Buying and Selling on eBay

[Mervione]

Thanks Knotty! Saved me from buying the "wrong" wire.

Heidi: I actually have a handful of more things I`ve made but wont list them until the current auctions end. Thanks for the kind compliments!

 

[Mervione]

So today the four first auctions ended, nothing sold. When I listed on eBay for the first time I wasn't very optimistic at all, but the earrings did sell, after I listed it a second time. So I thought that now when I have much more nicer stuff listed I should ignore my pessimism and be optimistic about it. I got my hopes up and now I'm disappointed... I keep wondering if I did something wrong, in the making of the jewelry, in the way I listed them, the price of if I just had too little feedback for people to trust me. Or if this is how it is for everyone when they first start up their small business. (Still haven't received feedback from the person that bought the earrings... So has zero feedback as a seller. Sent the person a mail several weeks ago but no reply yet.) I had 5 watchers in total and even recieved a question about the enhancer close to the end.

I lowered the price A LOT and relisted them. So I wont make much profit at all if they do sell, but I just want to feel I'm doing something right and that I can manage to sell something.

I'm not sure if the re listed items are up yet but if they are, can I get some opinions?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

It's the start of the school year; many parents have spent lots of $$$ getting new clothes and school supplies (I know I have.)

Maybe it's just a matter of timing?

 

[Mervione]

Hi Pearl Dreams. I certainly hope you're right. It is sort of silly of me to get this disappointed when I know it took me two tries to sell the earrings.

It might be the case that there are several problems. It could be because of the recession my friend told me about...

Anyway. I lowered the prices a lot so I might have more luck this time... I guess that if no one buy them it just means that I get more to keep for myself!

 

[Monty Hall]

Hello, everyone,

Really, I end up reading these threads way too late.

I have had *WONDERFUL*, downright heartwarming experiences on eBay. Be *proud* to have honest eBay businesses!!! I'm amazed that you guys are shy about this.

The eBay sellers from whom I have bought things have worked hard on my behalf, sold me honest goods exactly as (if not better than) described, and have displayed a level of personal accountability that is frequently absent from local Brick-and-Mortar establishments. I would rather buy from a good eBay seller than from a B-and-M with lazy employees.

Shopping on eBay is not a passive experience, however, and a healthy level of patience and suspicion can keep buyers out of trouble. Good sellers will prove themselves.

Summer vacation expenses and school tuition and supplies have many people strapped right now. When things are slow, it's hardest to remember successes. Not to worry, the holidays are just around the corner!!!

CarolK

 

[Monty Hall]

If sellers are looking for an alternative to eBay, at least from a buyer's point of view, Ruby Lane seems like a good complex of online shops. Just Google Ruby Lane.

They offer step-by-step instructions on getting started, and one can retain the option to auction items on eBay.

The various shops feature antique, artist-designed, and collectible jewelry, furniture, etc. No, I have no vested interest in Ruby Lane. I'm just a jewelry freak who looks around

CarolK

 

[waimeamomi]

Mervione, I listed some things on eBay this summer, and had no buyers. I had people who looked, and even a couple of watchers, but no bidders. I think that it must be hard to get started because there are so many, many listings. I seldom go through them all myself, but go to the sellers that I already know about. So it's partly a building process and not you at all. I also list on etsy and have had no takers yet. I feel like I also just don't have enough listed. We all know that the best way to sell something or to buy something is to see it in person, so on-line buying depends on getting some regulars and some word of mouth going. Don't judge yourself, just keep trying if that's what you want to do!

 

[Mervione]

Thanks! I think that's exactly what I needed to hear! I wont give up this easily. I'm really passionate about my jewelry making. I've even applied for a gold and silversmithing course that covers the very basics.

Do you think it'd be a good idea to use the "Buy it now" option? That way the listings can be up for 30 days. I think that might be good if it might take time before I sell something.

