eBay Experiences?
 

I have my 1st item ever for sale on eBay. The reserve price I set has been met so I presume the item is sold? (there are 5 days left) <img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle> I'm very pleased & excited about the item (bow) meeting the reserve so quickly, but what's the next step? Is the high bidder locked in? How does the seller ultimately collect payment? I know this must sound niave, but appreciate any light shed on this. Curious,

Vic

RE: eBay Experiences?
 

your item is not sold until the auction expires. It may bring twice your reserve. you will then recieve an e-mail from eBay telling you what to do. You were supposed to specify what kind of payment was acceptable on your listing. I always specify that buyer pays a fixed amount of shipping and that money order or cashier's check ships same day, but personal checks must clear first. It's YOUR sale, so set it up the way you want...

Edited by - John Nail on 01/27/2002 08:11:41

Edited by - John Nail on 01/27/2002 08:13:21

RE: eBay Experiences?
 

man what ya sellin on ebay if ya dont mind me asking?

RE: eBay Experiences?
 

arrowsmit - When the auction is over, contact the high bidder and first thank him for the high bid. Ask what his/her method of payment will be and to please have them email you their mailing address so you can have the item and packaged to mail. Upon reciept of payment, and after mailing the item, send an email and tell them its on its way.

I have sold like 105 items. I got burned once buying a $10 CD (item was never shipped and EBAY did nothing) and I had a guy send a bow back to me once. I refunded his money minus the shipping costs. People are normally pretty good on EBAY auctions - gotta wattch out for the occassional freak though.

PS - Personally, I neveer bid on reserve auctions unless the reserve is stated on the item description. The Brackenbury on EBAY is mine - I paid $450 for it and started the bidding at $1.00 with no reserve. Risky ? Yes, but I have found more people bid on a non-reserve auction. Glad to hear you got your target price though .... just a tip.

RE: eBay Experiences?
 

Just one longbow for now Dan, &quot;testing the waters&quot; a bit before putting any more on there. Thanks a BUNCH for the tips & advice John & Stealthy. So the bidder can retract his/her bid anytime before the end of the auction, correct?

RE: eBay Experiences?
 

Vic, your description of the item should contain how you will ship (USPS or UPS), who is responsible for paying for shipping (Buyer or seller), where you will ship to, ie: USA and Canada or just USA or worldwide. You should explain that shipping will include insurance to cover the bid amount of the item and a delivery receipt or confirmation. Shipping rates can be found at USPS.com and UPS.com, all you need is a scale. Your description should indicate whether or not you accept personal checks and if so you should tell them that they are held until they clear your bank before you will ship. I prefer money orders only on high dollar items and state as such in my auctions. I also accept Paypal.com, a credit card service. Tell them how many days they have to contact you. If you don't, they will take forever. I usually state at the end of my description: &quot;High bidder should contact me within 3 days and have payment to me within 10 days of end of auction. Thanks for stopping in and good luck bidding.&quot; Needless to say, the description of the bow should be exacting with as many pics as you can place online. Otherwise you have a higher chance of the buyer misinterpreting your description and then negatives start to fly. Knock on wood, I've yet to receive or give a negative feedback. Yes, they can. But when a bidder retracts a bid, it is registered on their feedback area so it has stopped happening as much as it did before.

Edited by - wahya on 01/27/2002 10:23:42

RE: eBay Experiences?
 

Thanks Mike. I have most of that on there. Maybe you could check out my item & get back w/more suggestions? It's in the recurve section. Appreciate it all guys, THANKS!!

RE: eBay Experiences?
 

Vic, Good looking auction. I did a search for your handle, figured that was it and there you were. Like I said earlier, tell them in writing what payment methods you accept. They rarely read the small ebay print. List who will be shipping the bow. The more you put in your description, the fewer problems you'll have at the end of auction. I try and stay away from terms like NEW CONDITION, mainly because if the bow arrives to them with one little scratch, it isn't as you described it to them before they bid. These are little things you will learn from experience. Congrats dude. It looks like your bow may sell for more than you expected.

RE: eBay Experiences?
 

I wanted to add that when the auction ends, I always emailed the people as soon as I could. I thanked them for bidding and congratulated them on their winning bid. Then I repeated my terms of sale to them. Money order/Credit card and would give them the total including shipping and insurance. I'd give them my address and ask them to reply with their shipping information. Once you've completed a few sales you will start to find things you need to do to make things go smoother. Your feedback rating determines how well your auctions will go. I'm sure that your ebay ID is what attracted many of the bids you've received so far because lots of LW and BBS people shop there and it's a readily recognizable name. <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: eBay Experiences?
 

If I were a buyer on a bow like yours on EBAY, I would like to see a picture of the front and back of the limbs. Thats my only suggestion - other than that a good looking auction ...