Paypal, Ebay, etc.

[Opti]

Would like some advice, suggestions, pitfalls to avoid etc. for using
Paypal and Ebay. I have never bought anything off of Ebay although
I might try later today since someone is selling a new version of my
purse that needs to be replaced.

I plan to do both minor buying and minor selling. I have only a few things
to sell like Breyer horses and some odds and ends.

[Deleted]

Both e-Bay and PayPal will bombard you with junk e-mail so use a spamcatcher address. (I suppose there are ways to shut this off but I haven't bothered to look.)

Be very careful about shipping outside of the US- even to Canada. E-Bay is very inflexible when it comes to calculating shipping and handling and if there's a right way to get reimbursed for the massive extra costs of shipping outside of the US, I haven't found it yet. If you want to avoid this hassle, note in your listing that you don't sell outside of the US (if you're US-based).

[cranberry49]

For Ebay: Always check the ratings of the person selling and read the negative comments. You of course, will find some negative comments with someone that sells a lot of stuff, simply because you just cannot please everyone. But, the majority of the ratings should be good and the ratings should be in the high 90's percentile. Also check the price of shipping! Some sellers will make a fortune off of shipping while marking the product for sale very cheap. This is wrong and many people fall for it. NEVER send money through paypal other than through the checkout area! In other words do NoT send money to an email offered by the seller. Number 1 they are NOT suppose to do that and Number 2 you will NOT be protected if the seller renigs.    

I buy all the time from ebay and have had no problems with paypal either. Just follow the rules above and you should be fine!

[Deleted]

One thing I've noticed in some Ebay listings is that they build "free" shipping into the price.  However, if you claim the product is defective, then you are responsible for shipping both ways.  That is, they will deduct their "shipping and handling" charge from the return, which can be fairly pricey.  I think on a $25 item, I was going to get a net refund of $5 after I paid return shipping and they did their s&h and "restocking" fee.

It depends on what you are buying, but I mostly work with the Facebook trading sites now.  You can find tons of purses, including a lot of Coach and Kate Spade, for less than $50.  Some are a lot less.  You can examine the merchandise before buying.  Most meet at a public mall.

I do think it's easier to buy than sell on both places.

[skubikky]

Jan 10, 2014 7:39:47 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Both e-Bay and PayPal will bombard you with junk e-mail so use a spamcatcher address. (I suppose there are ways to shut this off but I haven't bothered to look.)

Be very careful about shipping outside of the US- even to Canada. E-Bay is very inflexible when it comes to calculating shipping and handling and if there's a right way to get reimbursed for the massive extra costs of shipping outside of the US, I haven't found it yet. If you want to avoid this hassle, note in your listing that you don't sell outside of the US (if you're US-based).

International shipping is done by the seller shipping to a location in the US and then the buyer paying the shipping for the leg overseas.  I've been doing this for awhile and it keeps the shipping costs to be whatever it would be domestically.

[sheilaincali]

DH and I buy and sell things on eBay all the time. We use paypal exclusively for payments and when we make payments on things we have purchased.

In all of our years we have only had one or two problems. One was a guy that claimed he never got the $150 worth of items we sent him and we had to reimburse him. Lesson- always ask for tracking! when you mail something.  Second issue was a woman claimed her item didn't work and we offered her a full refund (including shipping back to us) if she'd return it and she refused to return it and never said anything more about it.   Personally I think the item worked and she was trying to scam a refund. Only reason I can figure that she wouldn't return it even after we offered to pay for the return shipping.

Otherwise-

When Buying:  read the reviews/comments from pervious buyers and sellers before you bid on something.  Read the description very carefully, message them if you have questions or need clarification on something.  Paying through paypal I find to be more secure then mailing them a money order.

When selling:  Be clear in your description.  Add at least 10% to whatever shipping estimate eBay calculates for you.  At least half the time shipping costs more than what eBay claims it will.  Accept payment through paypal.  Be clear as to when payment is expected and when you will be shipping the item.  

[973beachbum]

I have bought things from Ebay but only sold things on Amazon.  I checked my prices for items selling to see what prices I could get and every time it was more on Amazon.

I never had any problems either.  One seller didn't mail my order in a timely manner.  That pissed me off.  I sold a lot of college textbooks and never paid more than Amazon put to ship it.  Most people just want the item that was actually listed, this is actually a lot harder than it sounds some days, shipped in a timely manner so as to not bust in a thousand pieces.

For bigger things I has been doing some craigslist buying.  It works out much better for big items that would cost a mint to ship.

Good luck!

[Opti]

Thanks for the advice so far. Please continue.

Athena, please define junk email amount and frequency if you can.
If its generally one a day or less I can probably live with it. I've
only gotten on a couple retailers email lists and most usually
confine their emails to one a day except for Brookstone who can
go up to two or three a day during Christmas season.

Beach, do you sell on Amazon instead of Ebay because of seller
fees or do you think overall you make more money? I notice Amazon
seems to have more businesses selling, so items tend to be more expensive
and on Ebay you might get smaller businesses or individuals selling items.


