To bid or not to bid, that is the question.....

bilbobaggins

bilbobaggins

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A sailing friend who lists Ebay among his hobbies is badgering me to get registered and involved. 'It's great fun', he claims. Geek!
However, he's seen the inside of my loft, which is piled high with 'essential' boatie stuff acquired from a lifetime of Beaulieu Boat Jumbles. And I do need to make room for some more....

However, plowing through the many forums - including this one - shows that it's a blurry minefield, especially for Ebay virgins.

So, what does the forum think I should I do about my e.g. 12 piston hanks, 11 boxed Camcleats, 10 blow-up fenders, 9 tubes of mastic, 8 alloy stanchions, 7 tins of paint, 6 lifejackets, 5 mooring warps, 4 shackle keys, 3 Lewmar hatches, 2 old VHFs, and a voucher for my SRC.......?
 
Hi

Its certainly a case of "buyer beware" but sellers have little to fear. Just make sure you describe the goods accurately (warts and all) and get the money before delivering!
 
I would strongly recommend selling. I think its a sellers market... things always go for more than you think.. I have sold two 6 x 4 sheds for £180 New only just over £200. uPVC patio doors £200+ when I considered taking them to the tip!! Make sure you estimate postage carefully when selling as you could end up short if you underestimate. Parcels2go are good for bigger items, much cheaper than parcelforce.

Best of luck. Happy selling.
 
Some pitfalls both sides. Sellers have litlle to worry about except for the no-show buyer - particularly evident when selling larger items such as boats. The simple rule is: no cash no sale. For goods of any value, stipulate contact within 3 days, payment completed within 7, or deal cancelled. Report all failures to Ebay and you can relist for free (provided you follow Ebay protocols for non payers). Make sure you despatch the goods promptly, or you might get adverse feedback - nobody wants to wait 3 weeks for delivery, unless by prior arrangement.

For buyers it is a bit more of a problem, because you are sending money off 'blind'. Use Paypal, and there is some chance of getting money back if it goes wrong (not always though!) I dont think it is much less safe than mail order goods.

Do NOT use any sort of cash transfer such as Western Union as you will a) not be covered by Ebay's safety net, and b) the majority of Ebay fraudsters operate by this means.

Yes there IS a risk, as the system depends on mutual trust to operate - and our sad world is rather lacking in trust.

Finally - do NOT EVER respond to Emails from Ebay unless they also come through the messaging service on your "My Ebay" page. You will from time to time receive Emails apparently from Ebay: they will tell you your account has been compromised in some way, and has been suspended; you will not be allowed to use Ebay again unless you immediately confirm your personal account details by clicking on the quoted hyperlink. DO NOT DO THIS.

If you receive one, log on to your Ebay account in the usual way - DO NOT use the hyperlink - look in the safety section for "Spoof Emails", and forward it immediately to Ebay. They will within minutes confirm whether it is genuine or not (it never is unless you are not). These Emails are 'phishing' -
trying to obtain your personal account details for identity theft and fraud purposes.

This advice applies to any Email from any site holding personal information about you. No genuine site will ever object to you verifying that a communication you received from them is genuine before you act on it. And no such site will EVER ask you to enter your personal details, passwords etc via a link in an Email. Always go to such sites through the eixsting links on your browser.

Atr the end of the day the whole Internet is a jungle, and there is always a degree of risk using it - but with a little common sense, it need not be a problem. In 3 years trading on Ebay I have had 1 fraudulent seller (now doing time), and 1 'no show' buyer (now kicked off Ebay).
 
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I have sold two 6 x 4 sheds for £180

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Only one went on to win the Turner prize. The other sank in the Humber! /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

BTW. I've sold loads of gear on e-bay without problems from a £5 darkroom safelight to a £12,000 car.
I did, however, get stitched when trying to buy a tripod head for £20.
 
just register and have a look around for a while. Ebay is a becoming something of an institution and like any Internet service has it's dangers. Use a bit of common sense and maintain a degree of scepticism about what is on offer and you'll be fine. I earn a substantial part of my income on ebay and buy a fair amount too.

