I am thinking of trying to sell on ebay, so far I have only bought.

During my 'sorting out' I have found a pile of Vogue Courtier/Originals paper dress patterns which have never been used. In the very early 70s when I still lived in England one of my colleagues was working at the Butterfields/Vogue factory and was able to buy patterns at a discount so she brought the books to the office and we all orders some. I ordered loads but have only made up about four of the garments, the other patterns are pristine so I thought I might try to sell them on ebay.

So any tips?

Start at a price that you are happy to accept Sue, so many people start off at the lowest price and get upset when their items sell for a pound.

Take several photos and be descriptive of your items.

There are 20 other things you should know but I`ll let others comment.

I have just put three items on. The prices are low but I will make a small amount on the postage although I will have to drive to the post office. I am watching a very similar item which someone has put on at a much higher price but it is P&P free. If they sell theirs I might do similar with my next lot.

I was going to throw them out so anything is better than nothing.

If you go to ebay.co.uk and search for Vogue patterns mine are just under 7 days time. A dress and coat for £2.50, a suit for £2 and a dress for £2.

Sue! As long as it`s only a small amount of profit that you are making on postage that`s mostly o.k. Some people will leave negative feedback if they are charged a dollar more than actual postage though. Those that make excessive amounts on postage are known as "postage pirates", a name to be avoided if you wish to sell more items. I just received a parcel,beanbags,that had an envelope taped to the outside containing two dollars worth of stamps,the seller had overcharged me and didn`t want any grief,not that I would have noticed but some do.

There is the price of the packaging to be taken into consideration and petrol to get to the post office. I will bear your comments in mind if I try to sell other items.

Someone put some small gifts in with a package of mine recently as I ordered two items and didn't get a discount for multiple items. Perhaps I will give them a 'gift' of one of my handmade cards.

I see someone is watching one of my items, but no bids yet.

How exciting, I have a bid on one of my items and 3 watchers! I also have 2 watchers on another item.

Another part of selling,and possibly the most important, is the posting of items after the buyer has paid. As a buyer I like to receive my paid for items as soon after I have paid as possible,to me that means that if I pay on a Monday the goods should be posted out by Wednesday at the latest. The seller should tell me when the money has appeared in their bank or PayPal account and should post the day after and tell me they have done so, by doing so they are also putting any delivery delay problems back onto the postal services.

Good communication means happy customers and everyone wants eBay to be a happy experience.

I always find that I look at more items that have the gallery picture in them. If i'm searching for something and there is a long list then I'll tend to skip over the ones without a photo on the search page. So I also make sure I have a photo on the few auctions that I've done.

What does it mean when there are "watchers"?

I've got 2 watchers on my lot of books (4 George RR Martin books), but Ebay doesn't really explain what they are.

Morrigan

And right now Sue you have 100% Positive Feedback!

Morrigan, when you have watchers it means there are people who have sort of bookmarked your auction. It appears in their "My eBay" so they can keep an eye on it and hopefully bid on it at a later date. Although, it doesn't mean they will bid, perhaps they have something similar to sell and checking the price that yours go for or maybe they're just sticky beaks.

Ah! That makes sense! Thanks, Copago!

Morrigan

I am currently watching the item similar to mine on which the seller has put a much higher starting price (four times higher) and free postage. As these things were to be thrown away I would rather get something so long as it more than covers the cost of putting the items for sale.

Presumably if an item doesn't sell you just have to take the loss?

I hadn't put a gallery photo of my first item but altered that so they all three have photos. I agree that it is a hassle to not see the photo immediately on a search.

Good point Roos, I will ensure I post them immediately I get paid.

Oh wow, I only gave the P&P for the UK and I have now been asked if I will ship to the US if they pay the additional postage - they will pay for the item by PayPal.

I have agreed - so if this person is successful how do I change the postage element of the price before they pay?

Also, I contacted the person who has already placed a bid to say the P&P is too high in the listing so I will send a couple of 1st class stamps and she thanked me for being honest.

I have an odd question for you ebay-ers (well, it's odd to me, anyway ). I could look it up, I reckon, but I thought someone here would have insight without my doing a lot of looking about.

