E-bay newbie, need some guidance

[pseub]

So I've decided to sell at least a couple of my lesser-used bags, and have just set up an e-bay account. I'm a little nervous about doing this, so those of you ladies who are "old hands", please give me tips on the following:

1. I'll have no seller feedback since this will be the first time I've sold anything on e-bay. Should I mention in the item description that these are personal items I've decided to sell and that's why no feedback? Or just not mention it at all?

2. I'm going to reactivate my Paypal account...how does Paypal work when you're the seller? If I tie it to a bank account, do the funds get directly deposited there? Can a buyer rip me off by paying through Paypal? (I have this worry about shipping a bag out only to find that something went wrong on the buyer's end and the payment is now void.) I'm really reluctant to take personal or cashier's checks just because of all the scammers out there.

3. How long should I set up an auction to be open?

4. I know it's best to have lots of good pictures posted, are there any other tips you experieced e-bayers have found helpful?

 

[fayden]

hmmm... it does help if you have some positive feedbacks before you start selling. but if you give a really thorough description, and lots of detailed pictures, that may compensate.

paypal is great. you can transfer the funds directly to your bank account. it takes about 2 to 3 days. they can sort of cause problems if they aren't happy with the transaction, but i haven't had that problem... yet. mostly, freeze your account. but i think it's rare because you should really try to work it out before it gets to that point.

i usually set my auctions to 7 days. you can change it to 10 days if it doesn't have any bids within 24 hours of auctions end, i think.

that's about it! pics and lots of details.

good luck!

 

[Swanky]

So I've decided to sell at least a couple of my lesser-used bags, and have just set up an e-bay account. I'm a little nervous about doing this, so those of you ladies who are "old hands", please give me tips on the following:

1. I'll have no seller feedback since this will be the first time I've sold anything on e-bay. Should I mention in the item description that these are personal items I've decided to sell and that's why no feedback? Or just not mention it at all?

no need to mention it we ALL start somewhere!

2. I'm going to reactivate my Paypal account...how does Paypal work when you're the seller? If I tie it to a bank account, do the funds get directly deposited there? Can a buyer rip me off by paying through Paypal? (I have this worry about shipping a bag out only to find that something went wrong on the buyer's end and the payment is now void.) I'm really reluctant to take personal or cashier's checks just because of all the scammers out there.

If you choose to add your bank account you can transfer your money out of Paypal into it.
Paypal is the safest bet.
I NEVER accept personal checks. NEVER. I've never had a problem w/ cashier's checks or money orders though.

3. How long should I set up an auction to be open?

I usually go about 7 days.
Here's a great resourse:
http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/calendar/calendar.html

4. I know it's best to have lots of good pictures posted, are there any other tips you experieced e-bayers have found helpful?

Good, clean, close cropped photos w/ no real background and precise, true description. Also fair shipping.

Best of luck!

 

[bijou]

are there a lot of fees for selling stuff on ebay?