As for the 'phishing' and other fraudulent email follow the previous given advice and NEVER respond via an email link. Forward any suspicious ebay mail to spoof@ebay.co.uk and paypal mail to spoof@paypal.co.uk

Your friend is right, it can be great fun and yield some excellent deals.
 
Why not try Webcraft's SailRoom the nautical (but nice) ebay. I think you're still OK for "privileged seller status" which means no charges for life for the first 100 to register but even if not it's still cheaper than ebay. No harm in doing both!
 
It's ok on ebay but
Their charges are very expensive
I listed 40 items cos ebay had their 10p day sold 5 bits if it had been normal every day charges the cost's are very high.
Most of the items were good gear some vertualy brand new and hardly used but I found greedy gits expecting it for nothing always be prepared to cancell bids warn people you'l do this if their feedback is poor. I have an increasing list of blocked bidders.
I love ebay earn a reasonable amount from it and find it effective advertising which pays for it's self.
A decent boat jumble if your able to, is much more fun less hassle and a day out
cheers
Mick
 
If you've still got it all in September, you might be able to bring it to the Hull Shanty Festival (2 & 3 Sept). I am hoping to get a modest boat jumble organised alongside the main business of Shanties.

Regards,

Shantyman.
 
I've been on EBay for a couple of years. 1200 transactions and 650 (100%) feedback, never a problem with anyone.

Never ceases to amaze me that people will pay more than something is worth new. I bought a book the other day from Amazon after seeing it on EBay. £5 from Amazon, £15 quid with 2 days to go on EBay.
 
The advantages of Ebay far out way the disadvantages. It seems like a way for some people to clear out their rubbish and buy other peoples. Or Its a place to buy those items you thought long gone. I am amazed at the stuff I can buy to restore my vintage car for example. Probably one of the best places to advertise these days as well.
 
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Never ceases to amaze me that people will pay more than something is worth new.


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very true, but happens from time to time in any auction: Buy your kid a Dr Who radio control Dalek for Christmas? Average Ebay price? 45 - 60 quid. Tescos price 20 quid! There are several of the RNLI radio control lifeboats up at present for 39.50 - so why on the same page did a second hand one go to 50 quid?

The old Chichester Boat auction sometimes saw the same thing. a small dinghy retailing at around 450 at the time went up to 850 there. A pair of 5 ft oars for 30 quid. Later in the same auction I bid and won a GRP dinghy for 25 quid, - complete with new oars!
 
A number of posts here say Seller is Protected ...

Having watched a close friend of mine be cheated by a Buyer who appears to have realised that he over-bid on an item, damaged and then claimed goods faulty .... I have seen the evidence of the damage and I agree with my friend that it appears exactly that.
The claim for faulty goods suspended sellers, (my Firend) Paypal account such that his ebay trading halted. Ebay - who actually own Paypal - did very little to help and in the end refunded buyers money without real investigation etc.
My friend received the item back and is now worthless due the damage inflicted by the buyer - screwdriver attacks to the case to prise of front panel and rear guard - such that he lost a) the sale money, b) has negative feedback against his name .... forget being able to post negative about buyer in return - the number of characters allowed is insufficient to counter effectively, c) has goods back that are no good to anyone now ...

Ebay washed their hands of it and were useless to him .... they basically upheld the buyers case - even when evidence was passed to them ....
 
Re: Ebay is an excellent thing . . .

I think Ebay is wonderful and have never had any hassle either selling or buying. SWMBO makes our drinking money each week selling stuff (mostly books) on Ebay.

I would like to encourage you all to consider using SailRoom though - an Ebay just for boaters. It will only work if enough of us start selling things on it.
 
Totally agree . . .

eBay is a superb use of the internet. I've sold lots of stuff, with only one problem (which was when the Royal Mail delivered it to the wrong address and then argued about the compensation - they paid up!). But it's important not to get carried away; many items are sold for close to, or even higher than, retail. And some buyers just pay silly money. Last year, I had a nice little run of buying certain items on eBay from the US, and immediately selling them again on eBay in the UK. Bought for about £4 each, sold for up to £30 each! You really couldn't make it up! (Helped buy my new radar though).
 
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