I let the purse go to someone else in part because I decided not to
sign up to Paypal using my regular freebie email address until I found out
how bad the email issue is. So if other Paypal users can chime in that
would be helpful. I once started to sign up for Ebay, but not sure if
I ever completed it. I did not get many emails from them as I never
bought or sold anything. The purse went for $50 including shipping which
is a decent price. Back when I bought mine you could get one for $60 or
less on a good sale at Macy's. Before they dropped it that sale price was
close to $80.  There are some online with Ebags and others $80 and
above for new. Some are saying the list price is now $164 or $146.99.
Macy's upped the list price from $85/90 to $99/100 right before they
and Tignanello dropped it. The closest new model seems to be $110 and
up online.

[Deleted]

Jan 10, 2014 14:29:34 GMT -5 Opti said:

Athena, please define junk email amount and frequency if you can.
If its generally one a day or less I can probably live with it. I've
only gotten on a couple retailers email lists and most usually
confine their emails to one a day except for Brookstone who can
go up to two or three a day during Christmas season.

Definitely one a day or less, but to me anything more than once a week is pestering me.  Some places I haven't dealt with in years (Macy's and GAP come to mind) seem to e-mail me at least weekly.

[Opti]

OK. I can live with one a day or less. Sorry to hear about the Macy's
and GAP emails. I haven't ordered too much online so currently my abuse
 via email is limited.



I wish retailers would allow you to pick email frequency, but that's why
I'm only signed up with three right now, two of which I've ordered online
from so they'd probably hassle me anyway.

[mollyanna58]

When you are selling something, make sure you have the correct packaging supplies, and know the approximate weight so you can figure the correct shipping charge.  Make sure you have a box that will work, and don't have to run to Staples to buy one for $2.00 if you didn't figure that cost into your stated shipping price.  If you are wrong on your shipping price, you can't ask the buyer for more money.  If you use USPS Priority Mail, the post office has free boxes. 

I just spoke to someone today who listed an item on Ebay, with a free listing, and she did not realize that Ebay gets a cut of the final sale.  That is, if you list something and it doesn't sell, there is no charge.  However, if it does sell, both Ebay and PayPal get a cut.  Ebay gets 10%, and Paypal gets 2.9% + $0.30.  I don't know if these percentages are across the board; you can find the info on Ebay and Paypal's sites.

The items I sell are light; usually less than 1 lb.  They're also generally less than $10.00 for the sales price.  I have never had a problem shipping to other countries.  Ebay's cut is based on US shipping.  I just sold an item to a buyer in Switzerland.  The shipping charge to the US was $3.50.  It was $12.00 to Switzerland.  Ebay's cut was based on the US charge, so they got $0.35.  Paypal fees to foreign countries are higher than to the US.  Ebay's shipping label function will print out the customs form for you.

If you use Ebay's calculated shipping feature, be sure to include a S&H fee sufficient to cover Ebay and Paypal's fee on the shipping. 

[sunshinegal1981]

Almost every retailer and website offers a way to opt-out of mailings, or to reduce their frequency. Here is the one from PayPal. You can find it under "Account"--> "Profile".

[TheOtherMe]

I was going to add that I don't get a lot of emails from either eBay or Paypal.  I get a weekly notice from eBay if my two favorite sellers have new listings.  Paypal sometimes sends bill me later offers but after looking at it, I decided bill me later is not a good deal.

I have had issues shipping internationally and will no longer do it.  Unless you send it registered mail, Paypal will not accept the receipt from the post office showing that it was shipped.  If the buyer says they did not get it, they yank the money out of your account if you can't prove to Paypal's satisfaction that it was shipped.  

On items that are expensive, I either require insurance or put in the listing that if it sells for a certain amount, I will pay shipping and insurance.  I've sold a couple of big ticket items and it was well worth it.  
I haven't been successful on Amazon selling things.  

[Opti]

Thanks for the added posts. I will plan to use my regular email account
given what was posted.


I realize the thread the probably die soon but welcome any more insights
and experiences others have. If I get to Paypal later today I may post
Qs here if I have any.



Thanks again for sharing your experiences. Very helpful.

[toomuchreality]

Sorry, I'm kind of late...

Yikes!!! I get a TON of email from ebay. Like well over one hundred per week. I finally learned to make folders and 'rules' for them, to go to their folders, when received.

A very helpful site I have found, for viewing just the neutral & negative feedback a person on ebay has received, is toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs. You just enter in the user id. It works like a charm!

Whenever I've had a problem with an item that (might) needs to be returned, I tell the seller that I don't feel I should have to pay the cost of the return shipping, because if I had known there was something wrong (or whatever the issue is), I would not have purchased the item to begin with. So they wouldn't be out money or time for sending the item to me. Usually, they offer to either cover the cost of shipping, or to let me keep the item/not return it. So far, I have yet to lose a case.

I am only a buyer (ebay and amazon). I've never even attempted to sell. I would end up paying people to take my stuff. -heh. Over all, I've had pretty good luck. I also couldn't deal with the whiners and the screamers.

Good luck to you!