Ebay is one of the most famous on-line auction sites. It runs on the principle people are on the whole honest which may seem a novel concept on the internet but it appears Ebay are right. And for those who aren't up front and honest Ebay has a number of safe harbour policies. I have now conducted over 70 auctions on Ebay, it may be fair to say I am somewhat addicted so lets see what I have to say about the Ebay experience.
REGISTERING
Registration on the site is free. On registration you enter your contact details and choose an Ebay name. Even if you plan to use the Ebay.co.uk site predominantly your nickname is registered across the whole Ebay family therefore as you can imagine the most popular and obvious names will probably be taken already so be prepared to think of something new or a variation on your usual internet nickname. I managed to get BizzyBek so was pleased with that. You also choose a password which will be called on often as you go around the site.
At one time you had to register your credit card details at this point but this is no longer called for which has opened the site up for more people as they have increased payment options.
PAYMENTS
Whilst registration is free you do pay Ebay a small fee for running an auction. You do not pay Ebay for buying from an auction.
The fees for running an auction are two-fold. The first fee is the inclusion fee. When you set up an auction you are charged a set fee which is based on the start price you put your lot on at or the price you set the reserve at. The current listing fees are: 15p for items priced 1p to £4.99 30p for items priced £5 to £14.99 60p for items priced £15 to £29.99 £1.25 for items priced £30 and above
There are set fees of £5 for listing cars and £30 for listing real estate.
On top of these prices there are optional extras including: Reserve price - you may set an auction of at £4 but be willing to take no less than £10 for the item. To set a reserve price (the minimum you would sell at) costs 30p for a reserve price between 1p and £14.99, 60p for reserve prices above £15. This fee is refunded IF the item sells
Extra photos, title highlights etc - I'll include information on these when I talk about selling.
When you complete an auction the final value fee is calculated. This is calculated by Ebay on your behalf and automatically added to your account. The final value fee is a percentage of your final sale price and the current rates are:
5% of sales up to £15 2.5% on the value above £15.01 to £600 (eg: the first £15 is considered for 5%, the remaining monies above that at 2.5%) 1.25% of the value above £600.01
Aren't you glad Ebay do the sums for you?!
There are three ways to pay Ebay: Automatic billing ~ this way you register you credit card details with Ebay and you are billed automatically once a month.
One-Off Credit Card Payment ~ at anytime you can use the secure service to pay off all or part of your account, your details are not kept on file.
Cheque ~ to do this you must print off an invoice and send it with a cheque to the address provided. This route can be used to make one off payments through the month as well as your monthly bill.
There are two billing cycles and you will be told upon registering which one you fall into. When you log in you can see your current account details and decide whether to pay part or all of your account off at any given time. This is particularly useful as if you choose not to have a credit card on file they prefer you not to have an outstanding account of more than £15. E-mails are sent out to remind you of your bill monthly.
I have paid by both one off credit card and cheque and have had no problems with either method, and I appreciate the choice of the two methods which I can work to the best of my circumstances at the time.
MY EBAY
My Ebay is the section of Ebay where you log in and all your relevant transactions are presented. Once registered familiarise yourself with the My Ebay section as it will be your best friend. It is very easy to find your way with different section set out as tab links including Buying, Selling, My Account and Feedback among other areas. On these pages you will find a concise summary of everything that you are doing on Ebay whether it be selling, bidding or watching an auction with a view to bidding later. These pages list what prices auctions are currently at, how many bids there are and when it closes. Think of My Ebay as your personal organiser.
Enough of this talk, I know you want to talk about the action on Ebay - buying and selling.
SELLING.
I predominantly sell on Ebay and have over 70 successful sales to date. Before setting up your first auction
it is wise to do some research.
Researching your sale. ******************
Firstly, in which section will the item be listed? Ebay is split up into categories covering everything from Sports Memorabilia to Spode China, Jewelry to Teddy Bears. In fact the scope of Ebay is so huge as to be mind blowing and it easy to see why it is so popular with collectors. Look and see if anyone else is selling what you plan to and check what price such items are going for and if there seems to be a demand. No matter how great you think your china mug is there's no point putting it up for £50 if there's five identical ones up struggling to get in bids of £10. It's equally important not to under price yourself and if you are certain an item is worth a minimum price use the reserve price function otherwise come in at a price you would be willing to accept and state your auction has no reserve price.
Next scan or take a photograph of your item if possible, I try to get a photograph of every item I sell even if it’s a video as I have found people like to the goods. Filling in the Sell Form. *******************
With these things done it is time to click on the sell button at the top of the page. You will be asked to choose which main category you wish to place it in. On the next main selling information page you will choose by a simple menu system the exact location in that category you want your auction to appear for instance:
Next you need to fill in a title for your auction and this takes consideration. Firstly you need to attract the potential buyers eye with a concise description of your lot. You may choose to use capitals and special characters - this is a matter of personal choice but I will say from my own perspective if people overdo the title with LOOK NOW and WOW in capitals it doesn't necessarily attract me to the auction as it seems as if it's trying to hard. You can also choose to highlight your title further down the selling page by clicking the box for bold letters, coloured background etc which all cost extra. On smaller items I do not think this is worth it but if you are selling something of more value or particularly special this is a good option to attract buyers at the first instance.
