Advice Please: Ebay experiences vs Craigslist, etc...

[mcroft]

So, we've never sold anything on ebay, but we have stuff we want to get rid of. I know that a number of you are frequent ebay sellers, so I want to know how well it works...

The stuff is electronics gear: a DVD burner we don't use, an older iPod, a portable DVD/iPod doc and (eventually) my desktop computer (a G5 tower).

Questions wrt ebay:
1: how much do the nickel-and-dime add-ons (pictures, etc) actually help?
2: Is paypal as big a deal as they want to tell me it is?
3: Have you had bad experiences with buyers?
4: Is it better to price the item low to assure it sells or re-list it if it doesn't?
5: How well does it work for big-ticket vs. cheap stuff?
6: Do you ship to Canada?

Questions wrt craigslist:
1: Is it better than ebay?
2: why?

Comments

[avram]

I've been told that you should sell a bunch of small stuff first and establish a good reputation, and then you'll get a better price on your big stuff.

[kodi]

I've had about $800 in sales on 16 auctions on ebay, in one big batch mostly. I had one buyer who was a complete waste - he changed his address to Canada after winning the auction, didn't contact me at all after the auction, and when I asked him what was going on, he said he was waiting for me to update the shipping cost to include Canada. That seems to be about what I've heard - 1 buyer in 20 is going to be totally irrational.

I listed all my auctions for $0.99 with shipping at cost + $1 for my effort. My principle was that I'd rather get $2 and not have to store this crap anymore. I was happy with the sale price for all but one item.

[vaspider]

I like ebay better because I can insist the entire transaction be done through their interface. I suppose that's a comfort thing for me.

I used to ship to Canada but I don't anymore. Getting to the post office is just too much of a hassle.

[hangingfire.livejournal.com]

Ebay:
1. Depends on what you're selling. The more expensive or complex, the more beneficial pictures tend to be. If I'm selling a bottle of BPAL, one picture will do. When selling an iPhone, we included pics of the device from all sides, and the packaging as well. (And also, taking pictures that include a handwritten note with your username and the current date has become de rigeur for expensive stuff.)
2. Paypal is what it is; I like the convenience and haven't had any problems with it.
3. I've had one buyer fall off the planet. S/he never paid me, nor did s/he ever respond to repeated invoices and emails. As the item in question wasn't terribly expensive (a bottle of BPAL, in fact) and neither of us was really out any money apart from my seller's fee, I dropped the matter.
4. I tend to price items low and also toss up a Buy It Now price for the minimum I'm willing to take for it. Unless I think the bidding could get high, in which case I won't use a Buy It Now and will start the bidding at what I think is a fair minimum.
5. I've had it work fairly well for both.
6. It's never come up.

Craigslist:
I've had more flakeouts with Craigslist, and silly stuff like someone who somehow failed to realize that the clothes dryer I was selling was gas-heated (despite it saying so in the posting) until he drove all the way from San Marcos to pick it up.

[kodi]

Yeah, I think that's my biggest problem with craigslist - there's no way to know if the person you're selling to has read and understood what you actually wrote until it becomes apparent that they haven't, and on craigslist that just means you've got an unhappy confused dude to deal with. On ebay, people tend to read more carefully because it's more important to the transaction.

[drelmo.livejournal.com]

When I've bought on eBay, I've considered a picture very important.

[arenson9.livejournal.com]

I don't think I'd buy on eBay w/out a picture.

Oh, and, lovely city you've got here .... :)