posted on July 24, 2002 07:41:57 PM
Just wondering if anyone out there has stories to share about taking consignment work on eBay... in other words, someone gives you their item to sell, you do all the legwork (photos, description, listing, accepting payment, etc.) and you take a percentage of the sale.
posted on July 24, 2002 07:47:52 PM
We charge $5.00 for taking the pictures, writing the listing, etc. and get that if the item sells or not. We also get 10% of the final sales amount. The customer also pays ebay fees but I absorb Auction Watch and Paypal fees since it is for my convenience. We have had no problems. Have even sold two ambulances. It isn't worth it for the seller unless the item will bring at least $50.00 or so.
posted on July 24, 2002 08:49:56 PM
I do consignments using a method almost identical to antique519, except that I charge $2.00 for listing and photos and 20% of the final price. I have a seperate seller's account on Ebay and also Auctionwatch for all my consignment work. The most important advise I could give anyone doing consignments is to make sure you have physical possession and total control of the items you sell, all the way from listing to shipping (or returning to owner if they don't sell). Also, choose your clients carefully. Don't let them choose you. You want to work with someone who has reasonable expectations and a fair idea of market values. A written contract won't do a lot of good except in unusual cases such as automobiles, etc. You and the client will have to have a certain amount of mutual trust in each other. If worked properly, with the right person, you can make some good money on consignments.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
posted on July 25, 2002 11:51:26 AM
I do consignment selling for people that I know. I charge 25% of net after all fees. I take the pics, write the description and insist on having control of the item until after the sale. When the buyer receives the item and lets me know they are satisfied, then the seller gets their share of the money.
I have done this several times and have had no complaints.
There is one gentleman that I would not sell for though. He wanted me to do all the work and he have all of the control. That was not worth my time or frustration. He had oodles of items but I would have been spending most of my time at his house taking pics and writing the descriptions in long hand then coming home and doing it all again on the computer. no way.
posted on July 25, 2002 04:11:21 PM
I agree with most of the advice here. I have sold over 250 items in the last several months. I did have an idea of the value of most of the items. I charged them 15% of the gross sale then deducted auction fees. It is very important to have all the items in your posession with complete control over them. I gave the owner copies of all the sales with expenses. Any profit in shipping was mine for the time taken for the extra trips and packaging. Pick your consignments with extra care.
posted on July 25, 2002 07:47:44 PM
I charge 40% and they pay for fees. I don't charge a fee for picture taking etc. I am suppose to be the, "expert", I use the term loosely but if it does't sell I get zip. Most all of them sell and for good prices. If it does I get 40%. I pay for shipping supplies since I get them so cheap anyway.
(not juststuff4u on ebay)
A written contract won't do a lot of good >>
Now tell the to the People's court or one of my old law teachers.
It is good idea to have a basic written form (contract) that way if something should go wrong you have the terms in writing. This is business and money although, I have never had a problem one never knows. Make sure that the terms are clearly stated and don't contradict each other. Make it simple and sweet and to the point. If you are selling for anyone you should have one of these because the judge is not going to be favoring a seller (business) next to the buyer (little guy) if something does go hey wire.
posted on July 26, 2002 06:56:53 AM
I charge 20% and pay all fees. I have one very good customer and only charge him 15% due to volumn and high quality of his items.
posted on August 1, 2002 10:24:24 AM
I fully agree with sparkz statement to always have possession and control over the item being sold. I sold a leather jacket for a friend last year and almost had a caniption when the jacket went over the $200 mark (specialty jacket) with fierce bidding and I saw him getting off his motorcycle wearing it.
posted on August 1, 2002 12:56:52 PM
This is not intended to be a legal document. We have used it with two people, one who had some general items for sell and the other had what turned out to be $5,000 worth of Precious Moments figurines. I have posted it here before and am glad to share it with anyone. I haven't used it myself for over a year so if I were to use it anytime soon, there are most likely some changes that would need to be made.