The next box is the main description box. In this box you will write about your item, what payment methods you will accept and postage details. The key to getting a good description is to understand that Ebay uses basic html. Therefore you need to learn a few basic html tags to put around your description which will be converted into other effects on the auction listing page. If you have no knowledge of html, (I didn’t when I started Ebay and now write my own html webpages!) do not be put off. It's so simple I can do it! There is an excellent help section under 'selling help' which lists the most popular html tags used and I suggest you print these off for future reference. As an example of how simple they here's a few examples I often use.
Say I was selling a Royal Doulton Dish and I wanted my opening title to be different I could make it appear in a different colour, say red. In html terms you tell the computer before the sentence what you have planned in <> brackets and when you finished you tell it it's over with another command in <> brackets. So I would type into the description box: Royal Doulton Dish if I wanted it to appear bold I could include the tag before the sentence and afterwards.
Don't be scared, a little practice is all it takes and I suggest you always write your descriptions. Complete with the html tags in place, in word then cut and paste across to the selling form. This way you spend less time online, can check spelling and include lots of information.
On the subject of information include as much as possible about the item and its condition and always be truthful. There's no point in selling an decorative plate as in perfect condition if it's really chipped and scratched; the buyer would be entitled to complain and you will only damage your reputation and people will not be encourage to trade with you. Include any special features that make the item more saleable. Say whether it is still in its original box, brand new, rare, a limited edition. When I am selling CDs I list the tracks, when I sell videos I list all the jacket information, certificate details etc.
In the description I reiterate what payment I will accept, eg cheques/postal orders etc, and where I will post to. I tend to post to the UK only but be warned even though I state this clearly I still get inquiries and bids from outside the UK and it is up to the seller to decide whether they will trade and inform the bidder of additional costs. I also list the postage costs as a fixed priced. Weigh the item packaged and look on www.royalmail.co.uk for the postage costs. I do this so I can present the buyer with a fixed postage price that they will pay. I think this helps the bidder decide whether to go ahead with a deal if they can calculate the final cost ahead of time. If an item is special and may require parcelforce delivery I research what the different prices will be for standard and next day deliveries and give the bidder an idea of price on the understanding the final postage fees and arrangements will be agreed upon the sale. I also note that the items will be sent when their postal order has arrived or their cheque has cleared.
Now all that blurb above doesn't take half as long in practice you'll be pleased to know.
Adding photos. *************
The next part of the form is photos. Remember I told you to save a photo of your item? Well here is where you can put it in and you have two choices. You can include the URL of the photo if you have it placed on another host or you can use Ebays own photo service in association with Ipix and this is the route I choose as it couldn't be simpler.
There are empty 'photo' boxes on the selling page - just click the centre and you can choose to send your photo from wherever it is on your computer to them. It then appears in the box where you can rotate it as necessary - don't worry about size, it sorts that out. Remember to save the photo as a jpg or jpeg and I always make sure it’s no more than 40kb if possible. The first photograph is free and I rarely use more than one per auction but if you have an item you want to show off from more than one angle etc you do the same procedure in the other boxes, each extra photograph costs 10p. Some people I know have shied away from using Ebay's own photo service as on its description the write up is very bad and reads as if the first photo for your first auction is free and the others you pay for. This is not the case. The first photo of each of the auctions you run is free and it is only if you use more than one photo in an auction the extra charge comes into place.
The next section of the selling form is simple to use with a few boxes to fill in and a selection of drop down choices.
Your most important box is starting price - here you put in how much you want to start the auction off at.
Other sections include: Location - here you can choose a UK region from the drop down menu or type in your town in the box above and choose 'do not list regionally' in the regions drop down menu. Location is useful should you be selling an item that requires collecting and it helps the bidder locate the area and think about different delivery options. Reserve Price - only fill in this box if there is a minimum price you will accept for the item. As I explained before there's a fee for this that will only be refunded if the item sells. Auction length - do you want the auction to run for 3,5,7 or 10 days. Most people have 7 day auctions, this gives plenty of time for people to you auction. I always recommend you aim an auction to end on a day you know you will have time to contact the winning bidder as soon as possible and probably a weekend is a good time to finish up as the site is very active then. Counter - you have the choice of four visitor counter styles. These are good as you can see how many people have looked at your auction. Title highlights - a whole array of extras and their costs that do anything from make your title appear bold, put your auction in a featured area etc. I rarely use these finding my auctions have gone just as well without the glitzy extras and I'm working on a budget. Will you accept Escrow? - this is a third party payment scheme I'll talk about later and is useful if you are selling more expensive items. For items such as CDs and Videos I tick no here. Where will you post to? - Will you post to the UK, Europe or Worldwide. Payment options - tick the types of payment methods you are willing to receive. I only receive postal orders and cheques which most bidders seem more than happy with. Postage - tick who's pays postage and whether it's a fixed amount.
