Selling on ebay...

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Selling on ebay...

Postby MagicBell » Sep 30th, '08, 17:34



Hey guys, I wanted to ask about selling stuff on ebay.

It's nothing magical and I'm not going to specify exactly what it is because I don't want to seem like im trying to sell on here, but I'll be vague about it.


Basically I have a CD which is pretty darn rare and will have some demand for it. I managed to source it quite cheap so i've bought two copies so I can sell one on to cover the costs. Ive seen them selling for between £25 and £40 :shock: before, so they do go quite high (although ive not known them to sell for £40, just to be priced at that point).

Problem is, i saw one recently on ebay and watched it to see how much it went for and this one didn't sell at all. :shock: Which means anyone (even me) could've bought it cheap and got lucky, and i dont want to risk that with mine.
I figure that putting a reserve on something like a CD might scare buyers away, because they're aware they're not likely to bag a bargain.

Also, I don't know how much it costs to sell on ebay after ad costs and paypal taking their cut, etc.


Any help guys? Thanks.

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Postby Ian The Magic-Ian » Sep 30th, '08, 19:39

I don't have any experience selling on ebay but I am curious as to what CD it is.

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Postby MagicBell » Sep 30th, '08, 22:46

Ian the Mental-Ian wrote:I don't have any experience selling on ebay but I am curious as to what CD it is.


Its unlikely to be of any interest to you. :D :wink: :P

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Postby Ian The Magic-Ian » Sep 30th, '08, 22:51

Fine...I'll just.... Well... I don't know?

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Postby Rufio » Oct 1st, '08, 01:42

As a seasoned Ebay fiend (yes, Ebay Fiend sounds darker than saying Facebook Fiend - perhaps less socially acceptable), I'd say that a low starting bid DOES lure bidders, but if you don't attract a few bidders into an immensely satisfying bidding war, it could peter out to the detriment of your rare CD. OR you could just start bidding at the minimum / figure you'd be happy to sell at, and state "No Reserve" in the title listing as an incentive.

Of course, Ebay listing is an art form, and not one to be shirked, as a detailed yet pithy listing well tell someone you're not just selling something you've stored in a carboard box in the loft all those moth-balled years, but something you want a bidder to take to a good home.

What is the CD?

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Postby Mage Tyler » Oct 1st, '08, 05:54

MagicBell wrote:
Ian the Mental-Ian wrote:I don't have any experience selling on ebay but I am curious as to what CD it is.


Its unlikely to be of any interest to you. :D :wink: :P


... Seems he's just expresed an interest ...

Might just be me, but seems a little rude to ask for advice then shoot down those with questions that might relate to the topic at hand... :shrug:

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Postby Robbie » Oct 1st, '08, 12:37

It's generally not worth putting a reserve on eBay auctions. You have to pay extra for the privilege, and it puts a lot of buyers off. It's better just to start the bidding at whatever minimum amount you'd accept (including enough to cover eBay and PayPal fees), and hope it goes higher.

Include a decent picture, and be sure to put it on Gallery so people can see it before clicking on your auction. You get one picture free, so you're just robbing yourself if you don't use it. Make the description informative but not overlong. Don't worry about being amusing -- just state the facts clearly.

Make sure you charge enough to cover postage. If the item is as rare and valuable as you say, send it registered at least. The buyer might prefer to pay extra for special delivery (next-day delivery and automatically insured). You can offer a range of postage options for the buyer to choose from. Postage costs aren't included in the calculation of eBay fees.

Here's the link to eBay's fee structure:
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/fees.html

And to PayPal's:
https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-receiving-fees-outside

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Postby Replicant » Oct 1st, '08, 12:42

Here's a PayPal fee calculator that you may find useful...

http://ppcalc.com/

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Postby MagicBell » Oct 1st, '08, 16:52

Mage Tyler wrote:Might just be me, but seems a little rude to ask for advice then shoot down those with questions that might relate to the topic at hand... :shrug:


Well, the name of the CD doesn't have anything to do with how to sell it really, and I thought he was just being curious :P , but you're right, maybe it seems a little rude. There's no reason I haven't named it other than as I said before, but i guess I can be trusted. :D

It's a John Legend live CD from before he was famous.

Thanks for the rest of the advice guys.

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Postby RobMagic » Oct 1st, '08, 19:55

He's famous? :D :D

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Postby Ian The Magic-Ian » Oct 1st, '08, 20:53

Agecroft wrote:He's famous? :D :D
:lol:

You're assumption was right. Absolutely no interest whatsoever...

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Postby Lenoir » Oct 1st, '08, 21:20

John Legend is amazingly talented, I might even go as far as to say he's a legend. :roll:

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Postby MagicBell » Oct 2nd, '08, 20:32

Lenoir wrote:John Legend is amazingly talented, I might even go as far as to say he's a legend. :roll:


Thank you. If you were serious. :P

I think he's brilliant. Real quality among the masses of weak singers in that area of music.
He's one of my very top modern day artists.

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Postby Lenoir » Oct 2nd, '08, 22:06

MagicBell wrote:
Lenoir wrote:John Legend is amazingly talented, I might even go as far as to say he's a legend. :roll:


Thank you. If you were serious. :P



Yup, I was serious! You're right though, it is a generally weak area!

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Postby FRK » Oct 2nd, '08, 22:14

never heard of him...

www.michaelmagnum.com
magic@michaelmagnum.com
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