Stupid eBay mistakes...

Check out my auction...

Vintage 486 Motherboard w CPU 8 RAM Sticks and 8 Slot Expansion Board | eBay

486 Motherboard with a ceramic CPU, 8 pieces of RAM, heavy old-school motherboard. This is what I love to find. Kept hearing about their resale value on here so I thought I'd try to sell one on eBay. Started it at $4.99 + 9.99 for priority shipping for a total of 14.98. Went to print a priority label and it's 13.40. That means I sold the motherboard, CPU, and RAM for 1.58. CRAP!!!

Next auction ends...

Vintage Polaroid Impulse 600 Pop Up Flash Next to New w Bag 1988 | eBay

Vintage Polaroid camera that was bought by a local city hall and then included in a lot I bought on GovDeals. This has only taken 7 pictures in it's whole life and was immaculate. I started this gem at .99 plus 9.99 for priority shipping thinking it would take off. Some luck guy bought it and no one else bid on it. Sold for 10.98. Priority shipping costed me 12.00. I paid them 1.02 to let them allow me to get it, post it, pack it, and ship it to them!

LESSONS LEARNED...

1.) I NO LONGER SHIP PRIORITY!!!

2.) I no longer commit to shipping USPS, and my new policy is that I choose the carrier.

3.) Whoever said "Start the auction at .99 and let the market determine the value" has better luck than me! From now on, I will be selling for the least amount of money that I'd take for something instead of hoping it'll take off.

QUESTIONS...

1.) I shipped through eBay, how much do I have to ship through my newly created USPS account to get a preferred rate?
2.) Anybody see anything I could've done to my listing to make it better/more appealing?


I am ok with making mistakes because I am learning. These are small mistakes in the big picture but they still hurt and hopefully someone else can benefit from my boo-boo.

I will start at .99 cents or even .01 sometimes but I always charge the buyer shipping.....I usually add a few pounds to the item to make sure I am not losing money....If they don't like my shipping costs they don't have to buy

If you shipped through Ebay, you are already getting reduced rates. To get even cheaper you have to have power seller or top rated seller status. The rates at that point are really good but there are several requirements you have to meet and maintain.

If you do priority, use flat rate boxes as they are cheaper and weight does not matter up to 70 pounds.

My general rule for shipping is if I cannot ship it first class package(has to be 13oz or less) then it goes fedex. Fedex is almost always cheaper for packages unless they can fit in a usps small flat rate, or are really heavy.

The best advice I can give you is to know how much it will cost to ship before you list it. Also, if you do start an auction at .99, you can always set a reserve price. That way you can prevent items for selling less than a certain amount.

When I have a larger item I check out priority mail and parcel select. One will be cheaper than the other, and they both seem to be fast shipping for me.
One or the other comes right in around what I estimated for the package shipping.
I weight it and round up to the next pound to cover packing/wrapping.

I start a little high on my price then if it does not sell mark it down a little and run it thru another 7 day auction.
I don't go any lower than what I'll accept for a price

Consider opening a fedex account, which is also linked thru ebay. I believe they give up to a 30 percent discount on shipping if you sign up thru their website. Auburn is right, shipping thru fedex is almost always cheaper in my experience and faster too. I went to my local post office and inquired about sending a package to California. Shipping would have been $32 and some change with an expected delivery of 10 plus days. Took it to fedex they charged me $25 and it was delivered in 7 days, and that's before I even signed up for an account with them. USPS is good for flat rate and that's about it, in my opinion.

Thanks for reminding me to search even harder for some one to be my ebay proxy. To many details and ways for things to go wrong for me to deal with it on my own!

I miss my eBay store an personal website at times like this. I don't miss the aggravation tho that came along with it.

Note to self for 5/11/13 - Find a eBay prox..Asap. :lol:

Sirscrapalot - Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant. - Mitchell Kapor

Did you know that Ebay charges a final value fee on shipping? You probably sold both items for a loss.

You will lose a few bucks after ebay gets it cut (including shipping).

The one major mistake you did with that 486 board was not to list the manufacturer and model of the system. People will spend a few bucks for a Gateway 2000 model xxx OEM board (for example) then some generic OEM board that might not fit their case (that is not a standard AT motherboard that people usually want). If you had the system and can keep track of what board came out of it then you will do better on ebay (buyers don't like to guess). You might have been better off offering the system complete and shown as working.

Don't forget to take off your PayPal fees. I think you have the right idea of starting the bidding at the lowest price you would take. Just remember the final value and paypal fees when doing your calculations to get that price.

How are ya'll effectively estimating shipping before the auction ends? With no clue what zip code I'm going to be shipping to will be, estimating seems out of the question!

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Originally Posted by burrage1

How are ya'll effectively estimating shipping before the auction ends? With no clue what zip code I'm going to be shipping to will be, estimating seems out of the question!

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Easy. I'm in Michigan. Furthest point for me to ship is California as I only go to 48 contiguous.

Remember the TV show? I calculate postage to 90210 and base it on that.

