Need advice from Ebay sellers out there

captiva · Dec 31, 2005

When in doubt..... ASK THE CAT PEOPLE!

I finally placed some items for sale on Ebay. I specified Paypal only because it's easy for me and most people use it anyway. Of course my very first sale is a credit card. I got notice from Paypal today that I have to upgrade my account to accept credit card payments (to the tune of 3% per transaction) . I could live with the three percent (even if I'm not happy) but from what I am reading on their grid, they are even going to charge me 3% for regular bank debits which are normally free under the basic account. I have the right to refuse my buyers payment, but this makes me angry. Why does it give her the option to charge a credit card when that is not available. Bait and switch?

Would like some input from some of you that have sold.

blondiecat · Dec 31, 2005

Originally Posted by captiva

When in doubt..... ASK THE CAT PEOPLE!

I finally placed some items for sale on Ebay. I specified Paypal only because it's easy for me and most people use it anyway. Of course my very first sale is a credit card. I got notice from Paypal today that I have to upgrade my account to accept credit card payments (to the tune of 3% per transaction) . I could live with the three percent (even if I'm not happy) but from what I am reading on their grid, they are even going to charge me 3% for regular bank debits which are normally free under the basic account. I have the right to refuse my buyers payment, but this makes me angry. Why does it give her the option to charge a credit card when that is not available. Bait and switch?

Would like some input from some of you that have sold.

Unfortunatley that is how Paypal makes the majority of their funds. Specify in your auctions that the only PayPal payment you can receive is through a checking account, Money Orders or Cashier Checks. Yeah it's a headache for sure but when I do sell something on Ebay I am able to take any form of payment.

fwan · Dec 31, 2005

I know its hard, I personally dont have paypal but sometimes i dont check through the auctions if i can pay regulary or not. You will get stupid people like me sometimes

icklemiss21 · Dec 31, 2005

Yeah I got caught on that when I sold on ebay - unfortunately if it is not listed on your listing that you don't take credit cards you have to take it or the person can leave bad feedback

joanne511 · Jan 1, 2006

I had that happen as well - I'm definitely a novice at selling on eBay. I made sure the next time to specify, but I do agree that it's kind of tricky.

icklemiss21 · Jan 1, 2006

Also (and kinda a no no) I have a second paypal account under my BF's name registered at his work address - one can take credit cards one can't so when people pay debit - I put it into that account and when they use credit cards I give the other account - but that means always sending an invoice

lunasmom · Jan 1, 2006

I started back up selling on eBay recently and from my last experiences, I went Paypal only. In the end auction, I clearly state to email me the payment. Then this way its clear precise. I still get the 3% deducted as well, but I make up for it in the s/h fees.

The reason I mentioned past experiences is that I use to accept money orders/cashiers checks...until Buyers began sending me personal checks, or cash. It became a hassle as I would have to confront them saying that they didn't follow the instructions for the auction and things would get delayed...then I would get threatening emails. That's why I went to paypal. As long as you have a paypal account and you email me the payment, I don't care if its eCheck, CC or Debit.

jazzy · Jan 1, 2006

I tried to sell on ebay before but seem to hard for me.

blueberrybeth · Jan 2, 2006

Originally Posted by Jazzy

I tried to sell on ebay before but seem to hard for me.

I bit the bullet on the credit card thing - this just happened to me last week, my first CC payment. What else can you do, really?? I guess you have to give up some money to make some money. You can reflect that 3% in your auction price or in shipping. I upped all of my auction prices a bit for that, even though I didn't like doing it.

Selling stuff is kinda complicated, esp. if you are trying to sell different items. Take your time, and play for a while (ie Don't submit) until you feel comfortable. Don't do the new listing designer right away...it's confusing!

yasmine · Jan 2, 2006

Originally Posted by lunasmom

I still get the 3% deducted as well, but I make up for it in the s/h fees.

Since Ebay bought Paypal, fees have gone up for both ebay fee and paypal fees. I sell on ebay often and i always add an extra dollar or two to make up for that fee. Just be careful your not selling something for like 3 or 4 dollars b/c you'll prolly make NO profit. I learned the hard way on that. I used to acept money orders as well as paypal but its a hassle wait on the money order to arrive and i also got burned pretty bad so now i only accept paypal. It just takes the headache away if you sell often on Ebay.

momofmany · Jan 2, 2006

I tell folks that I only accept paypal, money orders, cashier's checks or personal checks, and on the listing, state that I will not ship an item until after a check has cleared. I have had people send me personal checks and I simply remind them that they won't see the item for at last a few weeks.

I haven't sold a lot but haven't been burned (hope that I don't). No one has tried to use a credit card but if they do, I would simply back out and relist the item.

captiva · Jan 2, 2006

Well, I did bite on the credit card thing, but someone from Canada wanted to bid and I told them no because I don't want to have to pay the surcharge on the money conversion for the credit card transaction.

It is fun . I posted about 29 things on Saturday and I've sold 9 and many others already have bids

deb25 · Jan 2, 2006

I saw on the news today that the big thing is posting Xmas gifts that you don't care for. The biggest money maker is to return the gifts for a store credit, and then selling the store credit on eBay. They say you get 90% of the amount of the credit in cash.

vespacat · Jan 2, 2006

I think for some PayPal buyers only on eBay, using a credit card through PayPal is the easiest option. It goes through right away, you can follow your payments more easily, and it makes for a smooth transaction between buyer and seller. Then all is well in eBayland -- peaceful, as it should be! Those are my feelings, as a PayPal buyer.

jazzy · Jan 2, 2006

Originally Posted by blueberrybeth

I bit the bullet on the credit card thing - this just happened to me last week, my first CC payment. What else can you do, really?? I guess you have to give up some money to make some money. You can reflect that 3% in your auction price or in shipping. I upped all of my auction prices a bit for that, even though I didn't like doing it.

Selling stuff is kinda complicated, esp. if you are trying to sell different items. Take your time, and play for a while (ie Don't submit) until you feel comfortable. Don't do the new listing designer right away...it's confusing!

That's what probably I have to do. Thanks for the tip.

Need advice from Ebay sellers out there

captiva

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blondiecat

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fwan

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icklemiss21

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joanne511

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icklemiss21

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lunasmom

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jazzy

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blueberrybeth

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yasmine

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momofmany

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captiva

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deb25

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vespacat

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jazzy

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