Well...some good news for me... (EBAY related)

[Contact]

Well I recently started ebaying stuff and the first (and only, so far) thing I auctioned off was a set of OEM headlamps for an 01-04 Ranger, I called the dealer and they are $90 something each brand new. Okey, so I started the first auction at $115.00 for the set. They went the full week and didn't sell, even though I had lowered the bid throughout the week to $85.00. So if your item does not sell, you can re-list the item, which I did for $65 starting bid. Still did not sell the whole second week.

The third week, I started the bidding at $50.00, got one bid and it remained for 4 days like that, since then I've had 6 other bids and now they are about to close the auction at...$125.00...10 DOLLARS MORE THAN THE ORIGINAL ASKING PRICE. This is crazy.

It's extremely awesome, because I got these lamps for free from a customer at work who was going to throw them away. Perfect condition, he just wanted to put aftermarket lamps on his truck.

Any other ebayers here?

[pkagel]

You never know what gold you have stuffed in the shop. I sold some 57 chevy rear wheel bearings, NOS, for 60 bucks! Remember, it is all how you list it on Ebay.

[SuperSix5]

You can find some gems on ebay, and it's a good way to offload stuff that you'd otherwise toss. I love it when stuff I'm selling gets wrapped up in a bidding war

[Contact]

You can find some gems on ebay, and it's a good way to offload stuff that you'd otherwise toss. I love it when stuff I'm selling gets wrapped up in a bidding war

I thought for sure I was getting 50 bucks for them, which was fine, I got them for free. It held pretty steady until this morning when it seemingly got tangled up in the bidding war. 7 bids between 4 people.

[Contact]

Here's a question for you guys....

Why would one of my bidders bid three times in a row, upping the cost 30 dollars to himself?

He bid:

$51.01 Jun-26-05 05:52:23 PDT

$58.95 Jun-28-05 04:31:37 PDT

$79.95 Jun-28-05 04:32:54 PDT

With no other bids in between his...??...

[SuperSix5]

It just looks like he did. He actually proxy bid (set in a higher amount then was necessary to begin bidding on the auction). Here's what I mean.

"Bob" puts his max bid in as 79.95. His starting bid is 50.00

$51.01 Jun-26-05 05:52:23 PDT Ut oh, someone tried to outbid Bob! His proxy bid automatically puts him on top again, however.

$58.95 Jun-28-05 04:31:37 PDT Someone bids again, raising the price. Bob is still winning.

$79.95 Jun-28-05 04:32:54 PDT Another bid is logged, trying to outbid Bob's proxy bid.

Get it?

[Contact]

Well, Yea I could understand if between those bids there were other bids, but be bid three consecutive times, with no other bids that would trigger his second and third bid.


How many times can you get the word bid in a sentance!

[Tattoo'd Angel]

Well, Yea I could understand if between those bids there were other bids, but be bid three consecutive times, with no other bids that would trigger his second and third bid.


How many times can you get the word bid in a sentance!

Meow...

[m_chevy]

Meow...

Okay, Ramathorn.

[Welpe]

Well, Yea I could understand if between those bids there were other bids, but be bid three consecutive times, with no other bids that would trigger his second and third bid.


How many times can you get the word bid in a sentance!

It is still a proxy bid. You can't bid up your own current bid price.

[Creeker]

I've toyed with the idea of getting rid of some stuff on eBay, but I am hesitant because I don't know how it all works and lack a digital camera right now to help me do it right.

[Groundhog]

I've toyed with the idea of getting rid of some stuff on eBay, but I am hesitant because I don't know how it all works and lack a digital camera right now to help me do it right.

We've got this place that just opened up in a shopping center near me that does it all for you and takes a cut of whatever you sell. You bring them the item, they list it on Ebay w/ a pic, then take care of the bidding & shipping.

[Creeker]

We just got one of those that just opened here, too. I was interested in how much profit they take.

Maybe I'll go check them out.

[SuperSix5]

Creeker, if they take a substantial cut, look into doing it on your own. There really isn't much to it, even for someone with little to no computer experience. Ebay pretty much walks you through the steps of setting up your auctions, and if you had questions that their tutorials/FAQ couldn't answer, there's more then a few of us on here who have a pretty good understanding about how it all works.

[AverageJoe]

We just got one of those that just opened here, too. I was interested in how much profit they take.

Maybe I'll go check them out.

I have a place like that near me. I use them for shipping my eBay sales items out and asked about their commissions a while ago. Theirs was graduated: I think 35% on the first $200, then 30% on the next $300, then 20% above that or something close. Shipping is paid for from their commission. They make pretty good money selling on consignment for you, but then again they deal with the questions that come in about the item and all the "How much is it to ship to xxxxx zip code?" requests from buyers, not you.

If you only have a few things to sell, I'd advise doing it yourself. The most important thing is how you write the item description. A more detailed description gets more attention than a one-line brief for non-commodity items. Use paragraphs in your text and use good grammar. Make sure you clearly spell out shipping charges, how soon you will ship after payment is received, how and how soon you want to be paid, etc. Start the auction at a low price and let people bid it up versus starting it at what you think it's worth. Find someone with a digital camera who can snap a few pics (I'm sure you know someone) and you are in business. The step by step process to list an item is explained very well on eBay.

AvgJoe
Small-time eBay seller and "eBay King" according to my wife