Although it pains me to sell the first ever pair of shoes that I strass, which were intended to be my wedding shoes, I am going to sell them for two reasons...1. They are a 38.5, and about a 1/2 size too big for me. In my modeling video yesterday, and after like 20 takes of that video, I realized that they are too big and really difficult to keep ON my feet. I doubt I can do a 15 hour wedding day in those shoes if I could barely do 30 mins. I could do an insert, or a heel grip or something, but they are not only too long, but also too wide. 2. I need to make money to start this business. With the money I make from this sale, I plan to put some toward the business, and the rest to make another pair in the same color and same style, but half a size smaller. Luckily, my wedding is in June of 2012, so I have PLENTY of time.
Whats your ebay username crystal? Have you tried promoting your ebay sale on craiglist? Use a similar description to your ebay listing if you do. I've sold about ten things on ebay since I started selling last year. You won't believe how much ebay takes as their share. I strongly suggest if you are just starting out to research this as much as possible. Paypal takes a nice cut as well. I won't sell anything on ebay unless there aren't the exact item listed already and I can ask a starting bid that will result in a sale within a couple of hours or less. Ebay requires us to use delivery confirmation at the very least and they take a cut of your shipping costs listed too. I sell sports cards there usually ones that I buy the same day the product releases preferably that way I can get my cards on there before anyone else which eliminates any competitors. I usually ship for free nowadays because this is the only way to guarantee a buyer cannot leave me less than a five star rating. If you sell 10 items and you don't charge shipping for any of them not only will future payments from paypal not be delayed but you wont have to give a cut to ebay from your shipping charge. If you dont maintain a five star rating as a seller paypal will put a hold on your payment before they deposit it in your bank. No buyer is required to leave feedback for you but if you offer free shipping if they do leave feedback they the buyer cant leave a negative feedback and can only leave you a five star seller rating. To maintain a five star seller rating you must offer free shipping and send every item you sell with delivery confirmation. Always ship shoes in a usps priority mail shoebox with delivery confirmation and make sure the shoes are well protected and wont shift when they are transported during shipping. The bottom line is you want the shoes to arrive to your customers in the same condition as you picture on ebay. Customers can say item not as described if you dont and paypal will give you a negative account balance meaning now you owe the customer a refund. You need to make your price competive on your shoe sales too. Always research what the same or similar items sold for with the completed item listing option in ebay advanced search. This will let you know what you should list your merchandise for. The above statements are all true and if you abide by them all you wont have any problems
ReplyDeleteZach Rice ebay username jcpenney_outlet
Hi Zach, thank you for the detailed feedback/comment. I have been a member of ebay since 2004 (I think, or maybe earlier), and have been selling the last couple of years now. Not with an ebay store, but just random things here and there. You are absolutely RIGHT on when you say that paypal takes a nice chunk of change from the total, and the seller fees just to LIST these shoes were $15 (bc of the amount of pics, and my reserve price, etc). This is my "official" first listing of strassed shoes, and I am listing them under my original ebay user name since I haven't opened up a checking account for my business yet. I plan to expand into etsy, craigslist, ebay, etc. It is unfortunate that paypal takes such a huge cut, but I have considered that when I chose a reserve price. As of right now, the other strassed Louboutins are anywhere from $100-$400 more than what I'm asking. And it's not to say that mine aren't WORTH that much, but because I am new to the business world, I need to turnover my products and make a quick profit, so that I can continue to buy more shoes, strass them, and turn them over as well. I'd rather take a $100 cut, than keep them stagnant on ebay or etsy for longer than that, which inhibits my ability to show my consumers what else I am capable of. Thanks again for the feedback, and for the support. You're awesome and super helpful Zach!
ReplyDeleteThere are many collectible specific forums and probably a designer shoe forum 1 as well were you can offer merchandise with no Ebay involvement and only Paypal. I've done this. Have you sold internationally before? I flat out refuse to because of US customs and tariff arguments between the buyer and seller on who pays. Customs can open items to inspect and make sure the seller isn't trying to sell as the description of "gift" to assist the buyer in avoiding a tariff or tax. Some international buyers will ask you to do this. Don't. It's a felony I think. You can block international bidders when you list your item if you prefer. I've been on Ebay since 1998. I don't buy a lot and I won't sell unless its a sure thing.I frequently use buy it now as an option and my starting bid will be the 10 or fifteen percent less Ebay requires to avoid any low ball bidders winning stuff really cheap and at a loss for me. I also like it when Ebay has no risk auction offers. Meaning if an item isn't sold there are no listing fees. How many friends do you have on Facebook with an Ebay account? They may be willing to cross-promote your listings on their own websites for discounts or for a small percentage of your selling price. You never know until you ask. Or you can even trade for cross-promotion of your merchandise through bartering of services. Bartering is the easiest way I know of to get what your business needs.
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