Ebay

Gabbo

I'm looking to sell a few things on ebay but it's proving to be a pain in the backside. Haven't used it for over 5 years and it has changed significantly. Not so much user friendly nowadays.

I've also noticed that Ebay takes a final fee of 10% or no more than £75! Also setting up my paypal account seems to be a hassle. They have to send two random deposits to my account in order to verify it. I done this well over a week ago and the two deposits are still pending!!! :evil:

Also... yes also... I hear that if you are a relatively new user, ebay will hold your money until you either a) receive positive feedback or b) have already waited some 24 days!

Ebay has changed a lot since I've last used it. They even have access to your account so that they can reimburse the dissatisfied buyer.

Who here uses it? And would it be worth my while listing my bike on there?

Thanks

Litespeed79

If its a bike why not sell on here? No fees!

Sold a couple of things with no hassle.

Gabbo

Litespeed79 wrote:

If its a bike why not sell on here? No fees!

Sold a couple of things with no hassle.

I presume you are referring to ebay?

Yes, I've sold wheels on here with zero hassle (that was partially due to me underpricing the product though). I suppose we've all got that one thing in common - cycling!

Would you recommend gumtree?

Wirral_paul

I wouldnt touch Gumtree with a bargepole myself - seems to have a reputation as the site of choice for stolen goods.

Just pop it in the classifieds on here and Pinkbike - and try to avoid fleabay and gumtree if you can.

BillyMansell

I've been selling a few things very successfully on Gumtree this week,including a couple of bikes.

Positives are it's free and can be quick if you've got something in demand - I sold my Dawes Galaxy in under an hour.

Negatives are your items can go down the listings very quickly and it attracts time wasters and tyre kickers - a couple of people wanted to look at my mountain bike but neither turned up.

danlikesbikes

I use Ebay quite a bit to sell items - though we are moving house so currently going through a clear out. Your right that it has changed, but I find the changes make listing etc easier e.g. if you can't be bothered to key in your item just search for a similar item and in the listing click "sell on like this" makes life much easier.

True the paypal part has changed but it is swings and roundabouts as I had to claim money back from a seller who never sent the item blah blah quite boring but it gave me better protection. I've never been through the process the other way round though.

Plus do feel your pain as it can be a bit clunky to get set up first time round.

As for listing the bike yes it is worth listing it on there, but I would also put it on BR too at the same time just make sure you put in in the heading line.

Litespeed79

Sorry I meant the Bikeradar forum. If you use ebay there's final selling fees even if the listing is initially free.

You do have to be happy with the price you ask. I sold a pair of wheels, a bike & a groupset. Could possibly have got more for the wheels as they sold in minutes - but no fees, genuine people & easy payment via PayPal as a gift.

Even if it doesn't sell its cost nothing to try on the forum.

Out of interest what's the bike you intend on selling?

Gabbo

Thanks for the advice guys

If I was to list on ebay, would it be worth me putting up a reserve.. or does this scare away buyers? I suppose the advantage of listing a bike on ebay is that you can require for it to be collected only, and then take the buyers money in person. If he refuses then I suppose you're stuck with a £75 final fee to pay towards ebay, right?

As long as I'm honest in my listings there should be no complaints.

danlikesbikes

It depends TBH, all to do with how much of a risk you want to take that it might not go for as low as you think.

I list items I know will sell for a good amount with a start fee of 0.99p as that is cheapest start option, but also put a buy it now price that I could live with getting. The buy it now disappears as soon as the first bid is put up. But in one of my ad's I put the new price & link to manufactures site, plus links to other second hand units stating what they went for. Someone went in and just bought it. But you need to make the buy it now price a good enough deal to make people not want it to go to auction for fear that the price might go above, but not so low that you would be disappointed with just making that amount of money.

If your worried that it might not sell for as much as you want then you can always put a higher start bid price, but you will pay more in listing fees.

Have a good google for prices of similar bikes and use links to their ad's as gives you an idea of what your likely to get & also puts this in the mind of the buyers.

dynamicbrick

It's more of PITA than it used to be, especially for selling.

Sold my Trek 1.1 back in January - £375. Which I thought was a good price for a mint 2011 model... except with eBay and Paypal fees totalling around £50 it stopped being a good deal.

Then I sold a brand new phone for £390 buy it now. Aside from the £60 or so in fees, the buyer then waited a fortnight before deciding it was scratched and not new. eBay froze my paypal account, and it took a lot of hassle to point out that the buyer had had a fortnight to notice these scratches, and I had loads of pictures of phone in mint condition (I'd had a feeling he was going to try it on). They eventually closed the case in my favour when the buyer wanted £200 refund and to keep the phone. Far more hassle than it should have been.

smoggysteve

I have bought loads on eBay, but I have never sold anything. It just sounds like such a nightmare and I don't think eBay does enough to protect sellers as much as buyers. Its a shame as there is nothing else really like it online to compete if it screws customers over.

Gabbo

SmoggySteve wrote:

I have bought loads on eBay, but I have never sold anything. It just sounds like such a nightmare and I don't think eBay does enough to protect sellers as much as buyers. Its a shame as there is nothing else really like it online to compete if it screws customers over.

That's the impression I'm getting from the site. I don't like the fact that the buyer can be reimbursed either. What if they don't return the item in the condition provided to them? Heck, what if they fail to return the item at all? The only loser is the seller, and the winner is the auctioning company itself..

danlikesbikes

Gabbo wrote:

SmoggySteve wrote:

I have bought loads on eBay, but I have never sold anything. It just sounds like such a nightmare and I don't think eBay does enough to protect sellers as much as buyers. Its a shame as there is nothing else really like it online to compete if it screws customers over.

That's the impression I'm getting from the site. I don't like the fact that the buyer can be reimbursed either. What if they don't return the item in the condition provided to them? Heck, what if they fail to return the item at all? The only loser is the seller, and the winner is the auctioning company itself..

To be fair to Ebay they only changed the Paypal system to give more protection to buyers not sellers. The money back option does not take straight from your bank account either but from your Paypal account (which is part of Ebay) but only after you have been through the dispute system.

capt_slog

I've used Ebay a lot. I bought on there, and sold lots too, around £60 in the last couple of weeks in fact. I've not had any problems, yet. I always sell "sold as seen" if that means anything, which I doubt, but also I'm always scrupulously honest in how I list. I usually post everything as recorded delivery too.

I have been done on Ebay as a buyer. I bought some perfume which was supposed to be right and it turned out to be fake. Problem was that the fake wasn't discovered until months after and it was too late to get money back out of the £$%^&*^%, the f^&%^$%& rotten £$%£ :twisted:

and breathe

Giraffoto

SmoggySteve wrote:

I have bought loads on eBay, but I have never sold anything. It just sounds like such a nightmare and I don't think eBay does enough to protect sellers as much as buyers. Its a shame as there is nothing else really like it online to compete if it screws customers over.

Funnily enough I've sold loads on eBay but never bought anything, because my perspective (or prejudice) was the exact opposite!

thefd

Iv'e also bought and sold on ebay loads of times. Shop wisely and be careful when listing (don't lie or hide defects) and you should be ok.