EBay? Any one a buy and seller?

[Kkiser8609]

Been looking into it! Seems really hard buying. To hard to find a good deal.

[Peterpc2828]

I buy and sell on eBay all the time, here are some tips I use:

 

Seller Tips:

- take good pictures and as many as you can

- be accurate and honest about the condition of the item your selling, if it has a scratch or dent make sure to point it out and show it in your pictures

-I normally auction my items instead of a buy it now only price, you can always start the auction at whatever price you choose, also keep in mind eBay is good at estimating a good starting price or if you choose a buy it now price. You can also do both

-I normally choose a 7 day auction, it gives time to get your item viewed even though the majority of the bidding is done in the final minutes or seconds of the auction

-dictate exactly the type of shipping you will use, UPS/ FedEx/ USPS priority mail, eBay does a good job of estimating how much shipping will be based on where the buyer is from, you can also choose a flat shipping price for everyone or even offer free shipping

- make sure you ship out your item the next day after the auction has ended and once the buyer has completed the payment process, also make sure to communicate tracking and mark your item as shipped.

-accept only PayPal, if you don't have a PayPal account get one.

- ask for a review if your buyer does not give you one, if you do all the above you should receive a good review. Buyers tend to buy from sellers with good reviews

 

Buyer Tips:

 

-make sure to look around and see what's out there, don't buy the first thing you see on eBay do your research

-read the sellers ratings, if he has negative reviews read them and see why people have given him negative reviews, a seller with more than 1 or 2 negative reviews are usually sellers I don't buy from

- be careful of counterfeit products particularly with golf items, if it's too good to be true it probably is. This is a tough one as counterfeit clubs have increased and have gotten very good, Im sure it's happened to me and I didn't even know it.

-Waite till the last few minutes of the auction to increase your bids the majority of the bidding happens in the last few seconds of the auction.

-it's easy to over bid, have a max price in mind and don't go over that, don't worry if you don't win there will be similar items.

-pay using PayPal if you don't have a PayPal account get one it's easy.

-pay as soon as the auction is over don't wait

- Wait till you receive your item and make sure the item you won is exactly what was advertised, if it was leave the seller a good review.

-if you have any issues with your purchase contact eBay right away they are very good at resolving issues.

 

Whatever you do make all purchases and sales through eBay even though you may get someone that contacts you and asks you to buy or sell the item off of eBay, there are a lot of scammers out there and if you go that route you will not be protected through eBay.

It seems like a lot but it's very easy and a good way to get rid of your older golf equipment or buy some lightly used or new equipment.

 

I'm sure I've missed some things, hopefully some of the guys will add to this.

 

Good luck!

 

 

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[RexS]

I agree 100% with what Peterpc2828 said above.  Also, say for instance you are looking at a Taylormade club to buy, go to the Taylormade Golf website. Look at the bottom of the Home page in the Company Info you will see "Authorized Online Retailers".  On the Callaway Golf site it is under HELP at the bottom and it is "Online Retailers".

 

I just started buying and selling a couple months ago, and soooooo far, I have had nothing but good experiences.

 

Also, once I completed my first sell on ebay, they gave me a $50 credit to use to buy anything through them, Was awesome.

 

When selling, pics, pics and more pics.  As high a quality as you can do.

[MmmmmmBuddy]

Been looking into it! Seems really hard buying. To hard to find a good deal.

 

What exactly are you trying to find??

[McaseyM]

I've done my share of eBaying and have good experiences and most has been mentioned above.

Get serial numbers for equipment, and cross-reference through the OEM's website.

Buyers get the benefit of the doubt on all transactions, so if you sell anything, even if you say no returns, and the buyer complains to eBay, The seller will usually come out on the bottom.

As for getting items you want, check out auction sniper.com, it'll let you set your max amount you want to bid and how long before the auction ends then places it for you ( I usually do

3 seconds), so you don't have to keep eyeballing the listing.

Also a nice feature, if bidding gets above your max before the end, auction sniper will send you an email and let you know.

Finally , say there's certain driver you wanted, and 10 or 12 listings for it, you can put a snipe on each of them and arrange them in a folder so as each one ends, auction sniper will keep placing your bids until you win one, then automatically cancel the rest of the snipes so you don't end up with multiple items.

I believe the first several Snipes are free, and after that they chargers small small percentage fee, but for me it's worth it.

Also look at auctions that end mid day during the week, people don't usually pay attention and I've seen clubs go for very cheap from authorized retailers.

 

 

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[Undershooter]

What exactly are you trying to find??

No kidding. We either are looking for different things or have different ideas of what a good deal is lol

 

 

 

 

 

And to the OP's question. Yes, I have both sold and bought on ebay. Ebay is generally much better for the buyer than the seller. 

[JudgeSmails]

I have been on Ebay as a buyer and seller for 15+ years, it has gradually gotten better to be the buyer and tougher to be the seller.  If there is every ANY dispute, the buyer is always correct and will always get their money back.   In short, great place to buy, not as much to sell any more.  I haven't personally had any bad experiences, but have friends who have been screwed by dishonest buyers.  Hope this helps

[Kenny B]

If the trend against the seller gets worse, eBay may end up just being a marketplace for high volume online stores and not for personal sales.  Sad.

[Peterpc2828]

I can see the issues with being an eBay seller, thankfully aside from a shipping issue that was taken care of by USPS insurance I have not had any issues as the seller. As always there are risks and some people will take advantage

 

 

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[~^~]

I am both a buyer and seller on eBay. I was screwed majorly as a seller.

