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I dont think 'terms of sale' has been mentioned yet. Terms of sale are important for many obvious reasons, yet alot of people dont bother with them and then wonder why buyers end up jerking them about and making silly demands. Here are my terms of sale for example:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil, overlord of the traxxas forum noobs

Please read the terms of sale before bidding:

1. If you have any questions, please ask them before placing bids.

2. When bidding closes, the winner will be notified and payment requested.

3. Payment must be received within 7 days of the auction finishing, but preferably within 24 hours, or you will be reported to Ebay as a non-paying bidder, and will receive an unpaid item strike.

4. Once payment is received, I will check the item and then post it and notify you.

5. When the item is received, if there is something missing, or it has magically turned into a cabbage, please notify me IMMEDIATELY, and I will try my hardest to get it sorted. Never leave negative feedback.

6. I accept no responsibility for items lost or damaged in the post, and cannot guarantee delivery times. I obtain proof of postage for all items I post and always package items carefully.

7. No refunds can be given if you change your mind after sending payment, so make certain you really want this item before bidding. No returns will be entertained either if you decide the item is not what you wanted.

8. All postage, packaging and handling fees are final. If you do not agree with the stated charge, do not bid on the item.

9. After the item(s) arrives and you are happy with it, make certain you leave positive feedback, and I will do the same for you.

10. All bidders must pay using PAYPAL, no exceptions.

11. Do not go on holiday after bidding for this item. If you win the auction, payment must still be made within 7 days of auction close so please be certain you can still pay from your current location.

12. Please make sure your delivery address is correct. If you have a different address registered to your PAYPAL account to that of your EBAY account, I will only post to the PAYPAL registered address unless instructed otherwise.

However, as I discovered the other day, they arent worth shit-all in the eyes of paypal. Basically, I sold a single speed coupler to someone, who then decided they didnt want it (because they are thick and dont understand how a tranny works), but I made them pay anyway, as per my ToS. They then claimed the item never arrived, and because I only used normal 1st class postage (no tracking), I couldnt prove I had posted the item, so paypal refunded him £17.5 (~$30) after he raised a complaint via paypal.

Moral of the story, use trackable shipping for ALL transactions, even if you have to charge more for shipping.

I pretty much agree with rschoi for just about everything he stated.

I will expand on the listing time though. I list items so that they end either on Sunday or Monday evenings. I have found that both work quite well as end days. Around 8-9PM EST is about the prime time to end an auction from what I've seen with my past auctions. However, anytime between about 6-12PM EST works ok, but in the middle is a hot spot since you can get bidders from both coasts easier.

Also, the form of your ad makes a big difference too. It should be easy to read and clearly show a picture of the item up for bid. Here's an example ( a current auction of mine ):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=200214260638

If you want, I'll be glad to give you the bits of HTML I use to format my auction ads.

Also, if you want to know what it will cost to list an item on eBay and what your final value fees will be given that it sell for a specific amount, go pick up my spreadsheet here:

http://skellyo.com/ebay/eBay_Fees.xls

If you have any questions about the spreadsheet, just PM me, I'll be glad to help anyone out with it. It has helped me an awful lot to realize just how much you actually make from selling something on eBay after fees. Also note that the Paypal fee calculator function is based on being a Premier member with a domestic sale. You should be able to look at the formula and adjust it if necessary for your situation.

Hope this info helps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by suicideneil (Post 161666)

Moral of the story, use trackable shipping for ALL transactions, even if you have to charge more for shipping.

Definitely. Delivery confirmation is cheap enough it should be used on any package sent through USPS. If the shipping label is paid for and printed out through Paypal, it's only $0.18 for delivery confirmation on First Class Mail and it's free for Priority Mail.

The sad thing no matter what anyone says Ebay and Paypal are always for the buyer not the seller. There are many horror stories. I sold and item. The buyer was not happy with it. I gave them a partial refund then they complained to paypal and recieved a full refund. I lost more than the whole price of the item. Paypal stated there was nothing I could do. Then they fully stated that refunds are based more on the complainer. If you complain first you have a better chance at winning a claim. Sad but true. I could not believe it when a paypal rep stated it to me. I had a confirmed address I shipped to and the claim stating they recieved the item. The one thing no body states is for every bad auction there are easily 100 or more good auctions. Good luck.

Rschoi_75-- 3) Title: If you have extra room left, stick in some related keywords. If you're selling a brushless motor, add in keywords like "mamba", "feigao", "novak". Even if your item is not from these companies you should stick them in. The purpose is to cast your net as wide as possible, and reach as many viewers as possible.

This is against Ebay rules. Don't add words not related to your auctions. If you do Ebay ends your auction early for misrepresenting the item in your auction. After so many violations in this manner you will be stopped from selling.

Key word spamming is a wonderful thing, if you choose your key words wisely... :yes:

From a buyers point of view

3) Title:
word spamming sucks. i would not buy from someone with a totally misleading title

4) Description:
this is the most important part along with pics. if the description looks like it was written by my cat i am leaving the page

5) Ship internationally:
ofcourse :) tho i got a shipping adress in the US for shopping purpose it's always nice to have it shipped directly as long as shipping charges are fair

6) Starting Price:
7day auction starting at .99 just makes no sense (unless there is a reserve price). everyone with at least some common sense knows it will grow up in the last few minutes/seconds. no one can expect getting something with a $100 value for .99

8) Timing:
If its something with high demand i would recommend ending time no later than 6pm EST so people in europe have their chance to get it. i get up in the middle of the night only if it's something really, really good

9) Pictures:
bigger the picture the better. if i can see the details, i wont buy it

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallot (Post 161681)

From a buyers point of view

3) Title:
word spamming sucks. i would not buy from someone with a totally misleading title

I guess we need to discuss the "keyword spamming" issue. At no time did I suggest that you mislead the potential buyer. Like I said... include RELATED keywords. For example, lets say you are selling a MM system. This is what I would write for my title:

"Mamba Max Brushless ESC Motor, not quark, novak, lrp"

I don't believe that is misleading at all. If a viewer is confused.... all they have to do is read the description. Period.

If some viewers are offended by this method... that's fine with me. I know that for every one person turned off, there will be 10 people who will find my auction, who otherwise would not have.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallot (Post 161681)

6) Starting Price:
7day auction starting at .99 just makes no sense (unless there is a reserve price). everyone with at least some common sense knows it will grow up in the last few minutes/seconds. no one can expect getting something with a $100 value for .99

That's the entire point... Think about it.... If you are in the market for a MM, which auction are you more likely to view? The one that starts at $80 or the one that starts at $0.99? Which do you think will have more hits by the time the auction closes? My basic point is that you can use the starting price to attract more views.

Well choosen keywords are fine, but its when you see stuff like this, I get annoyed.

Although I do sell my share of buy it now auctions , I find when I price very low and let the bidding go, it usually sells for more. I have even had buy it now auctions end up selling for more then the initial buy it now price !!
Start at 5 bucks, it might be a day or so for the first bid. Start at .99 and it will increase like mad right away !!!
I think theres ALOT of people on there that just plain dont understand how it works ,period .
I dont know why people bid more in an auction when you can buy the same item buy it now for less but they do . It's a bidding war thing . Thats the prime reason I never bid till the end. Let the person think he's got high bid all week and at the end, I come in and win.