Last but not least - click the next button. This will take you to a preview page and you will see if that html has worked after all. Click back to alter anything or next to confirm the auction and that's it - it's up and running.
Ebay will send you an Ebay confirming your auction has started with the main details such as the auction id number, title, when it finishes etc.
Completed sales. **************
Now you wait for the bids to roll in hopefully. If none do you have the choice to relist the item and the 2nd fee will be returned if it sells second time round.
Ebay is excellent at sending out completed auction e-mails within a short time of the auction closing. These emails will tell you whether the item has sold or not. If it has sold it will tell you the final selling price and give you the winning bidders e-mail address. The winning bidder will also get this e-mail.
E-mail the winning bidder as soon as possible. I have a little standard e-mail I send out which I just have to add the details to. Thank them for bidding and confirm they won. Clarify the final price, remembering to add the postage price if you fixed one to the final bid price. Remind them of which payment methods you accept and give them details of who to make payment to and your address. The sellers and bidders do business direct - sale money does not go through Ebay. Hopefully they will have the courtesy to contact you by e-mail and payment will be on its way soon.
Escrow. *******
i-Escrow work with Ebay as a third party payment scheme. It basically works like this.
The winning bidder pays Escrow the final price (including postage). The seller sends the item to the bidder who inspects the item and has a certain amount of days to approve it and tell Escrow all is alright. When the bidder does this Escrow releases payment as either a cheque or bank transfer to the seller.
This is excellent if selling more expensive items and I have used it once before and was pleased with the service. The added bonus for me was the winning bidder could pay Escrow by credit card - a payment method I could not have accepted and for a larger sum of money this is a very handy way of increasing the payment methods for the bidder and seller. There is a small fee for using Escrow which the winning bidder pays.
If the buyer is unhappy with the item or there is a problem Escrow will hold on to any money until the seller and buyer have agreed on a resolution or an outside arbiter has intervened.
Posting the item. **************
Always make sure you package the item well. You will only get a bad reputation if you send items insufficiently wrapped and they arrive in pieces or damaged. Plenty of bubble wrap for those delicate items and brown packing tape. If items do arrived damaged the bidder is protected by the Ebay insurance of up to £120 - for valuable items it is worth discussing with the winning bidder sending items via the mail with the insurance the Royal Mail/Parcelforce etc can provide at extra cost. Do post promptly when payment has been cleared. If you are selling a lot of items at once it may be an idea to do as I do and keep a notebook of whether payment has been received, item sent etc.
Non-paying bidders. *****************
As I've said I've completed many Ebay sales and in all that time I have only had one non-paying bidder who didn't respond to any of my e-mails and it seems I wasn't the only one. If you have a non-paying bidder there is a non-paying bidder form to fill in on Ebay - this is the first stage of complaining. Ebay then e-mail the bidder themselves to try and get them to pay up. If nothing happens within a set time submit the form again and you can have your listing and final value fees for that auction returned. I did this and Ebay reimbursed me very quickly and the bidder in question was kicked. Ebay seem to have a very strong and working policy for those who abuse the site which increases my confidence in them.
BUYING
A lot of what I have discussed about selling is applicable to bidding. Most notably what happens on the completion of a sale and the exchange of e-mails and payment. But some other areas to consider.
Bidding. *******
Bidding couldn't be simpler and this is a problem in one respect as it is easy to get carried away when looking around Ebay.
On the bottom of an auction page is a bid box. Having already registered and logged in, it is in this bid box that you place the amount you will bid and above the box there is the minimum amount you can bid. Depending on the current price of the item dictates the bid increments.
You will notice a lot of items receive many bids all stepping up in small amounts. It may be impractical to keep checking an auction but you don't want to lose out. There are two ways around this.
The first is to click the link at the top of the page that says 'watch this auction'. Click this and when you return to the Bidding page in My Ebay you will see that auction is listed with the latest information. It will show you whether you are still the highest bidder, if there's been other bids and how long the auction has to run.
Secondly you could place a maximum bid in the box and let Ebay bid by proxy for you. For example if an item was currently £2.60 you may put in a bid £2.80 and find you are immediately outbid. This is because the leading bidder will have put in a maximum value they are willing to go up to and Ebay knows to automatically see your bid.
