Posts Tagged ‘craigslist’

Dear eBay Queen:

My husband and I have recently started selling on eBay, (since July 2012,) and have had some moderate success selling items from around our house, garage sale finds, and goodies from Goodwill.

Here is my situation.  This past summer I had some medical challenges that exceeded the limits of my insurance.  We both work full time, but even with that, making those monthly payments is going to be extremely challenging.  Outside of work we are very involved in our church, so getting a second job really isn’t an option.  We really need to kick it up a notch with our eBay business and take our sales to the next level in order to be able to pay this thing off.

What I’m wondering is: where we can get our hands on decent things to sell on eBay, especially at this time of year since there are no garage sales.  I have looked online at “drop shipping”, but I don’t really understand exactly how that works. I have read several articles warning people to be very careful of unscrupulous wholesale/drop shipping companies who promise a lot, but deliver terrible customer service and shipping times.  I would love to hear any advice you have to share on the subject of drop shipping, but even more, I would love to hear your advice on where we can get good stuff to sell.  I’m willing to put in the work to take it to the next level, but I feel like I don’t even know where to start.

Thanks for taking time to read this.  Any advice you can give will be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely, Kristi

Dear Kristi:

It can be challenging to find inventory this time of year, but it truly can be done.  Here are some ideas for you to acquire inventory during the winter months:

• Flea markets antique stores, Goodwill and thrift stores .  The ones in your area may be a good place to start, but have you thought of traveling someplace you normally don’t go?
• Classifieds and Craigslist
• Estate Sales.  I always check the local paper and papers in surrounding areas for Estate Sales. Search for estate sales on www.estatesales.net
• Auctions.  One of my favorite ways to acquire inventory is to go to auctions. There are lots of auctioneers that hold auctions in buildings during the cold months.  Here in Kansas you can try www.kansasauctions.net
• Discount Store close outs.  I’ve been known to purchase dishes, perfume, clothing and even BBQ sauce to sell on eBay.  Just check out the market beforehand, or on your smart phone directly in the store.  When I see designer clothing or shoes at deep clearance prices, I buy them.

Another thing you could do is watch to see what toys and gadgets are hot right now, buy them at a discount price and sell them!  I have friends that make boutique children’s clothing and there is even a market for boutique dog accessories.  What about discontinued items like make-up or specialty foods that are only sold where you live?

Dear eBay Queen:

It seems like I’ve read about things like this before, but how long should I wait to be sure a buyer isn’t going to cause a problem?  I sold a $500 set of books for a friend, to a person with zero-feedback who has had several days to look the items over. I don’t want to give the friend her money until I’m sure eBay’s not going to snatch that $500 out of my account! Is it as simple as waiting for the 14-day return window to close?

Guess what? The newbie buyer for the big book purchase finally emailed me today, (no replies to my emails) to say she’s sooooo disappointed that the ONE HUNDRED-YEAR OLD BOOKS are “not in excellent condition”… I reminded her that I said, verbatim, they were in “excellent
condition for their age”. I sent her a 50 book set, and she found a torn page, two broken bindings, and she’s terribly disappointed…. What do I do?

Joy

Dear Joy:

I usually tell consignors that it will be 30 days after the item was sold before I can send them their payout, for just this reason.  In this situation, I would try to explain to your buyer that they are very old books, and they were described to the best of your ability.  If she still seems unhappy, I would offer a refund once the item has been sent back.

I hope your buyer is just complaining to you because their having a bad day, and decides they really like the books!

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 181005697495. When I see stuff like this, it gives me hope for the economy.  Vintage Christmas Green Egg Shape Kugel Ornament 1860-1880  SOLD $987.00 Check it out HERE:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Christmas-Green-Egg-Shape-Kugel-Ornament-1860-1880-Large-/181005697495

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul, Kansas.

Dear eBay Queen:

I have been selling on the internet for several years. I have been an eBay POWERSELLER with 100% feedback, following all of the rules and regulations to the letter.   When all the changes on eBay started, I tried to switch gears by selling items on Craigslist and other new auction sites.  I’ve taken this past year off of full time eBay selling, but kept selling on Craigslist, niche auction sites and other person to person online selling.

 I am ready to start back up and want to put together a business model for buying inventory online and selling online, if it can still be done on a small scale (under thousands of items at one time).  We want to start something up that can be a side job or something to fill in the hours in the evening/weekends, etc.   My background is in commercial photography, so I have a lot of studio equipment which, in the old days, made my auctions look like they came out of a catalog.  I also know that I could sell consignment items for a percentage.  I’ve noticed a lot of eBay stores that popped up in my area have gone out of business.  Why do you think that is? Do you think the consignment business is a loss?  I like the idea of having no inventory, selling others’ items, and taking a percentage of the sale when it is final.  I like the consignment part of the eBay business, that way the cash layout is $0 on our part and we make money when the person’s item sells. 

I previously used independent auction management software to manage all my online auctions.  I have figured out they are no longer in business.  Do you know of new software for me?  I would really like a software that would manage who is bidding, questions, payments, shipping details and tracking information. Doing all of this without software can become a full time job that sucks up your extra hours REAL fast! 

