Selling on eBay or Amazon

[Nameless 24]

Hello guys!

I want to sell a bunch of games on either eBay or Amazon, however I am a n00b when it comes to this type of thing.

What should I expect when I want to sell a game? What price do I charge on delivery, and what if I am too busy to send the game to the new owner on time?

Tips and help would be appreciated.

[Happy Cat]

I've only sold on ebay once before.

hmmm

ebay charges you a service fee separate from shipping, it usually tells you the cost of shipping something before you put your item/items up for sale, and you should be able to decide what you want to price something at then.

you need to get your order sent out on time, you could probably say something like "will ship within 24 hours of order being placed" but generally you want to get it in the post ASAP.

also be aware, that people can send a request to paypal if they never receive their package, and paypal will completely refund them and screw you over so just be aware of that. it happens to people sometimes. so make sure you get tracking and possibly package insurance depending on how much you are sending, cause someone might try to screw you over.

another tip would be to see what price comparable items are selling for

[Centrale]

Hello guys!

I want to sell a bunch of games on either eBay or Amazon, however I am a n00b when it comes to this type of thing.

What should I expect when I want to sell a game? What price do I charge on delivery, and what if I am too busy to send the game to the new owner on time?

Tips and help would be appreciated.

Too busy to send the game to the owner on time? No way. You're making a legally binding transaction, there's not going to be any room for "I was too busy to hold up my end of the deal." If you're just starting out on eBay, you won't have any established reputation, so some buyers (serious collectors in particular) will avoid you outright. And if you are late sending off what people have paid you for, your reputation will plummet fast. Don't even mess around with selling on eBay if you're not committed to following through.

Check with the postal service and major shippers like UPS and FedEx to calculate shipping costs. If you use PayPal, which I recommend because they saved my ass when someone tried to scam me, then you'll be required to get a tracking number. That will protect both you and the buyer if the package should get lost or damaged.

[Nameless 24]

I've only sold on ebay once before.

hmmm

ebay charges you a service fee separate from shipping, it usually tells you the cost of shipping something before you put your item/items up for sale, and you should be able to decide what you want to price something at then.

you need to get your order sent out on time, you could probably say something like "will ship within 24 hours of order being placed" but generally you want to get it in the post ASAP.

also be aware, that people can send a request to paypal if they never receive their package, and paypal will completely refund them and screw you over so just be aware of that. it happens to people sometimes. so make sure you get tracking and possibly package insurance depending on how much you are sending, cause someone might try to screw you over.

another tip would be to see what price comparable items are selling for

Ah I see. That would make sense to cover yourself in case anything goes wrong.

Although the only problem with my situation is that my working hours and the postal hours are so incomparable that I would have to get it done in the weekend. What if I end a bid on Monday but couldn't get it out until at least Saturday? That's the thing I worry about (especially when you hear that Auction Times are restrictive unless you pay!)

Too busy to send the game to the owner on time? No way. You're making a legally binding transaction, there's not going to be any room for "I was too busy to hold up my end of the deal." If you're just starting out on eBay, you won't have any established reputation, so some buyers (serious collectors in particular) will avoid you outright. And if you are late sending off what people have paid you for, your reputation will plummet fast. Don't even mess around with selling on eBay if you're not committed to following through.

Check with the postal service and major shippers like UPS and FedEx to calculate shipping costs. If you use PayPal, which I recommend because they saved my ass when someone tried to scam me, then you'll be required to get a tracking number. That will protect both you and the buyer if the package should get lost or damaged.

I didn't mean it to excuse the laziness, it's a fear I have that by any situation to which I wouldn't be able to get the package out on time. (since you know...things like this do happen to people! I have had quite a few packages late on eBay, but have had been contacted when a package will be late, which is 100% fine with me).

I am usually the type of person who tries to get things sorted ASAP, but my town's postal service sucks (given it's based in a town, it should be better, but lol nope)...since they have awkward closing times to which are usually before I finish work. <_<

Of course, I don't want to screw over anyone who is willing to pay for my stuff that I wish to get rid of, but at the same time I want to know what will happen should any delays happen.

[Centrale]

You'll be able to set the ending time of your auction, so if you set it to end on a day that you can get to the post office, you should be fine. 

[Nameless 24]

You'll be able to set the ending time of your auction, so if you set it to end on a day that you can get to the post office, you should be fine. 

Ah! I should have known that! Thanks!

[Centrale]

Sure thing. To clarify, though, you can set the number of days of your auction, but I think the ending time is going to match the time that you begin the auction. So you want to think about that in relation to allowing for the possibility of a last minute bidding war. If your auction ends at 3 AM there's probably not going to be any bidding battle. But if you end it in the early-to-mid evening, after people are off work and have had dinner, there might be a few people battling it out and driving up the price at the very last minute.

[Nameless 24]

Sure thing. To clarify, though, you can set the number of days of your auction, but I think the ending time is going to match the time that you begin the auction. So you want to think about that in relation to allowing for the possibility of a last minute bidding war. If your auction ends at 3 AM there's probably not going to be any bidding battle. But if you end it in the early-to-mid evening, after people are off work and have had dinner, there might be a few people battling it out and driving up the price at the very last minute.

I like your way of thinking! Kind of strategical actually!

Great advice, thanks!

[max_cady]

Ebay's charges are starting to become a little too heavy. I have friends who stopped making transactions through Paypal because of how much they charge.