Any guides for eBay sales?

[stackerp5]

Hello fellow TSF members!

I don't know if there is a guide somewhere so apologies if this is a repeated question.

I wanted to know how to sell on eBay. Not only to sell, but to avoid being scammed, or to avoid receiving a couple of socks instead of my item if someone decides to return it.

Are there any tips as for lowering eBay fees? I've heard of that but I do not know how to make use of it.

I have 0 sales on my eBay, only purchases. Would it be better to start off small, selling small gold or silver coins? Or can I jump in straight away with selling graded or high cost items?

My plan is to record and photograph the entire packaging and posting process, and uploading it to YouTube as a shared-link only video on the day of postage. Which should cover me in case the buyer decides to say the package arrived empty or tampered with. If returns are to happen, the opening of the package will be recorded as well for my own protection. Do you think this is suitable?

Cheers in advance for any help!

[Zhorro]

22 minutes ago, stackerp5 said:

Hello fellow TSF members!

I don't know if there is a guide somewhere so apologies if this is a repeated question.

I wanted to know how to sell on eBay. Not only to sell, but to avoid being scammed, or to avoid receiving a couple of socks instead of my item if someone decides to return it.

Are there any tips as for lowering eBay fees? I've heard of that but I do not know how to make use of it.

I have 0 sales on my eBay, only purchases. Would it be better to start off small, selling small gold or silver coins? Or can I jump in straight away with selling graded or high cost items?

My plan is to record and photograph the entire packaging and posting process, and uploading it to YouTube as a shared-link only video on the day of postage. Which should cover me in case the buyer decides to say the package arrived empty or tampered with. If returns are to happen, the opening of the package will be recorded as well for my own protection. Do you think this is suitable?

Cheers in advance for any help!

If you are selling gold and silver, why not sell on this Forum?

[CazLikesCoins]

31 minutes ago, stackerp5 said:

Hello fellow TSF members!

I don't know if there is a guide somewhere so apologies if this is a repeated question.

I wanted to know how to sell on eBay. Not only to sell, but to avoid being scammed, or to avoid receiving a couple of socks instead of my item if someone decides to return it.

Are there any tips as for lowering eBay fees? I've heard of that but I do not know how to make use of it.

I have 0 sales on my eBay, only purchases. Would it be better to start off small, selling small gold or silver coins? Or can I jump in straight away with selling graded or high cost items?

My plan is to record and photograph the entire packaging and posting process, and uploading it to YouTube as a shared-link only video on the day of postage. Which should cover me in case the buyer decides to say the package arrived empty or tampered with. If returns are to happen, the opening of the package will be recorded as well for my own protection. Do you think this is suitable?

Cheers in advance for any help!

When you have the chance of riding in a rolls (here) why bum along in a  Citroen (eBay) Also less chance here of 'I visit you from airplane in sky. We do deal that day in carpark. You bring gold. I bring cash. Bring wife. I take wife too.' 

eBay is for selling old clothes and wellies as for as I'm concerned. 😆

[ant1882]

I have sold a few 1oz silver rounds on Ebay, but won't be doing so again.

Too many idiots to be selling precious metals on there IMO. 

[Darr3nG]

30 minutes ago, CazLikesCoins said:

eBay is for selling old clothes and wellies

I've only recently started selling on eBay, but will not take a chance selling PMs on there - I'm clearing out a bunch of old tech (hadn't considered my wellies  )

 

1 hour ago, stackerp5 said:

Are there any tips as for lowering eBay fees?

Almost every two weeks, they offer a promotion, 80% off final listing fees, which runs from Friday to Monday. I've been targeting this window, prepping my photos and listings beforehand.

This usually pops up on the homepage.

[CazLikesCoins]

9 minutes ago, Darr3nG said:

I've only recently started selling on eBay, but will not take a chance selling PMs on there - I'm clearing out a bunch of old tech (hadn't considered my wellies  )

I went through every room a couple of years ago and piled stuff together I hadn't used in years. Stuck it on eBay and was surprised how quickly it sold. Although I wouldn't list anything of much value on there. Too many scammers. Great for doing online car-booting to clear brick-a-brack though. imo

[Midasfrog]

Only sell gold and silver on ebay if your prepared to take 100% loss on the chin. 

It's not just the buyer that can mess you about Ebay also plays games with seller's . Putting restrictions on sellers and not releasing any funds from sales this happens often. 

[dicker]

Personally I would not go near eBay for sales.  For all sorts of good reasons.

TSF to my mind is the place for very very easy and trusted sales.  Plus no fees.  

[dicker]

That’s just me.  

Others do sell on eBay including dealers.  

But…..it’s significantly higher risk.

Ebay is however a good place to advertise coins if you own a business and subtlety direct people to your website.  I won’t name names but it has worked well for me previously - being able to reduce the cost of buying because a dealer isn’t paying fees.  

[Chorlton]

I have only sold cheaper PM’s on eBay and luckily had no issues. But did mention the packing process was filmed and also had taken a lot of photo’s.

[CazLikesCoins]

Fake gold is in abundance on eBay with virtually no remit for the buyer other than eBay refunding. I bet there's pots of eBay bought gold out there hidden away by happy buyers oblivious to their retirement plan being saturated by gold plate and tungsten. Some of it is so fake its screaming yet it still gets bids. I'm waiting for someone to really take the p and list a hand carved wooden coin sprayed gold. Someone'll buy it. 

[Gordy]

Others have said why not sell on here?

premiums are better on ebay if you price it right and always (ALWAYS) wait for the 80% offers

if you want to give it a bash do as you are doing with the proof, always post by either signed for/tracked/special delivery as you can track delivery

Anything under £50.00 send by signed for and charge buyer accordingly

over £50.00 but under £100.00 send by tracked 24/48

over £100.00 always send by special delivery

people will say only SD covers bullion whuich technically is correct but I have had silver 1oz coins go missing and have been re-imbursed by royal mail even after describing fully what was in package

Buy postage online and either go into post office branch or have it picked up from home as then it can be traced better, keep all emails in a folder and refer to the pick-ups and postage reciepts if anything goes missing

fortunately i have not had any buyers claiming fake goods, just one claiming through his bank for an unknown transaction which ebay covered as I described everything fully, ebay took a hit on that one, it was a Tavex 1g gold bar

other than that, it can be a black hole of c**p but also enjoyable until you get a bad apple

others sell on ebay and have had loads of success, others, not so

ultimately, its your choice and go with what you want to do but sticking to certain personal rules will make it better for you in the long run

hope that helps... 

[Gordy]

4 minutes ago, Gordy said:

Others have said why not sell on here?

premiums are better on ebay if you price it right and always (ALWAYS) wait for the 80% offers

if you want to give it a bash do as you are doing with the proof, always post by either signed for/tracked/special delivery as you can track delivery

Anything under £50.00 send by signed for and charge buyer accordingly

over £50.00 but under £100.00 send by tracked 24/48

over £100.00 always send by special delivery

people will say only SD covers bullion whuich technically is correct but I have had silver 1oz coins go missing and have been re-imbursed by royal mail even after describing fully what was in package

Buy postage online and either go into post office branch or have it picked up from home as then it can be traced better, keep all emails in a folder and refer to the pick-ups and postage reciepts if anything goes missing

fortunately i have not had any buyers claiming fake goods, just one claiming through his bank for an unknown transaction which ebay covered as I described everything fully, ebay took a hit on that one, it was a Tavex 1g gold bar

other than that, it can be a black hole of c**p but also enjoyable until you get a bad apple

others sell on ebay and have had loads of success, others, not so

ultimately, its your choice and go with what you want to do but sticking to certain personal rules will make it better for you in the long run

hope that helps... 

just to add, I sold a box of 20 Germania bars for £640.00 to a guy with no feedback score last week, squeaky bum time a bit but sent it special delivery so I knew i would be covered, feedback recieved and all good.. 

[stackerp5]

Thank you everyone very much for your valuable insight and tips!

I am looking to shift couple graded proofs, some other items, but the market here is too small and not interested at the moment. My thought process was that selling on e-bay would be faster because I would reach a larger amount of people. But at the same time I still do not feel confident enough selling on eBay due to the horrible stories that we hear about every now and then...

[Coverte]

5 hours ago, dicker said:

That’s just me.  

Others do sell on eBay including dealers.  

But…..it’s significantly higher risk.

Ebay is however a good place to advertise coins if you own a business and subtlety direct people to your website.  I won’t name names but it has worked well for me previously - being able to reduce the cost of buying because a dealer isn’t paying fees.  

My first advice is don't !!

But @dicker makes a good point; my son has a very specific niche of items he sells on his own website and does pretty well.

He does however, on occasion, put a few items on ebay, where when any purchase is sent out, he includes a leaflet, business card and similar to drive that traffic to his own site.

As one might expect however, the standard old 80:20 rule applies, the (well under) 20% of his ebay sales, cause (well over) 80% of issues which may come up - unless desperate - avoid the notion for the marginal benefit you may gain.

[Shinus73]

7 hours ago, CazLikesCoins said:

When you have the chance of riding in a rolls (here) why bum along in a  Citroen (eBay) Also less chance here of 'I visit you from airplane in sky. We do deal that day in carpark. You bring gold. I bring cash. Bring wife. I take wife too.' 

eBay is for selling old clothes and wellies as for as I'm concerned. 😆

I’ve been buying and selling coins as a hobby for 15 years, usually only 5 or 6 items a month. The only platform where you are guaranteed a sale when you need it, at somewhere approaching the going rate, is eBay. 
I love the forum and am a long standing member, but selling on here (and similar forums / Facebook groups) is increasingly painful. Things will only sell quickly at rock bottom prices and often not at all.

