Selling stuff on eBay

[tomahawk dunk 321]

Where are y'all selling random shit you're just looking to get rid of? I'm trying to finish off my Marie Kondo style purge I started a couple years back. 

[RDCanecutter 26,377]

4 hours ago, tomahawk dunk said:

Where are y'all selling random shit you're just looking to get rid of? I'm trying to finish off my Marie Kondo style purge I started a couple years back. 

For random stuff I'd use eBay.

[NorthLoop 14,180]

Mercari is easy for that if you're willing to give up 10%

[RDCanecutter 26,377]

I cancelled my Etsy ads a little while back. I was paying 2 bucks a day for them. Recently I just started listing more stuff (at about the same $ amount.) Stats for views are way higher than I got from the ads.

[MarkLotek 4]

On 7/29/2021 at 2:44 AM, tomahawk dunk said:

Where are y'all selling random shit you're just looking to get rid of? I'm trying to finish off my Marie Kondo style purge I started a couple years back. 

If you don't need the stuff, then do a charity shout-out. I think you can get rid of them faster that way.

[RDCanecutter 26,377]

I must admit I miss one thing about eBay-- the time limit on the auctions. I am thinking about reactivating my account there to use it.

I used to do a "Painting a Day" thing there where I'd whip up batches of small paintings, then put them up for a one-week run. I miss the factory-production feel, and advertising them juiced up my local sales as well. Figure I could do that again, have some steady sales, and whatever doesn't move in 7 to 10 days, park it in my "Art Gallery" on Etsy for a higher price.

(Whenever something doesn't sell, raise the price when you re-list it. Seriously.)

[mulletpelini 5,210]

[RDCanecutter 26,377]

Ah, sweet crack rock of eBay... I listed a few things for the first time in maybe a year, and got my first bid. Zing go the endorphins.

[mulletpelini 5,210]

I just got all my listings zapped per their threat from the summer for non-compliance.

[RDCanecutter 26,377]

12 hours ago, mulletpelini said:

I just got all my listings zapped per their threat from the summer for non-compliance.

You missed out on culture day yesterday. I went to make a listing yesterday, and am told that it is incomplete until I list which culture it comes from. The choices range from Achomawi to Yuwaalaraay. OK. I don't see "USA" or "American" or "Redneck" anywhere there, so I left it blank. 

I wonder if it was some option set up in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day, and the program forced everybody into it.

[mulletpelini 5,210]

wow, I feel robbed.  Kind of like when they took PP away as an option.  I guess next they'll force me to take a vaccine or something.

[RDCanecutter 26,377]

eBay hoppin and poppin last couple of days. Out of 7 auctions, I got bids on 1 (about what I expected,) but just now had two others go for Buy It Now.

Maybe it's random. Maybe I am the beneficiary of some "Welcome Home Prodigal Son" algorithm they set up. Whatever works. I am tempted to put more new stuff on eBay now than I first thought.

When it doesn't sell on the first eBay auction cycle, then maybe drop it onto Etsy, where it will also be new.

[RDCanecutter 26,377]

18 hours ago, mulletpelini said:

wow, I feel robbed.  Kind of like when they took PP away as an option.  I guess next they'll force me to take a vaccine or something.

eBay doesn't care if I'm vaccinated, but they did send an exec by the house to throw a pig head at me just in case I'm a blogger. No hard feelings, it's just business.

[RDCanecutter 26,377]

And it looks like eBay increased their fees to over 13%. That was a shock until I realized they just kept their old 10% and added in the extra 3+% that Paypal had skimmed off. I think they throw back a penny or so of savings to the seller. So basically, to make $50 I need to charge about 60*, same as it ever was.

 

 

*"Free" shipping, hahahahaha, what kinda damn fool thinks shipping is free, you're getting cheap crap with the shipping cost added to it, Bocephus.

[texhorn 351]

I swear I hate the idea that you have to sit around and wait for a buyer to pay for an auction they won. Just charge the CC or PP Acct on file of the winner when the auction ends. Nothing makes me more ragey than the person who takes 3 days to pay, or worse, the person who never pays at all.

[RDCanecutter 26,377]

13 hours ago, texhorn said:

I swear I hate the idea that you have to sit around and wait for a buyer to pay for an auction they won. Just charge the CC or PP Acct on file of the winner when the auction ends. Nothing makes me more ragey than the person who takes 3 days to pay, or worse, the person who never pays at all.

My sop is to follow up with a nice reminder, because who knows, then I just open a case to cancel the sale. The odd thing is, when somebody ghosts me, usually I sell the same thing later for more money to somebody who really wants it.

There was one time I was really angry at some dude for non-payment, to the point where I found his FB and realized he had probably died.

[RDCanecutter 26,377]

Well Happy New Year and Beware of Etsy Advertising Scams to anybody who sells there. Specifically, their "Offsite Ad" program.

CSB: When I list new things on Etsy, I Tweet the listing from inside Etsy to help promote it. Past few days, I have noticed Etsy bots on Twitter liking and retweeting my stuff. OK cool.

Yesterday I sell a print to a lady. Like a little $30 thing. Check my finances to see what amount of $ I am due to get Monday from that and some other stuff, and I see that $4+ of the fees are from "Offsite Ads."

Turns out that I guess I got auto-enrolled in some new fee-skimming program, they promote my junk on multiple platforms (thus the Twitter bots) and only charge me 15% (more) if they make a sale for me.

