Gaaaar Ebay

[badgermark]

Righty, having used ebay in the past for buying stuff, this will be my first attempt at selling.

Under the hammer will be a set of Gibson 490 pickups from a SG, a Dimarzio Tone Zone bridge pickup, a Duncan APH-2 Neck and a Boss DS-2.

With any luck these will help fund a MQ set for my SG, which I am rather excited about.

Any tips on selling? Starting prices, buy-it-now, photos, expected haul for the lot? Also tips on postage and payment methods would be much appreciated.

OR! any alternatives to the 'bay? I hate it with a passion.

[Twinfan]

Use 99p no reserve auctions if you can - they're cheap and get lots of interest.

End the auction in an evening not during the day, as you'll get more bidders.

Weigh the items packaged up and use the Royal Mail website to set postage costs.  Always add a little for your packaging costs.

Don't use PayPal as the costs are too high.  Take personal cheques and cash on collection.

Use as few "extras" like more photos, extra tag lines etc to keep your listing costs down.

Take time with your description as this can really help a sale.  Keep your spelling accurate and your tone helpful and friendly.

Good luck!

[Philly Q]

Use 99p no reserve auctions if you can - they're cheap and get lots of interest.

Agreed, but bear in mind you run the risk of only selling it for 99p!  That always seems to happen to me, although when I'm bidding on something that starts at 99p the price always goes through the roof.

Use as few "extras" like more photos, extra tag lines etc to keep your listing costs down.

Agreed.  You get one free photo anyway, and for something like a pickup one clear photo is all you need.  Extra photos add loads to the listing costs.  If you're a bit handy with Photoshop or something, you can take pics of the front and back of the pickup and combine them into one picture.

Don't use PayPal as the costs are too high.  Take personal cheques and cash on collection.

Gotta disagree there, as a buyer it puts me off if I have to ponce around with cheques or cash.  If you're selling low-value items the PayPal charges aren't that high.  Just set your minimum price a little higher than the bare minimum you're prepared to accept, to cover some of the selling fees.  And bump the postage up a wee bit - everyone charges more for postage than it actually costs.

I wouldn't bother with Buy It Now or reserve prices unless you're selling something valuable like a guitar.  A Buy It Now turns into an auction as soon as someone puts a bid in anyway (unless there is a reserve).

[hunter]

Do not list in a second category as this will double most of your costs.

Just use one category, e.g. "Gibson guitars" or "Accessories".

Think about where your target group will most likely look and think about their questions in mind when they are searching.

E.g. if I am looking for a Gibson Pickup, I might have an Epiphone or something, so your headline and ad could convey that with these pickups even your cheap guitar will almost sound like a US Gibson, or like Gary Moore or whatever.

It's OK to advertise, just don't exaggerate beyond what's socially apropriate or legally compliant.

[badgermark]

Thanks peeps.

Nice tip about the epiphone mod-job, the pickups DO sound great in a epi LP.

All tips are taken on board, and shall be ebay-ing as soon as my work contract is up.

I would ideally like to avoid paypal, but still make things quick and easy. Oh and what about ebay fees? Do they take much once the item is sold?

[Philly Q]

Oh and what about ebay fees? Do they take much once the item is sold?

The selling fees are a maximum of 5.25%, but if an item sells for more than £30 they charge a smaller percentage on the excess proceeds.  Details here:

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/fees.html

If you're selling something for, say, £600 the total eBay and PayPal fees come to about £50 (very roughly).  It's worth bearing in mind when you decide how much you're prepared to sell an item for - you're not going to get all the proceeds.

[plastercaster]

get a gallery picture- approx 20p I think, as people looking through the listings in gallery view will not see it otherwise.
make sure your title will pick up the maximum number of searches- eg. "dimarzio tone zone tonezone" so people searching with and without spaces will pick you up. although I wouldn't bother putting in L@@K or "not BK, lollar, seymour" people looking for those pickups will not go for a dimarzio pickup, because they want something else.
ALWAYS end auctions at peak times- otherwise the price will not put on the bids in the last seconds to the same extent.
I payed about £7 in bits and bobs for a creative MP3 player i sold for £110 a few months back.

[noodleplugerine]

Is it okay to link to a Photobucket gallery or something?

You could add unlimited pictures that way...

[Philly Q]

I wouldn't bother putting in L@@K or "not BK, lollar, seymour"

+1, those are just bloody annoying.

You search for Gibson and you get "13 string super bass, not Fender  Gibson".  Forget it.  

[plastercaster]

also gives the (correct) impression that the seller is an eedjit.

[Philly Q]

ALWAYS end auctions at peak times- otherwise the price will not put on the bids in the last seconds to the same extent.

What do you reckon the best times are?  That's the one thing I've never been able to figure out.

Obviously not Friday or Saturday evenings, but during work hours, or after everyone's gone home?

[Jonesy76]

Always use Paypal as the lack of it will put so many bidders off, especially the mad modders like myself who very often would like the item in their greasy mitts as soon as is possible.  Cheques or cash payment very often can take longer if unless you're happy to have someone round to your house to collect the item.

When selling pickups, try to get as many tag words into the main title as you possibly can as that will help when people search.  Most eBayers tend to search by keywords rather than starting from categories

The gallery picture is another good idea as that 'brings 'em in'!  A lot of people will look at a listing with a gallery picture first before the other similar listings.  If you have what they are looking for then they'll be sure to bid on your item rather than the one below it without a gallery picture.  That way you prevent yourself from ending up with 99p for your Gibson pickups.
To be honest that is not an issue I've ever suffered from and I've even managed to get £8 for a pair of no name humbuckers before.  Anything is possible if you open up to the ol' Bay of E

[plastercaster]

ALWAYS end auctions at peak times- otherwise the price will not put on the bids in the last seconds to the same extent.

What do you reckon the best times are?  That's the one thing I've never been able to figure out.

Obviously not Friday or Saturday evenings, but during work hours, or after everyone's gone home?

Guy who sells recon white goods tells me the absolute best time is wet bank holiday mondays, but I think the best times (realistically) are just between 7 and 11 sunday-thurs.

[Gary]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYokLWfqbaU

[jt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYokLWfqbaU

 :D That was brilliant !

 :D  8)