[Shinus73]

57 minutes ago, stackerp5 said:

Thank you everyone very much for your valuable insight and tips!

I am looking to shift couple graded proofs, some other items, but the market here is too small and not interested at the moment. My thought process was that selling on e-bay would be faster because I would reach a larger amount of people. But at the same time I still do not feel confident enough selling on eBay due to the horrible stories that we hear about every now and then...

I guarantee eBay will be quicker and you will sell for more (when using selling offers, but you may have to make a few sales without, before you receive these) Always post signed for or Special Delivery with adequate insurance, packaged well / securely, and you won’t have many problems.

[iacabu]

You just need to keep an eye out for the deals like £1 listings or 80% off fees. 

I've recently sold a few plated and base metal items on there with some success. I was super paranoid about being scammed though. 

[Jimmock]

4 minutes ago, Shinus73 said:

I’ve been buying and selling coins as a hobby for 15 years, usually only 5 or 6 items a month. The only platform where you are guaranteed a sale when you need it, at somewhere approaching the going rate, is eBay. 
I love the forum and am a long standing member, but selling on here (and similar forums / Facebook groups) is increasingly painful. Things will only sell quickly at rock bottom prices and often not at all.

Going to agree with above comments,been a member on here for years,and it was the only place I sold items,until a couple of months ago,when I thought I'd give eBay a go,as some items weren't moving on here. So basically had £800 worth of sales,and the only pain in the arse is that they held onto the money from my first sale for 10 days,as it was my first sale. Maybe I've just been lucky,who knows. 😁

[johniom]

It should be 80% off final value fees this weekend starting tomorrow. Give it a go and see what happens.  I hadn't sold coins on ebay before but listed a few coins on there the last few months and all except one has sold within a month. My photos are OK but far from amazing - I think taking good photos will make selling easier.

Personally I find selling on ebay a fun hobby but you have to take the rough with the smooth and I would not list any gold coins larger than 1/4 oz gold on there, just to cover against total loss. However I've sold a few tubes of silver coins with no trouble (so far). 

If you buy discounted stamps from one of the guys on the forum then that helps to save money and/or undercut other sellers.

[Sc391]

I have sold a number of items over the years on eBay.  Despite the tales of occasional negative experiences of people I have had decent success.  I absolutely do not take returns and am a bit cautious with new buyers.  The few scammers I’ve encountered were shot down by eBay seller support.

Fees are not my favorite, but 13.5% is lower than the buyer and seller fees from the big auction houses or the RM auction currently in progress.

Also much larger viewing base for eBay than most forums.  
 

I’m a big fan of this forum for info and collector chatter, but have never tried selling here since I’m from the U.S. 

[TeaTime]

I hear a lot of stories regarding scams and rip-offs related to Ebay...

This is my perspective - I have been selling there on and off for about 15 years and cannot recall any time anyone has tried to scam me. I've had a couple of returns which have gone through smoothly (and even received good feedback from the buyers) when there has been a question regarding what i have sold. One example was a wristwatch that didn't change the date correctly when tested by the buyer. I accepted the return and refunded upon receipt of the goods - all the while maintaining good communication. The watch was faulty.

I have sold a lot of silver and a few gold coins and never had an issue. In general at around 70-100% more than i would have got from a dealer.

I have no doubt that there are people out there using Ebay to scam a living but, in my experience, they are a tiny minority and not truly indicative of buyers in general. Of the millions of sales that go through every day you never hear a word. One scammer though makes headlines.

The only advice i would give would to be brutally accurate in all descriptions and ensure that whatever you are selling is photographed from every conceivable angle !

If you assume that 1 in 20 sales (an example only, not indicative of my reality) results in either a spurious claim, charge-back, not received notification etc etc then it would still be advantageous to use the Ebay selling platform over a dealer/forum sale even if you were getting a mere 10% more per sale.

A small caveat - i have only sold up to £1000 in value for any single item so my experience may not be indicative of real high-end stuff... 

 

[n1k0s]

Does any of you have experience with catawiki.com ? 

It is also an online auction, like ebay.

They have a variety of PMs on offer which I am watching but I have never bought or sold. 

[Orpster]

When you list on eBay make sure you set buyer requirements:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/bmgt/buyerrequirements

Its not as powerful as it used to be as at one point you could block buyers with less than xx feedback, but I don't think it is possible to do that anymore unfortunately

[Midasfrog]

Here's an ebay selling story 😃

I sold two sovereign's on separate listings both to the same buyer. So just to be extra careful I posted them in two packages both with SD

I double checked the address and posted them of quickly.

Everything seamed ok for a couple of weeks until I got home and found that the post office had returned both packages with stickers on saying this address does not exist . Luckily the buyers postman had put them back into the returns system.

I checked the address on ebay again and the buyer had changed the address to an Argos in Sainsburys 😳

So after two weeks and not hearing anything from the buyer about his items not turning up I decided to give a full refund on both sovereigns.

Could be someone laundering money and wishing to keep quite.