 

Guy won the auction, but didn't pay for over a week. Auction was for a twice-used set of TM RocketBladez, listed at $700. He won at $500. After he finally paid in escrow via PaPal, i sent the clubs via US Postal Service, signature required, return receipt. Mail took a week, finally said "Out for delivery ". Status was Out for delivery for about 30 days. By that time i contacted buyer. He said he didn't receive the clubs. Finally had a US Postal Inspector investigate and interviewed the carrier. He said the guy gets a lot of packages and he forgot to get a signature. IG also said maybe thieves followed the truck and stole the package from the doorstep. Anyway, guy claimed he never got them. EBay finally sided with the buyer. I should have insured the clubs, but i trusted the USPS to do their job, so my bad, my loss. This entire process dragged out over 4 months. Lots of heartache, nashing of teeth. I think he got the clubs without signing, then just rode out the contoversy, knowing i had no proof of delivery. No doubt the USPS is at fault, but me, the seller, was the only loser.

[Peterpc2828]

I am both a buyer and seller on eBay. I was screwed majorly as a seller.

 

Guy won the auction, but didn't pay for over a week. Auction was for a twice-used set of TM RocketBladez, listed at $700. He won at $500. After he finally paid in escrow via PaPal, i sent the clubs via US Postal Service, signature required, return receipt. Mail took a week, finally said "Out for delivery ". Status was Out for delivery for about 30 days. By that time i contacted buyer. He said he didn't receive the clubs. Finally had a US Postal Inspector investigate and interviewed the carrier. He said the guy gets a lot of packages and he forgot to get a signature. IG also said maybe thieves followed the truck and stole the package from the doorstep. Anyway, guy claimed he never got them. EBay finally sided with the buyer. I should have insured the clubs, but i trusted the USPS to do their job, so my bad, my loss. This entire process dragged out over 4 months. Lots of heartache, nashing of teeth. I think he got the clubs without signing, then just rode out the contoversy, knowing i had no proof of delivery. No doubt the USPS is at fault, but me, the seller, was the only loser.

That stinks! I stopped using USPS and changed to UPS or FedEx

 

 

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[Kor.A.Door]

That makes no sense at all, if you have "signature required" they can't leave the product, they would have left a sticky note on the door for the person to pick it up at the post office. They can't bypass their system and leave the package, sounds to me that usps lost the package or someone within usps stole the item.

[~^~]

That makes no sense at all, if you have "signature required" they can't leave the product, they would have left a sticky note on the door for the person to pick it up at the post office. They can't bypass their system and leave the package, sounds to me that usps lost the package or someone within usps stole the item.

You have no idea of the depth of incompetence of the Postal Service. The carrier admitted he's a golfer, but the real issue is the buyer gets a ton of packages. The carrier was used to dumping a load there, and forgot my package required a signature. The buyer realized he'd received the clubs without signing, and has no scruples or conscience. He simply claimed he never received them. As i said, the USPS is at fault, they admit having the clubs last. But they aren't going to pay me since they weren't insured. Had i been in less of a hurry, i would have skipped the eBay-offered mailing label and taken the box to UPS. Instead, i printed out the stupid eBay mailing label, asked for a signed receipt on delivery, and skipped paying extra for insurance. Lesson learned: buy insurance.

[Fireinthehole]

I don't like getting things shipped from ups and FedEx because they drop stuff off at random times vs the USPS which drops off at my house within a 20-30 min window every day. As a seller I've only used USPS because priority shipping is so fast! But now this has made me require insurance and Sig which unfortunately will be the buyers responsibility

 

 

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[GolfinHoosier]

as many have echoed, buying on ebay is great, selling can be, but you are open to some scammers

[RookieBlue7]

I believe the OP is referring to flipping items, hence the trying to find a good deal part.  If you try to flip items on eBay, you're not going to come out ahead.  More times than not, the buy low, sell high philosophy bites you.  Why?  The fees for one.  You have to get it for 13% less than you will be able to sell it for at a minimum to break even, and that isn't counting postage.  You've gotta really find some auctions that are listed incorrectly or in the wrong section to make out, if we're being honest.  You used to be able to buy low, sell high and flip items for a profit on eBay a while back.  Sellers are more wise to what is going on now and there's more items than ever available.  Unless you're a store that buys at cost/wholesale (and uses a username that makes you not really identifiable), flipping is a lot of hard work for very little reward.

[~^~]

USPS service depends on the dedication of each employee. We had a great carrier for years, collected on food drives, came at the same time, knocked on our door for deliveries of boxes.. Then he retired. Since then, we've had 2-3 carriers in 3 years, forgetting to bring boxes, delivering at all times of day.

 

However, the UPS and FedEx drivers park down the street, then sneak up to my door and leave the box, half the time without knocking or ringing the bell. It's a game. I understand it, because i worked for UPS one Christmas season, and i know they overload the trucks, so there's no way to get a signature for every delivery (which is how we were trained) and complete your route with no overtime. So I blame management, not the drivers.

[Ugglyputters]

eBay is a great tool that comes with a nice side of pain in the a$$, I usually go through sights like Letgo or the world famous Craigslist. It's better for me because the buyers are usually locals and you don't have to waste time mailing items, the buyer comes to you. It's a bad idea if you are selling crap and are attempting to screw some one over, but if you are honest it shouldn't be an issue. I buy cheap on eBay and sell high on Craigslist. You have limited customers but you also have limited headaches.