Ebay question

[Nottseagull]

I'm considering dipping my toe into Ebay but have some questions, such as what does 'no reserve' mean when the starting bid is clearly stated as £x?

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

It's simply to let people know that if they start at 99p then there is no hidden reserve attached to the item should they bid.

 

[Nottseagull]

Well this item is starting at £175. If you can't buy it for less, in what way is £175 not the reserve?

 

[EDS]

It is a starting price, people who add reserve are just wasting their money as it costs more. For example some people start the bidding at 99p but have reserve of £100, £200 etc which can be annoying when you are bidding as if you are winning the auction but have not met the reserve then you cannot bid against yourself.
In what way are you going to use ebay, Buying, private selling, business selling? Ebay used to be a way to print money for me but has changed so much that I simply gave up, to much hassle now

 

[L'hampton Eagle]

It is a starting price, people who add reserve are just wasting their money as it costs more. For example some people start the bidding at 99p but have reserve of £100, £200 etc which can be annoying when you are bidding as if you are winning the auction but have not met the reserve then you cannot bid against yourself.
In what way are you going to use ebay, Buying, private selling, business selling? Ebay used to be a way to print money for me but has changed so much that I simply gave up, to much hassle now

Have always been annoyed at people saying no reserve with a starting price of £ basicly that's their fail safe minimum sale price.

If they list for sale a new tv they bought for £750 and they start it at 99p it could go for as little as £100 or even less but if they start it at £400 people know that's the minimum they can buy it for.

Enjoy its great way to shop.

 

[Garage_Doors]

For sellers there is a disproportionate fee for setting a reserve. Ie £1 to ilst it but £5,to set a reserve hence why sellers now start from the reserve.

 

[Vegas Seagull]

Always post recorded
Always set the tightest buying criteria inc Credit card so they always have to pay up
Always start at 99p for standard items, attracts more bidders and finds a higher end level

 

[BensGrandad]

Sure I read somewhere that HMRC are now watching E bay for people selling and not paying tax. I would think the next one will be Car Boot Sales as many use it as a supplementary business and not how they were intended.

 

[Pinkie Brown]

Ebay used to be a way to print money for me but has changed so much that I simply gave up, to much hassle now

Sadly, very true.

I used to sell a lot of surplus stock on eBay. Most buyers were fine, but dealing with a fair few timewasters, idiots, chancers and scammers made it just not worth the hassle.

 

[Twizzle]

Always post recorded
Always set the tightest buying criteria inc Credit card so they always have to pay up
Always start at 99p for standard items, attracts more bidders and finds a higher end level

No.
If you auction an item *worth* £300 and it sells for £60, then you screwed yourself by leaving yourself open with a silly start price.
This happens all the time, especially with items that are relatively common.

Don't buy musical instruments either - loads of top makes are forged/fakes, and you can end up with a duff item. There are so many 'Gibson Les Paul' guitars around "custom shop" & with the papers and certificates even.
Anyway, you need to play the thing before you can know it will work
for you.

In addition - since Chinese manufacturers can pay less wages for things to be made, and US brands are way high, the big name brands have been dropping their standards and Chinese raising theirs.
I went to an auction house where all the 'Gibson' and 'Fender' guitars sold, and the 'Infinity' made in China didn't even get a bid.
The latter was the only decent instrument there!
The neverbeenplayed Les Paul had a roller coaster fretboard that rendered it worthless (or expensive to fix) and i doubt it was even a Gibson. £200+ for a bad fake that's unplayable!

It looked like the *winner* of the les poor was a father and son.
Now I look back on the brilliant top quality things my Dad gave me, and it's too late to thank him enough - but that Pop has a disappointed son who likely took the chunk of crap to get sorted and got the bad news from the shop. That becomes a really sad feeling for the Dad - and he will want to make up face. To do that fully, he will then need to spend over £1200 for a real Les (dog forbid he chances on ebay!) & he cannot GIVE the first p.o.s. away. He might ebay it

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Am I the only person on the planet who has never been been on the eBay website, let alone bought/sold anything.

 

[Twizzle]

Am I the only person on the planet who has never been been on the eBay website, let alone bought/sold anything.

Yes, yes you are.
And if anyone else posts that they haven't either, we will know they are lying, or you using a different account

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Yes, yes you are.
And if anyone else posts that they haven't either, we will know they are lying, or you using a different account

.

 

[Munkfish]

Am I the only person on the planet who has never been been on the eBay website, let alone bought/sold anything.

I Havent, I dont get the idea of buying things second hand.

Or trying to save a few quid. I'd rather pay the extra for my own peice of mind and get it from a high street retailer.

 

[coagulantwolf]

Am I the only person on the planet who has never been been on the eBay website, let alone bought/sold anything.

Nope I am in the same boat, I think in my mind I have just never fully trusted the system!

 

[Tricky Dicky]

I Havent, I dont get the idea of buying things second hand.

Or trying to save a few quid. I'd rather pay the extra for my own peice of mind and get it from a high street retailer.

Pretty much this, I don't like second hand. After this thread I can no longer claim I've not been on the website, as I've just been to look. I typed in "Gibson Les Paul", got 10,000 matches, and thought nah, I wouldn't trust it.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

Don't forget to use http://www.auctionstealer.co.uk

 

[EDS]

I Havent, I dont get the idea of buying things second hand.

Or trying to save a few quid. I'd rather pay the extra for my own peice of mind and get it from a high street retailer.

I think you have the wrong idea of Ebay, nowadays they are moving more and more away from the private seller who are getting rid of their stuff. On Ebay, Tesco, British Telecom, Schuh, Superdry, house of Frasier and Argos even have stores along with many others(to many to mention).
They are now trying to become more and more like Amazon, the next time you want something and check online have a check on Ebay, chances are you will find it absolutely brand new and cheaper. I would say the majority of times Ebay is cheaper

 

[EDS]

Sadly, very true.

I used to sell a lot of surplus stock on eBay. Most buyers were fine, but dealing with a fair few timewasters, idiots, chancers and scammers made it just not worth the hassle.

I used to import goods from China and sell them on there, anything from generic control pads to xbox hard drives. I did very well with that until everyone cottoned onto the idea and were happy to mark up so after fees/postage were taken into account I doubt if they were making a pound.
Then I had an oppertunity to buy loads and loads of children's designer clothes as a small chain were going bankrupt in south London and to be honest I think they were selling them out the back door but that is upto them. I paid less than 10% retail and there were Burberry, baby Dior, D+G, so many brands it was unbelievable, I put them all on auction and hardly any sold for less than I paid. I must of had 30 items not received even though they were all sent recorded lol