Tips & Tricks for selling on eBay?

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RTM

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Jan 26, 2014
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So as the title suggests, I am looking to reduce the amount of hardware I have lying around by selling it on eBay.
As such I would like to improve my knowledge about how to do this before starting.

In particular I am interested in the following:
  • Are there any good resources out there in general about selling on eBay?
  • As I am in Europe (Denmark specifically), is there anything in particular I need to be aware of that may be different compared to regular/US eBay?
    • For the most part here, I am wondering if there are any good solutions in terms of shipping?
  • Most of what I have is just packed in anti-static bags or similar, ie. not in any kind of packaging that is ready for shipping, are there any good tips on how to source suitable packing materials (mostly just cardboard boxes)?
    • I have been looking at Amazon.de, but it is as per usual difficult to evaluate the quality of products from reviews.
Other than that, is there anything else I should know?
 

Wasmachineman_NL

Wittgenstein the Supercomputer FTW!
Aug 7, 2019
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eBay is garbage. Use local classifieds sites (which are even more cancerous than eBay though) or STH instead.

Ask your local grocery store or bike shop if they got any empty boxes you can have.
 
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BlueFox

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Oct 26, 2015
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So as the title suggests, I am looking to reduce the amount of hardware I have lying around by selling it on eBay.
As such I would like to improve my knowledge about how to do this before starting.
My feedback is going to be US centric, but generally it comes down to good photos, descriptions, and packaging. It's not all that difficult to be honest. Unsure about any quirks specific to Europe or Denmark unfortunately.

For packaging, eBay sells shipping supplies, at least in the US: ebay Shipping Supplies | eBay Stores

If what you're dealing with isn't terribly heavy, anti-static bag (if needed), a reasonable amount of bubble wrap, and packing peanuts/air bags will do in a box. Larger things like servers will require custom boxes with either expanding or rigid foam cut specifically to fit servers. More than most are willing to deal with.

eBay is garbage. Use local classifieds sites (which are even more cancerous than eBay though) or STH instead.
Yeah, no, going to disagree there. ~140 transactions in the past year there as a seller and zero problems. Many high value items and the total is close to $100k. Similar in previous years as well. People on here expect rock bottom prices and honestly I wind up selling most of my stuff on eBay and net considerably more even after accounting for eBay fees. There is also at least one other STH member that is way more active than me there (as a seller).
 
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RTM

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Jan 26, 2014
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Thanks guys, much appreciated :)
eBay is garbage. Use local classifieds sites (which are even more cancerous than eBay though) or STH instead.
Could you elaborate on why you consider eBay to be garbage?

To be honest, my inclination is not towards selling on forums/local websites, personally I feel safer using a website like eBay.
The assumption is that even if their buyer/seller protection schemes are not ideal, it would be better than nothing in most cases where you are not selling to someone you know (even if only online) and such have a "reasonable" amount of trust in (even here, I assume most sales involve new members). That said I might be inclined to sell a few select items here.
What you got?
Various controllers (HBA, RAID, Network), dual socket Intel motherboards w. CPU's and RAM, coolers and switches.
Feel free to PM me, but let's try to avoid making this thread into a WTS thread.

For packaging, eBay sells shipping supplies, at least in the US: ebay Shipping Supplies | eBay Stores

If what you're dealing with isn't terribly heavy, anti-static bag (if needed), a reasonable amount of bubble wrap, and packing peanuts/air bags will do in a box. Larger things like servers will require custom boxes with either expanding or rigid foam cut specifically to fit servers. More than most are willing to deal with.
Thanks, I was considering skipping the packing peanuts, and just use loads of bubble wrap, but it sounds reasonable to use packing peanuts/air bags or similar.
while I do have some 1U servers, they are for the most part already in boxes, but I may also just sell the motherboard etc. separately and recycle the casings.
People on here expect rock bottom prices and honestly I wind up selling most of my stuff on eBay and net considerably more even after accounting for eBay fees.
Honestly this is also part of what appeals to me to try using eBay.
 

Wasmachineman_NL

Wittgenstein the Supercomputer FTW!
Aug 7, 2019
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Could you elaborate on why you consider eBay to be garbage?
eBay doing NOTHING against sellers listing the same stuff under a very slightly different title, no filters to filter them, sellers from China selling fake shit and many, many more reasons.

Also, lowest common denominator. You often need to deal with severely retarded buyers and lowballers both on eBay and on local classifieds sites.
 

Wasmachineman_NL

Wittgenstein the Supercomputer FTW!
Aug 7, 2019
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And on sth if some of the comments in the buy/sell/trade forum are true :D
It's not so much lowballers that are an issue, it's retarded people on sites like Marktplaats.

Just now I had someone interested in a few hard drives I have listed, he offered a rather low price, told him that his offer was too low, countered me with a higher price which was close to the price I wanted, so I told him for X price you could have them, motherfucker reads my message and doesn't reply afterwards.

Shit like that makes my god-****ing-damn blood boil. At least eBay has a option for Buy it Now which saves me the hassle of dealing with retards like that.

