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Thread [Getting started] eBay Selling Tips for Musicians

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1 [Getting started] eBay Selling Tips for Musicians
eBay Selling Tips for Musicians
In the first installment of this series, we talked about the relative advantages and disadvantages of sites like eBay and Craigslist for selling your gear online. This time around, we’ll focus on eBay, and offer tips for how to sell more successfully on the massive online auction site.

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2
i suggest some additional seller precautions. it is possible to block buyers from bidding who don't meet a few selectable requirements, such as negative feedback score or too many unpaid item strikes, for example. this is found in "my ebay" > account > site preferences > buyer requirements.

eBay fees currently are 10% and paypal is 2.9%+$0.30; both calculations are based on the total of the transaction, i.e. sale price + shipping, AKA final value. eBay also charges $0.30 to insert the ad, though at this time you get 20 per month for free. recently eBay ran a promo where the final value fee was capped at $10. paypal immediately deducts their cut from the funds received. eBay collects their cut the following month. if your paypal account does not have the funds for the eBay fees, paypal withdraws it from your bank account. be careful of this, it could incur fees with your bank, so consider leaving enough funds in your paypal account to cover the eBay fees.

international sales are easy when using their "global shipping program." basically your package goes to their shipping center in Kentucky. from there they assess all the import fees, international shipping fees and handle the paperwork and collecting the funds. your final value is sale price + shipping to kentucky. eBay maintains a list of countries they ship to, and you can restrict this more in your profile. international buyers may ask "how much is shipping to ...", but that should be indicated in their view of the ad when you have calculated shipping.

after the buyer pays for the order, shipping labels can be paid for and printed directly from eBay. you can add insurance and signature required options. where they are weak is in setting up the ad for shipping. if you want to use the "calculated shipping" option, there is no way to add in the charges for the extra options - eBay has suggested sending the buyer a new invoice. this aspect is very clunky, since there are a lot of buyers that pay for the item within minutes of an auction ending. you could specify a handling charge when setting up the ad, but that may not come across very well. you could just absorb the extra costs. free local pickup and free shipping are other options, or specify a flat shipping fee. some sellers specify in the ad that a final invoice has to be worked up and sent out.

if an item is deemed undeliverable by USPS, it is returned at the sender's expense, unless it was sent Priority Mail, in which case there is no extra charge for the return. it is the buyer's responsibility to be sure that shipping address is correct, but some sellers verify this with the buyer before purchasing the shipping label. paypal has said they will not honor seller protections if a printed shipping label is corrected or altered with handwriting. i have had one buyer whose address was marked as "confirmed" on the paypal site, yet the package was undeliverable.

for USPS, economy shipping from within eBay is Parcel Select. it's basically the same as Parcel Post on the USPS website minus $0.05.

Priority Mail on eBay costs the same as USPS online price. eBay tries to tell you how much you save when selecting this, it's the same savings as an online USPS order versus the retail price you pay at the Post Office. the advantage to using eBay for ordering & printing the shipping label is that they automatically enter the tracking number and mark the item as "shipped" as well as get all the addresses put in for you.

Priority Mail includes insurance for up to $50 declared value, and extra insurance can be ordered for higher values.

USPS also has a "Registered Mail" option only available at the retail counter of the Post Office. this option is worth considering for high value items. USPS says the package is accounted for every step of the way and gets special handling.

there is much more to the picture of selling on ebay and shipping, these are just a few notes.

3
Wow, thanks for a that additional info! That's extremely helpful!:bravo: