Selling Help Please.

Hi all,

I am re-organizing my collections and would like to post some stamps for sale from time to time. I have read the rules on selling, must be a supporting member with 50 posts, must be fixed price sales, no offers or auctions; I am clear on that. But I can find no guidance on how payments are arranged. I live in the UK and do have a PayPal account I use with ebay, so I just need to know how I make access to that available to buyers. And if prices are better shown in dollars than pounds. My apologies if I have posted this in the wrong area, but it seemed the best place. All guidance very much appreciated.

Terry

Hi Terence,
using your PayPal account is really simple. When a buyer wants to pay you, give them the email address associated with your PayPal account, and they will go into their PayPal account and send you the money.
Or, if you have their PayPal email, you can go into your account and send a money request (like an invoice), which they then pay.

Most sales on SCF seem to be denominated in US dollars, but I think this is just a convention, there isn't a rule. Any sales I have done I have done in dollars. It makes sense as this is a US based site and most members are in the US.

PayPal will charge you a currency conversion fee of a few pence if you are paid in dollars. Some buyers will be kind and pay you in pounds, and take the hit for the currency conversion fees themselves. Either way it is only a few pence, but make sure you factor it in.

Stampgal summed it up perfectly...it must be sunny in Scotland today !

A great place to sell and to have fun with selling. Plus you can trust folks here to be honest and not muck you about.

Good luck.

Londonbus1

Not only is it wonderfully sunny, LB, but the kids and husband are away, I have the house to myself, and treating myself to a morning on SCF

The best treat there is Stampgal, the best there is !

Enjoy the moment.

Terry,

Don't forget to factor in the Paypal fee ($.30 plus 2.9% of the transaction amount) into your pricing or you'll find yourself paying to get rid of your duplicate material.

Steve

No reason why you can't price your stamps in dollars, pounds, and Euros, to give every buyer maximum familiarity. Exchange rates fluctuate daily, but only by a trivial amount. In addition to the PayPal fee, factor in the UK's significant postage costs, which are high enough to discourage the pricing of any individual item below £3.

Why, thank you all. that is most helpful. I am ok with pricing in dollars, but can quote equivalences in pounds and euros. I take the points on factoring in Royal Mail's crippling overseas postage prices and the PayPal fees when deciding on what items are worth putting up. I now just need to decide whether to go for monthly or annual site support. And sort through all the stuff I have set aside to sell.

Big Thankyou,
Terry

Terry
You can always ask members to pay with PayPal gift. There are no fees but the buyer does take the risk and isn't offered protection. I'm not sure what peoples thoughts are in regards to this but for small dollar amounts and a select population buying the stamps I would hope members would be more open to that option.
I would just go monthly payments unless you will be posting continuously every month.

I haven't looked at this lately, but it is my recollection that in the past, it was highly frowned upon by PayPal to misuse the gift option. I believe it could result in termination of an account.

Maybe they've changed their tune. Maybe I'm misremembering. In any event, I don't buy from sellers who insist on PayPal gift option for payment. Which is not to say that, depending on the item and the seller, I'm not perfectly willing to cover the PayPal fee. In certain circumstances, I am.

Hi Alberta Stamper,

Thanks for the suggestion, but I have run a quick check on the mailing costs to the USA and Canada, and for a small, stiffened envelope or packet the charges are not as bad as I first thought and should run out at a dollar or two. For multiple purchases I would try to absorb any additional cost due to increased weight and offer free shipping on the additional items. Much like many sellers do on the bay - I am not out to make money on the shipping costs. I will only be selling stamps from my own collections, not running as a dealer, so there will only be a few items put up at a time. I am ok with absorbing the PayPal fees.

Many thanks
Terry

Terry,

There is no better place to sell than on a forum amongst friends. I've been saying this for years and in many places they think I am crazy.
But there are many 'plusses' and very few 'minuses'.
To make my point, on Saturday I listed items for sale here and on an auction. Similar selections on each, similarly priced.....more or less.
I have ONE bid so far at the auction and on my Sales thread here.....well, there is just no comparison. Over half the items sold and lots of fun banter in between.

No comparison.

Good luck

Londonbus1

Hi Londonbus1,

I saw your listings on here. All very nice stuff. And it was those listings of yours that made me think of putting some of my duplicates and surplus items up on here. I also thought about the bay, but find the listing process unnecessarily lengthy and totally tedious. I only venture there to sell non-philatelic items that will bring enough huckleberries to make the experience worthwhile. I am delighted by the response from all who have taken the trouble to offer advice. (Thank you all).

Terry

So is it 50 post and being a support or is 100 post and beings supporter. Also how is payment due between members from selling? Paypal or credit? I am trying to find out so I know when I can hopefully do a little selling. Thank you SCF

Buy / Sell / Trade Rules (07/13/2012)


https://www.stampcommunity.org/rules.asp#rulesid12