Ebay selling

[robdedgar]

I tried to find a funder.  Everyone I talked to was not able to fund that price.  Since my supplier only took Paypal as a payment method I felt alot safer doing business with them, if the shipment was not as expected I would have filed a claim and refunded my customers.  But Paypal locked my account and really messed me up.

If it was google checkout or a regular merchant processor they would have never restricted my account and left me like a sitting duck in the water. 

[SomeBoy]

I sell flash drivers on the eBay, I buy them from a store and resell it for a bit higher price but still many people are buying it. Selling at eBay is very profitable if you know how.

[redhawk]

I have a supplier of kitchen faucets, he bought them for 12.00 each . He has about 300 of them. I would like to sell them on e-bay for 50.00 as they are the fancy ones with the pull out sprayer. I looked on e-bay and that is about the price range that they are at. He said that we can split the profits and I trust this guy completely as we do business together on a regular basis. But after 12% e-bay fees listing fees and shipping I wonder if there would be any profit left? What do you guys think?
Redhawk

[Mdhaas]

Have the buyer pay the shipping and add a $1.00 for handling to cover your time and costs. The only costs that you will have are your time (preparation) eBay posting/selling fees, and Paypal fees

[robdedgar]

Use a different payment processor than Paypal.  Paypal invites fraud to scandalous buyers.

[robdedgar]

Keep in mind that out of 300 you are going to have some buyer claim they did not receive thier item, even with a delivered tracking number.  They are going to raise a claim with Paypal and you are going to lose that purchase amount and the item.  It has happened to me numerous times with cell phone parts.  I lost everyone of those cases.  Well I got my final value fees credited back. Whooppee!!!

[Bluemoon06]

I sell flash drivers on the eBay, I buy them from a store and resell it for a bit higher price but still many people are buying it. Selling at eBay is very profitable if you know how.

So you basically buy a geek stick at retail prices and put it back on the market at a higher price and people buy it from you?  That is the question I had earlier about buying and selling cars.  When I buy a house I know how much it is worth because I have sold comps.  I know what every other house just like it in the same neighborhood sold for in the last 6 months.  When people buy other stuff like disk drives or cars or whatever, how do they know how much they should buy them for?  I sold my 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee on Craigslist and it was Blue Booked for $2,900 to $4,500.  I asked $4,500 and sold it in 3 days for full price and had others back-up offering.  I just picked the highest price and had people waiting in line to give it to me.

 My wife said it is because I am such a good sales person.  I doubt that but I still was amazed as the guy was dishing up the cash.  I had to keep a straight face.

[christopher w]

Moon,

What you have to take into account is that Ebay is national. Here in Dallas I can buy those large flash drives for nothing. Frys has them so cheap it is ridiculous. But someone in Topeka, Kansas (just an example) may not have more than one or two electronics stores in the area and my Ebay price could be the better deal.

Cars are more of a crapshoot. I had a friend that bought and sold cars in the DFW area and all he did was stick with Cadillacs. Anything between 8-10 years old. He knew them inside and out, up and down. He could tell you whatever you wanted to know about these certain model year Cadillacs. He brought in the same income as a part-time job and always got to drive a Caddy. He was not getting rich but it was paying for his vacations and he never had a car payment. Plus he enjoyed the wheeling and the dealing.

[Mdhaas]

My son and I dabble on Ebay as well.  We visit garage and yard sales looking for "gold".  It is our Friday and Saturday adventure.  We look for items that we can buy cheap and "flip" on Ebay.  It is pocket money, but it is teaching him how to do his research, look for the right deal, market it and close the deal.  He cleared $300 two weeks ago.  He thought he was Donald Trump. 

[christopher w]

Mark,

That is a great story. Those are the kinds of things that kids can only learn by doing. Instead of giving him a fish to eat you are teaching him to fish. Now he can eat for a lifetime.

[InvstrPaul]

I love buying stuff off ebay but I hate selling stuff on ebay.  There are just so many scams on there now-a-days with Paypal being the biggest one of all.  I just don't see how it's legal to steal my item from me and not pay for it even though you signed for it when it was delivered on your doorstep.  I mainly use ebay to find the market value of items.

I've been using craigslist lately to buy and sell a few items mainly phones and ipods.  You still get a lot of flakes but you aren't being stolen from and don't have all the ebay fees.