The best kind of buyers are people who have knowledge of the item in question, never make offers but instead buy it for the price I ask and never ask questions. They are rare, but out there.
 

Wasmachineman_NL

Wittgenstein the Supercomputer FTW!
Aug 7, 2019
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And I could write a entire goddamn essay about how rage inducing Marktplaats and sites like it are, how they are ran by corporate idiots (what else is new?) and how sites like them progessively have become garbage over the years.
 

RTM

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Jan 26, 2014
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Thanks for elaborating.

Unfortunately I think it comes with the territory, having sent in my fair share of low ball offers, it seems only fair that I would also need to deal with some questions.
 

Wasmachineman_NL

Wittgenstein the Supercomputer FTW!
Aug 7, 2019
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Thanks for elaborating.

Unfortunately I think it comes with the territory, having sent in my fair share of low ball offers, it seems only fair that I would also need to deal with some questions.
I don't mind questions, I take offense when people DO NOT READ THE ****ING DESCRIPTION or use critical thinking skills.

Yes, the item is still available and if something gets sold said advert will be deleted instantly. Yes, you will get a very snarky reply if you use one of the canned replies offered by Marktplaats asking whether the item is still available. There's a decisive lack of common sense on sites like that unfortunately.
 

RTM

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Jan 26, 2014
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Any comments as far as shipping companies to use when shipping across the EU? Obviously it is a patchwork of different companies and countries.

From my own experience receiving stuff they are all pretty bad but usable (well except for Fedex...), assuming arranging shipping via eBay is not an option, my plan is to use UPS or GLS.
 

BlueFox

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From my own experience receiving stuff they are all pretty bad but usable (well except for Fedex...), assuming arranging shipping via eBay is not an option, my plan is to use UPS or GLS.
Again, US viewpoint, but here at least, eBay has shipping integration available with the major carriers (UPS, FedEx, and the post office). Rates are heavily discounted and better than what I would get should I use my personal account. I almost always use it for shipping items I've sold on eBay. You can preview what the rates/options are when creating a listing (before it's posted).
 
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Wasmachineman_NL

Wittgenstein the Supercomputer FTW!
Aug 7, 2019
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Any comments as far as shipping companies to use when shipping across the EU? Obviously it is a patchwork of different companies and countries.

From my own experience receiving stuff they are all pretty bad but usable (well except for Fedex...), assuming arranging shipping via eBay is not an option, my plan is to use UPS or GLS.
I myself prefer UPS because they're lightning quick and *knock on wood* I haven't had any issues with them so far. (US > NL parcels that is)
 
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Terry Kennedy

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New York City
www.glaver.org
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CyklonDX

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1) Auction has to end Tuesday-Thursday before 4pm (2pm central time is perfect)
2) Look at other prices, and just dip 20-40 or so bucks.
3) Don't go overboard in shipping price tag ~ those that select 100-200 usd for shipping and lower price are to be damned. No1 is going to buy it (its not working on people). Its going to get views tho. *You can use that to your advantage as your other items may be recommended more...
4) If items aren't selling drop the price. or do bidding.
5) post it on forums.
6) Don't scalp / try to profit.
 
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Bjorn Smith

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My real issue with ebay is that its mostly only interested in the US.
Sure - international sites exist but they suck compared to ebay.com-

Also ebay have weird rules about currencies - you can only sell in a single currency - back in the day I created my ebay account on ebay.co.uk because I understand english - and got GBP as a consequence - since then ebay have enforced me to link up my back account to "make it easier" for sellers - which is complete BS.

And there are no options for me to change my currency and when I get in contact with ebay via chat, they are morons and do not understand a simple query on "how do I change my account from GBP to EUR" - so I can sell shit in EUR.

Obviously I should have created my account on ebay.de or ebay.fr - but ebay are amateurs and only support the native language of the website, i.e. on ebay.de you have understand german, on ebay.fr you have to understand french - so my real option was at that time to use ebay.co.uk.

I mean - the sites uses the exact same backend, since I can log in on the .de/fr websites, but no, changing the website language to english not allowed or supported.

So yeah - I am not too happy about ebay - unfortunately there are no real alternative - cross country that is - sure there are plenty of "country specific" sites similar to craigslist etc, but if you want a broader audience - ebay is the only real place as far as I know.

But I have given up trying to sell shit on ebay - I don't want to sell in GBP and I certainly do not want to have my bank details on ebay's platform so they can pull money out of my bank account if required.

So my tips and tricks are: Do not sell on ebay if you at all can get around it - ebay is a dinosaur that should be put to its grave and then we can hope for a new global selling site that does not suck ass.
 
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Bjorn Smith

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this - i'm created my account in ebay.ie - English and EUR.
Indeed - but the morons at ebay do not understand simple words - so I am guessing its impossible for me to transfer my account from ebay.co.uk -> ebay.ie - sometimes it seems like they use retarded chat bots, just to people get frustrated and give up before a "real" person comes online
 
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RTM

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Jan 26, 2014
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Thanks guys, much appreciated, I have been busy so have not gotten around to sell anything yet.
Hopefully I can soon talk about my own experiences as a seller.