Sell kitegear on Ebay tips

boardrider · Since 05 Apr 2006 671 Posts Portland Addicted

Could you guys who sell your kite gear on Ebay share a little wisdom - please. Time to trade up to the '09's while I'm bannished to dry land for 6 wks.

I quess I'm wondering a few things:

sell your quiver together or all separate ?

start bid at .99 $ and add reserve ?

shipping cost - what do YOU charge ?

Paypal or ?

Thanks guys Very Happy

- C

blowhard · Since 26 Dec 2005 1172 Posts Florence Oregon Windward

pics
no reserve
kite only or bar and lines
doesn't matter
$25 will handle most shipping but they can calculate
they pay for shipping
pay pal, wait until check clears then ship otherwise

pdxmonkeyboy · Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:27 am

I pm'd you

tonski · Since 11 Jun 2005 282 Posts Beaverton Obsessed

Ditto to what blowhard said plus: it is definitely worth it to sell to "worldwide" as the highest bidder is usually out of the US in our experience. We've sold all of our gear on Ebay since 2001 and only accept PayPal. Have buyer contact you for exact shipping + insurance cost, always get delivery confirmation, be careful of buyers with negative feedback, and save your kite boxes when you buy new ones so you can ship the old ones easily. Smile

Good luck!

PS - the more photos and detailed description the better!

wjb · Since 14 Aug 2007 98 Posts Nor Cal

I would break up the quiver and sell everthing separate. Make sure the pictures are good ones (not taken with a camera phone). Good pictures have a better chance of drawing people in to check out your auction. Flat shipping at least for continental US (saves a lot of back and forth conversations) Paypal yes. Have you tried ikite and some of the bigger forums classified sections first? I usually save ebay as a last resort because I can post stuff elsewhere for free.

boardrider · Since 05 Apr 2006 671 Posts Portland Addicted

Thanks for the responses everyone. I tried iKite classifieds too. Over 400 listings for 2008 kites alone Confused

- Could barely find my add, thats why I'm trying Ebay. Def. more work for the Ebay listings. Mad

kyle.vh · Since 11 Jul 2007 452 Posts pdx Obsessed

no reserve, but set minimum high. set it at lowest amount your comfortable selling it for. Then, hopefully bidding will drive it up. I think that's best.

Nak · Since 19 May 2005 1246 Posts Camas XTreme Poster

I'd recommend lots of pictures. At least one shot of the bar, the bag, everything that comes with the kite. Be specific about the condition. If you're not specific, people assume the worst. Mention something about yourself. With 0 feedback, people won't trust you unless you give them a reason. If you have a website, include a link to that. It's free advertising for you, and it gives you legitimacy. Bids will be much, much higher if bidders feel they can trust you.

Good Luck!

pdxmonkeyboy · Wed Aug 27, 2008 6:53 pm

a couple good pointers, which Chris and I already talked about.

1. you'll get more money selling the bar/lines and kite
2. Don't set your starting price too low, people will think its junk and the higher the starting price, the larger the bid increments.
3. forget reserves, they are just annoying and they cost money
4. tell people they can call u with questions
5. be honest but always include a little spin
6. provide links to reviews of the kite your selling.
7. Have a friend provide some shill bids early on. oops Rolling Eyes

wylieflyote · Since 30 Jun 2006 179 Posts Puget Sound & Wa. Coast Stoked

terremoto · Wed Aug 27, 2008 7:37 pm

Lie about your gear - say its an 09 when its really an 02!!!! Laughing

pdxmonkeyboy · Wed Aug 27, 2008 9:16 pm

jeremy · Since 18 Aug 2006 32 Posts Hood River, Oregon

Starting 9/16, ALL ebay fixed priced listings will cost $0.35 to create and last 30 days, so if you know how much you'd like for each item, this is a great way to go.

Doing an auction is always good because the stuff will sell in 7 days, usually at a fair price. But, auctions can be stressful because serious bidders will wait until the LAST few seconds of the auction to bid / snipe. You'd think Ebay would just extend bidding in situations like this to help the seller, but they don't. Also, if you have a poor listing that is hard to find, you'll get poor exposure and poor bidding, so it's KEY that you create a good listing if you are doing an auction (ie, DON"T MISPELL the brand name in title).

You'll end up paying 10 to 15% in fees on Ebay, so factor that into the equation versus the free sites. The free sites are usually cluttered with lots of overpriced items that don't sell / expire, but Ebay may soon be going this way too since they are lowering their insertion fees so much.

You can always advertise in multiple locations and then cancel your ebay listing if you sell elsewhere.

TWIN-FIN · Since 24 May 2006 349 Posts Portland, OR Obsessed

Hey Chris,
I have the best luck on ikitesurf.
I wait untill the end of our season / the start of thiers and stuff is really quick to go.
There is a price to sell quickly, the price to sell moderatly and the price to sell that will stick around untill someone that is not that informed just jumps on it.

Photos, photos, photos, and more photos, with some text and, call me at.

You should not have that hard of a time sell your quiver its in good shape and not as trashed as some of the kites I have sold.

Good luck and please let us know when we can come down and stay at your place.

pdxmonkeyboy · Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:48 pm

Ummm, if your paying 10-15% in fees, your on a different e-bay.

jeremy · Since 18 Aug 2006 32 Posts Hood River, Oregon

Unfortunately, it's the same Ebay. Fees are very high on Ebay, they have tripled over the past 4-5 years, so lots of folks don't realize sellers are paying that much to sell on Ebay.

See: http://www.powersellersunite.com/ebayfeechart.php

For items 50 to $100, depending on the various listing options selected, your overall cost/fees will range from 10% to 14% for an auction, checkout the Ebay/PayPal Cost column.

Beginning 9/16, fixed price listings will have a 12% final value fee on first $50. They are also changing the payment options, PayPal will be required and no more checks/money orders will be allowed. Its a different Ebay than the old one we all started on with reasonable 3 to 5% fees.

I'm a Powerseller (Silver) on Ebay, but work hard at selling off ebay now (Google, eCrater, iOffer, Amazon, etc) to not be so much a victim of greedbay. I have personally sold lots of stuff on ebay and ikitesurf, they both are great places with lots of buyers. Ebay is a national market, so you should be able to get a better price, but you'll have to deal with the fees and shipping, sort of averages out.

pdxmonkeyboy · Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:22 am

good info Jeremy, I started fee-baying back in the day (long before paypal) when it was small and there were many bargains to be had. My fees usually came in around 7% all said and done.

Weird that they are raising the fees so much. The amount of money they have to be making is truly staggering