STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Lilykind · Hermes

couple ebay questions from nervous novice

erin · Chanel

Lilykind wrote:

Would anyone buy from a seller with little or no feeback though? Should I build it up by getting small things? Not sure how to go about it...

gotta start somewhere, right? absolutely start with small things and work from there...

i'll admit, sometimes it's a hassle, but i've never had a huge problem on ebay. (knock on wood)

theotherjess · Chanel

I've never sold on ebay but a good way to build up your feedback is to buy or sell books/cds/dvds from half.com which is a sister site. HTH!

Aurora · Marc Jacobs

theotherjess wrote:

I've never sold on ebay but a good way to build up your feedback is to buy or sell books/cds/dvds from half.com which is a sister site. HTH!

yup this is what i did when i was considering selling on ebay. I still sell on half.com but I haven't ventured over to ebay yet. Most people on half.com are willing to leave feedback also so its a good place to start.

FashionPrincess · Hermes

Honestly I'd buy a few things on ebay first to build up your feedback (and it's a good excuse to get a few things, hehe). And of course put a link here for your auctions, I'm sure we'd all trust you even though you have low/no feedback

exsupahero · Kate Spade

you should consider making tracking numbers mandatory for your auctions. there are lots and lots of scammers out there who'll file a chargeback even though they've already received the item. this actually happen recently to my bf (and many times before); some chick claimed he didn't send out her package and when he checked the tracking number, it showed that it already arrived. seriously, when someone files something against you in paypal, tracking numbers is pretty much the only way you'll be protected. paypal won't care if the buyer is lying and you could come up with tons of answers, if they don't see some type of proof that it arrived, you'll be screwed out. it definitely makes the buyer look stupid when you catch them in their scamming ways...

and i think that people would be willing to buy from someone with little to no feedback, especially if you take good pictures and descriptions. like erin said, you gotta start somewhere!

zeitgeist4 · Gucci

No advice, but wanted to let you know I'm in the same boat. I'm too scared to use eBay! It seems like more of a headache than it's worth. Plus all I need is another place to shop.

I bet if you posted links in ST you would get some buyers who aren't scared of zero feeback.

Elle · Hermes

I'm currently building my feedback by buying things so I can sell . I'm waiting for 2 feedbacks from items I've bought recently, which will bump be up to 11 positive feedbacks. I think low positive feedback is worse than no feedback at all, personally!

I second the mandatory tracking/insurance - it's cheap and that way you're much less likely to end up losing something to scammers. You could also try buying a couple inexpensive items in the next few weeks to get just a couple positive transactions under your belt.

Also, I would only accept Paypal as payment. If you buy insurance on all your items, they'll be able to back you up if something goes wrong.

-- Edited by Elle at 12:51, 2006-05-15

flknight24 · Dooney & Bourke

I'll probably end up jinxing myself but I've only had good experiences on ebay, buying and selling. I built up my feedback by buying, which I think is also a good way to get to understand ebay and how it works. Then, I started selling last year and I've made a decent amount of $ selling things that I don't want and/or use anymore. It's a great way to clean out your closet and make a little cash, all at the same time. I do always send everything out with delivery confirmation so I'm able to track the item and I've never had a problem. My thought process is that even if I were to have a problem it's not a big deal to me because I'm really only selling things that I don't want. If it weren't for ebay I would be giving them away for free. So, even if I end up having to deal with one or two people who might claim they didn’t receive a package that I know I sent and I have to give them their $ back, I'm still ahead of the game. I think you should go for it, most likely you'll gain more than you lose.

Shello · Kenneth Cole

I recently sold some stuff on Ebay and had no feedback and it wasn't a problem. I started with things like text books though, where something like authenticity isn't too much of an issue.

mirbear · BCBG

My feedback is about 64. I built it up. What people seem to really like is fast shipping, so don't wait...get your stuff out as quickly as possibly. I always wrap my stuff with a bit of tissue paper & a cute ribbon..it cuts off my profits, but not much when I avg it out...and it helps. People seem to love that.:)

Cortney1982 · Chanel

People bought from me with hardly any feedback. I never had anybody scam me yet, just a few who didn't pay. But I will say people are catching on to the damn paypal chargeback scamming so there is always that to worry about.

honey · Gucci

a little off topic, but i've started using paypal to ship things. it actually is slightly cheaper than just going to the post office (esp. since delivery confirmation is free), and i like how it keeps a record of everything i shipped.

scarlett · Marc Jacobs

i only ship with paypal labels -- granted, i only have 13 transactions under my belt so i'm still a novice too.

lilykind, i started first by buying a couple things before trying to sell, and the first few things i sold were inexpensive: first i got a paperback book for like 75 cents, and my first item sold was a shirt that went for only $2. i wanted to start small so that i could learn on items that weren't worth a lot.