ebay for beginners...

[thaya]

Now that I'm connected to the net at home I can finally use ebay. I want to sell loads of junk and other bits and pieces to put towards my Hawaii fund this summer.

So, im totally ignorant when it comes to stuff like this. How exactly does ebay work? How do you actually sell stuff and know that the person buying will pay you the money? I'm assuming that ebay makes a profit on your transaction too... do they take a percentage or something and how does that work? When you post stuff how do you know how much it's gonna cost? do you add postal charges before selling it (how?) or do you just accept that you'll lose a few quid for stamps and stuff?

Also... I was thinking of selling my pedal bike (which I hardly use anymore ) but you can't really send big items like that through the post - would you expect a complete stranger to come round your house???

Any help appreciated!

[unodoshol]

Hiya,

To list the item is pretty easy, theres about 4/5 steps you go through and all you have to do is fill in the blanks. Payment usually is by oaypal, so you'd need to open an account, or by cheque. Paypal is the preffered method as its so quick and easy.

Fee wise, you pay a small amount for listing the item and then once its sold, a % of the sold price. Also if you use paypal, they have a small fee..sounds like a lot but you still end up making £ for stuff you norm bin!

For big items, people normally use a courier and then charge the buyer whatever it was or yes it is normal for the buyer to collect, but obviously that narrows who will buy it!

Good luck!

[wavedancer]

A lot of sellers won't send the item out until they recieve the payment and Ebay also has rules and things that you can fall back on if you get jipped. Paypal has a fraud type setup too.

[thaya]

thanks. x

[Real Pol]

Wait until you get your payment then post it.

I always just guess the postage to put on an item, I look at what people who are selling similar items have put for p&p, then under cut them by 50p. You don't pay a percentage of your p&p so thats why some sellers have high postage charges.

The best tip in the world for using ebay is SELL AT THE START OF THE MONTH AND BUY AT THE END

Follow that rule and you can't lose!