Advice for selling on eBay.

[Generation_Omega]

I've never sold anything on eBay before so I was hoping someone could give me a bit of advice here.

1. How do I find out how much shipping is before setting up the auction? Do I have to go to the post office and have the item weighed?

2. What's the best way to mail figs without breaking them? I was thinking of just putting them back in the little plastic holder thing they came with and putting it back into an empty booster and mailing that but I thought it might be more expensive that way.

As you can see, I'm a noob when it comes to selling things. Any help would be appreciated.

[robedestroyer]

I just mailed my first trade on hcrealms yesterday, and I used two boosters. I put on booster inside the other (the booster on the inside had the open and slide into the other booster to fit) with two plastic holders enclosing the figure with a bunch of packing peanuts. Shipping was $1.90 from Minnesota to Michigan (delivery confirmation was an extra $.80 I think. On ebay, if you are using small boxes, it seems the standard shipping fee is about $3.00 to pay for the box, etc. There is also a shipping cost calculator you can find on the site.

[Blubeard]

generally, for shipping figures, first class is the way to go because its so light.

if you are just setting up an auction for 1 figure,choose "usps first class mail) select weight to "less than 1 lb", then set the next drop down to 13 oz (the maximum for first class)

thats the cheapest easiest way to go.

[ChiRocker]

I've never sold anything on eBay before so I was hoping someone could give me a bit of advice here.

1. How do I find out how much shipping is before setting up the auction? Do I have to go to the post office and have the item weighed?

2. What's the best way to mail figs without breaking them? I was thinking of just putting them back in the little plastic holder thing they came with and putting it back into an empty booster and mailing that but I thought it might be more expensive that way.

As you can see, I'm a noob when it comes to selling things. Any help would be appreciated.

I trade on here a lot, and I have been doing it for years (ebaying too). First about shipping, most people just charge a guesstimate (wow, firefox has this as an actual word lol) fee for shipping. $3 is usually a safe amount to charge for 5 figures or so, then charge an extra $1 for every addition 5 figures or so.

HeroClix boxes are fine, but I usually only do the box within a box thing if I am more figures than fit in just one box. I usually wrap each figure in a paper towel, wrap the box in a piece of computer paper, then print out labels. The only place you don't wanna be too cheap on in the tape. Get a roll of clear packing tape and not just overboarding with the scotch.

I hope all that helps!

[vectin]

I've never sold anything on eBay before so I was hoping someone could give me a bit of advice here.

Okay, will try. I've done my fair share of selling on the bay.

1. How do I find out how much shipping is before setting up the auction? Do I have to go to the post office and have the item weighed?

You're going to want to average. Take your standard Uline box or white baseball card box and figure out what 1/5/10/20 figs in a box weighs in at. That should be more than enough of a range for you to guestimate shipping in the future. Either that or buy a little scale and figure out exact postage at USPS.com.

There's a lot of variance and auctioneer methods out there, do some research on Ebay. See who's auctions end for good prices. You'll notice S/H and additional wins typically are the factors in making great sales. My personal recommendation would be anywhere from $2.50 to $3.00 S/H with either a number of additional auctions free (for up to 3-5 figs) or low add-on S/H (each additional auction win 10-50 cents). Many front-load their auctions $4 and up in S/H in case their fig gets poor bidding. If this is not an extremely valuable piece, I've found that when you pump the S/H to cover yourself, ppl don't bid and the price doesn't go up guaranteed.


2. What's the best way to mail figs without breaking them? I was thinking of just putting them back in the little plastic holder thing they came with and putting it back into an empty booster and mailing that but I thought it might be more expensive that way.

Actually, don't use the boosters, unless they are still 100% intact. If not, they are structurally weak where you ripped it open and may get crushed on the weak side. (I've seen this dozens of times - not good.) If you plan on selling a lot (say 20-30) pieces you might want to invest in cheapo uline boxes or go to a baseball card dealer and buy simple bb card boxes. They are the standard. You can also reuse them (flip them inside out) if you receive them. Rather than try to tape over perma labelling, simply turn the box inside out. The USPS prefers this and it is less likely your labeling will get torn or fall off. Hope this helps.

