Selling on Ebay looks a nightmare.

I must admit thats what put me of selling stuff on the bay although I have been tempted by having so much filling my tiny home

I think it's  free listing for items over a pound this weekend so that might save a bit

As much as I detest e bay, I sold my last lot of kit on there and was surprised how much I raised from it, prospective buyers seem to get whipped up by the auction mode of it and pay way over the odds! ( I am guilty of having done it myself which is why I will try hard not to buy from it). However you reach a very large buying market very quickly and the costs are inexpensive in those terms alone.

As much as I detest e bay, I sold my last lot of kit on there and was surprised how much I raised from it, prospective buyers seem to get whipped up by the auction mode of it and pay way over the odds! ( I am guilty of having done it myself which is why I will try hard not to buy from it). However you reach a very large buying market very quickly and the costs are inexpensive in those terms alone.

It's really not that bad! 

It costs a couple of quid to list an item, and ebay will take 10% of the sale total (excluding postage costs) up to £40- i.e if you sell something for £20 they get £2, but if you sell something for £10,000 they only take the maximum £40.

The selling 'wizard' is pretty straightforward, any extra costs (different sale options, timed starts etc) are clearly shown as you go along.

I would recommend advertising 'UK only' though, as you'll generally end up getting bombarded with requests to ship to Eastern Europe otherwise. And therein lies trouble- most of the known scams involve foreign transactions.

List your item honestly- indicate any damage, no matter how trivial, don't make the item sound better than it is.

I've sold loads of things on ebay over the years and never had a problem. I think some of the scare stories have overtaken reality to some extent. If you've got something to flog, ebay is currently the best way to shift it, IMHO.

I'd say go for it, you may get the bug...!

Jon.

It's easy ! Just set up a Paypal account and then use the sell wizard ! Make sure you upload some decent photos of what you are selling, and be truthful about the description.

I've sold quite a bit of kit on the bay, ranging from a cable to a 43" Plasma. Never had any issues, the feedback scores are useful and e bay seem to police the site well.

The place I would avoid is Gumtree; seems to be very little protection particularly for buyers, and Gumtree themselves are completely unhelpful if you do have an issue; they seem to parrot the Data Protection Act as some sort of catch all disclaimer for any need to take any action themselves againsts scammers and the dishonest.

List on a Thursday between 7pm and 10pm for 10 days with a starting price of 99p. Then all you will pay is 10% of the sale price. You will get the best sale price that way. 

If there's something you really have a minimum price for, list it buy it now or best offer a bit above that for 30 days. 

Do they charge extra for putting a reserve on the item?

It's free listing weekend at the moment, so you'll save a bit that way if you list as an auction rather than buy it now.

I usually list on a Sunday evening for 7 days, I think it's quite well known that Sunday evening is the best time to end the auction, more punters.

Have a good picture of the item, be honest when describing it, and be very careful not to make spelling mistakes in the title.

I've noticed that items that start at a low price, quite often finish at a higher price than those that started at a high price, but it's more of a risk that way, as you could end up getting a lot less than you wanted. There's always the reserve price option, but that's quite expensive to do. 

Also, do some research of the item that you want to sell, see what kind of price similar items are finishing at.

Good luck.

Yes

Don't use the reserve option, it's a waste of time. You may as well just state a high minimum bid price. What you will find though is that items with a high minimum bid dont tend to sell; it's a psychological thing, if the item starts of at say 99p, people think they can get a bargain, but if it starts off at say £99, then it puts people off bidding.

While you do run the technical risk of selling something for 99p that is worth a lot more, in reality market forces will prevail; there are so many people looking at the site that no one comes away with that outcome.

I'd feel a bit apprehensive about starting my CDP with 99p. It's in excellent condition with original box and packaging, remote and lead. When I visited the local dealer they offered me £200, if I purchased a ex-dem Naim CDP for £650. Maybe I'm optomistic, but I'm hoping for around that figure to go towards a new player.  

Either list it BINOBO at £250-£300 for 30 days. Can't remember the fees but it's not too much and you'll have peace of mind. 

Or list from 99p on a Thursday for 10 days - this gives you a Sunday ending but 2 weekends of coverage. I would be staggered if your bid wasn't many 10s of pounds going into the final weekend but if you're not happy with the number of watchers and the current bid you can always pull the listing. Plus you'll have got loads of offers to complete off eBay which will avoid the fees if you're happy to do that. Bear in mind most of the bidding will take place in the last few seconds or minutes, so don't be too worried if the price isn't where you want it as you near the end. IMO eBay reaches a sufficiently wide audience that well listed items reach a fair market value, sometimes well above. 

Cheers - yeah that seems a better option.

I'm confused, but I'm not even sure why...Is that different to listing on any other day between those times? I sometimes list on Thursday but only on the basis that it gives me two weekends...

Many weekends are free listing weekends now, and that works even if you set the listing up in advance.