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It was only a $50 lens. It’s just the kit lens you get when you buy a camera. I probably have at most $5 in it. Certainly not worth repairing. I did sell it as a lens in working condition, since I tested it myself and it was working. He probably broke it or maybe it was on its last legs.
I’m guessing he knows he is outside the return window and is just trying to intimidate me to refund him by threatening to open a case. Since it sounds like he can’t do that on eBay, I’ll just wait and watch to see if he opens a Paypal case. He didn’t mention PayPal at all in his message, so hopefully he is not aware of that platforms’ longer return period.
In the meantime, I’m going to “run silent.”
Thanks everyone for the quick archive. It’s very helpful.
The time investment would be way too much for a reseller, but I could see a collector doing this to expand the collection on the cheap.
I recently sold a really beat up pair of Air Jordan basketball shoes I had worn since high school for about $15. I mean, even the soles were coming off (hence why I finally retired them). I’m guessing the same pair in good or new condition would go for $150 or more. It would be kind of cool if the buyer restored my old shoes.
On large/heavy items, FedEx ground is almost always significantly cheaper than any option from USPS. I often save $10 to $15 by using FedEx Ground rather than Parcel Select or Priority.
I finally contacted GoDaddy customer service. Apparently, I must have accidentally selected the option to automatically classify all future transactions from that portion of the split transaction as “Transfer In.” Customer service fixed it easily.
Lesson: Be careful when autoclassifying transactions.
I pay myself each week and make sure to set aside some extra money for taxes. I use some of the profits to buy more inventory, but it’s not a large percentage because I find stuff pretty cheap. The biggest limiting factor for growing my business is time, not money.
40 years later, even if these end up reproduced and posted online, chances are no one is going to recognize these women unless they are celebrities. If the photos were nudes and obviously meant for private use, then I would destroy them. However, these sound fairly tame. Do you think some woman is going to get fired from her job because a decades old photo of her in a bikini is posted online?
Sell the photos, make some money, and don’t worry about it.
Maybe you could sell the watch through some kind of high end auction company. I don’t if I’d trust selling something that valuable through eBay. Seems like that category would be rife with scammers. It might be worth taking less through another venue in order to avoid the potential hassle. It looks like you have done your homework, but if someone did try to scam you, you could be looking at major legal fees and certainly lots of time to try and get justice for it.
I’m happy they extended the deadline. For about 4 months I put watermarks on all my photos (because eBay promoted that as a good idea). I’m hoping all or at least most of my listings from that time period sell before the new policy takes effect. It would really suck to have to photograph everything again.
You know, I used to try to fill every possible character in my listing title, but have backed off that to some degree. I think the key is to make sure every word is relevant. I only use every character when I can come up with words that will actually help buyers find the item. I see no advantage to adding words like “cool,” “l@@k,” “EUC,” or other descriptors that are fairly generic. Keep it simple and easy for the buyer to read.
I would suggest investing in signature confirmation, just to protect yourself. Most reshipping companies are fine, but I had one in California that tried to scam me and filed a Paypal case saying I shipped them an empty box. The actual buyer was in Korea. It was a mess that might have been avoided with signature confirmation.
With slow selling vintage items, it often makes sense to take a fair offer so you can clear it out quickly. I’ve kicked myself more than a few times for rejecting decent offers on weird items. Offer them the bottles at 25 each and then invest that money in new inventory so you can make even more money.
As for private buyers, they probably just care about personal privacy online. Besides, I don’t think vintage shampoo is a product category that would be appealing to scammers, if that is what worries you. This is just a buyer looking to get a discount on a niche item by buying in bulk.
My grandma was an artist and she made basically custom pillowcases to protect some of the nicer framed artwork. She would also stand up artwork next to the wall and use pieces of cardboard to separate each item and avoid damage.
In reference to non-commodity items:
If you price your items (moderately) higher than the competition, you can attract certain buyers. The price conveys higher quality and/or better service. Also, high quality pictures can help convey this.
For example, the other day I listed a vintage percolator from the 60s. Every sold listing was in the $50 range or less. Current listings (10 to 15 sellers) were anywhere from $30 to $50. I priced mine at $75 and it sold the next day. It was the highest price for this item by about $25 and was probably equal in condition to most of the others. The only difference was a higher price and a bit better pictures.
Another example is a brand-new baseball cap that had the logo for NBC. I picked up 10 of these hats brand new at a local flea market. Another seller (who lives nearby) also had apparently picked up the same hats (way more than I had). He was selling them at about $8 for a set of two of the hats (with free shipping). I sold mine for $25 each plus shipping. Now, to be fair, I’m certain he sold more of these items than I did, but I still managed to sell all of mine at my asking price, even though the buyer could have gotten 2 of the identical product from him for way less. However, I had better pictures and my price conveyed a higher quality product.
Anyway, my point is don’t always race to the bottom. Be willing to price high. Some buyers seem to seek out sellers that have higher prices.
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe if the buyer opens a Paypal case, they will be required to:
1. Return the item before receiving a refund (just like eBay).
2. Pay the return shipping, even if the seller is at fault. Unlike eBay, Paypal always requires the buyer to foot the bill for return shipping.
