So I'm selling one of my machines that I bought used and have had nothing but trouble with it. I had it up for a 99cent starting bid but a $40 reserve. Shipping was around $40 I think (was going with what other machines had listed although it was high)

In the last 3 minutes of the auction, some one messages me complaining about the shipping price and that they wanted to buy the machine.... They only bid the starting bid O.o

I gotta say, would some one REALLY think that I would let a machine go for less than a dollar? I'd like to at least get back what I paid for it.

The funny thing is that ebay does say when the reserve has not been met......

If you offer it to them for free, they'll want you to deliver it and throw in some fabric.

Don't forget to also give them a quilt you have sewn to show the machine works!!!!!! (I hope everyone knows I'm kidding)

I don't understand why people use the reserve price. Why not figure what the lowest $ you will take and add the cost of shipping to the price (offering free shipping). There has been things I wanted but if no one else bids I couldn't get my bid to go up to the reserve price. So if you wanted $40. for the item and $40. for shipping - ask $80. w/ free shipping.

If you bid the reserve price it will automatically go up to it. And because I've tried the way you suggest and not gotten any bids + paid more ebay fees for the higher starting price

Don't sweat the small stuff...I've had the same thing happen. Someone didn't want to pay for priority, flat rate shipping of $11.00, although it specified that in the auction. They wanted me to throw the heavy, large, vintage sewing machine item, in a padded envelope, after they'd won the auction. Yeah, right. I stood my ground and said, "Nope".

Exactly. The reserve price is meant to protect both the seller and the buyer. It saves the seller on higher listing fees, and the buyer can still tell if the item will be beyond what they want to pay.

In an ebay auction, the best thing to do in all situations is think about the MAXIMUM you would pay for an item. Bid that amount. If there is a reserve, and your maximum bid doesn't meet the reserve, just move on- clearly they are asking more than you think the item is worth.

If there is no reserve or it has been met, having your maximum bid in there serves as an "autobid" function, so it'll continue to bid for you if other people are bidding, all the way up to your max bid. Again, if you lose out on the item no worries- it went for more than you were willing to pay! :)

Good grief what a silly chucklehead! $11 flat rate shipping would be a steal! When I bought my machine on ebay they had pictures of how they wrapped it- it was practially mummified, and cost nearly $50, but I was perfectly fine with that...better than it being damaged en route!

O.o Crazy people

Have you tried Craigslist? I've had pretty good luck selling things there. Yes, you do get people asking you to cash a check and mail them the difference but there are honest real people that buy things there as well.

It wasn't a machine I was shipping:> But a largish attachment. People get cranky when they pay $7 for an item and it costs $11 to ship it. But shoot, it's not like it's a surprise or I have any control over that. And if it's too much, they shouldn't bid! :>

Actually lots of sellers sell things for 99 cents or other cheap prices and make it up on the shipping.

Candace -- I love your avatar!!!

When we buy on ebay, we look at the buy it now price and if it seems reasonable we go that way instead of bidding.

I've noticed some pick up only on Ebay. but thats all I know. i think you were right!!better to pay more and have it arrive safely!!!!

I agree. If I wanted $20 for something, I would start the bidding at say $18.50. Or do a "Buy It Now" for the price you want. I usually don't waste my time with Reserve bids, because it takes too long to move, and you don't know what the seller wants. It's too much of a guessing game.

plus you get all the people emailing you wanting to know what the reserve is...

I once sold a very beat up machine on ebay, a long time ago, for $.99 and shipping was about $40. Got glowing feedback too. You never know.

I would mind if it showed the reserve honestly. I just put it back up for $60 or best offer. Figuring that I'll take 35-40

Just a suggestion, try Craig's list. Things sell like crazy there. There is not timel limit for the posting. You pay nothing to them. You don't have to ship, because it can be picked up locally, and you can set your price or chose best offer, which you don't have to accept, if it is not a good one.

I have been selling my fabric the last year and a half on eBay. I agree with bjeriann. You have to get very creative with selling. Recently eBay has been have one day sale on their listings fee. Last time it was a penny for a listing at any cost !! I would have a starting bid of $80 and free shipping. Good Luck !!
:mrgreen:

are you not getting the 50 free listings a month, no matter what the starting price is?

I never bid on "reserve" because I know it's more then I'm willing to pay.