[WatTsu]

Speaking as someone who has bought and sold on eBay, keep your shipping reasonable. Shipping for one or two figures in a small card box shouldn't be more than $1.30-$1.90, and the boxes themselves generally aren't very expensive. I don't think shipping should be over $2.00 for single-figure purchases, yet I see $5 and $10 shipping for such auctions all the time. It's pretty disgusting.

Edit: Actually, shipping prices tend to be too high on eBay across the board because I think a lot of people use them to get a few extra bucks. I bought a Dr. Strange action figure on eBay for my office and ended up having to pay $6 shipping. It only cost $2 to ship and the envelope had to only be $1. So where did my extra money go?

Don't be that guy, is all I'm saying.

[Ed0825]

Speaking as someone who has bought and sold on eBay, keep your shipping reasonable. Shipping for one or two figures in a small card box shouldn't be more than $1.30-$1.90, and the boxes themselves generally aren't very expensive. I don't think shipping should be over $2.00 for single-figure purchases, yet I see $5 and $10 shipping for such auctions all the time. It's pretty disgusting.

Edit: Actually, shipping prices tend to be too high on eBay across the board because I think a lot of people use them to get a few extra bucks. I bought a Dr. Strange action figure on eBay for my office and ended up having to pay $6 shipping. It only cost $2 to ship and the envelope had to only be $1. So where did my extra money go?

Don't be that guy, is all I'm saying.

If you see a $25 BIN on eBay, that cost the seller $3.00 in Final eBay fees, plus the $0.50 listing + almost $1.50 in Paypal fees + $0.30 for the box + $1.50 shipping. So how much do you think Shipping/Handling should be. I hate the fact when I only see $2-$3 shipping because when they are selling 1 or 2 dollar figures, they are almost giving them away.

In reality $5 is actually reasonable, but people can't stand that so you will find something usually in the $3-4 range. The key is to find those auctions where they let you combine auctions for free or at a small per item price.

[orangeboy7000]

I've been selling stuff on ebay for a long time and a good number of clix too. In the US shipping of about $3 will cover your costs of the box and postage. Ebay doesn't charge a value fee on shipping so some people will charge a few dollars more but sell the item for less. It's to cover shipping AND handling charges. Value fees and such should be understood by buyers but most don't care, they just want the cheapest junk possible.

Check the active listings for what you are selling and completed listings to see what a reasonable price is. Having buy-it-now auction that allows people to make offers works well, for me at least. I set the price higher than the average and then sell for what I was originally looking to get in the first. I get the price I want and the buyer feels like he made a deal.

[orangeboy7000]

Edit: Actually, shipping prices tend to be too high on eBay across the board because I think a lot of people use them to get a few extra bucks. I bought a Dr. Strange action figure on eBay for my office and ended up having to pay $6 shipping. It only cost $2 to ship and the envelope had to only be $1. So where did my extra money go?

Don't be that guy, is all I'm saying.


To the outrageous and disgusting fees that ebay charges it's sellers, which go up all the time. That's not even talking about the fees from Paypal. You are paying for the service, ease of use, and protection that ebay offers. Just about every item bought on ebay is only done because either you A)can't find it locally or B)are getting is a lot cheaper using ebay. To complain about marginal shipping rates is a bit petty. I can understand complain about the guys that have clix listed $15-$25 for shipping to Canada when I know it doesn't even cost $5 but a couple of bucks above the actual shipping rate is no big deal. That covers handling and the time the seller puts in.

[doc_monocle]

I thought that it was against eBay rules to basically pass the cost of the listing and/or paypal fees onto the seller by folding them into the shipping and handling fee.

[d_knight7]

If you see a $25 BIN on eBay, that cost the seller $3.00 in Final eBay fees, plus the $0.50 listing + almost $1.50 in Paypal fees + $0.30 for the box + $1.50 shipping. So how much do you think Shipping/Handling should be. I hate the fact when I only see $2-$3 shipping because when they are selling 1 or 2 dollar figures, they are almost giving them away.

In reality $5 is actually reasonable

No.

I don't mind a little 'shipping and handling' added on, but what you're talking about is completely against the rules. I hear you about how EBAY bends you over a barrel with their outrageous fees and Paypal monopoly, but it's not ok to try and gouge people.

