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| Bright and breezy: 80s oversized shirt dress - Saturday Sister Vintage |
Ever dabbled in selling on Ebay, but made a dissapointing amount of cash? Maybe I can help. I've been using Ebay as my fallback for about 7 years now. During periods of unemployment or when I've been saving up for something special, I've relied on it to supply me with a little extra money, or sometimes if I'm lucky a nice healthy pay cheque. I now use Ebay to sell vintage clothes, shoes and accessories, and it's going well.
I'd like to share with you some tips I've learnt whilst dealing with all kinds of people and selling all kinds of things (nothing too weird) on Ebay. From requests to wear an item of clothing for a few days before sending, to the girl who ripped me off really bad when she reported to Ebay something I'd sent her smelt like fish and demanded a refund (I launder all my garments before sending, and I'm a vegetarian thankyou = still bitter). I've experienced quite a chunk of the Ebay buying population by now, and I hope to be of help to you, the Ebay curious.
1) WOULD YOU BUY IT?
During each stage of selling an item I try to think like a buyer. Does this picture make the item look cool? Does this description sound appealing? And ultimately, would I buy this? I know you're getting rid of said item and so no, you probably wouldn't. But I always feel my job is done when, having listed the item, I've sold it so well I think 'why am I selling this? I want it!' If you don't look at the listing and want to buy it, then chances are other people won't either.
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| Floral on floral: Topshop Bag, Saturday Sister Vintage |
2)PHOTOS
A classic. Ebay can bang on about how buyers love pictures until they go blue in the face, but I still see so many listings (yep, some of my winnings get spent on Ebay) featuring a dark dank living room, curtains drawn, with a sorry old M&S top hanging, or worse, laid out on a carpet. It's such an unappealing scene. You can't see the item, you don't want the item. Give me beautiful white backgrounds and well lit pictures any day
3) THE PRICE
''I wouldn't pay £20 for this shitty cardigan, but someone will! There's so many people using Ebay that I will no doubt get the attention of the one person who will think it's worthy of £20 and buy it from me!'' This is the thinking of an amateur. No such person exists. Look at the item realistically, how much would you pay for it? Don't rip yourself off, but don't have your standards set so high that it won't sell
4) BEWARE OF UNUSUAL REQUESTS
The girl who emails you saying she wants you to hold a buy it now item until next week when she gets paid? Or the guy who insists he'll be paying for the jeans soon so don't open a case against him yet PURLEASEEE! They speak only lies. I don't know why they bothered to bid on it, or send that email, but my theory is people get a thrill out of the bidding process, or from leading you on. They will most likely not pay so the best thing you can do is stay professional throughout, don't get emotionally involved and remember it's only money. You don't have to indulge them, just be polite and firm (a lesson for life too, perhaps?) What it comes down to is they're a loser who has missed out and you're a winner
5) BUT IT PAYS TO BE KIND SOMETIMES
On the very odd occasion, I do give in to people. I have a heart after all! I can't remember the exact situation, but there was a girl who bought a dress from me and then couldn't pay. She told me some story about losing all her money and I felt sorry for her. I held that item for weeks, missing out on other potential sales, not reporting her to ebay, and eventually she paid. She was extremely grateful and sweet. You have to trust your instincts. Some people are nice. I also like to add a little extra thing in with a parcel now and again for really good customers, maybe a scarf or necklace, and that always gives you the good feelings
6) BE DESCRIPTIVE
Use a great title, always be honest, include the brand name if it's exciting and highlight all the best bits about the product. For example, a pair of neon 80s shorts (which admittedly already sounds pretty great), becomes 'VINTAGE 80s High Waist PASTEL Rainbow NEON Festival Summer Shorts'! Whoa, I want them now! Also, don't be afraid to use whole capital letter words in your title, some say it's the equivalent of shouting the word, but in a marketplace so saturated with things for sale, a little shout might not do any harm
I have other tips about start prices and postage, buy it now vs. auction, but that's all pretty boring, so for now I'll conclude
Go wild, I hope you make some cash
Ebay & Instagram: saturday_sister_vintage
