Always Impressed with Ebay

[GrowleyMonster]

Oh btw the disease you have is called SRAD, Straight Razor Acquisition Disorder. An irrational compulsion to buy more straights.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

Funny! I've had really bad luck with ebay. I've been charged more for ad fees then I've actually made. I guess no one wants good boat parts. Some of it almost new.
I stick with craigslist. At least I don't lose except my time.

Like Suijin, I've been using fleabay since about '98 also. There are some things to learn to get it to go well. The fees have become a bit exorbitant for sure. Now they pretty much require you to use Paypal which they own also. I've had them close auctions of mine because I said paypal or money order in my notes! You would think requiring people to use a company you own for payment would be illegal in some way.
I always try Craig's list first. When I cleaned out someold cruising gear a few years ago I had a pretty worn out Balmar alternator (old school prestolite) that I considered throwing away. It sold on Ebay for $325! Ditto for an old tillerpilot, I think I got $400 for it.
I just wish some good competition would pop up for Ebay with reasonable fees. You can set up an account and sell things on Amazon also. But doesnt have the advantage of "auction fever".
People do pay too much for things sometimes. But other times it's hard to sell at reasonable prices. Go figure. I use "completed auctions" alot for establishing what something is worth anymore. It's a great resource.

[captain58sailin]

I now have 5 straight razors to sell. Hopefully for more than I paid for them. Though once I actually touch them I will discover "My precious."

[GrowleyMonster]

Why sell them? Five makes for a good rotation. Arent you using them?

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by zboss

All,

My wife and I are currently ebaying a ton of household stuff in preparation for cruising. I am AMAZED at the size of this market... people will buy ANYTHING. Stuff that is old and outdated, stuff that I was literally going to just toss in the trash... is selling.

For example, a run of the mill 10 year old polaroid instant camera. A set of bluetooth outdated headphones that is about 7 years old. A camera battery from 2002... junk by most standards... all selling. Amazing.

Anyhow - for those of you that are in the same process be sure to list everything on ebay and craigslist simultaneously. If you sell it on craigslist, you can stop the ebay sale.

As a rule of thumb I have been starting at 1/3 the value of the item new. If it doesn't get sold, I am putting it in the "donate" pile or "yard sale" pile.

Glad to hear Ebay works in getting rid of stuff. Getting rid of "stuff" is one of my ongoing things on my to do list. I've got a bunch of stuff off the boat from when I still had a diesel on board that I need to get rid of. Was not sure where the best place to sell it might be. Seems like there are a little more safeguards selling on EBAY though. For both seller and buyer.

[captain58sailin]

I just bought them yesterday, I have not yet seen them, once I do, I am sure I will keep them.

[MarkSF]

I agree it's remarkable what can be sold on Ebay, but as a seller I find their policies to be offensively greedy. As a seller you have no rights whatsoever. I've personally had :

1) Ebay force me to refund money for an item by simply removing the money from by account.

2) Buyers who look for items shipping by USPS without insurance or tracking, then claim it didn't arrive and get a refund.

Now you can't leave negative feedback for buyers, so even the worst ones have 100%!

The fees have steadily risen until now, between paypal and EBay, you can easily be paying 11%.

[lostsheep]

I too, am a straight razor fan. I don't buy 'em and restore them, but I prefer to use one. Can't beat a good shave with a straight!
I have 2, one I was given and one bought. The older is still a good shaver. I'm also on
Straight Razor Place - Welcome to Straight Razor Place

Same moniker on both sites.

[zboss]

Ebay has apparently solved many of the issues mentioned so far. For example, its really nice to be able to print your shipping labels directly at home, which automatically include tracking numbers. Also, they now have an agreement with UPS that gives discounted shipping, includes free tracking, and also includes a base $100 insurance. Again, you can print the UPS labels directly at home.

I don't really have a problem with paypal... in fact... I ONLY accept paypal. I don't mind if they take a small percent. I have never had to refund money.

I did learn one trick ebayers use though:

Suppose you are selling an auction item over a 7 day auction period. The buyer then relists the item you are selling on a 5 day auction and wait for that item to sell at [X] bid price. Then they set their maximum bid price on your item to [X] minus profit target price. Buyers bidding on YOUR item will see that an exact same item sold for [x] spo when they bid on yours they are less likely to bid up to that price, as if it were some special price.