If you see a listing where they're obviously doing a 300% mark up on selling fees, report them. They are actually hurting the people who offer fair shipping costs, because people look at item cost more than shipping.

If you buy an item and the shipping was excessive don't give them 5 stars on the shipping costs portion of your feedback.

$2.50 for shipping on 1 clix? Fine. $5? Rip off.

[ccs]

The best method of shipping figures?
Those small white card boxes that people store Magic cards in. They come in several sizes. The smallest one, about 4" square, is cheap enough, light enough, & has enough surface room for the Delivery Confirmation stickers from the USPS, FedEx, or UPS.

*Remember to PM/Email the recipiant the tracking #.

*Remember to charge enough for the figure so that you don't lose $ on the supplies used.

*Take into account any fees involved - listing fees, auction completion fees, paypal fees, whatever. You don't want to lose $ on these either.

If you recieve figures through buying/trading? Save & re-use the boxes they arrive in.

[orangeboy7000]

I thought that it was against eBay rules to basically pass the cost of the listing and/or paypal fees onto the seller by folding them into the shipping and handling fee.

They do have those rules because they want the money in fees but it doesn't stop some people from doing it. Certain categories like DVDs have a limited amount that can be charged for shipping but toys and stuff don't. A reasonable bump in shipping cost isn't that big of a deal (i.e. the $6 example) and shouldn't be complained about. People who try to charge $10+ should be reported.


$2.50 for shipping on 1 clix? Fine. $5? Rip off.

Not really. If it is a high value clix and you get an overall price that you are happy with then you shouldn't complain at all. If anyone is buying commons on ebay instead of a miniature site then they should just know they shipping won't worth it. I mean, do you really expect to get that piece for $.01 out the door? No. Trade or buy from a store and buy more than one piece to make it worthwhile. Although, places like Strikezone cheat on their prices and charge extra shipping for EACH item you order on top of the postage.

[d_knight7]

Not really. If it is a high value clix and you get an overall price that you are happy with then you shouldn't complain at all.

We'll have to agree to disagree then.

They are abusing EBAY's seller rules, diverting buyers away from people selling clix at realistic prices, and potentially hammering the unwary with bloated shipping charges.

If enough people abusing shipping charges EBAY would start charging fees on shipping too; these people are relying on the majority to follow the rules so that they can benefit. That's being a leech.

[orangeboy7000]

We'll have to agree to disagree then.

They are abusing EBAY's seller rules, diverting buyers away from people selling clix at realistic prices, and potentially hammering the unwary with bloated shipping charges.

If enough people abusing shipping charges EBAY would start charging fees on shipping too; these people are relying on the majority to follow the rules so that they can benefit. That's being a leech.

Like I said, $5-$6 cannot be seen as a bloated shipping AND handling charge. If it's a small private seller you have to take into account the box and how much their time is worth. I've had plenty of times where I had to wait for 15 minutes or more at the post office. My time is money and you pay for it. I understand when you are talking about $10+ but to say they should only charge actual postage is pretty silly since there is more cost than the postage in both money and time.

Anyone who has ever sold anything on ebay will most likely agree with me. Ebay limits the amount you can charge for shipping on certain items because they want money money money from the sellers, it has nothing to do with the buyers at all. If a price isn't what someone wants to pay, then they won't pay it, period. The only person is effects is the seller, who is getting raked, and ebay (which is doing very well).

Consider if you sell a Super Rare for $40 on ebay plus $2.50 (about actual shipping cost and what you say is "fair"). Well, the seller gets $42.50 minus $5 final value fee, $.50 listing fee, $2 paypal fee, actual shipping (let's say $2.00), and the cost of the box (at least $2-$3 for an average person). So that's about $12 right there plus the time to pack and ship the item. So the $40 item is really only about $30 and you still have to donate your time. A $5 shipping/handling charge is very reasonable. This is why I'd much rather sell in person but the market is too small for items like clix.

They clearly are NOT abusing the ebay policy since so many sellers charge that amount and are not getting in any trouble. Ebay's policy isn't that you can only charge actual postage, but that you can't charge unreasonable shipping/handling charges. That is subjective to some extent but clearly ebay doesn't agree with you.