I have had my account for a very long time, more than 15 years, and have only sold a couple things: a Macbook Air and a pair of tickets to Burning Man.

As I recall, they're pretty helpful in putting together an ad, but it pays to get it right the first time.

I think there's an option to "sell something similar" that uses an ended sale as a template for a new item, so that might help.

Maybe try with something simple first so that if you screw up it won't cost you money or good score points.

I know when I'm buying I look for excellent feedback, so you need to build that if you plan to sell a lot of items.

It seems that people always go to sellers that have been around for awhile and built up a reputation for good service. Would being a brand new seller have much of an impact?

One thing I'm not getting right at the start is the account set up process. It asks for first and last name and a password, but it doesn't say anything about what your name is used for and it seems most people use ID names like we do here... I just can't figure out where that ID name bit comes in in setting up an account.

I'm not even sure really how eBay works at all since I've never bought anything off it either. I'm trying to plow through all the info for sellers, and I think I'm lost already especially with how shipping works and payments. I have a few big/heavy items that it would probably cost me more to ship than what I'd be selling it for.

How do you get "score" points anyway? By peoples' feedback on their satisfaction with buy and getting an item or something?

Thanks for your help!

They need to keep people accountable so need your real name, otherwise if drugs or weapons were sold they might be liable.

Positive feedback is given to buyers and sellers. If you're a seller and you don't ship soon or your item description left out a fact or was incorrect, the could result in negative feedback.

As a buyer, you can get negative feedback if you're slow to pay or don't pay at all.

I usually won't work with anyone with less than 95% positive feedback, which would be one bad deal our of 20 transactions.

Good luck and have fun!

Lots of advice over there.

Last edited Wed May 20, 2015, 04:40 AM - Edit history (1)

I can never seem to find specific forums here... took me forever to find the pet group years ago, and I still have to have it bookmarked to find it again.

On Edit - I found the group you mentioned! Thanks so much for that tip. I had no idea we had this group here!

I know, doesn't make sense. But you need a little history first to get people to trust you. When I signed up, I purchased a few minor things to get a positive feedback from ebayers. Then I sold some small stuff to show that I wasn't a fraud. Recently successfully sold a pricey lens without a problem.

Be honest when listing and you shouldn't have a problem. Good pictures are a must. Ship quickly and reasonably. Ebay now has an easy way to send tracking numbers to buyers.

Expect to lose about 10% in fees to ebay/paypal.

I have a couple of things I'd rather try to sell to someone I already know, but I don't know if anyone I know would want them... a brand new tv and brand new blue ray player. The blue ray player I never even took out of the box because it wasn't the one I wanted. I meant to return it but never got around to it, and thought I'd keep it in case the one I had and liked ever ever went belly up. The tv I got as a gift when I thought mine had to be ruined when the ceiling crashed open right above it and it got drenched. Miraculously, the tv survived after cleaning it and letting it dry out for a week, and I just like it better than the one that was bought for me only because mine has actual buttons on the tv whereas the one gifted to me has no buttons and everything you do with it has to be done through the remote. I like the built in stand mine has better as well just because I like the look of it better.

The new one I did take out of the box and hook it up just to see what it was like and decided right away that I liked mine better, so I never did anything more with the new one than plug it in. I thought I'd keep it at least for awhile to see if mine ended up crapping out because of water damage but it's been just fine ever since, and I just don't have any reason for a second tv... I never wanted one in my bedroom, and my bedroom is too small for it to go anywhere anyway. I don't even get regular tv since they stopped using analog and only use one to watch movies on the blue ray player. I haven't watched regular tv for years and years and don't do netflix or even get cable tv or the satellite stuff either. I'm just not a tv watcher. So, I put the new tv right back in the box, and it's been sitting in a corner of the living room ever since.

Those two things I still would prefer to sell to a neighbor or something, but if I can't then I was thinking eBay was the only way to go. I have soooo much other "stuff" though that I've been thinking for years I should sell or get rid of somehow. I have tons of clothes and costumes that I've embroidered or beaded designs on since I'm always needing some kind of project to do with my hands, the more time consuming and tedious the better. An absolute ton of paperback books 99% of which I could do without, sets of dishes I inherited from my grandparents, and just all kinds of "stuff" that was too good to throw away but I've never done anything with than store away with the vague thought of selling at some point and just never got around to doing.

I was just reading up about how the eBay fees work, and I'm still a bit lost. I'll just assume that eBay will take about 10% which is fine with me. It's still way better than me just storing all this "stuff" for no real reason.

It looks like I'll have to figure out how to take photos with my phone. I'd rather do that with my regular camera and transfer them to the computer, but just a few days ago I was having some problem with the cable that attaches the camera to the computer. Maybe it's the USB port I was using or something rather than the cord itself, I don't know. I still haven't had to the time to fiddle with it and figure that out, so I just unplugged it so the computer would stop telling me every 2 minutes that it wasn't working.

I really wish I'd thought to do this eBay selling thing years ago. Better late than never I guess. That's what I've been telling myself anyway.

do your best to look at your ad from the buyer's perspective.

I've sold several things on Ebay, and been mildly successful. Ask a reasonable starting price or just set a price. Just stick to the facts with no hype whatsoever. Give all the pertinent facts upfront so people don't have to wonder or ask questions. If people think your goods are worth it, they will bid or buy.

Yes, it is pretty hard when you have no feedback and you're brand new. People will give you a chance if you "look" honest, whatever that means to them. Good luck!

Actually, I just tear open the packs that I get from the Chinese take out place into old glass bottles and sell it to hipsters

What do you need to know? I'll be happy to help walk you through it.

It's pretty simple - set up a paypal account first.

I have a PayPal account, so next step would be setting up an eBay account.

Right now I have to try to get a few hours more of sleep. I woke up a few hours ago from a nightmare and decided I better stay awake for a little while so I didn't go right back to sleep and have the dream pick up where it left off. Now though I can't even recall what the heck it was I was dreaming anyway. Funny how even really bad dreams can fade to nothing once you're awake.