Then, if they win, they complete the transaction and have you send the item to their buyer and pocket the difference. If they don't win, they refund the money to their bidder with an "out of stock" message.

[ReMetau]

Wow. Funny to see others into straight razors. I bought a bunch with hopes to restore, but it was too much to keep up with work, living aboard and boat maintenance, and of course all the fun water things to do. I may have to put them all up in bunch and just keep a couple of my favorites.

For the OP, we also sold most of our stuff on Ebay 8 years ago, and whatever didn't sell and whatever the family didn't want, we to donations. It was kind of fun doing it all. Every couple of days dumpster diving for boxes and packaging and then having to get it all pack up and ready to go.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by MarkSF

I agree it's remarkable what can be sold on Ebay, but as a seller I find their policies to be offensively greedy. As a seller you have no rights whatsoever. I've personally had :

1) Ebay force me to refund money for an item by simply removing the money from by account.

2) Buyers who look for items shipping by USPS without insurance or tracking, then claim it didn't arrive and get a refund.

Now you can't leave negative feedback for buyers, so even the worst ones have 100%!

The fees have steadily risen until now, between paypal and EBay, you can easily be paying 11%.

Yeah, alot of games going on for sure. You have to keep up on staying ahead of the buyers and sellers out there who are working the system. I sold a $700 item once and shipped it. Before it arrived the buyer was already complaining about it taking too long. Fedex tried to deliver it 3 times. The buyer said he was home but the fedex guy "never knocked on the door". Finally I sent him a map (2 miles ) so he could pick it up at Fedex. He got it and immediately said it was "not as advertised". Paypal forced me to refund. I learned somthing though... ALWAYS offer a return policy! I now have a return policy that states the buyer must pay for return shipping and I will refund all but the original shipping! Paypal stands behind that. Now the buyer has to be willing to pay freight both ways to return it! If I get a complaint I just say: "no problem, I have a return policy, no reasons necessary to return it"

[Lake-Effect]

Over the years I've found ebay good for:
- new carb for my Jeep
- used GPS
- finding an exact model of hard-drive so i could swap its electronics with those of a blown drive and restore 100% of the data
- old radio parts (though it's now kind of nuts)
- Russian military tubes and transistors
- Chinese mil. surplus tube radio (brand new in factory carton, with spares. So cool...)
- specialized electronic assemblies from China

In short, it seems perfect for uniting stuff with the only people in the world who'd want it.

Remember, you don't own stuff, stuff owns you. After helping get rid of my late Dad's stuff last year, I'm on a tear to get rid of the things I've kept but not touched for a decade or more. Hang onto your wallets!

[S/V_Surya]

Before I buy anything I shop ebay. Most of the time it is a better price. Not always but mostly. Here is my pet peev with ebay. When you want to contact a seller the captcha number never works. This has been going on for a few years. If you listen to the number it works. Anybody else find this or am I the only one. I complained to ebay a few years ago but..... no change.

[zboss]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Yeah, alot of games going on for sure. You have to keep up on staying ahead of the buyers and sellers out there who are working the system. I sold a $700 item once and shipped it. Before it arrived the buyer was already complaining about it taking too long. Fedex tried to deliver it 3 times. The buyer said he was home but the fedex guy "never knocked on the door". Finally I sent him a map (2 miles ) so he could pick it up at Fedex. He got it and immediately said it was "not as advertised". Paypal forced me to refund. I learned somthing though... ALWAYS offer a return policy! I now have a return policy that states the buyer must pay for return shipping and I will refund all but the original shipping! Paypal stands behind that. Now the buyer has to be willing to pay freight both ways to return it! If I get a complaint I just say: "no problem, I have a return policy, no reasons necessary to return it"

Thats a great idea...

I also have had a lot of luck selling on forums that specialize in particular things. I am a huge home brewer of beer and I have sold over $3K in brewing equipment alone in the last week via specialized brewing sites.

I never had any idea people were into razors.

[Cormorant]

My EBay count of bought items is current 763. We live out in the sticks, at least an hour's drive from anything resembling a mall, so rather than drive, if at all possible I buy stuff on EBay -- car parts, boat parts, phones, computers, flashlights, dive gear. . . . I can't imagine life without it. Now I just gotta buy a few straight razors. . . .