eBay

jt-libra · ‎06-15-2015

Posts by gifts of elegance in the "Nothing Seems to Sell Anymore" thread prompted me to ask her, or anyone else, how best to ensure that very expensive items reach their destination safely, and minimize the risk of any fraudulent purchasing activity. I currently only ship within North America but, with items like china, I don't know whether it would be wise to offer these listings to, say, European buyers.

A family member has asked if I would sell her very expensive figurines, china and crystal, with many of these pieces having a potential sale price of $1000-plus. I've been reluctant (actually frightened) to because of so much fraudulent activity with high priced items -- perhaps more so with electronics. I've never sold very expensive items before and I'm not 100% sure how to protect myself.

I know that quality packing materials are required; shipping with tracking and a signature requirement, and purchasing sufficient insurance. In doing that, a buyer cannot claim that he did not receive the item. Now, if it is damaged in transit, would the insurance cover the cost of the item itself plus the money I outlaid for shipping? What if the buyer claims the item is "not as described" and refuses to pay return shipping. I noticed that sets of china sold by gifts of elegance could require as much as a $250 shipping charge. What happens if the seller refuses to pay the return shipping and files a dispute? We can't be certain that PayPal would rule in our favour and, depending upon the statements made by the buyer, we might be forced to pay the return shipping as well. Or, say, the seller does agree to pay the return shipping but does not re-pack the item well and it is damaged on return. I'm presuming the original insurance purchased would not cover the return leg of the journey?

As far as the descriptions are concerned, I would have to do a lot of research before I even attempt to list the items. The owner has only a limited knowledge of the items other than when they were purchased and the original cost. So I do have my work cut out for me.

I'd appreciate any advice you can offer. Thanks.

tobyshitzu · ‎06-15-2015

Maxsold came out of a local traditional auctioneer and now expanded to many cities. It an online auction aimed at a local market without shipping. They handle everything from picture taking to being there for people to pick up their items. They dont' do single items, but entire estates, businesses closing or at least downsizing with a quantity of good stuff to sell.

I've compared items being bid there like Doulton figurines and inevitably they are bid higher then buy it nows are sitting unsold on ebay. With no packing, shipping, dealing with buyers, and no scams or problems that is how I'd go if I had a quantity of that sort of thing . Pretty sure the net is almost always more then it would be on ebay, and item size is not an issue. There is never aythign for me to buy on it as everything seems to be bid higher then it should be. Don't remember where you are to look if they operate there. If not I'd look for another local option

gifts_of_elegance · ‎06-15-2015

Because they are "collectibles" and are marketed as an "investment" most people think that they are worth a lot more than what they paid for them. Also, they fail to realize that there is a difference in value between "purchase value" and "market" value. They cannot justify the cost of selling and the time involved.

"If you do something for a living, then that service is NOT FREE."

Help your fellow man in any other way you can.

jt-libra · ‎06-15-2015

@toby**bleep**zu wrote:
Maxsold came out of a local traditional auctioneer and now expanded to many cities. It an online auction aimed at a local market without shipping. They handle everything from picture taking to being there for people to pick up their items. They dont' do single items, but entire estates, businesses closing or at least downsizing with a quantity of good stuff to sell.

I've compared items being bid there like Doulton figurines and inevitably they are bid higher then buy it nows are sitting unsold on ebay. With no packing, shipping, dealing with buyers, and no scams or problems that is how I'd go if I had a quantity of that sort of thing . Pretty sure the net is almost always more then it would be on ebay, and item size is not an issue. There is never aythign for me to buy on it as everything seems to be bid higher then it should be. Don't remember where you are to look if they operate there. If not I'd look for another local option

I had never heard of them, but I looked online and they've been around since 2010 but, unfortunately, only in B.C., Alberta and Ontario .... and the U.S. What a great idea these people had. Their commission is 30% which I assume is similar to other auction houses.

sylviebee · ‎06-15-2015

I sell two types of things on eBay.

The purses are planned and my passion. These are easy to ship and when I decided to start an online business I chose carefully. I sell some on eBay but also elsewhere.

The other is "everything else," and that's just all the stuff I've accumulated over the years. For me, most of that stuff is a pain to deal with but a lot of it is too valuable to give away (for now).

I find that the breakable items, especially dishes, are my least favourite things to sell, but for me it's all tax-free profit so I deal with it but I'd never do so by design.

BUT......... if I have figurine that I can sell on eBay for $1,000 or at an auction house for $100 (and that is often a very realistic comparison)............ I'll do the work every time.

That's not bad money for an hour's worth of work.

jt-libra · ‎06-15-2015

Thank you gifts. When I read some of your posts on the other thread, I couldn't help but wonder how you could sell such expensive items online, particularly with what I view are huge risks with the modern era eBay.

You're awesome The information you've provided simply reinforces how out of my league this venture is. But your info with respect to shipping carriers, insurance and packing tips will come in handy nevertheless.

The most expensive items I've sold were Beatle memorabilia ($200 to $300), but this was back in the day when you seldom heard about a fraudulent buyer. I had nothing but good experiences. Some of these items were quite fragile so I guess I self-taught myself to pack well, using good quality materials. But I still didn't pack as well as you describe.

Thanks again for the very useful information.

(It wouldn't have occurred to me to Google a buyer; I would have relied on the info I obtained through their eBay history.) See how much I have to learn!

gifts_of_elegance · ‎06-15-2015

You are only "out of league" between your two ears. You have been selling successfully here and that is not a small accomplishment.