 

[Sueki]

Hi Mervione,
You have lovely pieces and shouldn't doubt yourself.
There is an economic downturn at the moment and jewellery is bound to be at the bottom of the list of priorities when it comes to deciding what to do with any spare cash.
Regarding ebay - I see you list on .com and when I used to sell on ebay I found that the best time to end auctions was on Wednesday nights around 11 - 12 p.m. GMT.

 

[Heidi]

Hi Mervione,
You have lovely pieces and shouldn't doubt yourself.
There is an economic downturn at the moment and jewellery is bound to be at the bottom of the list of priorities when it comes to deciding what to do with any spare cash.
Regarding ebay - I see you list on .com and when I used to sell on ebay I found that the best time to end auctions was on Wednesday nights around 11 - 12 p.m. GMT.

Hi there - I'm a frequent buyer, not a seller...Sueki has a great point: Some of the sellers I get newsletters from have actually sent out notices letting customers know that they will always end auctions at a set time. That's great so customers can plan on paying attention to an ending item.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Do you think it'd be a good idea to use the "Buy it now" option? That way the listings can be up for 30 days. I think that might be good if it might take time before I sell something.

Definitely give it a try. I love BINs, and I think more buyers are favoring BIN since bidder IDs are hidden-- at least they know with BIN they aren't being shilled.

 

[pearlescence]

Remember it is not footfall which matters, in spite of what organisers say and boast, it is people who come with the intention of spending who you have to find

 

[dkan 168]

eBay Delights and Disappointments

eBay Delights and Disappointments

Hi all,

Newbie here, so please be gentle with me

I was an eBay buyer since Oct 02, and ventured into the unknown and try to sell a number of jewellery pieces in 2006 without much success.

I only managed to sell 2 diamond bracelets, the cheapest of all the items I listed, and the price I got from them barely covered the listing fees.

It was my fault for not being smart with my listings, and did not do my homework thoroughly on listing fees

I was very disappointed with the result, as I had high hopes in selling all the pieces to raise fund for home rennovation. The list prices were way below what one would pay for new pieces of much lesser spec.

In the end, I sold them for much less than I had hoped to a local jeweller, and came away thoroughly gutted

Recently, I tried selling a high end new watch imported from US that I found to be a tad too small for my wrist without success. Again, like last time, although I had people watching and making enquiries, at the end of the day, the watch was not sold.

A watch of lesser spec was found in a pawn shop shortly afterwards nearly 4 times my list price! I decided to keep the watch for myself and obtain more links instead

After my limited disappointing selling experience, it is unlikely I would sell again on eBay.

As for eBay delights, I have plenty

I have bought a number of jewellery items from various sellers, and have returned to some of them for more on more than one occasions

I have bought pearl jewellery from the following eBay sellers:
ES Store (pendants, rings and strands)
PearlSource (a baroque Tahitian strand)
jantiquejewelry (a good size CFWP strand, pearl pendant, and other diamond pieces, via live auction, great fun)
Pearlsjewelry (formerly Blue Papaya, earrings and rings)
tahitianpearljewelery (can't remember their previous name, loose Tahitian pearls)

I am happy with all the items I have purchased, and believed they were good value for money, as I am a good sniper

I would even go as far as calling some of them bargains!

Mind you, some of the item descriptions were over-glorified (ES Store springs to mind), and I did take a few gambles which paid off luckily

HOWEVER, to this day, I am still amazed by the fact that all the items I have purchased on eBay are far better value for money than any pearl jewellery items I have come across in jewellery shops in UK and Canada!!!

Therefore, my view on eBay as a buyer is that, there are bargains out there. However, one must choose wisely and do thorough research on the products you are hoping to buy, and the vendors you are buying from. Vendors feedback, IMHO, is a good indication of overall reliability, but not neccessary related to product quality.

If the price is too good to be true, then there is probably a catch somewhere!

Now I have discovered PG and learnt so much about pearls and the wonderful online vendors who frequent this site, my taste in pearls has changed, and I am after quality instead of quantity!

Just about to make my first significant purchase for some gem-grade CFWPs with one of the online vendors, and blow the budget, can't wait!!!

