INTRODUCTION
As more people are now recycling and looking for ways in which to earn a little extra money I've decided to review eBay as this is a site I've used on many occasions for both buying and selling. As there are so many different aspects of eBay this review will discuss the aspects of both purchasing and selling of items and will provide an overview of how the system operates for each area.
I have to advise that I have gone into considerable detail with this review and have discussed both buying and selling where I have provided full instructions on how to use the system, so please accept my apologies if you already familiar with this and please feel free to skip through. However, for those people who are relatively new to ebay I feel this could be quite helpful. I became a member of eBay approximately two years ago and was initially overwhelmed by the huge amount of information on the site with so many do's and don'ts. Whilst there are many "help" pages, initially I could have used an "idiot's guide" as the site is immense and quite daunting to new users!
BUYING ON EBAY AND CREATING AN ACCOUNT
Creating an account is relatively easy, as you only need to enter a few simple details such as your name and address. The majority of buying and selling on the site is carried out via PayPal. For those of you who haven't heard of PayPal, it's a secure way of making and receiving online payments. You are also protected should anything go wrong with the transaction, eg goods not received or damaged. PayPal can be linked to either your bank account or credit card. I could go on and on explaining how the PayPal system works, which is a review in itself, but obviously I need to concentrate on eBay.
There are literally tens of thousands of items for sale on the site, some new sold old. You can buy literally anything such as toys, DVD's, CD's, cosmetic, perfumes, antiques, cars and even houses. I even saw someone selling their granny! However, the person concerned had their listing removed (I wonder why?!!!) The list is endless.
HOW DOES THE FEEDBACK SYSTEM OPERATE?
Each seller has a number after his/her name and this depicts the number of feedback ratings they've received. Before buying from a seller it is always advisable to check on their ratings, as an honest and trustworthy seller will have good positive feedback. You will see a % sign adjacent to the seller's user ID, eg if you see a seller with a rating of 100% they are clearly honest and reliable and I wouldn't hesitate in purchasing from them. However, you will sometimes see sellers with significantly less that 100% feedback. Whilst this is not necessarily a negative thing, you should read the actual feedback comments others buyers have left for the seller.
Feedback is in three categories:- positive, negative and neutral. Whilst the majority of sellers on eBay are totally reliable and trustworthy, there are many who are not. I've read many comments from buyers who have left remarks such as "seller never posted out item" and unfortunately, I was victim to one of these con artists!!
THE VARIOUS METHODS OF SELLING
Items listed on eBay are sold in three different ways:-
· Auction (where you bid on the item against other eBayers)
· Buy It Now (where you can instantly own the item)
· Best Offer (where you make a reasonable offer on the item and the seller will decide whether or not to accept)
For the purpose of this review I will be discussing the "auction" method of purchase. The seller will upload a picture of their item onto eBay together with a description. eBay insists that sellers are honest when describing their products and clearly specify any flaws or damage. Sellers list their items for various periods of time; the majority of which tend to be for either 7 or 10 days. Against the seller's details you will see their location, as frequently they will offer "home collection" for some items, particularly the bulky ones.
BIDDING IN AN AUCTION
If after checking the seller's ratings you are happy to proceed with your purchase, you need to decide the maximum amount you are prepared to pay for the item. You will be asked to confirm the amount before the system will accept your bid. The eBay system will now automatically bid for you. For example, if you place a maximum bid of £10 against an item with a starting bid of 99p your bid will remain at 99p if you are the sole bidder. However, as and when other eBayers bid against the same item, your bid will gradually rise up to your maximum, at which point you could be outbid. eBay will automatically send you an email or text message to advise you of this in order to give you the opportunity to increase your bid if you so wish.
WINNING THE ITEM
If you are successful in winning your item, the system will automatically generate an invoice that is sent to your email address where you will be able to make payment to the seller by clicking on the link. It is advisable to make payment as soon as you can as most sellers like prompt payers particularly so they can quickly despatch the item to you.
LEAVING FEEDBACK
Once you've received your item and are happy with it, you simply log into eBay and leave honest feedback for the seller where you will be asked to rate them on specific areas, such as communication, how reliable was their item description, postage and packing costs and the length of time taken to receive your item. You are also required to leave some comments relating to your experience as this assists other eBayers when choosing a reliable seller. It is important to be honest when leaving feedback, particularly as this is a useful tool for future buyers.
PROBLEMS WITH PURCHASES
Obviously if there is a problem with your item, you need to communicate with the buyer to try and resolve the issue. In the first instance you should do this by email, as normally any problems are easily resolved. Whilst the majority of my time on eBay has been good, there have been some problems that you should be aware of:-
As an avid collector of Betty Boop figurines I've managed to purchase many limited edition pieces on eBay.