Therefore if you are bidding on an item at £3 but know you would be willing to pay up to £10 you can put £10 in the bid box. This may make you the highest bidder but it will not show you as paying £10 straight off - it will bring you in at the next bid increment, £3.20. If no-one else bids you could well win the auction at £3.20 or be pushed up to anywhere between that price and your £10 limit.
Paying the seller. ***************
When you send your payment to the seller include a note to say what item you are paying for, you could print off a copy of the e-mail sent to you by Ebay or the page of the auction. I always think it is a nice touch to e-mail the seller when the item has arrived.
FEEDBACK
The feedback system is a great way to learn about other sellers and bidders. You can leave feedback about people you have dealt with rating them as positive, neutral or negative and leave a short description. When you see a number after a person names this is the number of feedback comments people have and by clicking on it you can see them. When you have a certain number of positive feedbacks you get different coloured stars - this is a badge of trust. Of course when you start you have no feedback and a big fat 0. Don't be put off by people with this rating - we all start somewhere after all. It only seems like yesterday I had 0 and now I have 72 positive comments which I am very proud of. You do get a great sense of achievement when someone leaves a positive message about you.
ABOUT ME
The About Me page is easy to create and is a short profile page where you can highlight your current auctions, feedback and interests. It is an excellent way to put a person behind the name. You can create an About Me page by following the About Me page wizard which takes you by the hand - all you have to do is fill in the blanks as simple as that! For those with more html knowledge they can write their own page design and many people include photographs and animations.
If someone has an About Me page 'me' appears after their name - click on it to go to the page.
If you are new and have a low feedback rating an About Me page is a good way of introducing yourself to people.
COMMUNITY
There is a community section on Ebay including a message which is used as a chat forum by regulars. I have visited here a number of times and they people were a great source of help when I was new and finding my way around. There seems to be a regular set of people who meet up. It is frowned upon to go to the message board to plug your auctions!
CHARITIES
A number of charities are set up on Ebay and hold auctions to raise funds. A wide range of British Charities are represented and if you are a charity looking to hold an Ebay auction there is a help page detailing requirements etc.
SPECIAL OFFERS/MISCELLANIOUS
Do look out for Ebay special offers and promotion days. Ebay often holds free listing days. On these days you can list new auctions and will not be charged a listing fee - a great incentive and it can save you quite a bit of money if listing many items or expensive items.
Between 9am and 11am on a Friday morning the site undergoes a service, or whatever the technical term is, and is unavailable between these hours. If you set an auction up to end then it will warn you before confirmation and let you alter the length of your auction. I haven't found this servicing to be awkward at all.
I'll hold my hands up and admit I adore Ebay. It is an excellent way of selling unwanted and second hand goods. I liken it to a convenient carboot sale on line but with one advantage. At a car boot sale you find you start with a price and get beaten down, on Ebay it's the opposite. I have found many items have raised far more on Ebay than I could expect at a car boot sale. Ebay do take a fee and percentage of the final price but even taking this into account I still have made far more than through selling items in other markets and I think they charge a fair price for their services.
I'll admit to being worried when I first started and apprehensive of people. But as Ebay themselves say people are on the whole honest and this has been my experience. To have conducted so many auctions and have just one problem is some going and maybe I am lucky but I do believe Ebay have a good system for dealing with those who abuse the system and I have seen that in action. I have no qualms about continuing to use Ebay and recommend it to others.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I started as Auburnsue selling stuff before we moved house and I still use this name for bits and pieces, but I have now opened a shop called Braemargifts and it's doing quite well! So I guess I'm addicted! Susan
NICLIVE 21.10.2002 20:03
I STARTED DOING AUCTIONS ON EBAY.CO.UK ABOUT A YEAR AGO,I'M SURE MOST WILL AGREE THAT IT STARTS OUT AS A BIT OF FUN BUT BEFORE YOU KNOW IT EBAY FEVER TAKES HOLD AND YOU'RE SEARCHING EVERYWHERE FOR THINGS TO SELL!! I NOW RUN ABOUT 200 AUCTIONS PER WEEK,IT IS HARD WORK ORGANISING IT ALL,THE EMAILS,THE DATABASE TO REMIND YOU WHO'S PAID AND WHO HASN'T,PARCELLING EVERYTHING UP WITH CARE,AND SO ON,BUT ON THE HOLE IT IS AN ADDICTIVE SITE.I EVEN STOPPED WORK TO MAKE IT MY FULL TIME JOB,I LOVE IT SO MUCH.I KNOW THAT ANYONE READING YOUR OPINIONS ON EBAY WILL MOST CERTAINLY FIND IT HELPFUL IN STARTING SELLING ON THE BEST AND MOST FAMOUS SITE ON THE INTERNET!!
Jimmi5bellies 11.10.2002 01:04
From one ebayer to another...hello and that is one good op !
Aug 28th, 2001
very helpful by (98%):
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