I shall take some pics of my collection and post them up one day

Thanks for reading this and being patient with me, PG and its forum members rocks!

DK

 

[laurenb]

eBay is best for selling stuff you want to liquidate at any price and you know will draw a fair amount of attention. When I see retail or near-retail jewelry prices on eBay, I reflexively scoff. In my day to day life I believe people deserve a fair price for what they make and believe treasures are worth a premium price, but for most items eBay is a severely skewed buyer's market. Handmade goods suffer in that atmosphere.

It takes a long time to build up the kind of buyer base that makes customers check your auctions over and over, as people do with DruzyDesign, for example. On Esty, I don't scoff at higher prices because it's a crafter resale space. I'm not surprised to see people trying to make back their materials costs there.

Definitely give it a try. I love BINs, and I think more buyers are favoring BIN since bidder IDs are hidden-- at least they know with BIN they aren't being shilled.

Shilling shouldn't be a big concern because no one who cares about the final price they pay is bidding before the last 5 seconds. Bidding early/often on a fixed-time auction is a terrible waste of time and money. Anyone can use esnipe.com or another autobidder to get the best price possible without having to hover.

Sometimes one has to bid to determine the reserve or to get the BIN off the auction, which inevitably draws the attention of other interested parties, but it seems like the ever-increasing eBay fees are discouraging sellers from listing complicated auctions like that.

DK, I'm so sorry your sales experience was negative. Watches make eBay buyers extra-skittish because the site is a major forum for counterfeit sales. I have an antique watch that basically couldn't have been a copy-- it's just too esoteric and well made. I still didn't even let myself entertain the thought it was real until a friend opened it to reveal the serial. Wouldn't have mattered though, it's an amazing work of art no matter who made it and I adore it. That's the (il)logic of eBay... great prices, nifty stuff.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Much as I love BINs, when I do bid at auction, I snipe exclusively. And I usually win. As I did last week.

I realize however that even a sniper can be shilled, if there were at least 2 other bidders and one of them was the shill, raising the price.

 

[Raisondetre]

I do prefer BINs, though you get better prices sniping (sometimes). Even with sniping I generally don't chase bids, so I don't tend to fall prey to shills. I dislike it when some sellers make all their sales private, so I don't actually have an idea of what to bid for the maximum.

 

[dkan 168]

Much as I love BINs, when I do bid at auction, I snipe exclusively. And I usually win. As I did last week.

I realize however that even a sniper can be shilled, if there were at least 2 other bidders and one of them was the shill, raising the price.

I lost a bid to someone a couple of days ago, who wanted the grey pearl diamond ring more than I do, and placed a higher maximum absent bid than I was willing to spend on this item. I did chase the bid this time, however, stopped once I was outbid after I placed my final offer, nevermind Luckily, I did not have to stay up very late for this one

Another hard-hitting truth I have learnt when I tried to sell my diamond pieces on eBay: Diamonds are expensive to buy from new, and worth no more than 20% of what you have paid if you try and sell them as secondhand pieces if you are lucky.

Better to buy diamonds from reputable vendors with a trade-up policy. Quality matters the older one gets This I have learnt from a diamond forum that does not like their members talk too much about pearls for whatever reason(s)

DK

 

[GemGeek]

Most people don't realize that they will never be able to sell their jewelry for the price they paid, even twenty years later, unless they sell to friends or family.

Oh, I agree on that other forum!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I wonder what they have against pearls, anyway?

They have a colored stones forum, why not a pearls forum? Odd.

 

[dkan 168]

Has anyone here bought semi-mount ring setting for pearls from Lord of Gem Rings?

I have read good feedback about this eBay seller. Allegedly the workshop where the rings are made is based in China, and the quality of the diamonds and workmanship of the rings are good value for money.

They have a few semi-mounts for pearls, from 8mm to 10mm:

eBay Seller: Lord of Gem Rings

I was tempted, however, I already have 2 pearl rings, one Tahitian and one South Seas, and can't justify having another pearl ring!

DK