Selling coins on eBay, Hints Tips?

[trout]

Many of us Buy coins on eBay, There are also quite a few of us that also sell coins on eBay and sharing ideas with the other members here that may improve selling results seems like a Good idea.

As a Buyer I tend to gravitate to auction style listings that have very good images with realistic descriptions that are not padded with irrelevant information.
I also look at "buy it now" type listings that have a "Make an offer" option as well as this gives me the opportunity to do a bit of "Haggling" to try and get a better deal.

So what is the best way to sell? and what works for you?

This is what I have been doing with varying degrees of success.

I always try to take the best images that I can and upload them at 1000 x1000 so that they can be examined by a buyer in detail and
I try Not to waffle on too much in the description.
I have used the "Buy it now" and auction styles of listing.
The auction listings can be a "Crap shoot" and the results "Can" be disappointing But the coin WILL Sell and the "Buy it Now" listings are a Waiting Game and it can take quite some time to sell the coin.
I also try to "Mix it up" a bit so that there are lots of different coin types so that IF someone views my listings using the "see other items" tab I can present a variety of different coin types in the listings.

What are your selling techniques ?

[stevo1962]

Best way to sell on ebay is to find yourself a niche because if you try to sell what other people are
selling you will get less for your items.For example if you are selling late model slabbed decimal coins
a particular dealer has that market sown up by auctioning 1000+ items at a time causing sale prices to
plummet.  
Unfortunately buy now listings tend to attract ridiculous offers these days and it can take a
while before the right offer comes along.I think it's just a case of trying different things until you get
good results

[trout]

if you are selling late model slabbed decimal coins
a particular dealer has that market sown up by auctioning 1000+ items at a time causing sale prices to
plummet.

Yes I agree, Mr Cotton hasn't done anyone any favour's with his Mass marketing campaign and I hold him solely responsible for the recent Crash in decimal coin prices, Especially PCGS slabs :dash1:

[trout]

At the start of every month I get 40 Free insertions, Is this what everyone else gets?

[stevo1962]

At the start of every month I get 40 Free insertions, Is this what everyone else gets?

They've been giving me 1500 free listings per month but there's no way I can use that many

[trout]

At the start of every month I get 40 Free insertions, Is this what everyone else gets?

They've been giving me 1500 free listings per month but there's no way I can use that many

How did you get 1500 free listings ?

[stevo1962]

At the start of every month I get 40 Free insertions, Is this what everyone else gets?

They've been giving me 1500 free listings per month but there's no way I can use that many

How did you get 1500 free listings ?

I have a store

[trout]

OK
Lets talk Postage charges.
It would be nice to be able to just put the coin/coins in a padded envelope and put $2 worth of stamps on it without the registered post sticker and just charge the $2.60 that the padded envelope and the stamps cost to send.

In my early days of selling on eBay I used to send stuff without tracking until I got ripped off to the tune of about $1000 because "apparently" the items got lost in the post.
It is odd that since then by using tracking when sending items I haven't lost a package in over 8years and anything that I have sent privately to members here and on CCF registered of not has always arrived safely.

Is it worth the risk sending lower value coins without tracking so that I can reduce the shipping fees and attract more bidders/buyers.?

[JeffH]

I offer the option of regular post or registered/signature on delivery for most items and most buyers go with the more expensive option. When sending an invoice I make sure the non tracking postage is the second option.
Only times items have been "lost" in transit have been when there is no tracking. Last time a buyer lodged a "not received" claim, despite me telling eBay that he had chosen the cheaper option they immediately refunded him (at my expense) because I had no proof of postage identifying that item.

I say any high price items should only have tracked postage offered. For lower price items the cost of postage is an important factor to some buyers bur untracked postage increases the risk of a (possibly spurious but you can't prove it) claim. That one is really a judgement call for the seller.

If offering an untracked postage option I always include a note in the description to point out that option offers no protection against loss and/or damage in the post. Probably a waste of time but it at least gives me an arguing point if a claim is made.

[jens coins]

If buyers pay with Paypal then the item must be sent Registered / Tracking or else you will get buyers saying they didn't receive item and Paypal will refund the buyer unless you have proof of posting.

For parcels I always buy insurance but you don't need a signature under $300

[r9453]

I'm not a big seller (about 150 coins this year), I don't charge for postage. I send registered if the coin is over $50. I had one coin returned to me because the buyer supplied the wrong address and one coin (value $6) got lost but the buyer did not make a claim. I only use PayPal. I'm letting all my sales run out, I might start again since I still have a lot of coins I want to get rid of. The fees that Ebay (+ PayPal) charge are a tad too high - the Netflix tax has made me stop and think.

[runway]

I buy most coins on Facebook groups these days I've lost interest in greedBay due to too many fraudsters they host

[trout]

I buy most coins on Facebook groups these days I've lost interest in greedBay due to too many fraudsters they host

I can't see your logic, Facebook would have far more scamsters selling coins and there is NO redress if you get ripped off either.

[Cockatoo Coins]

I sell quite a bit on ebay these days, I use a combination of auction and buy it now which gives me the best results. Often I will make a loss or smaller profit on the auction items however these auctions bring alot of customers to my other items and I get a significant increase in sales of my buy it now items while the auctions are running.
Postage I use the $50 limit, under $50 i will use standard postage with no tracking but charge $1 more than it costs me, this covers my loss rate of 1 in 60 standard post items sent, I also find if you are selling over the christmas period just bump up your postage costs or use registered as my loss rate for standard can be as high as 1 in 25 during this period.

[trout]

Unfortunately there are some people on eBay that when they notice that a package has NO tracking on it think it IS Christmas and tell you that the package hasn't been delivered and want a refund AND the coin.
EVERYTHING that I sell on eBay gets sent with tracking because of this :ok: