eBay Sellers & Buyers - please READ THIS

[baglady]

I am going to take the advice from some of the members and have my least favorite bags listed on eBay.

If you have ever purchased a designer bag (authentic ones), I need to know what have sellers done or could have done to convince you that the bags listed are authentic and what effective techniques have they used to get you to bid or purchase the items?

This is my plan so far: I am going to list the items through my bf's eBay account because he has 100% positive feedbacks associated with his account. I decided to use his because if I create a new account with no feedback, buyers may be reluctant to take a chance on me.

My next move is to take interior pictures of the bags (serial #s & label). My eyebrows raise when I see a bag on eBay and they don't show the inside of the bag. Either they are too cheap to pay the extra fee to display more photos or they have something to hide---the interior of a bag can be the kiss of death for fake bags.

Another plan is to take pictures of the receipts. All my bags are from authorized retailers (NM, Saks, Eluxury, etc. or from the brand company itself).

Pricing is tricky. The two bags I am selling I purchased while on sale (a savings of $200 or more). I want to price it lower than what I purchased because they are used and not considered classics. I just hope I don't price it too low that people fear its a fake and not bid on it. I am pricing it to sell. I am not out to necessarily make a profit; I just want to get rid of them and have some readily available cash.

Any advice from eBay buyers and sellers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Oh, don't forget to take my poll listed below

 

[fayden]

also take REALLY nice pics. close ups. and no blurry ones. they have to be clean and clear. write a long description. describe it at length. and answer all questions in emails that u might get. i usually say no refunds because they are used. clearly say that. and i never had a problem before. say why you are selling, it might help too. take pics of the receipt, that may also help. but pictures IMO are most important.

 

[jc2239]

pictures of the interior are nice....but I always like when there are close up photos of detailing/trim/zippers/grommets....anything like that just so the buyer has some detailed views with which to compare if they do have a real bag because a lot of the times the fakes look almost identical other than that their detailing/trim is a little off....

 

[amanda]

pictures of the interior are nice....but I always like when there are close up photos of detailing/trim/zippers/grommets....anything like that just so the buyer has some detailed views with which to compare if they do have a real bag because a lot of the times the fakes look almost identical other than that their detailing/trim is a little off....

i second that, every brand has certain things that make it an obvious real or an obvious fake. LV's need good pictures of seams and how the logos line up to convince me, balenciagas need pictures of the strap attachment and interior number, etc. let us know what bags you're selling and we might be able to give a few more details.

 

[baglady]

i second that, every brand has certain things that make it an obvious real or an obvious fake. LV's need good pictures of seams and how the logos line up to convince me, balenciagas need pictures of the strap attachment and interior number, etc. let us know what bags you're selling and we might be able to give a few more details.

Thank you Fayden, jc2239, and Amanda for your feedbacks thus far. Great advice and points well taken.

Amanda, the bags I am going to sell are called my "Buyer's Remorse Bag Collection" a leather Burberry satchel (5 months old) and a small Fendi zucc...something bag (1-2 years old). The Fendi is meant to worn across the body. I'll try to get some pics posted in a few days.

Oh, the poll is listed above (not below---sorry about the error).

 

[amanda]

with the burberry, since it's not logo, i'd say the devil is in the details. pictures of anywhere burberry is written, stamped, or engraved, anything that makes you think 'burberry' when you see the bag. also, seams and stitching are important because they often reveal things that even other details won't.

as far as the zucca/zucchino, the seams are also important because designer logo bags usually cut their material so that the logo lines up at the seams - even good fakes usually don't get this exactly right. i'm not sure if fendi does this because my only fendi is a wallet, but i suspect that they do, so take pictures where the lining up of the logo is clear. i'm always suspicious of auctions that don't give me clear seam pictures, even if they look otherwise legit.

i think if you show lots of details in general, you should be fine. good luck!

 

[Issmom]

I don't know anything specifically to help you with the particular bag you are listing but I'd explain (in the listing) why you are selling the bags and why the feedback associated with your seller ID has nothing to do with bags. Explain that you are not in the bag business, you are just trying to find new homes for your babies.....

 

[loren]

I second that. Explain honestly why you are selling the bags, and take lots of close up pictures. Sellers of fakes rarely take close ups. Also, state clearly that you personally purchased these bags from authorized dealers of Fendi and Burb. Sometimes people buy off ebay use then sell, well that could be great but not necessarily real. Good luck, and don't get too addicted. My first ebay sale amounted to a $5.00 profit and I was so happy I had to tell everyone. Now I can't stop myself and it has nothing to do with making money as I can work one day and make enough to buy several chloes but I love staying home and selling on ebay. I actually think it has something to do with justifying my large shopping addiction.

 

[chemlex]

For the poll choices - pretty much everything assures me that the item is authentic.

But a receipt isn't neccessary for me to bid, and those can be easily forged.

Most new eBay sellers don't understand the importance of pictures in their listings and only provide one or two. But the best eBay listings have the following pictures.

1) Front of entire bag
2) Front of back
3) Close up shot of label
4) Picture of interior
5) Misc pictures of important details and/or flaws.

Feedback is very important, and I use the following tool to view only a seller negative and neutral feedback:
http://www.toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs

 

[CeeJay]

Chemlex - THANK YOU for the link to view just the negative feedbacks!!!!!! What a timesaver!

One other point that you might want to make (although it's not a biggie) ... make sure to mention that the bag pictured is the one that you (the bidder) will be getting.

The scammers will oftentimes buy a real bag, and then photograph that bag for their 'fake' auctions. So, I also agree with someone else who wrote that the receipt is not always the guarantee of an authentic bag.

It's really too bad that the honest folks have to go through all this B/S because of the unscrupulous ones!

 

[chemlex]

Chemlex - THANK YOU for the link to view just the negative feedbacks!!!!!! What a timesaver!

You are certainly welcome! Whoever created and maintained that site is a genius! I use it several times a day and it makes eBaying much easier.

 

[Cristina]

You are certainly welcome! Whoever created and maintained that site is a genius! I use it several times a day and it makes eBaying much easier.

I am so glad I came across that site a few months ago. I just wish it would show the feedback of sellers with private feedback, especially those who sell handbags. Usually it's kept private for a reason :suspiciou

 

[Krissy]

Leave a number of a store you bought it, the SA, to guar. it's auth., anyone can produce a recipt, and a bag with serial number. Take clear pics, and have recipets, a rep. to call, etc.

If all else fails, I'm always available to clean your collection!

 

[Vlad]

Brilliant thread, this one deserves a sticky!

 

[supersaucy]

Another thing that you might want to consider is that although you know that your bags are authentic because you purchased them, your buyers are probably going to be pretty relatively paranoid. Because they are used, although you still have the receipt, because receipts have been/can be easily faked, I would recommend taking in the two bags to be verified authentic, and stating exactly where you took it (i.e. by the Fendi manager at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA).

Another thing some sellers do is that they open the possibility of arranging to meet the buyer if they live nearby; I don't know if this is safe, but as a buyer this sure says a lot about the seller's authenticity guarantee if the seller is willing to take this step. I don't think that this is necessarily, because many of the purse forum's trusted sellers like leshent don't do this (and he has a fab reputation), but it's your prerogative.

Don't forget to earmark your pictures with your seller name; that implicitly communicates to buyers that your pictures are authentic and you don't want someone else stealing them.