eBay, Facebook Marketplace, etc?

[the-real-steve]

Has anyone used any of these avenues when selling personal items lately? I used to sell quite a bit on eBay, but the last time I sold something (some ham radio gear) it seems like it was quite the process for what it was worth.

I did sell some hunting gear last fall on FB markets, did good, but a genuine pain in the backside.... people low-balling, asking me to hold until the weekend, the whole nine yards.

I just listed a new Carhartt coat on FB to test the waters. If it goes okay, I might list a few more. Might use eBay for some niche stuff, TBD.

[JohnH]

Has anyone used any of these avenues when selling personal items lately? I used to sell quite a bit on eBay, but the last time I sold something (some ham radio gear) it seems like it was quite the process for what it was worth.

I did sell some hunting gear last fall on FB markets, did good, but a genuine pain in the backside.... people low-balling, asking me to hold until the weekend, the whole nine yards.

I just listed a new Carhartt coat on FB to test the waters. If it goes okay, I might list a few more. Might use eBay for some niche stuff, TBD.

Simply ignore unreasonable requests. The rule is: whoever shows up with cash gets it. End of discussion.

eBay is kind of a ripoff since they charge 15-20% of the item and the seller can return it (often in damaged condition) with no repercussions beyond (maybe) paying return shipping.

[Ernie]

I sell a lot on FB marketplace. If it is not valuable stuff, I tell them where to find the items and where to put the cash. That way I do not need to make appointments to meet them at a particular time.
Some people are driving from a distance, so I give them a certain number of hours that I will hold it or tell them to message me before they leave. If they don't show up in that window, I move on to the next person on the list.
If you are going to sell it to the first person with the money, you need to be clear about that and that you have other people interested. Otherwise, people can be upset if they drive a distance and it is gone.

[JohnH]

I sell a lot on FB marketplace. If it is not valuable stuff, I tell them where to find the items and where to put the cash. That way I do not need to make appointments to meet them at a particular time.
Some people are driving from a distance, so I give them a certain number of hours that I will hold it or tell them to message me before they leave. If they don't show up in that window, I move on to the next person on the list.
If you are going to sell it to the first person with the money, you need to be clear about that and that you have other people interested. Otherwise, people can be upset if they drive a distance and it is gone.

Yes, I would "hold" it for someone once they say they're on their way and give me an ETA. Of course in my experience many people who say so never arrive, so that "expires" a bit after their ETA... on the flip side, it's not like I have hordes of people flocking to my door to acquire a Squishmellow.

[PeterG]

I've been selling on eBay for several years, and it provides significant supplementary income for me. In my opinion, the selling infrastructure and market access that eBay provides make the fees they charge a good value. I have a generous return policy, and my return rate is about 4%. Fraudulent or otherwise improper returns are virtually a non-issue. If an item is returned broken, or if an item other the one sold is returned, and it's basically the buyer's word against the seller's, eBay itself sends the buyer a refund and also lets the seller keep the money. I have sold well over 1,000 items, and I've only had to go through this process once. Repeat offenders, whether buyers or sellers, will eventually get their accounts terminated. Overall, returns are a very minor cost of doing business.

The biggest issue for me is simply the time it takes to acquire, prepare, list, and ship items, so I try to work only with items that have a sufficiently high margin to make the whole exercise worth my time. Ebay is best for relatively niche items for which access to a massive worldwide market is a major benefit.

[Valerie]

As a cashier at Discount Drug Mart (Ohio chain) I have had a few customers that buy a lot of certain things we sell, then turn around & sell them on Amazon. That IS their source of income. I was surprised at what they tell me people are willing to pay for inexpensive items just because they don’t want to have to go to the store to get them less expensive. They have some kind of set up with Amazon for their business, I have not explored that idea, but seems to work well for them