Harold Posted December 30, 2017 Share Posted December 30, 2017 I used to list books occasionally on half.com (RIP) and the listings never expired. Every so often somebody would buy a book I listed several years earlier and I could not find it or had disposed of it some other way. Fortunately, an explanation and refund was sufficient for the buyers involved. As a side note on shipping charges, my method lately has been to bump up the price and include free S&H. I put 'economy shipping' in the listing and then decide the cheapest shipping method based on weight and distance to the buyer. Keeps me in control of that part of the transaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted December 30, 2017 Share Posted December 30, 2017 Don't list anything you can't touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted December 30, 2017 Share Posted December 30, 2017 Another fun one that you guys don't get to experience, sellers who only ship to random international destinations - sometimes you'll find something you really need and find the seller has marked it will only post to a seemingly random list of countries scattered across the globe. I once saw a car part that would ship from the US to New Zealand but not Australia... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 I've had problems shipping to Canada, but being a slow learner will get involved in shipping something up there again. New Zealand and Australia shipments are always friendly and fun. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1912Staver Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 Canada customs is sometimes extremely slow. Of course the sheer volume of shipments from the U.S. to Canada may have something to do with it. But lengthy delays make Ebay buyers nervous and it can sometimes lead to problems. Also shipping to Canada is crazy expensive on Ebay. The majority of Canadians live within 100 miles of the U.S. Greg in Canada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted December 31, 2017 Author Share Posted December 31, 2017 11 hours ago, 60FlatTop said: Don't list anything you can't touch. I could touch it when I listed it. But in 10 years we've grown apart. Call it going our separate ways. Most marriages don't last that long! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 Well Matt- I know you find your time valuable. However if you want to make sales, you need to be involved. Cant tell you how many deals Ive closed by putting a phone number in the ad, but it has been rather good. Would I do it for small parts or items? absolutely not. But in selling cars, have found it to work wonderfully. Have had some great offers and closed wo dealing with ebays BS. Brings loads more exposure then say an ad on AACA. Not saying an ad on AACA isnt good, just millions more potential views................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 I have another kind of work that I get paid for outside of the car hobby. I have thought about being more aggressive in the other field. Then for every $1,000 I bring in above my typical income I will throw out $200 worth of Ebay sale car parts. January 1st seems like an excellent day to start! Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 4 hours ago, mercer09 said: Well Matt- I know you find your time valuable. However if you want to make sales, you need to be involved. Cant tell you how many deals Ive closed by putting a phone number in the ad, but it has been rather good. Would I do it for small parts or items? absolutely not. But in selling cars, have found it to work wonderfully. Have had some great offers and closed wo dealing with ebays BS. Brings loads more exposure then say an ad on AACA. Not saying an ad on AACA isnt good, just millions more potential views................... My phone number IS in the ad. It's standard for dealers, there's no way to NOT have a phone number. But without the Buy It Now, I get 65 phone calls a day with ridiculous offers. "Hey, I see you've got a 1934 Packard roadster. Would you take $5000 and a used lawn mower in trade? It's a good lawnmower. No? Well fark you, scumbag." Yeah, I really enjoy that part of the job. And the hit count on eBay isn't millions. I am able to track the number of views an auction gets, the number of watchers, and the number of bidders and bids. It's rare for any auction to get more than 7-10,000 views, no matter what it is. The biggest one I had was a 1948 Diamond T rollback truck, which received nearly 18,000 views in 7 days and ultimately sold for nearly a quarter-million dollars (not on eBay). But imagine how much better I could have done if I actually answered the phone! Gee, I'm glad you pointed that out! I'm sure you know more about the business than I do--you're right, I'm obviously not "involved" and am just phoning it in, hoping that the money just drops in my lap. After all, I only sold 131 cars this year (more than $7 million dollars' worth), what could I possibly know about how this works? Listing on Ebay is a component of our marketing, but my life gets noticeably more annoying when I don't include a Buy It Now price due to people with unrealistic expectations. Sales don't magically go up when those people can call me to haggle--if you're $40,000 short, a phone conversation isn't going to change anything. Using tricks to open a dialogue with potential buyers is fine, but if the potential buyer can't possibly afford the car, what's the point? I believe that everyone is a potential client, but at the same time, who has time to spend all day talking to dreamers who aren't buyers? How many real buyers am I missing while I'm on the phone with a guy who just wants to talk about the car he owned when he was a kid but has no ability to buy one today? I'll always listen, but there's a cost for me, surely you understand that. Buy It Now is a way to pre-screen people who will self-filter in most cases. The price I have to pay for that is that a handful of people are selfish assholes who will screw things up now and then by derailing the auctions. Please, before you insult me and imply that I'm lazy and don't know what I'm doing, at least give me credit for thinking of the simple, obvious, brain-dead solutions you're coming up with now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted December 31, 2017 Author Share Posted December 31, 2017 Number one question on a reserve auction seems to be what the reserve is. When asked this point blank, I say it's around a certain number. As Matt mentioned, you really need to sort out the dreamers, because you will spend all day on calls with people that can't afford the car. Usually especially with eBay, there is travel involved for the buyer so I want them to be pretty sure this is the car they are going to buy before I waste either parties time or money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 (edited) 6 hours ago, 60FlatTop said: I have another kind of work that I get paid for outside of the car hobby. I have thought about being more aggressive in the other field. Then for every $1,000 I bring in above my typical income I will throw out $200 worth of Ebay sale car parts. January 1st seems like an excellent day to start! Bernie I agree. I was in the same position. I have an outside part time job that pays for my hobby expenses. Over the last couple of years, I hauled a bunch of car stuff to a number of swap meets and had stupid cheap give away prices including make an offer. The last meet I went to I sold $28.00 of stuff including a 2 ton winch for $25.00. The spot cost me $25.00. $3.00 net for the day. Got done with that day and took the trailer and emptied it out. Five piles. 