eBay and PayPal questions ?

[EVILDR235]

Years ago I use to sell stuff on eBay for fun and profit. I quit doing it about 10 years ago and closed my account (dumb move on my part). I have signed up again and want to start selling again. Do I have to use PayPal or can I just take other methods of payment ? Is the seller allowed to leave feedback still ? What are the Good, Bad and Ugly points of using eBay in this day and age ? Any tips or warnings would be helpful. Anyway to get back my old account and 100% good feedback ?

EvilDr235

[lptools]

Hello, Evildr225. I believe Paypal is mandatory.  I have repeat customers who I can communicate with off of ebay, and they pay by check.Seller can still leave feedback, but only a positive, or a neutral. The Good; a great way to reach out to a huge customer base. The Bad; Fees are high, around 10% on the item & shipping charges, plus the Paypal percentage. Shipping costs have gone up over the past 10 years , so try to get a current rate table for whatever shipper you plan to use. The Ugly;Every once in a while you will run into a buyer that is a real jerk, wanting a partial refund, item not as described, damage due to poor packaging, etc. I simply tell the buyer to repackage it as carefully as I had done, and when I receive the item back, I will refund the item price, and the original shipping price. Buyer has to pay the return shipping fee. Ebay tends to protect the buyer, rather than the seller. Then there is the problem of the shipper damaging the package, that is another can of worms for buyer & seller. I don't know the specifics on re-activating your old account.Regards, Lou

[amecks]

You can use eBay's Shipping Calculator.  But it looks like you have to sign in on your account to use it.  The advantage is that you can view the Post Office's rate and the eBay discounted postal rate. 
The calculator does not display rates for Regional Rate boxes.  I will usually post the rate as a Medium Flat Rate and if the buyer is not far away, then it will cost me less to ship.
So here's a link to the page but I suspect it will ask you to sign in first:
https://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator

[Ken W.]

I sell a lot on Ebay. I find the best time to sell is November until March when the weather is cold and everyone is inside. I also make my auctions end on Sundays @ 6:00 pm PST or 9:00 EST. That way the folks out west can see my auctions after  dinner time and the folks in the east can see them before bedtime. Most of my items are smaller and can fit into a small bubble mailer that $ 3.50 to ship First Class. I charge $ 4.00 to cover the cost of the envelope. The rest I ship in a small flat rate box for $ 7.25.  The only problem I see on Ebay is that there is too many of the same items on there at the same time and this seems to drive the price down. So , if there are 10 of the same items on Ebay I wont list mine until I see fewer of them. And if it's that common of an item , you may think about bundling it up with some other items to make it more appealing. 

   You cannot use Ebay without a PayPal account. I put in my description that you can contact me for other options. I very rarely get a person who wants to send a payment. And you must take returns. If you don't PayPal will put a freeze on your account  and the buyer will get a refund anyway. Ebay is defiantly not seller friendly. 

[EVILDR235]

Thank you all for your replies.

EvilDr235

[international3414]

also note that usps first class is up to 1 pound,,,15.9 ounces....thats new in Last few years

[Papaw]

I find it more and more difficult to sell these days than in years past. Granted, Ebay is more expensive with fees and Paypal fees, but where else can you reach such a large potential market ? Simply make sure your selling price and shipping are enough to cover the fees and hope for higher bids.

[rustcollector]

I always get a kick out of people complaining about ebay fees. Yes, they are higher than what they were at one time.... I challenge you to find anything that has gotten cheaper in the past 10 years (other than old tools it seems). Do any of you have a local auctioneer or seller of any sort that can sell stuff for you for less than 20% while reaching a worldwide audience with a fairly simple search feature?

Having said that, ebay sucks for many, many reasons, but fees are the least of it.

[lptools]

Hello, Rustcollector. I'm not complaining, just trying to get the evildr225 up to speed!!!!!! Al.thanks for reminding me about the Regional Rate Boxes, I just ordered a few each of the A & B sizes, great for items up to 15 pounds that won't fit in a small flat rate box. Regards, Lou