Jared Says for November

I have just completed my third eBay auction this fall, and the fifth this year. Selling the items I've collected on eBay has been a rewarding experience and educational. I'll pass on some of the things I've learned in the past year and some observations that you may find helpful in your buying and selling in the eBay environment.

Begin your minimum bid just below the $10/$25/$50 boundaries where the ebay posting fees increase. While this may not seem like very much to be concerned with individually, when you are doing a large batch of items it can quickly add up!

I have not used reserve price auctions, a kind of hidden minimum, and I would be interested in your experiences and feelings about selling and buying with reserves.

Put your item into the correct category! They are hundreds of categories on eBay, but they are well organized. Take the time to find the right place to sell your item. It may sound silly, but I see misplaced items more often than I would have thought.

Include pictures! People like to be able to see what they are buying. Take the effort or get help to use an attractive html template for your items. Presenting the item to be sold clearly and pleasantly helps greatly in getting a positive response.

Make sure the terms are very clear. What payment options will you accept? Does the buyer or seller pay shipping? Do you accept international orders?

The U.S. Post Office will accept Canadian postal M.O. made out to U.S. funds!

Some banks, like mine, charge a fee if M.O. is not from a bank headquartered in the US. Unless an international source has a US presence, like Western Union, fees will be incurred. Banks also frequently charge if the M.O. does not have routing numbers at the bottom.

Wire transfers are also a payment option, but they can be very expensive, cash works well, but is illegal to mail cash in the United States.

Some of the trends I've observed on eBay include:

The whole process takes 3+ weeks, week 1 posting and responding to e-mail questions, week 2-3 weeks to receive funds and ship, and finally, another week to make sure everything is received OK.

It has generally been a pleasure dealing with the people on eBay especially when the item surpasses their expectations.