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I had to laugh at Ryanne’s comment about taking good photos. I have seen so many listings with awful photos. Today, I was looking for some used t-shirts and I swear, this one listing had only 2 photos, both taken in a very cluttered room, and one had someone’s hind end in the photo. Lol!
I had some good sales this past week, and the stay at home order has finally been lifted for my state, so I visited a thrift store. The employees didn’t sound too happy about being there (not that I blame them).
I had a frustrating global shipping return. This isn’t the first time this has happened and I am going to remove global shipping from the commodity items I sell. Used items, ok. But it’s not worth it to me money wise to pay for return shipping international and they file an item not described, when they just want a free return.
Love the shipping talk. Since I sell mostly commodity items, I feel I need to offer free shipping. If you are competing with 10 other sellers and you are charging shipping, even if the price is lower, the free shipping sellers get the sale. It’s crazy but like what was said upthread, people don’t like to add the price and shipping. They want the bottom line. Anyway, I just factor in a shipping fee with the price.
I think it makes perfect sense to charge shipping if you are selling one of a kind items. It’s just not easy for me to come across. But the good news is our governor has finally lifted the stay at home order so maybe thrift stores will be opening up.
Regarding your sewing machine customer, I’m not sure if ebay sends a reminder. Like, if you want to return this item, you have 10 days left or something. Or he could just be one of those annoying customers.
Christine, it’s the item specifics that slow me down on ebay. I was testing out mercari because it is supposed to be easier, and overall I think it is. I will ship with paypal from now on.
Thanks Mike for the link, that looks like a valuable website.
Jay, mercari makes listing easier especially if you are a mobile user. But their shipping suggestions are strange. And overpriced. I am going to use paypal to ship and just offer free shipping.
Ah, thanks. $17.00 to ship a pair of used shoes sounds crazy to me. I just shipped a pair of nikes and it was 9.50. Even without the ebay discount, it wouldn’t be that high.
I just found it odd that fed ex would be the suggested shipper. I tend to think of them for heavy things like furniture. Plus, as a customer I have never had good luck with them. Honestly, it was just a test. I have been doing good with selling shoes on ebay, and heard mercari was easier. The listing and fees are, but the shipping is wacky.
That’s interesting about the facebook shop idea. I am a little conflicted because like you, I really don’t like that website. I only keep my account because a) I have friends who insist on using it and it’s the only way to keep up with their family life. And b) I use it to sell ads for my other business.
On the other hand, it’s a huge platform and you might as well go to where the traffic is. I do wonder whether our name and location would be displayed on shops or whether we could pick a username. That’s the main reason I haven’t tried selling on their marketplace.
Simon, I have had quite a few international buyers too. The last one was in canada, and I thought everything available here they could get there but nope. I sold a bedding set that they can’t buy in canada. For some reason I do pretty good internationally, probably about 30-40% of my orders go through global shipping.
One complaint I have about ebay buyers is even if you don’t offer the best offer option, you still get people messaging you to do so. It’s annoying.
I had a vero slap recently too. Don’t list waterpiks, fyi. I now check the vero list on ebay before listing anything. It’s a pain but worth it in the end.
vero.ebay.com
The thrift stores in my aeea are still closed, as my state has the stay at home order extended to the end of the month.
I really like the idea of managed payments and how they will change billing. I never liked getting an invoice at the end of the month and trying to figure out fees. It just makes more sense to have them automatically deduct fees before the money even gets to you. I focus on net profit over sales. Lots of people like to say i sold $x but what is really important is what you take home. Especially if you sell RA items where the margins are thin.
Enjoyed the podcast as always
Ah, that explains why I haven’t had the managed payments invite yet. I sell some used auto parts that my partner finds. Never tried selling adult magazines tho I used to see them at yard sales.
I think most of the youtubers (scavenger life, excluded) are all about selling their program or course. “I can tell you what to do for $500”. It’s ridiculous.
About the grocery talk, I shop at krogers for my groceries and see employees with a little cart and scanner, shopping for customers. It’s safer for them, as I see people in the store not following rules (no mask, not staying 6ft apart, going wrong way in aisles, etc). I would sign up for it but we don’t have a car. I have used instacart but you pay for the convenience, with a delivery fee and tip.
As for the slow shipping, I have had a couple of buyers message me with complaints, even though I had changed my handling time to 5 days to make up for the shipping time. But it’s still been an issue. I feel like if you buy something with free shipping, you don’t have a right to complain if it takes more than 2 days to get there.
Everything is still shut down here, so no thrifting. I have been flipping RA items. My partner was called back to work this week. Apparently it is an essential job, even though it is factory work. I am dubious about how essential it really is. Everyone has to have their temperature taken prior to entering the building, and wear masks. I hope this doesn’t continue into summer, because wearing a mask in 90 degree heat will not be good.
I haven’t been invited into managed payments yet and I am going to wait til the last minute until they iron out the kinks. The fact that it effects global shipping is what concerns me. It would be nice to know if they will subtract their fee before depositing in your account. I guess I am just used to the Amazon method, it makes it easier for me to see what my numbers are. I think etsy does it the same. Enjoyed the podcast as always, thanks guys.
I agree. I tried the local pickup for some furniture we were selling before we moved. I had several people who thought it meant free shipping. One of the items was a very heavy Paul Bunyan bed. I think it’s because ebay shows it as free local pickup (or at least they did the last time I tried it). People see “free” and nothing else, I guess.
Thank you for your help. That’s what I did. I had put in the shipping information that it didn’t ship to California, but I don’t think many people read that or even the description half the time.
These are items I have been buying at retail and flipping. I was selling 3 to 4 a day, so I asked the retailer if they did shipping and they told me they don’t ship to California due to Prop 65. That’s when I checked and found out it shouldn’t be sold in California because it has a Prop 65 warning on the package.
