Michaels]

23. I know the feeling

I did this a couple of times two years ago so I could pay the rent. Seeing others go through this to put gas in their cars (or for other things) make me want to... :nuke:

[1932]

25. I've noticed more garage sales recently...

[DemoTex]

27. A business in Greenville, SC, specializes in E-Bay sales.

The guy must be doing great because he just had an employee convicted of embezzling $300,000 from the business, and it's still going strong.

[catmandu57]

29. There are sellers and then there are buyers

I've come to the conclusion that I'm a buyer, and I'm comfortable with that. If you guys can make a living selling that's fine with me, we can't all be sellers.