However, quite a few of them have been damaged in transit and whilst the seller is able to make a claim from Royal Mail for the damaged item and provide me with a full refund, I was responsible for the cost of the return postage, which can become quite costly. I've experienced this problem on a number of occasions and as these figurines are quite heavy, I have lost a considerable amount of money. Royal Mail simply does not want to know, but that's another story!
SELLING ON EBAY
Before you can start selling on ebay, you firstly need to open a PayPal account. Whilst the process is fairly simple, you should be aware that each time any money is transferred via ebay to your account, PayPal deduct a percentage for their commission. As previously stated, the use of PayPal in itself is a review as there are many areas you will need to be aware of. I would suggest that if you are unfamiliar with the PayPal system that you study their help pages before you start selling on ebay.
LISTING YOUR ITEM
You firstly need to take a clear digital photograph of the item you are selling. There is no charge for uploading the first photograph and some categories will allow you a further 11 photographs free of charge. However, dependent on the category of the item you are selling, you may be charged 12p per additional photograph and you will receive a message on the screen if this is the case. To list your item you need to log into your account and click on the "sell" icon where you then see two ways of selling - quick sell or advanced sell. I always use the quick sell method, as the latter is more suited for selling vehicles where you would obviously need to provide considerable detail for your buyers.
You will be prompted to type in between 3 - 5 words relating to your item, such as "blue ladies top". In doing so, ebay will provide you with suggested categories in which to list your item or you can choose your own. Be careful here as when I first started selling I chose numerous categories and didn't release that I was bumping up the listing fees. There is a choice of two forms for selling and I tend to go for the more detailed form as it allows the option to give more detailed descriptions of your item.
If you are listing DVD's, CD's or certain electrical items, you will be prompted to type in a bar code or model number, as ebay's system will then bring up relevant details such as a review of a DVD or CD or the specifications in respect of electrical items. If you are not provided with these details, you are required to type them in yourself. You firstly need to choose an eye-catching name for your item and then provide relevant details in the boxes. For the purpose of this review, I will suppose I am selling a blue ladies' top, so I will be prompted to complete details such as condition, type, brand, size, colour and material.
You are then prompted to add your picture. Whilst you're not required to upload a picture, it is advisable, as I personally would not purchase an item on ebay without firstly seeing what I'm buying.
You then need to provide a description of the item you are selling and specify any requirements you may have, such as "can collect, payment to be made within 3 days of auction end etc". It is essential that you give as much information as possible as obviously you're attempting to market your item, so you should detail any flaws or damage, as failure to do so could result in the buyer making a complaint to ebay, which will jeopardise your selling reputation. You should indicate anything you can think of that would assist the buyer in making a decision. This part is very similar to writing a review, but be as brief as possible. In this section, you are also able to include a hyperlink to any other items you may be selling and there are directions on the page showing you how to do this.
You can then select the visitors' counter, which is a great way for you to see how many people are looking at your item.
PRICING YOUR ITEM
We then come to the price - there are three ways in which you can sell:-
Fixed Price
You stipulate exactly how much you want for your item and the sale is instant. However, you should be aware that there is a higher selling fee for fixed price items.
Auction
You need to decide on your starting bid. The higher your starting bid, the greater your fees. However, ebay do not charge for anything listed for 99p or under. To be honest, I list the majority of my items for 99p as they always sell for considerably more. Initially, it may be a little daunting if your item is worth around £50 and you're setting your starting bid for 99p. Obviously, this is personal choice, but don't set your starting bid too high as it will deter the buyers and you may find your item won't sell.
In this section, you are able to select a "reserve" price, which basically means if your item ends on a price lower than your set reserve, you are not legally obliged to complete the sale.
Best Offer
You can set a price but basically you're in total control of what you want to sell it for, eg you set your price at £30 and you're offered £20. It's up to you if you decide to accept or not. To be honest, the majority of ebayers will initially offer you considerably less than what they are prepared to pay as they're looking for a bargain. You can either accept, refuse or send a "counter offer" where you would request for example £25 and it's then up to the other person if they wish to accept or not. eBay charge quite a high fee for Best Offer sales so I very rarely use this method.
DURATION OF YOUR LISTING
You then need to decide how long you wish to list your item for. There are several options - 1 day, 3 days, 5 days, 7 days or 10 days. I find the best time for my items to end is in the evenings, particularly Sundays, as research has evidenced that more people tend to look at the site on this day. You are asked if you would like to donate a percentage of your sale price to charity and are given a list of charities to choose from. You then need to select the methods of payment you are prepared to accept, eg cheque, Paypal, postal order etc.