You can use the Ebay shipping calculator to figure the shipping rates:

http://payments.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAP...pingCalculator

Use the Paid at Store Rates for your listing. This calculator does not show the Regional Rate Boxes. Once the buyer has paid, you can check the price of the Regional box when you print the label through PayPal. Depending on the buyers location, you can ship Regional Priority Mail Boxes for up to half of the Parcel Select or regular Priority Mail, even Flat Rate. When you print your label, don't check the "Display postage value on label" box. If the buyer sees how much the shipping actually is, they may ask for a refund or ding you on your DSR's. Sometimes that will give you a little extra money to offset the Ebay fees. The regional boxes come in several different sizes and are free, but there are weight restrictions. Order all your boxes ahead of time so you will be ready, most are not available from your local Post Office. Selling on Ebay is a continuing education and after 14 years, We are still learning.

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Originally Posted by burrage1

How are ya'll effectively estimating shipping before the auction ends? With no clue what zip code I'm going to be shipping to will be, estimating seems out of the question!

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On a switch box I sold, I weighed it and rounded up to the next even pound then looked at the different USPS classes for the cheapest rate. Then figured a nice sounding # close to what the shipping would be, example I priced it as 6.95 shipping and the actual label was 7.12. I just ate a few cents but the customer paid for most of it and it was a fair shipping price. Not like some people that charge you 15.00 or 19.00 shipping on a 3.00 item, that chaps my hide!!

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Originally Posted by BurlyGuys

Remember the TV show? I calculate postage to 90210 and base it on that.

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Funny...as that's always been the zip code I have have used for shipping calculations from Indy, and found out recently the girls at my local post office also use it.

Put the shipping price in there then click the box that says (same price to all buyers) that way you don't have to check the zip everytime.

lately in my buys from ebay i have to pay the postman more cash for the shipping.

i ship about 2000 items a year from ebay sales, 0 sales are auctions its all buy it now with free shipping, shipping keeps going up so i have to adjust prices accordingly

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Originally Posted by junkerjake

Use the Paid at Store Rates for your listing. This calculator does not show the Regional Rate Boxes.

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True the Calculator does not list the Regional Rate box's as it does the Flat Rate Ones
BUT
You can get the Calculator to show the Regional Rates because they are based on weight
A >> Ships at 2 pound rate >> Max weight is 15 pounds
B >> Ships at 4 pound rate >> Max weight is 20 pounds
C >> Ships at 17 pound rate >> Max weight is 25 pounds

So if your plans are to use a Regional Rate B box and the item weighs 10 pounds
Tell the calculator the item weighs 4 pounds and it will show the correct price
DO NOT do this if you offer International shipping as it will GREATLY reduce the price the International Buyer should be paying

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BurlyGuys

Easy. I'm in Michigan. Furthest point for me to ship is California as I only go to 48 contiguous.

Remember the TV show? I calculate postage to 90210 and base it on that.

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I only go to 48 contiguous. << WHY? >> Based on a zip code of 48327 , 28 or 29
If using FedEx or UPS I Understand
it cost more
BUT If using USPS >> Same cost to ship to 90210 as to all the other zone 8's >> Hawaii, Alaska and all the Territories like Guam and Puerto Rico

I would not ship Parcel Select or Media Mail to these locations because way TOO slow BUT Priority gets there just as fast as to 90210

i ship car parts to puerto rico alot, they must have trouble getting parts there, i have had to cancel a couple sales because they expected that my free shipping applies to them

jghilino

You are one of the few that live in a sweet (shipping) spot >> Being in the center of the Country you have no Zone 8's to the lower 48

So it would make sense for shipping even using USPS to Exclude Hawaii, Alaska and the Territories

If using FedEx or UPS there is a Place to add a surcharge for shipping to Hawaii & Alaska

i usually just contact the buyer and see if theyre willing to pay the overage if there is one, had a couple transactions go south but it is what it is, its not exactly easy to add a shipping surcharge to 600 items

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Originally Posted by jghilino

its not exactly easy to add a shipping surcharge to 600 items

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WHY Not, Use the Bulk edit feature and change them all at once

You can do any of the following >>
http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/johnc4x4...it_choices.PNG

After you choice >> Shipping (Domestic)
The following box pops up and I have highlighted where you put a check mark for adding the surcharge
http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/johnc4x4/Bulk_Edit_1.PNG

Then you enter the amount >> I always use $25.00
and hit the blue button on the bottom >> Save and close
http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/johnc4x4/Bulk_Edit_2.PNG

All the listings are updated at once
OK, Little white lie >> I think you can only do about 200 at a time
So you would have to do the process 3 times to cover the 600 listings
Total time start to finish estimated at 10 - 15 mins

Otherwise you risk that guy in PR winning and when you say >> Sorry, Shipping cost more to you << Buyer leaves you a Neg

because theres so many different sizes and weights of items, the bulk edit feature wouldn't work, i have used that tool in the past to change stuff like return policies

i dont care about bad feedback, it means nothing against the volume of transactions i run, i could get 50 a year and still stay over 98% positive

there are top rated sellers with 10,000+ negs, feedback is a volume game, thats all it is