Shipping is suppose to be the actual amt of shipping not extra because a person wants more money...That's why on buyers Feedback you have to state if shipping was accurate. If not, your percentage goes down from 100%. People can complain to ebay if they see you are charging more then the actual shipping...and ebay will kick you off.

If I have a large item I use ebay calculator that asks for the size box, weight etc...and then they automatically figure out shipping costs for each bidder...

If I saw 40.00 shipping that's an automatic no bid from me even with .99 starting price because I know your adding costs into your shipping...

I've sold heavy sewing machines and shipping was no more then 27.00 via the post office...shipping from NY out to CA...And another machine was 18.00 to FL...

Myself, I don't even bid on the auctions that have reserve
on them. If I really want the item, I will put my max and accept the shipping cost that is stated. If I don't like the high shipping then I don't even bother to bid.

Hey, I admit that I put the shipping way too high. But I'm sticking with the reserve. I'm not gonna accidentally sell a machine for next to nothing

IMHO, shipping consists of more than the price to actually mail the item. It can legitimately include the packing materials, your cost in getting the item to the post office/mailing store, as well as your time in safely packaging the item. Sometimes it's obvious that the seller is trying to make up for a cheap sales price by inflating the shipping charge, but that's not the only reason for a big shipping fee. If I were going to ship a sewing machine, I would be putting a lot of time and effort into safely packing it, and I would feel perfectly justified charging for that.

If they didn't like the shipping price they shouldn't have even considered bidding in the first place. It sounds like they waited until the last few minutes of the auction to contact you hoping that you wouldn't want to relist the machine and so would sell it to them cheap.

Just wondering...Do you think you will get a bad review if the person who buys your machine has lots of trouble with it, too?

Try to be absolutely honest when describing the item. If parts are missing, there's rust, scratches, then say so. Then a bad review is not justified.

A seller said a cookie jar head had been broken, that it would still be a good collector's item. The head had been SHATTERED and didn't show that in the picture. I gave her a neutral and she had a fit!

I shop Ebay and CL all the time. I do not even consider ones with "reserve" since I simply do not want to play the game.

My sewing machine I actually saw on Ebay first, and I contacted the seller, since she lived in the same city. I wanted to avoid shipping charges. She actually had it listed on CL as well. Luckily for me, she sold it to me, and its been a fantastic machine. It is just like new, and she basically had upgraded, which is what I am in the process of doing now. When I get ready to sell mine I will post it here, and on CL.

Bottom line is I think most folks just want to know, how much do you want for the item? If its in their budget they will bid, if not they will just keep on looking.

Shipping prices are so varied, its hard to say if they are padding those to get more money. I honestly look for "free shipping" most of the time. If its something I really want, like fabric : ) I will pay the shipping.

I think I have only given one bad review in the last 15yrs or so. That was because the person was misleading in his/her ad. The Header stated you would get "4 Pimatene Mist" and in the body of the ad it stated only 3. I unfortunately for me, did not read the body of the ad, and was suprised when I only received 3. I would have bid differently had I realized this.

These people should check the shipping themselves and see it's not cheap

Actually it does not matter the type auction a seller runs and what the start bid is, or reserve, or whatever. What matters is what the buyer is willing to pay with shipping.

If all buyers would just put the most they are willing to pay with shipping and be done with it there would be no issues as mentioned here.

If you as a buyer are looking for a widget on eBay you should know the most you are willing to pay for it with shipping. With that being said check out the BIN's and if such an item is there for what you are willing to pay for it with shipping OR FOR LESS go ahead and buy it and be done with it.

If you want to go the way of the auction find what you are looking for and put your most top bid you are willing to pay for it with shipping and be done with it. If no one outbids you.....you are the winner and if someone does move on to the next seller that has what you are looking for.

People should realize that there will be times you will pay more in shipping than for the item you are bidding on or buying cause that is just the nature of what shipping cost these days.

On the other hand sellers who start an auction so low and jack up the shipping in order to avoid eBay fees can and will get booted of eBay if reported and eBay finds they do it all the time. I've seen it happen time and again in the last 16 years on eBay.

Personally as a seller on there over the years I've done it all as far as selling using auction bids, reserves to protect lowest I would take for an item which always went higher than reserve, and BIN's.

As a buyer I have bid on regular and reserve auctions and also have done many BIN's simply because I find a seller that has the widget I want at a price I'm willing to pay for it.

In the last few years I deal alot with sellers that have BIN or Best Offer. I am able to buy many things on eBay with Best offer.

Different strokes for different folks in the way folks can buy on that site.

If I do bid on an item I'd rather save it in my watch list and SNIPE it at the last 3-5 seconds left in an auction.

Actually eBay allows "shipping and handling" and not just "actual shipping".

Best thing to do on eBay in today's market is have free shipping and handling and up the start of the eBay item being sold or make it a BIN for least you'll take for it with shipping. Why? Because eBay is now required by state/federal laws to collect a fee on not just the item but also shipping....total amount a seller asks for and receives from a buyer.

That is how the states/federal collects tax on money funnel through eBay.

Also the advantage of going that route, stating free shipping, the buyer cannot give you any type score for that. eBay automatically makes it excellent feedback for such.

I sell on eBay through my store. Never start so low. It will only take 25 Cent increments and you will never reach the $40.00. If you look in the seller details, it explains how much a bid will increase per the starting price. I learned this the hard way. By the way, what is the machine? I am kind of looking. I know too that $40.00 is just about the right shipping expense. Good luck!

Exactly!

Buyers need to read what the description says about the item and certainly what the shipping and handling fee is and if it is more than they are willing to pay for it they need to move on and allow those that are willing to pay it to do so.

eBay is a business for most sellers on there today. The days of dumping our garage sell stuff that even our neighbors do not want to buy has been over with for many years on eBay.

eBay became a business to business venue way back in 2001 on.

glad you stood your ground and did not give it to them for nothing!! way to go....

what is avatar?

...and you meet all kinds, go figure.

The avatar is the picture that appears to the left of the post with the person's board name.

We're kind of morphing into a discussion of how we think eBay should work and how we use it, which might be valuable to some of the sellers. Let me explain why I don't usually look for long at items with a reserve that hasn't been met. It's just not worth my time to wonder what the reserve is, and there are *always* identical items offered (maybe not that day, but eventually) that don't leave the bottom price to the imagination. It's not quite right to say just figure out what you want to pay and bid. Let's say there are two similar or identical items vying for my bid, both have an entry price of 99 cents, and only one has a reserve. I don't want to bid on both, because I don't want two of this item and I just might win both if I bid on both. If I bid on the one with the reserve, I might lose out even though I'm the high bid. So naturally I will bid on the one without the reserve. Also, if I bid the same amount on both, I might win the one without the reserve for a smaller price. So why would I want to bother with the item with the reserve?

As far as shipping for small items, I don't care if the cost is lumped in with the item's price and listed as free shipping, or if it's listed separately, since eBay lets me sort items by their price plus shipping. However on bigger items I would like to see it separate, since I just might live close by enough to pick it up and avoid shipping, and would prefer to do so if the item might be damaged by shipping.

And when I'm looking for a commodity such as new yardage or rotary blades (although I now get those from Harbor Freight), I always look for someone with the BIN option rather than wait for an auction to be over. When I want stuff, I want it NOW.

One thing people who have never sold anything on ebay don't realize is that shipping is EXPENSIVE! If it won't fit in a flat rate box, or if you need to ship it UPS, it's going to cost a fortune. When I sold on ebay, I always displayed the postage on the shipping label. That way, when the item was received, the customer knew exactly what it cost to ship.

One thing people who have never sold anything on ebay don't realize is that shipping is EXPENSIVE! If it won't fit in a flat rate box, or if you need to ship it UPS, it's going to cost a fortune. When I sold on ebay, I always displayed the postage on the shipping label. That way, when the item was received, the customer knew exactly what it cost to ship.

This isn't quite right. If all the bidders just look at the existing bid and bid 25 cents higher, then you're right. However if they bid what they're willing to pay, and let the eBay automatic bidding mechanism do its job, then the bids will go up quickly in value. Example: Minimum bid is 75 cents. Bidder 1 is willing to go up to $10 so he bids $10 maximum. The bid is still at 75 cents. Bidder 2 is willing to go to $15, so he bids $15 maximum. The bid jumps to $10.25 with bidder 2 having the top bid. You can get to $40 in no time if your bidders think $40 is a good price that they are willing to pay. However... if your reserve price is $40, why make them start at a buck? Why not just put it out there as a minimum? Then the guy who only wants to pay $10 will know right away that he needs to continue looking.