Best place to put your items?

[stuey]

Hi chaps, I am thinking of placing some items on the bay and was wondering what is the best section to place say a model for example? I have had a quick look around, there seems to be several sections you could use. I dont want to put anything where no one will see/find it!

Also, what is the convention with paypal fees? Is it normal for the seller to swallow the fee, or ask the buyer to pay after stating this in the ad? Am I right in saying that using gift leaves no comeback, or is it used to pass fees on?

Sorry for what may be basic questions, but I would rather ask people that have practical experience rather than an FAQ.

[John Privett]

For category I'd have thought Toys & Games/Radio-Controlled/Aeroplanes (or Helicopters or whatever else if more appropriate for the final level.) But if in doubt, do a search for the type of thing you're listing and see what category other people have put it into.

Paypal fees, I'd say it's "normal" for the seller to swallow the fees. If I see a listing where the seller is trying to get the purchaser to pay the fees then I tend to wonder where else he's cutting corners or perhaps being a little "economical with the truth" in the listing trying to extract the last penny from the buyer. And no, paying as a gift gives the purchaser no comeback if things go wrong. After all, he's made a "gift" - there can't be any conditions attached to it, or it wouldn't be a gift! You'll note that the BMFA Classified page heading specifically warns against paying in that way.

[John Privett]

Just to add, take some decent pictures of whatever you're selling and put them in the listing. I despair at the number of listings with really dreadful pictures - out of focus, badly-exposed (black cat in a coal cellar sort of thing...) It's as if they're trying to hide some aspect of what they're selling.

[stuey]

Thanks for the tips

[Olly P]

And list them on here once they are up! free publicity never hurts!

[Steve W-O]

I think that any attempt to recover the paypal fees is against ebay policy, whether you state it or not.

Also against ebay policy is adding extra for optional insurance. The seller is responsible for getting the item to the buyer, if they don't send it tracked, or if they say they will help the buyer claim from RM, ebay will find against them in a dispute. If the seller can not provide valid tracking and it does not get there, it is the sellers loss.

Selling outside of ebay is also against ebay policy, so withdrawing it from auction, then selling it to a buyer who responded to the auction, will result in the sellers account being restricted or cancelled if there is a complaint, which there could well be, as it would be the buyers only comeback.

It is expensive to sell on ebay, which is why buying from other sites is very often cheaper.

[Lee Wilson]

What about BMFA classifieds Stuey, I have sold and bought a few items through them with no problems at all.

[John Cole]

I strongly agree weith John Privett about having some realy good pictures - lots of big sharp ones!

A tip you might find useful is that you can have as many really-large pix in your description as you want for free. To do this, host your pix on FLICKR.com (not Photobucket or some other hosters, as they block access from Ebay).

Then when you have typed in your description, select the HTML tab and insert a reference to each pic showing the URL of the pic in the following way:

<IMG src=" http://farm8.static.flickr.com/..._b.jpg " >

To avoid screwing up THIS website I've left out the main part of the URL. A key point though is that it should end _b.jpg as the _b means BIG! To find the URL of a pic you have posted on FLICKR you click on it and then click on the down-arrow at top left marked SHARE, and choose Grab the HTML/BBCode, and select the HTML option and the Large option.

You will then see quite a big block of text. Copy and paste it into e.g. Notepad and delete all the stiuff apart from the bit that starts <IMG src=" and ends _b.jpg" and add a > to that.

If you then copy and paste that into your EBAY description (having selected the HTML tab) and then revert to text view you will find that the tag has been replaced by an image, normally 1024 by 768 pixels.

Hope this helps.

[stuey]

I have got a few items on here and another site, not tried the BMFA yet. I would rather do collection for a model than try to send by post, too much risk of damage. I would always use a tracked service for my benefit as well as the buyer. Thanks again