1. scrap 2. recycle 3. trash 4. gave away 5. Kept about a banana box of stuff. I now have my enclosed utility trailer available for use. No more "stuff" just laying around. Life is simpler. Edited January 1, 2018 by Larry Schramm (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 Matt- never said millions of views on ebay. Millions of audience, unlike AACA. Say what you will, buy it now is a mistake no matter what. It doesnt work as intended and basically tells everyone what you will take for a vehicle. So where is the premise of the auction, when we all know what you want for a car? anyway, we all have our methods for selling, and one isnt necessarily better then anothers, but there is always room for improvement, even among professional dealers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playswithbrass Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Larry - has the guy that bought your wench told you if he was happy with his purchase? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, playswithbrass said: Larry - has the guy that bought your wench told you if he was happy with his purchase? Don't know, don't care. It worked when I sold it. Even had the original paperwork. Wench or Winch might be the same. Spell check did not work this time. Edited January 1, 2018 by Larry Schramm (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playswithbrass Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Larry up here in the frozen north a wench is different from a winch. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 10 minutes ago, playswithbrass said: Larry up here in the frozen north a wench is different from a winch. I don't want to think about, much less see, a 2-ton wench.... 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verne L Frantz Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Rather than having a reserve, why not just run the auction with no reserve but with the starting price equal to what your reserve would have been? If it doesn't sell and you would be willing to take less, then relist it with a lower starting price. This way, you avoid a lot of questions about what the reserve is and I think the listing fee is less. I see the only use of a reserve is to have it much much higher than anyone would pay so the item doesn't sell. Then the seller contacts the high bidders and negotiates a deal outside of ebay. Verne 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted January 1, 2018 Author Share Posted January 1, 2018 Coming from a seasoned ebayer who sells 30 items a night and buys a lot off eBay as well. People will bid against a reserve on a car if they think they can get it cheap, even when they run it up past the reserve, But will rarely start bidding on a high note. You have to get the bidders warmed up. Think of the Auctions you have been to. Many start with a high number then when no takers, they half it or less. It's psychological. I will say that on parts, a reserve seems to deter bidding. This speaking from personal experience doing it both ways. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 My Cadillac was on ebay and I bid on it a couple of times and it failed to meet reserve - I then offered them a fair bit less directly and they accepted it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curti Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 eBay frowns on buyers and sellers talking. what is the best way to contact a seller off eBay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curti Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 eBay frowns on buyers and sellers talking. what is the best way to contact a seller off eBay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 45 minutes ago, Curti said: eBay frowns on buyers and sellers talking. what is the best way to contact a seller off eBay? Ebay not only frowns on it, but pretty much blocks it...if you try to put phone number or email address in a message through Ebay, it will be blocked. I wonder why someone hasn't started a website where Ebay sellers can post their Ebay name along with their contact information, totally removed from Ebay. Then, if you want to try to make a deal, you could look the seller up and contact them. Yes, it puts your information out there, but isn't that the point when you're selling? I always get amused when people are so protective of their bank account information. Every time you write a check, you've given the person your bank name, address, account number, and bank routing number. Protections are in place so they can't do much with it, but so much for keeping information private.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted January 2, 2018 Author Share Posted January 2, 2018 Ebay is actually not all that protective of your information, they are just protective of losing .50 on a sale. It's only about the money, not the people involved. I've had a few buyers over the years, who insist on calling me after they won an item, for what reason, I'm not so sure. One was an address that was incorrect, the other was to let me know they made payment. Both wouldn't be a problem, but they lived on the West coast and it was 1AM in the East. We have one of those phones that announces the caller and then loudly plays the message through all the phones (3) in the house. The phone ringing at 1AM alone gets your heart racing (you are always expecting the worst with a 1AM phone call one you are asleep) then to have a guy booming out of every speaker in the house about a $10 eBay sale makes me want to throw their purchase in the garage and send them a nasty message. The wife doesn't like being woken up either by it. The whole transaction was handled through the computer, I don't really need to talk to you about it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John348 Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 33 minutes ago, trimacar said: I always get amused when people are so protective of their bank account information. Every time you write a check, you've given the person your bank name, address, account number, and bank routing number. Protections are in place so they can't do much with it, but so much for keeping information private.... I have had that happen also and they did not get it when I told them all of that information on every check they write 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted January 2, 2018 Author Share Posted January 2, 2018 Kind of like the guys who hide their plate number when they list a car, yet get in the car and drive it down the road, park it at the local shopping center etc. On a side note, that buyer that caused me to start this whole thread didn't get back to me on whether he wanted an invoice on the 2 items or to just cancel the transaction. Now that merchandise is again tied up for who knows how long. The same reason it got relisted the first time. Also if anyone notices strange placements of words on my replies, I like my New MAC computer but it likes to correct both spelling and word placement all on it's own, often without informing me. I only realize the mistakes after proof reading, so please just bear with me. I'll have to figure out how to turn it off. I won't tell you how many posts I have edited. