Oh gosh Villagegirl.....seems like eBay has been around a lot longer than that. I guess we've been in business for 40 years that we just assumed eBay was there from the beginning! Thanks for the correction.

I have been with ebay since 1997 and paypal since they started later. Ebay bought them out and now owns them. Everything works good in their systems. Use a separate credit card for payments of fees. I use one with a very small limit in case something goes wrong, which has never happened in 15 years. Also as another suggested, use a separate checking account to deposit the paypal funds into (you have to elect that to be done each time or they will keep it in the paypal account). The feedback system is very important. I personally won't sell to anyone with less than 15 unless they write me first and explain and give assurances as the newbies cause most of the problems (no offense intended) and give the bad feedback without trying to resolve issues. I have over 1100 with 100% but you have to be vigil. Using Fedex or UPS is automatically insured for $100. and has free tracking to know where your package is and when it was delivered and you can require it to be signed for.

Selling accordian?
 

What make? How much?

I'm confused. Can you explain why you don't sell to people unless they have 15 feedbacks, write you, etc? If someone uses paypal or sends you a certified check or money order, THEY are the ones taking the risk, not you the seller.

That's not the problem. It's the kids who sign up, bid on your stuff, win it, then don't pay or ignore your payment requests or don't read the description or assume all kinds of things without asking in advance of bidding. You have to wait a certain amount of time before you can resell it and go through a process that could take a month or so to resolve with the ebay people. You're out fees until it's all cleared up and your merchandise is off the market. Not worth the problems to me. It's a personal thing from experience. Each seller is entitled to do their business as they see fit within the ebay rules. Always read the feedback of bidders or sellers you're wanting to do business with and if they have less than 100%, read the negatives carefully. If bidders have bad feedback for not paying or troublemaking I also won't sell to them either and I put all this in my ads plus I write clear, unambiguous ads. If you read lots of negative feedback you'll find much of it is not warranted and given by newbies. I'm not willing to risk my good reputation as I don't need a sale that badly.
A seller with 100% and several hundred or thousand good feedback is not much of a risk to do business with.
Like everything else in life, there are a few who cause the most problems for everyone else.

Never been an issue with me. Have only had two non payers. Wait two weeks and cancel the sale with EBays agreement. Some of my best buyers were new to EBay. To each his own.

Thank you Bogie Shooter for all of the useful information. I really appreciate the time and effort you took to post for me. It is greatly appreciated.

I'll remember the email suggestion, Grace, and only respond through the site. That is a good point.

RichieB, the seperate account if a fantastic suggestion. That is a must to me.

starflyte1, thank you, thank you. I think the LLLC course would be a lot of fun and very informational. I may just check that out.

Happinow and CaptJohn, the credit card suggestion is vital to protect yourself. Thank you for pointing that out.

CaptJohn, I admire you and the others here who have been involved with eBay for so many years. Trust me, I will take your advice on the feedback.
Also, the automatic insurance with UPS and FedEx will be a savings with the shipping and tracking.


Very good advice from everyone. I love this site and the reason it works is because of people like you guys. Thank you very much. I really do appreciate your suggestions and time. B.K.

make your life easy
 

a word of caution, whatever you do only sell to United States buyers. I am not saying anything negative about others, however to make your life with the least amount of hassle, do not get involved, if they complain or want to return, it is all just a major can worms you want to avoid

I have found that certain countries are bigger problems with buyers than others.

Do you sell a variety of things, or just one kind?

Selling is awful compared to say, four years ago.

Ebay is a great tool for both buying and selling .... although I am often amazed that people will pay within 10-15% of the price of the item new.

HOWEVER, if I were only going to sell a single item I would first explore using craigslist. It can be a little hassle (fielding calls, emails and setting up appts) but it is FREE, widely used and you avoid the whole shipping pain.

Just be careful when the buyer comes knockin on your front door..............