My friend called last night and has, in her possession, five phone booths in her basement. These are official, plug-them-into-something-and-use-them actual phone booths . Her late husband, always with his eye on "side jobs/extra money", thought he'd make a small bit of 'fun money' buying them. Yes, this was all done pre-cell phone onslaught. And phone booths are not exactly popular these days.

We both agreed that somebody, somewhere would absolutely buy these things (maybe a collector? An eccentric? Somebody with peculiar tastes in landscaping?). Thing is, if someone 800 miles away wants one ... how does one manage to ship such a thing, and for what sort of price?

While I'm asking, what in the heck would a person charge for a phone booth itself? He paid (total) $5000USD for them some 15 years ago. Can't really imagine they'd likely increase in value. But, really, I have no idea and told her I'd ask you savvy lot.

I just looked on ebay here and they have English phone boxes (booths) for sale. The delivery charge is per mile with a minimum amount for one seller, and the other quotes figures for UK and for shipment to anywhere in the world - and a hefty charge it is too! So your friend would need to contact a delivery service and get a quote then put this in the listing. As for price, both the listing of the English ones are 'Buy It Now' so give a price. So this is one option, another would be to decide on a Reserve price then let it go to auction.

Yep, get the buyer to arrange picking it up - either themselves or a courier. Pop onto eBay, Gats, and do a search for phone boxes or whatever you think the best explantion would be, you'll be able to see what sort of price they're going for and how others have organised pick-up or delivery.

Thanks Trojan. When I responded to the person who sent the message I put for the message/reply to be shown under the item. In that I have put the US postal charge and also said I will be selling lots of similar items!

Thank you for the input, folks. I knew I could count on you ! I'll copy all this and send it to her (if she ever gets her internet working ~ and that's another question I'm supposed to ask, but I'll reserve that one for the Techie threads [get ready, Mr. TW...not sure where to start with THAT one *sigh*]). Also, as for these phone booths/boxes ~ I think she basically wants them out of the house, I don't detect that a profit is important. But, heck, she has a sturdy capitalist streak in her, so she might have other ideas, knowing the options .

By the way, hereafter I'll be doing business as "Gatsby Research & Support Desk for Widows in America, Inc." You'll all get a healthy cut of my first year's revenues....

Auctions are over! I sold two out of the three for the initial asking price, no bidding. All I want now is to be paid so I can post the items. They are all packed and ready to go. I will be getting proof of posting.

I told both purchasers that I made a mistake when calculating the postage so will be enclosing stamps as compensation. I am also enclosing a handmade 'Thank you' card which I am not writing in (just putting a note inside on loose paper) so they can use it themselves - a little gift.

So what happens now? Do I get informed when they pay? I always pay immediately, often within a minute of the auction ending if I happen to be at the computer, if not then within a few hours at most.

Assuming they pay, what happens to the money sent by them to PayPal? My PayPal account is linked to my bank account so will the money be transferred by PayPay to my account in the same way as they transfer money out of my account when I buy something?

Sorry, Sue, can't help you with the Paypal bit - I've only ever paid with credit card through paypal ... but since you always get a confirmation from them when you pay I'm going to assume you get one as the seller when money is received. It should at least show up in your myebay that they've paid.

But what I wanted to ask was is there any other way to pay in other countries aside from paypal? (and I guess sending cheques or money orders) We can do direct debits here between any Australian bank accounts .. so much easier than Paypal and no fees. I'm sure ebay hate that it can be done too. Just doesn't seem to be that as an option for any US/UK auctions I've looked at.

Sue, when your buyers have paid, the money will show in your Paypal account (assuming, if course, that they intend to pay via Paypal). You will receive a paypal notification when that happens. Sometimes folk take a while to complete the details and you may have to jog them. Once you receive notification, log into your paypal account. You will have to transfer the funds in your Paypal account to the account of your choice, yourself. Easy to do. You should already have a preferred account number for this kind of transfer.
If you don't action this transfer, the money will simply sit there (As Ebay's Bank, Paypal are quite happy to let this happen) and if you purchase anything via Ebay, that money in your Paypal account will automatically be used to pay for your purchased item.
Hope all goes well.