A question for all you ebay sellers!!?

dead_eye · Post by **dead_eye** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 5:38 am

Hi all I've been away for a long time and it's good to be back, anyway I want to get a new Ric and since the music shops don't give you anything on a trade I decided to sell two of my guitars on ebay.My question is, one guitar is doing fine, better than I expected, but the other has 11 people watching it but no bids yet with 18 hrs to go, do most of the bids seem to come at the end or should I just give up on the guitar with no bids?
Thanks,
Paul

incubus2432 · Post by **incubus2432** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 5:50 am

It can go where there is early bidding or where they all flood in late.....hard to ell which way it will go. If the guitar is at a fair price I wouldn't worry too much....it will probably take off late. No use in giving up anyway just see how it goes and good luck!

phlemmy · Post by **phlemmy** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 6:30 am

post links!

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 6:58 am

Everybody who's Ricknutz checks the eBay listings pretty often...

What I've seen is more and more bidders hanging on till the last without making their presence obvious, to avoid bidding wars. Then they pop in with an offer at the last minute, and keep their fingers crossed.

Keep it in there.

dead_eye · Post by **dead_eye** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 7:33 am

Thanks for the info, another thing Im woundering about is that this is my first time to list something on ebay, and Im not set up to take paypal. I just felt that since Im not nor will I ever be a frequent ebay seller it 's just not worth the time or effort for me to set up a paypal account for selling things. Do you guys and gals think thats a mistake?
Thanks,
Paul

phlemmy · Post by **phlemmy** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 7:46 am

paypal offers buyers one of the easiest ways to pay. unless it's something that i really want, i won't bid on anything that isn't paypal accessible.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 7:46 am

Not a mistake to avoid PayPal, IMO. I've ranted about this many times. Too much risk for only a few deals.

tony_carey · Post by **tony_carey** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 8:59 am

When I sell a gtr on ebay, I don't accept paypal, although normaly I do. The fees are too high on a gtr. It hasn't caused me any problems at all & people are quite happy to either bank transfer or send a cheque. However, I do make it obvious that I normaly take paypal, so leaving the gates open for the buyer to offer to pay the fees if they really want to pay that way. So far, no one has worried about it.

When I buy internationaly, I have to pay via paypal, as it is the only reasonable way. I always offer to pay fees though if the item is not listed for paypal payment but the seller is PP registered.

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 9:08 am

I just price things a little higher than what I want for it to cover the Paypal fees...it's a heck of a lot easier for me than waiting 7 days for someone to go out and get and mail me a money order. Not to mention I sometimes don't bid on non-Paypal auctions. Paul has a lot of good points about Paypal, but it's become too wired into Ebay to NOT use it.

dead_eye · Post by **dead_eye** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 9:45 am

Thanks for all the good advice, if I sell something else in the future I think maybe I'll get paypal registered.I've gotten five inquieries today on my Martin, maybe someone will bid on it before it's over.
Thanks Again,
Paul

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 2:27 pm

"Too wired into eBay"...unfortunately, true, but consider me a holdout against this sort of vertically-integrated domination.

I even enter "Paypal only" auctions by first e-mailing the seller and asking him/her if they would accept a money order sent via FedEx (which is how I prefer to deal). I've only been refused once, by a newbie who thought Paypal was the best thing since smokey links.

The recent auction of a '95 360 won by Brian Medway, is a good example. I had a bid sitting on E-Snipe until only a few minutes before closing (until a better deal came along on another Rick I wanted). I had the OK from the seller to pay via money order, even though he specified "Paypal only".

A money order sent via FedEx puts money into your account at the same time as Paypal, or sooner, depending on how good your buyer is at following up. I guarantee with my e-mail that I will secure and FedEx the money order the very next day.

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 4:21 pm

Paul, if I got that email from you as the buyer, I would have no problem with it whatsoever. Just turns out that the people I inevitably end up dealing with are the ones that take forever to get the M.O. and send it snail mail to the wrong address, and then there are countless emails explaining why it took so long. I'd rather not deal with all of that.
As many times as I hope that it worked differently, it never seems to.

dead_eye · Post by **dead_eye** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 5:13 pm

I just recieved an email from a potential buyer who asked me if I would split the shipping with him if he met my reserve, and if nobody out bid him.I told him ok because it will save me from re-listing the guitar but I can't do any better than that, but so far he has'nt bid on it and only 6 hrs to go. Oh well the other guitar is doing better than I had expected.
Paul

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 6:15 pm

Sean, I would make it plain with the buyer that if he wishes to not use your preferred payment method, then he must at least meet Paypal's speed and FedEx you a money order the next day following auction's close, or you will do a second chance offer to his next highest bidder, or re-list the item, and file an unpaid item claim against him.

If you lay out the rules of engagement up front and the potential buyer agrees, then you'll have an easier time of it.

Paul, I'll bet there's a good chance that your cheapskate buyer is trying to avoid a bidding war, or was just trying to see how tough a cookie you were.

Watch for him to (a) bid at the last minute, or (b) send you an e-mail after the auction closes offering to buy it for lower than your reserve.

Lots of chiselers out there, says the Curmudgeon...

dead_eye · Post by **dead_eye** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 6:42 pm

Paul, Im sure your right, but I won't go any lower than my reserve, if for the principal only! I've bought many things on ebay and never tried to beat the seller down. I always figured if the item up for bid was what I wanted and I could get it at a fair price I then I through a bid in on it, and I never expected a seller to pay for the shipping unless free shipping was stated.If I ever put amy thing up for auction on ebay I'll do it different the next time.
Thanks,
Paul