Except, dammit, the lady who bought the print was somebody I chatted with in December, sent her a coupon myself. I doubt she even knows those Etsy Twitter bots exist.

Now 4 bucks if this had been some sale I never would have made? OK. But this is bullshit. It's like I'm carrying my own groceries and the bagboy and the cashier both want a tip. They're gonna claim everything I sell is from their damn retweets.

/CSB

TLDR: If you have an Etsy shop, go to Shop Manager, go to Settings, go to Offsite Ads and make sure that bitch is turned off. Etsy tryna bleed everybody like this is a phone bill from the 90s.

[El Diablo 4,232]

My friend Karl needs help. He started learning lapidary a couple years back and moved onto learning some metalworking to mount the stones he was cutting and polishing. He's been selling stuff by word of mouth but that has limits. He asked me what to do and I don't know how to best advise him on expanding his market. He's 73, pretty tech savvy but needs to get up to speed on internet sales. Here's some of what he does... average price is around $100, he's sold one piece for $175. Any of you gurus have any thoughts on a best approach?

[tchookem 3,900]

My friend Karl needs help. He started learning lapidary a couple years back and moved onto learning some metalworking to mount the stones he was cutting and polishing. He's been selling stuff by word of mouth but that has limits. He asked me what to do and I don't know how to best advise him on expanding his market. He's 73, pretty tech savvy but needs to get up to speed on internet sales. Here's some of what he does... average price is around $100, he's sold one piece for $175. Any of you gurus have any thoughts on a best approach?

I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but this has a definite Etsy more than eBay vibe. Others may know better though. Good Luck to your friend.

[RDCanecutter 26,377]

15 hours ago, El Diablo said:

My friend Karl needs help. He started learning lapidary a couple years back and moved onto learning some metalworking to mount the stones he was cutting and polishing. He's been selling stuff by word of mouth but that has limits. He asked me what to do and I don't know how to best advise him on expanding his market. He's 73, pretty tech savvy but needs to get up to speed on internet sales. Here's some of what he does... average price is around $100, he's sold one piece for $175. Any of you gurus have any thoughts on a best approach?

Karl does nice work. I have a couple of friends who make steady sales selling similar things. The key thing is to go to shows, like craft fairs, farmers' markets, art shows, biker rallies, punk rock shows (away from the pit), school fairs-- just get linked in to whatever is in the tri-county area and start doing it. 

And for the love of all that is divine, put weights, heavy weights, on the legs of a booth tent, especially in Central Texas. Those things will lift up and roll like the bastard children of helicopters and tumbleweeds. Maybe there are shows inside gyms and such, but he'll eventually need a tent.

Once Karl gets a decent turnover going on in-person sales, with customers following him on FB or wherever, I'd say supplement it with online sales. Etsy or maybe eBay will work OK if he takes into account all the packaging and mailing, but honestly my friends seem to move almost all that they can make by just putting photos on FB.

I say hit the live shows first because when I list online, I move about 1/7 of my stock per year. When I go to a show, I'll sell about 1/4 of my stock at that exact same show.

[El Diablo 4,232]

Thanks for the replies, I'll pass along the wisdom. I'm fairly certain he won't be doing shows though, the need for display cases, tent etc... is going to be an outlay and bridge too far. I think he's just wanting a way to make sales without having to do much more than listing some things and collecting a check after shipping. Maybe I'll get him to do an Etsy account and list 1 or 2 items and go from there. I've looked into spaces with him in mind at one of the bigger horse shows we have here, the crowd seemed to me like the types that would possibly be interested, but the smallest space was $400 for 3 days. 

[RDCanecutter 26,377]

41 minutes ago, El Diablo said:

Thanks for the replies, I'll pass along the wisdom. I'm fairly certain he won't be doing shows though, the need for display cases, tent etc... is going to be an outlay and bridge too far. I think he's just wanting a way to make sales without having to do much more than listing some things and collecting a check after shipping. Maybe I'll get him to do an Etsy account and list 1 or 2 items and go from there. I've looked into spaces with him in mind at one of the bigger horse shows we have here, the crowd seemed to me like the types that would possibly be interested, but the smallest space was $400 for 3 days. 

20 cents and a couple of photos will get him a listing on Etsy. If he self-promotes that on social media, he might get something going. His pieces look like the sort of thing that would fit in small boxes that he could mail First Class Package for about 4 bucks, so long as it doesn't weigh over a pound.

I wouldn't give up on smaller cheaper shows though, where he could get started with a chair and a card table. Face-to-face just moves so much more product.

[El Diablo 4,232]

I'll try to steer him towards the shows, I agree that it's probably his best route to more sales. He's come down with the COVID or something so I'm hoping he's still around come spring. 

[RDCanecutter 26,377]

1 hour ago, El Diablo said:

I'll try to steer him towards the shows, I agree that it's probably his best route to more sales. He's come down with the COVID or something so I'm hoping he's still around come spring. 

Online can be good prep for shows, especially if it makes you go into beast mode to build inventory. Whatever he ends up doing, he'll be better at it for doing more of it.

[RDCanecutter 26,377]

Over the past few months Etsy has been a glorified storage unit for me. I have started back to in-person shows, and am pulling various listings from Etsy to top up my show inventory.

I probably will go back to online selling at some future point, but it only seems to work if you constantly add new listings.