Don't be afraid to meet new challenges. Good luck to both of us!

treasure.hunter.d · ‎06-16-2015

@gifts_of_elegance wrote:
Because they are "collectibles" and are marketed as an "investment" most people think that they are worth a lot more than what they paid for them. Also, they fail to realize that there is a difference in value between "purchase value" and "market" value. They cannot justify the cost of selling and the time involved.

"If you do something for a living, then that service is NOT FREE."

Help your fellow man in any other way you can.

This is a HUGE problem and with the softness of the market currently even moreso.

I regularly do appraisals for estates, single items etc and it's gotten to the point where I cringe at the thought of being the first appraiser to see an estate lot. When many people get their hands on an estate to sell it brings out the absolute worst in them and all they see is $$$$. If I am the first appraiser to catalog and value the estate there are many circumstances these days where the estate owners look at me like I am either nuts or I am trying to rip them off in some way when they hear how little their estate items are actually worth to sell. They look at the "Insurance" value vs the "actual market" value and just can't comprehend the large difference.

It generally takes a second appraiser going in and giving them a similar evaluation for them to realize what the situation is.

My advice to you is that given the complexities and dangers involved in shipping, and the likley fact that the items are probably not worth anywhere near what the owners think, I would politely abstain from involvement. I think it will really just end up being more of a "pain in the behind" than you really want to get into.

If the items have decent value there will be no problem whatsoever getting a local auction house to deal with selling them and I can tell you first hand, that with today's market, you can play auction houses one off of the other in order to get the best deal fees wise if the lot is "hot" enough.

Best of luck.

Cheers,

thD

berubegirl · ‎06-16-2015

On a side note to OP:

A person can never predict what some collectors are willing to pay for any particular item. The owners of this store are a sweet elderly couple that were pickers when peeps still thought that "picking" necessarily involved a nose....lol.

But over the years this couple has amassed an amazing collection of antiques and unique items which they display in their residence. The wife used to be a huge BMP(Blue Mountain Pottery) collector and she would buy all BMP she saw back in the day.

Last year we downsized their collection of BMP but they were fully aware that although BMP use to sell for big bucks the market for Canadian pottery in general has fallen down to its knees.

We listed them anyways just in case. They had a one of kind huge Angel Fish which used to be the signature piece for BMP. However the wife had managed to find one of these that had been a mistake probably in firing the piece which gave it a unique never seen color for BMP. At that point the normal Angel Fish was selling for around $50. So we listed the fish at $75.

Now bear in mind that these are huge figurines and very delicate but also heavy since the base is thick. Now days most BMP pieces seem to sell to Australia so we were not surprised when the first message we received was from an Australian asking for an estimated shipping quote. The quote was nearly $300 with insurance tracking etc.....so we all figured that this would result in "no sale" of course.

After about 10 minutes from sending the message the store phone chimes in with that awesome "cha-ching" sound and sure enough he bought it and paid the $300 shipping.....

This has happen on multiple occasions over the years so the shipping cost of a transaction can sometimes be a non factor for certain people.

As far as NAD and returns go, should you decide to sell china and figurines we would strongly suggest you acquire a black light and black light invisible ink to mark your pieces on bottom side. Most cellphone now have black light apps available to them. Now if buyer claims he receive item broken then you let them know about the invisible ink on bottom and ask them to download the app and take a picture of the ink, this should solve the buy and switch trick that many scammers used. Ebay will also back you up with this technique as long as you can show pictures of the invisible ink on piece standing next to the shipping box with your buyers address on it.

Quite frankly we never had big issues with these and we believe that this segment of buyers is maybe a little bit more sophisticated than most categories and they tend to be so happy that they finally found the missing piece to their collection that they do not want to waste time and money on attempting scams.

pjcdn2005 · ‎06-16-2015

Now if buyer claims he receive item broken then you let them know about the invisible ink on bottom and ask them to download the app and take a picture of the ink, this should solve the buy and switch trick that many scammers used. Ebay will also back you up with this technique as long as you can show pictures of the invisible ink on piece standing next to the shipping box with your buyers address on it.

Perhaps you have experience that tells you otherwise but I would be surprised if ebay would now accept that as any type of evidence as they have no way of knowing if the seller sent that exact item to the buyer. Why would they assume that the buyer did a bait and switch but that the seller couldn't have done one as well? They could have switched the item before packaging it up so this would be another he said/she said scenario.

berubegirl · ‎06-17-2015

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
Now if buyer claims he receive item broken then you let them know about the invisible ink on bottom and ask them to download the app and take a picture of the ink, this should solve the buy and switch trick that many scammers used. Ebay will also back you up with this technique as long as you can show pictures of the invisible ink on piece standing next to the shipping box with your buyers address on it.

Perhaps you have experience that tells you otherwise but I would be surprised if ebay would now accept that as any type of evidence as they have no way of knowing if the seller sent that exact item to the buyer. Why would they assume that the buyer did a bait and switch but that the seller couldn't have done one as well? They could have switched the item before packaging it up so this would be another he said/she said scenario.

Yes actually. This scenario played out about two years ago and ebay sided with seller. However ebay requested that we send the entire folders of pictures that we had, meaning that we also sent the pictures of other items that were not involved in dispute.

Ebay answered that since this was a proven method of our process(by pictures of all items shipped} that the figurine was as described and therefore buyer should pay return shipping if they wished to return it. A very minor win but a win nevertheless.

This whole process took nearly two weeks though.

pjcdn2005 · ‎06-17-2015

Perhaps I'm wrong but these days they don't seem to be too interested in looking at anything like that. I suppose it is because if they accepted it as 'proof', they are saying that they 'know' the seller put that exact item into the box and then shipped it and in reality, they don't know for sure.