I personally will only accept PayPal as otherwise you have the problem of having to wait for cheques to clear which delays you being able to send out the item.
POSTAGE AND PACKING CHARGES
The next step is to work out your postage and packing costs. Unfortunately, in some categories ebay stipulate the maximum amount you can charge and in my experience, this is very often considerably less than the actual amount charged by Royal Mail. It's best to weigh your item and add a little extra on for packaging and your petrol fees to take the item to the Post Office. Unfortunately, I have frequently under-estimated, so you need to take care here as you don't want to suffer a loss. I bought a digital scales to weigh my items and you can check Royal Mail's website for the relevant prices. However, be aware that Royal Mail are extremely slow in updating their prices, so when they increase their postage charges (which is a frequent occurrence!), it may take some time for them to update their website.
You need to indicate your despatch time, which is set out in business days. I tend to offer 5 business days, particularly as I don't wish to be running back and fore the Post Office every day. You will also be given the option to set your buying requirements as you can opt to exclude certain bidders, eg you may not wish to despatch abroad as it can sometimes be tricky working out postage costs or you may not wish to sell to someone who has previously been reported for non payment.
LISTING YOUR ITEM
Finally, you will see your total fees for listing your item and if you are happy to proceed, simply press the "continue" button where you will then see a preview of your listing. If you are certain you have provided sufficient information click on the "list your item" button and your item will now be listed on the site. I would state that you are able to edit your item at any time if you decide to make changes, such as lowering your starting bid or adding more information in your description. However, if you attempt to edit your item after a bid has been placed, you are not permitted to alter any of your previous text and can only add information relating to the description in a separate box.
It's wise to regularly check your email inbox within your ebay account as buyers may ask you questions. Also, if your item is listed as a "buy it now" or "best offer", you will need to regularly check if you have any offers or sales.
The first time you sell on ebay is quite exciting and I became quite obsessed with continually checking on my item's progress! Don't be disappointed if the bids don't start coming in until the last minute, as expert ebayers wait until the final few minutes to place their bids and sometimes you'll see a bidding war, particularly if your item is quite popular!
THE SALE OF YOUR ITEM
Once your item has sold you'll receive an email advising you of the sale price and the name and address of the buyer. The majority of buyers will pay immediately, but I've had a few that don't pay until about a week later, which is quite frustrating when you're eager to despatch their item.
When the buyer has paid the relevant amount to your PayPal account, you'll receive an email from ebay confirming the payment. Initially I would always check my PayPal account each time to double check, but as you become more experienced you will learn to trust that the money is there.
DESPATCHING YOUR ITEM
Make sure you pack it well and clearly address the label. I always write my house number and post code on the reverse of the parcel so if there's a problem with delivery, the item can be returned to me. You should ask the Post Office for proof of postage as you are able to claim against lost or damaged items, which I think is now up to the value of £37. During the time I've been selling on ebay, which is now 2 years, I've only ever had to make two claims and was refunded quickly on both occasions.
COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR BUYER
As a matter of courtesy, I always email the buyer to let them know when I've posted their item. I feel it's good customer care and creates an element of trust between you and your buyer. You also need to access the sold item within your ebay account and mark it as despatched so the buyer is aware that it's on the way. When the buyer receives their goods they will rate you on how well you described the item, your communication, postage costs and the length of time you took to despatch. They will also leave you some comments.
In my opinion, the feedback system is a little unfair as whilst the buyer can leave you negative feedback, you are only able to leave them positive. Ebay changed this recently and it's caused a considerable upset amongst sellers, particularly with problematic buyers.
EBAY MONTHLY CHARGES
You will receive a monthly invoice from ebay in the form of an email, which states that the amount owed will be debited within 10 days from either your PayPal account or a named bank account or credit card.
MY OPINION
I think ebay is a great way to both buy and sell, but unfortunately, the fees are now rather more expensive than when I first joined and this loses one star. However, I still find I can earn a lot more money using this site than if I chose to sell the items in a car boot sale. My personal opinion is that sales have dropped on the site as Ebay now seem to be regularly offering free listing weekends for auction items, so this is a perfect opportunity to list all of your items free of charge. For anyone new to the site, I would highly recommend you spend a little time reading your way around the site, as initially it is rather daunting.
Whilst this review is lengthy, I've tried to cover all the basics and I hope you've found it useful. Thank you for reading.
This review was posted on Dooyoo in May 2010 under the same user name and has been edited in some areas for Ciao.
eBay - The perfect way to buy and sell 
