Advice For Selling On Ebay?

One thing that I don't think was mentioned is that you should be sure and look at the ebay "Sold" prices when you are doing the research on pricing. The active listings have many prices that are unrealistic especially for a newcomer.

If you just want to sell a few things listing fixed price items based on price researh is fine but if you want to sell on a continuous basis I would suggest a more proactive approach. I'd suggest listing 10 or 20 of your better things with fixed prices, then list 5 or 10 of the more inexpensive items (not junk) as auction items with a low starting price probably 99c. You may sell these items for less than their value but they are pulling people in to see your fixed price items and developing a following.

In these auctions I'd include in the description a little information about what you are trying to do. For example;

I am a collector and I've accumulated a lot of excess material over the years and I've decided to sell it on ebay. I have listed some of my items as fixed price and I plan on having 5 (or 10, 15) auctions each week. I am committed to providing excellent service and good material, so please check my other items and please come back next week.

Each week after that I would add to my fixed price as time permits and run more auctions with a priority on maintaining the auction schedule. I'd be very careful on shipping and packing and respond to 100% of questions quickly and cordially. Good luck!

One last thing. After you get some listing up be sure and start a SCF topic under "Sales Promotions" to tell everybody you're in business.

Keep it simple. Good quality, clear, well cropped images are key. Small stamps should be scanned at 600 DPI to be large enough to meet ebay minimum image size requirements. A simple description with a minimum of boilerplate will attract better buyers. Too many terms and conditions seem to attract contentious buyers.

Use custom item specifics. Some of the ebay choices don't follow accepted philatelic terminology. Read and understand the ebay requirements to become a Top Rated seller. Finally, check a reasonable cross section of sellers to find out what you like and then check their sold items to see what works and what doesn't. However, keep in mind that average quality ebay listings may not be enough to insure success. Average and below average sellers simply do not stand out. Finally, fully describe individual stamps and deliver stamps that are what you say they are. Repeat business depends on it.

I have been selling on ebay for many years but have never sold stamps.

For Revcollector:

When you set a maximum price for international, is it per item or total sale?

Any terms you put in the description are not enforeceable on ebay.

How do you, as an example, have items listed internationally and someone buys over the max you allow, then send them an invoice or deal with the purchaser?

What do you show for shipping on the actual listing?

I only sell international if I am willing to put it in a letter and send it ( $35.00 maybe more for people with good feedback) someone buys multiple items you have a decision based on their feedback send in a letter or pony up for the extra postage. But dont make harsh decisions because I have alot of good repeat buyers overseas because I will sell without alot of shipping and others wont. Most people are honest, I get burnt every once and a while but the money saved on shipping and the customers I win out in the long run.

for overseas shipping I charge .71, going to go down to .68 soon as I change it based on international mail of 1.20- the .49 it would cost me to mail it here the .68 is because it will be ( as of today) 1.15 international - .47 to mail it here.

Come to Canada to see how that works! My international other than US letter mail starts at $2.50 for under 30 grams and goes up drastically from there.100 grams is $5.90.

even for just a letter, in US its outragous if you have to print a lable on ebay even for a few ounces

Finally someone who get it....

GeoffHa, glad you clarified. I have been interpreting the phrase "May not ship to the United States" as you may not ship (as in cannot). In reality it is just precaution to ask before bidding.

Stamps

Yes, exactly. I've had a few US buyers, but, as I mainly sell British cigarette cards, most buyers are from the UK, with a few from the Commonwealth. When I eventually get around to putting on my large backlog of average stamps, this may change!

Geoff

If I were a seller in Europe, I'd think long and hard about blocking shipments to the US. I've lost about 3 registered shipments from Germany to the thieves operating in the NYC sorting center. Regular mail seems to get through just fine, but registered mail might as well have a great big neon STEAL ME sign on it. I got my money back in every case, I just hope the seller had it insured.

My packets to the US have been fine - although USPS sent one back to London as "unable to deliver", then managed to deliver it to the same address on the second try. But I send by standard air-mail, not "steal me".

Thanks for all the advice. All I guess I have to do now is screw up some courage and post a few things.

Don

Selling on ebay is really a piece of cake, assuming you've got a scanner or at least a good camera. Once you get started and a few dollars start rolling in, you'll be hooked. Being able to sell on ebay really enhances my collecting, as I'll buy collections that I otherwise wouldn't, knowing I'll be able to sell the duplicates and unwanted stamps. Personally, I've never bought a collection with an eye to turning a profit on it, but I do occasionally stretch a bit or bid on things I otherwise wouldn't bid on, knowing that I'll be able to recoup some of the cost.

I sell some issues that are known to be poorly centered. One thing I've learned over the past 2 1/2 years is how important centering is to buyers. I don't include a centering grade in my descriptions of single stamps, I let the buyers judge that for themselves. They'll come out of the woodwork to bid more than SCV for unusually well centered XF examples, but those special lurkers never bid on lower grades. I expect VG centering to sell for 10% SCV.

An auctioned stamp will sell for less if it's scanned even slightly crooked. I'll draw a marquee around the stamp, hit the Zoom button and draw a more accurate marquee. A reasonably high resolution is best, not one that shows every tiny fiber. I want any light creases to show up in the scans and I'll describe them, otherwise the stamp may returned. To get light vertical wrinkles to show up in the scan, I turn the stamp 90 degrees and then use a picture viewer to turn the scan back upright. I don't want any stamps to be returned for "not as described".