I like the idea of helping others sell their stuff the most. I would love to start a business kind of like an on-site auction company or liquidator in which myself and a team, come in a house and setup to sell everything for a percentage (typically 30-40%).  Of course, most of the time would be spent advertising for the event and getting a good following to attend these sales.  I am wondering what your thoughts are about this.  Do you have any suggestions for me that might get me back in the game of selling?   Sorry for such a long background story, it's nice to share with others ideas of selling, especially when we are NOT in competition of one another.

Tony

Dear Tony:

Welcome back to the world of selling.  Your observations are pretty much correct.  Consignments have never been my favorite.  Mostly because I love finding and selling my own stuff.  Finding the junk to sell makes all of the work of selling worth it for me.  The one draw back to consignments for me is, I feel bad when the item doesn’t sell or the consigner is unhappy because it isn’t worth what they think it is.  I believe there are lots of people who would like to hire someone to sell their items.  With some advertising and word of mouth, you could have a pretty good business selling things for others.  I probably would set up a place in my home to meet with people, instead of opening a store front at first.

When it comes to inventory/auction management there are quite a few options out there.  My favorite is Blackthorne Pro (owned by eBay).  There are others out there, this one is a good starter, and does consignment pay outs really well. 

I love your idea of starting an estate sale/liquidation company.  That would be my dream job, if I didn’t have a family with 6 children.  The thought of going through peoples stuff, pricing it, and meeting the public that buys it would be a blast to me.  I don’t have a lot of experience in this area, but I would think the worst part of this business would be getting rid of the stuff that DIDN’T sell.  Let me know what you decide to do.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 220730555241 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): I’ve always wanted to learn to can.  I wonder if this jar would make it taste better? Scarce Half Pint Millville Fruit Jar SOLD $490.00 Check it out HERE  

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul. Do you have a question for the eBay Queen? E-mail: questions@asktheebayqueen.com

Dear eBay Queen;

I am trying to buy a used car.  After searching, I found the car I wanted on Craig’s List.  I contacted the seller, and he sent me this email.

“The 2007 Toyota Camry LE is in a perfect working condition. My experienced tech has fully checked out the car, and gives it a special high rating.  It has a CLEAR and CLEAN TITLE, a great it’s never had any mechanical problems, safety check and pre-delivery inspection along with a fresh servicing before I ship or deliver the car.  It has 9,747 miles and the VIN# is  4T1BE46K57U621002. I have the pictures of the car hosted at the following address:
http://s679.photobucket.com/albums/vv154/camry07arg/

As I know that my current situation is pretty special, I want the deal closed only through eBay's Buyer Protection Program in order for you to be 100% protected. You will make the payment to eBay and they will hold the money until you receive the car. ONLY AFTER you receive the car and you inspect it, (for 10 days) eBay will release the payment to me; in this way we are both protected. Anyway, I am sure that if you will be satisfied with the car.  If not, I will surely find another buyer in your area, and there will be no need for you to ship the car back.

I am located in London, and I was sent here to improve the military relationships between USA and United Kingdom. One month ago, my wife moved here with me and brought the car with her, but now we have to sell it back in the United States because we can't register it here. Iit has US specs and everything, and registering it here in Europe will take forever. My final price on it is US $2,970. If you will take it for this price, I am willing to handle the shipping. It will be shipped from here by plane with US Air Military Cargo, so it will not cost me anything. It will be flown to the nearest airport in your area and then it will be trucked forward to your place. You will receive the car in about 3 days. Please get back to me as soon as possible if you decide to buy, and include in your e-mail your full name and address where you want it shipped, so I can start the deal with eBay. You will receive all the transaction payment and shipping details from them.”

Does this sound right? I am worried it might be a scam.  I don’t understand how it works if it is one though.  I really want this car, and it’s a great price! 

LL, Ottawa; KS

Dear LL;

You know when something sounds too good to be true?  This is one of those times. This is a classic Craigslist/eBay scam.  Deals on eBay are between the seller and the buyer. Payments are not made to eBay, and no one at eBay Motors will be contacting you about this.  It is a scam, and needs to be reported. For more information about scams like this go here: http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=red-flags

This type of scam usually has a member of the armed services needing to sell his or her car, at an extremely low price.  Your seller has said he is willing to ship this car for free using, the United States Military Cargo plane. I’ve never heard of the US Military shipping cargo for free.

The seller will then lull the buyer into thinking it’s all on the up and up by saying “the only way they will sell this is if they use eBay’s Buyer Protection Plan”, but eBay’s Buyer protection plan is for PayPal payments, NOT Western Union.

For more information about this type of scam from eBay go here http://answercenter.ebay.com/forum.jspa?forumID=6  

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 140261061746 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page) Charles Darwin was controversial scientist and world traveler. Check out his First Edition Book that Sold for: $19,1000.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170415041340         

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul. Do you have a question for the eBay Queen? E-mail: questions@asktheebayqueen.com.