e bay co-op

**Ohio Scrapper** · 03-05-2012, 09:50 PM

Great idea parrothead. I've been selling on ebay for the past 3 years and just like scrapping, there's always something new to learn.

**bjybjy** · 03-06-2012, 08:22 AM

I was a powerseller 10+ years ago, and I am on track to become a top rated and powerseller again at the March evaluation in a couple weeks.

In the last year I got 2 negative feedbacks. One was from a guy who admitted to not reading the description before buying that was later removed, and the other one is from a computer I sold on commission for a friend. Buyer didn't like the battery life left in a 5 year old laptop, I had to give him a refund in exchange for changing his feedback, I ended up losing money on the deal when all was said and done.

Computer components are especially difficult to safely sell on eBay right now because the buyer's protection process so heavily favors the buyer. To illustrate: A buyer has a computer that won't turn on. It is actually a bad power supply but he thinks it is bad RAM, so he buys a RAM card from someone. They pop it into their computer and it doesn't work. Under eBays rules they can either demand a full refund as much as a month later, or file a claim against you for sending them a broken item (even though the RAM works fine and the powersupply is the real problem) and 99% of the time eBay will side with the buyer. Also if they hit you with a negative or neutral feedback even a single bad feedback can knock a seller out of powerseller status and possibly cost them $100s in reduced fees.

There is no way I would ever sell something on eBay without it being in front of me, and being able to inspect it since my reputation would be on the line. And having sold many items on commission in the past there isn't much money to be made without absolutely ripping off the consigner. I'm happy for PTS, if he doesn't mind working on smallish margins then more more power to him. I'd suggest either selling to him, or cracking down and selling the items yourself. Doing the consignment thing in general is opening a can or worms and doing it long distance without both parties inspecting the item in person is opening up Pandora's Box.

**Midnight** · 03-07-2012, 09:43 AM

I do a little trading assistant work on ebay and other sites in addition to selling my own stuff. I just got my 11 year anniversary certificate form ebay. I and most TAs require possession to sell merchandise for someone. It is also smart to get copies of IDs and a signed affidavit that the seller has legal authority to sell any merchandise. Nothing like having cops come to your door saying that the serial number on an item has turned up in a database as stolen merchandise. Most good (profitable) TAs will take 40-50%. My rule of thumb was not to take merchandise that I thought would sell for less than $50. Anything less than that and your half isn't worth the time involved in listing, promoting, customer service, shipping, paypal/ebay fees, ect.

I always log any merchandise with leadsonline.com so that if there is any issue with stolen goods, I have done the proper steps to CMA. Double shipping would certainly cut into the seller's profit margin. You may want to look into a local TA and explain the ebay scrap market and see if they are interested. Selling outright to a buyer that sells on ebay is another route that may be better. Just expect to only get 40% of the expected retail, because they are taking the risks, not you.

Also, many TAs have a delay in paying out to the merchandise seller as a buffer against charge-backs. It is almost impossible to get your money back from the original owner if you pay out and then get a forced charge-back from ebay/paypal. You can get stuck without the merchandise and have to refund the money, half of which, you do not have anymore.

**maxpwr** · 03-10-2012, 11:09 PM

I have been selling on ebay for over 14 years now. Used to do a lot of consignments @25% but those days are long gone. Now with the higher fees, Free shipping, frequent charge backs. It makes it really hard. Unless your taking in higher end items, you need to be at around 40% to see any profit that is worth the risk. Like Midnight said, unless you are getting $50+ Items its not worth it. Most people will show up with a truck full of junk and get POed when you tell them its not worth anything!