posted on June 30, 2001 09:20:13 AM new
Do any of you sell merchandise for
other people on your site?
I sell high end vintage & contemporary
designer accessories & costume jewelry.
Any advice to share on how to"structure
the deal" so it is fair to both me &
the consignor? Any war stories or
things to avoid? Thanks!
posted on June 30, 2001 11:10:01 AM new
You really need to get a lawyer to write up an agreement for you. By acting as an intermediary, you expose yourself to lawsuits on both ends (from the eventual buyer & the original owner). You'll also need to (likely) have special insurance coverage for items in your possession that you don't own (not covered under homeowners policies, nor is it covered under most "collectibles" insurance policies)
I don't take consignments (doesn't make ANY business sense to do that once you think about what's required) but would think you'd need to address:
1) insurance on items while in your possession)
2) starts/reserves
3) your commission
4) who pays eBay fees
5) cost of returns
6) proof of rightful ownership (consignor)
7) cost of bounced checks
8) cost of non-pays
etc, etc
I'd think that if you calculated risk/costs of taking consignments, nothing under 20-30% commission + eBay fees would be acceptable.
Even with that, what if the items they consign are stolen? Fake? Who pays for bounced checks? What if you get sued (as the seller)? Who pays the legal bill? etc, etc. In the eyes of the bidder, YOU are the seller. If they feel ripped off, YOU will get sued, or will get the "negative", or whatever.
I know several people that DO take consignments, but none of them have thought it through and are taking things without formal agreements in place. That will be fine as long as nothing ever goes wrong. If it does, they could be hurt "badly". Doesn't take much of a lawsuit to wipe out most peoples whole life savings... (even when they win, legal fees add up very quickly...)
If you're selling $5 or $10 items, it probably doesn't matter all that much. If you're selling $1,000 antiques, it probably does.
posted on June 30, 2001 11:27:37 AM new
also consider when you should remit the net proceeds to the consignee?
in case the customer uses credit card,you are expected to ship in 5 days while chargebacks can take place within 120 days.
if you remit the net proceeds to the original owner and 119 days down the road,there is chargeback,you may have problem getting the money from the owner .
many of them need the money and lack the resources to sell themselved in cyberspace like older retirees,and the money has already been spent,now what??
posted on June 30, 2001 03:17:48 PM new
let's see-
You're going to take the picture, write the description, post the listing, pay the fees, answer the emails, deal with the shipping, risk the negs, etc.
50% sounds reasonable to me. I wouldn't do it for that, except for a big ticket item.
In any event, have the merchandise IN HAND before you list with a written agreement about what it takes to sell it, ie, minimum acceptable bid. Include the word "irrevocable" in the agreement.
I would recommend a separate ID to do this unless it's a one time thing - and accept only money orders as payment.
posted on June 30, 2001 03:25:45 PM new
I've done it a few times for 30%, I paid the fees. It's just not worth it.
Dear Mr. President,There are too many states nowadays, please eliminate three.Abraham Simpson
posted on July 1, 2001 12:16:41 AM new
Advice here is simple: Avoid consignments.
You simply have no way of winning. Someone will have say, a Wedgewood vase that their antique book gives a list price of $1000 for. They will want you to do all the legwork of putting up the ad, and guess what? They will want you to start the opening bid at $1000, at least. In all actuality the highest market price will be around $250, with $100 more likely. On hearing this they will get upset and think you are trying to rip them off. If you start it off at a low price 'to attract bidders' you will be screwed if it sells at a low price. You can place a reserve on it, but
there are ALOT of bidders like myself who will not bid on reserve auctions.
posted on July 1, 2001 03:31:55 AM new
I have done this a few times for friends. I usually charge a set up fee to help them. Get set up with AW and Ebay. Sometimes I charge a flat fee or a small percentage. Sometimes they do all the leg work. (Shipping, item description and they pay for all fees involved) I will help them fine tune description, upload pics, auction templatel, and most communication with buyer. I only work with people I really know well so far.
posted on July 1, 2001 05:32:25 AM new
Don't do it. Last year I had a lady who owned an antique store get ahold of me and want to start a partnership. We had several verbal agreements, I lugged her stuff home, and did the auctions. She decided she didn't like the prices she received and did not have to sell. This after we agreed on minimin bids and everything. I lost about 100 in ebay fees and ended up with a couple of very p*ssed off bidders.
There are two things I learned from this, one, never sell for anyone but yourself. Two, the people who proclaim their christanity the loudest are usually the biggest swindlers you will ever run across.
I tried it again, and this time the person I was selling for got his friends and family to get ebay ids to bid his stuff up. One had already ended by the time I found out, I sold it to the bidder for what they would have paid if they had no shilled it, and canceled the other auctions.
posted on July 1, 2001 06:09:41 AM new
Although we will list vehicles for people, I will not do any other items, period.
In the case of vehicles, all that I do is list the auction and answer emails with the phone number of the seller, then it is between them to work out the deal. Because they never really bid on the item, there is nothing more for me to do or worry about.
We get a small listing fee and a commission if the car/truck/boat/RV sells.
We also have been contacted by people that want us to 'sell' items for them on ebay.
My answer.....
Sure, but we'll need the item here, in our hands. We need to take several photos and write up a good description of the condition, listing all the flaws. We'll also do a search to see what similiar items have been selling for so we can have an idea of what we are dealing with. We'll also need to know exactly what you want out of the item so we can figure out the costs involved and our commission fees. (yes, fees as in more than one)
They NEVER want to give you the item, so that ends the story.
They will gladly explain how prefect it is, and what they have seen others sell for, but they will never let you take pocession of it.
I'm sorry, but uf I don't have it, I can't sell it.
As hwa x4 said....
>an alternative is to buy from the owner if you feel it is worthwhile and save all the trouble. <