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 (edited) 59 minutes ago, auburnseeker said: Kind of like the guys who hide their plate number when they list a car, yet get in the car and drive it down the road, park it at the local shopping center etc. Honest to god I need someone to explain the logic behind this. I laugh my fanny off whenever I it. Edited January 2, 2018 by alsancle (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted January 2, 2018 Author Share Posted January 2, 2018 2 minutes ago, alsancle said: Honest to god I need someone to explain the logic behind this. I laugh my fanny off whenever I it. That makes 2 of us, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 57 minutes ago, auburnseeker said: Also if anyone notices strange placements of words on my replies, I like my New MAC computer but it likes to correct both spelling and word placement all on it's own, often without informing me. I only realize the mistakes after proof reading, so please just bear with me. I'll have to figure out how to turn it off. I won't tell you how many posts I have edited. Yes, like the eBay shipping cost they will add to your sale, 9 out of 10 times for more than the actual postage, giving the buyer a reason to complain about you overcharging them for postage. Dropped that option after a negative feedback over 15-25 cents. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 4 minutes ago, alsancle said: Honest to god I need someone to explain the logic behind this. I laugh my fanny off whenever I it. Ever notice all the "Test Drives" on all the car shows are done with cars without any plates? Guess there isn't any insurance either. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe in Canada Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 1 hour ago, trimacar said: Ebay not only frowns on it, but pretty much blocks it...if you try to put phone number or email address in a message through Ebay, it will be blocked. I wonder why someone hasn't started a website where Ebay sellers can post their Ebay name along with their contact information, totally removed from Ebay. Then, if you want to try to make a deal, you could look the seller up and contact them. Yes, it puts your information out there, but isn't that the point when you're selling? I always get amused when people are so protective of their bank account information. Every time you write a check, you've given the person your bank name, address, account number, and bank routing number. Protections are in place so they can't do much with it, but so much for keeping information private.... Now that is the perfect apt someone could start for people to contact eBay sellers for a small fee. Get rich quick and then be able to spend it all on antique cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 I have sold a lot of stuff on Ebay and I don't think I ever used a reserve. My way of thinking is to avoid finding two clowns who want to compete against each other to buy an item. When has that ever happened in real life? It is rare. I have been listing since 1999, mostly under the user name of Mainstreetsteel, with a starting price of my minimum or Buy It Now, and have rarely received more than one or two bids. But I get what I wanted. Personally, I don't even look at items with a reserve. I took the time to search and find your item; now you tell me your price is a secret? Keep your item and your secret. And join the great masses of "reserve not met". Have you noticed Ebay doesn't show those in red anymore? I looked at completed car sales one time and though my monitor was hemorrhaging! Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 6 hours ago, auburnseeker said: Kind of like the guys who hide their plate number when they list a car, yet get in the car and drive it down the road, park it at the local shopping center etc. On a side note, that buyer that caused me to start this whole thread didn't get back to me on whether he wanted an invoice on the 2 items or to just cancel the transaction. Now that merchandise is again tied up for who knows how long. The same reason it got relisted the first time. Also if anyone notices strange placements of words on my replies, I like my New MAC computer but it likes to correct both spelling and word placement all on it's own, often without informing me. I only realize the mistakes after proof reading, so please just bear with me. I'll have to figure out how to turn it off. I won't tell you how many posts I have edited. It's actually really annoying around here when people do that because we did away with stickers on the windshield years ago (they were colour coded so you could tell roughly when it was paid up to). Now the system is basically you use the DMV equivalents web site to punch in the rego number and it'll tell you when it the registration is due (and a whole bunch of other stuff like vin) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 eBay frowns on buyers and sellers talking. what is the best way to contact a seller off eBay? Ive never had a problem listing my phone number in an ad. you can also send the seller your email, if you make it look a bit funky- as in gzv yes on a0l c0m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curti Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 I sell 34-36 Auburn parts as a part time business. Many times I see a seller advertising a few goody items. I am tempted to contact the guy and ask if he has a bunch of misc parts to sell and maybe I could make a purchase of the lot. A good deal for both of us. I guess I never thought of 'funky' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 1 hour ago, mercer09 said: make it look a bit funky- as in gzv yes on a0l c0m Interesting. I wonder how it would work with a deeply encrypted email address like bernie@berniedaily.com I swear I tried to make it easy, but I never dreamed how hard it could be to tell it over the phone. Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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