Ebay help please

[BliarOut]

Heelp, I'm going to try and sell something via fleabay and I'm a complete newbie

I've never done any ebay selling before so any advice on my ad would be appreciated. If I'm making any bloopers or you can improve the wording please feel free to comment. If you don't like the table, you can also comment, cos I'm selling it

Hopefully I'll have Paypal set up in a few days. How much do they charge on ebay and how long should you let an auction run for? Questions, questions, questions. I'm all in a tiz!

My Advert said:

Farmhouse Table and chairs. You are bidding on a farmhouse style dining table and four chairs. It’s hexagonal, made from hardwood and it weighs a ton! This isn’t an MFI type veneer item this is solid wood. I believe it’s European in origin, possibly Dutch. I’ve had it about four years and the only reason I’m selling is because I’m changing the style of furnishing in my house. The top is tiled so it’s very easy to look after. When viewed from the underneath you can see that the tile base is the only part that isn’t solid wood. As long as the potential buyer is over 3’ tall, it shouldn’t be a problem! It’s also very hard wearing as it survived my kids growing up. It’s in very good condition. There are a few very minor marks, but nothing that looks out of place. The pictures show it as it is and were taken on 16/11/2005. Payment will be via Paypal. The buyer will have to collect from Cambridgeshire as it’s way too heavy to courier. The top does unscrew for transit.

Piccie 1
Piccie 2
Piccie 3
Piccie 4
Piccie 5
Piccie 6

[carrera2]

I'd take higher res piccys if I were you....

[eccles]

i'd agree, you need better pics than that, they look like they've been taken with a bad camera phone!
when you list your item you are given the choice of 3,7, or 10 days for the auction to run. if you do a 10 day auction starting on a thursday/friday you'll get 2 weekends of exposure for your ad.

the other thing i'd do if you're not sure what category to list your item in is to search for a similar item, and see what category thats listed in (its written in little letters at the top of the ad)

[Pies]

Better quality pics,and possibly only 3 needed ,one showing the layout,one the detail on the table and one showing the detail on the back of a chair.Ebay only give you one free piccy

10 day listing set to end on Sunday afternoon/evening completing at the end of the month (when people have money)

[FunkyNige]

My one piece of advice is to put it on a 10 day auction on a Thursday so it ends on a Sunday having had a full weekend for people to see it.

[BliarOut]

More like this?
Piccie 7

All I've got is a camera phone, but I put it on high res this time

How many pictures should you have with an advert?

[carrera2]

BliarOut said:

More like this? Piccie 7 All I've got is a camera phone, but I put it on high res this time How many pictures should you have with an advert?

Better - the colour looks off though. I'm not being picky - it's just that if I thought I might like the table (which I don't ) I wouldn't bid on it as I couldn't be sure of the colour.

Take some with a digi camera.

[eccles]

make sure you mention that the candle doesnt come with the table, there are some funny b*ggers out there, and they'll probably want it!

[Wacky Racer]

FunkyNige said:

My one piece of advice is to put it on a 10 day auction on a Thursday so it ends on a Sunday having had a full weekend for people to see it.

[BliarOut]

Candle duly removed

My Advert said:

Farmhouse Table and chairs. You are bidding on a farmhouse style dining table and four chairs. It’s hexagonal, made from hardwood and it weighs a ton! This isn’t an MFI type veneer item this is solid wood. I believe it’s European in origin, possibly Dutch. I’ve had it about four years and the only reason I’m selling is because I’m changing the style of furnishing in my house. The top is tiled so it’s very easy to look after (no, the candle isn't included however nice you may think it is. It's there for decorative effect only). When viewed from the underneath you can see that the tile base is the only part that isn’t solid wood. As long as the potential buyer is over 3’ tall, it shouldn’t be a problem! It’s also very hard wearing as it survived my kids growing up. It’s in very good condition. There are a few very minor marks, but nothing that looks out of place. The pictures show it as it is and were taken on 16/11/2005. Payment will be via Paypal. The buyer will have to collect from Cambridgeshire as it’s way too heavy to courier. The top does unscrew for transit.

What about fees etc, I want to get £250 for it so should I set a reserve of about £300 to take care of the fees?

[bertie]

Christ, I'd save the posting fee and chuck it on the fire!

[eccles]

as you list your item it shows the price for each extra feature you add on.
if you want a photo on the end of the listing (instead of the little green camera symbol), thats a bit more, something like 35p, if you add a reserve, thats more money. you'll be hard pushed for the listing to cost you more than £1. after the auction finishes, ebay take a percentage of the fianal price you get for it, this isn't a lot, just something like 1.5%. so if you sold your table for £400, your fees will be about a fiver.
if you want to avoid the cost of putting a reserve on it, you can put the starting price at the minimum you'd like to get for it.

[jessica]

no offence but go look at others before you price it...
people like a bargain on ebay and 300 is not a bargain.
imagine car boot sale 150 at the most.
may be better to sell table and chairs seperate

ebay doctor here.................

[Pies]

Dont forget paypal fees are another 3.5%
P/S you haven't mentioned the size

[mxdi]

If you do add fee's onto your price, do not state that on ad, its against the rules and you may get mails from buyers maoning about it.

[Parrot of doom]

If you want to improve those pictures, you need more light.

You need to bring in some lights, or take the picture in the daytime. If you bring in more lights, don't shine them directly at the table - bounce the light off the walls and ceiling (out of frame).

[BliarOut]

I'll try to take some piccies in daylight, which brings another few questions.

Can you change the picture during a listing? I won't be able to take any daylight piccies until the weekend and I want to list it tomorrow. For now piccie 7 is the best I'll be able to come up with.

If I set a reserve and it's not reached, what happens to the best bid? Can you offer it? Total ebay newbie here!!

[Pies]

You can lower the reserve

Not sure about piccys though,but you can always put something in the blurb saying more piccys available on request

[Liszt]

When I was at school, hexagonal meant six sides :P