HOW AN INTERNET AUCTION WORKS
An Internet Auction works almost exactly like any other auction. In fact, it might be helpful to think of an Internet Auction as a gigantic preview catalog. Each item is presented on its own page and provides details, pictures and bidding information. An experienced seller will include several relevant photos and a lot of detail on your item. Buyers and collectors are more than willing to spend money on your items but only if they feel they really know what they are bidding on.
eBay is the most popular of the Internet auction sites and was launched in September 1995. There are other Internet Auction sites (Yahoo! Auctions, Amazon Auctions) but none are as popular as eBay.
Internet auctions generally take the following format:
· A seller lists an item for sale with a minimum bid price (the lowest amount they would accept for their item).
· Auctions can last three, five, seven or ten days on eBay. Most sellers use the seven-day auction for maximum exposure. Some use the 10-day format by listing on Thursday, which gives the item two weekends of exposure.
· Sellers are charged a Listing Fee based on the minimum bid price of their item.
· Buyers may shop the auctions by looking at photos or searching for a particular item via “keywords.”
· Once a buyer finds an item they are interested in, they should carefully read the description, making note of any restrictions that may apply (i.e. some sellers do not sell internationally). Buyers should also note any shipping information and additional handling fees that a seller may apply to the auction.
· If a buyer still has questions about the item, they should e-mail the seller for more information.
· The buyer may then place a bid on the item and hope they are the high bidder when the auction is complete. Buyers can increase their bids if they are outbid by another bidder but only up until the auction expires.
· Once the auction is over, the buyer and seller have three business days in which to contact each other to complete the sale.
· Depending on the payment methods accepted by the individual seller, payment may be made within hours of the auction ending or could take as long as two or three weeks. Some sellers hold personal checks that have been sent for payment for an additional two weeks for clearance by their bank.
· Once payment is received and cleared, the seller ships the item to the buyer according to the shipping method agreed upon.
Feedback
Feedback is one of the most valuable tools in determining the credibility of sellers and buyers on Internet Auctions. Feedback is left for the seller or the buyer after the completion of any transaction. Positive feedback is desirable, with neutral and negative feedback as options. The seller ID used for our consignment sales currently has feedback in excess of 1300 positives.
WHAT WE CAN DO FOR YOU
We will attractively present your item, ensuring it can be found by every potential buyer. Descriptive text will be grammatically correct, properly spelled and well-written. Photos will be properly positioned to insure rapid and clearly-focused display.
WHAT WE CHARGE
Administrative Fee
A non-refundable Administrative Fee of $4.00 will be charged for each item we list for you. This Administrative Fee covers the cost to inspect, research, photograph, write the auction description, list your item for sale, and package and ship your item. It also covers the listing fee and the final value fee charged by eBay.
If you decide to list your item as one lot (example: an entire collection of Beanie Babies), we will charge $1.00 per item. Therefore, if you had 100 Beanie Babies in your collection, the Administrative Fee would be $100.
Commission
We will charge a 20% commission on the final sales price of each item.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Broken, Lost or Stolen Items
We never like to think that something bad will happen to your item, but the unexpected can happen. If an item is broken, lost or stolen while in our possession, we are prepared to pay you 50% of the book value price of each item. If there is no book value available, we will research eBay for the past 30 days and pay you an average selling price for that item.
How We Like to Run Our Auctions
For your items with a value of at least $20, we like to start each auction with a $9.99 minimum bid. Our experience has shown that this is a good opening bid amount for most auctions. Starting an auction with a high opening bid can hamper bidding activity. However, if there are not many potential bidders for a particular piece, we feel we must inform you that the item may not sell or may sell for the $9.99 opening amount. If you have any items that you feel you must obtain a certain amount in order to sell them, please let us know. We can include a reserve price in these auctions for an additional non-refundable Administrative Fee of $1.00. This reserve auction fee is the amount eBay will charge us to run a reserve auction and we are just passing this expense on to you.
For items valued at less than $20, we suggest a $5 minimum bid.
Approximately 95% of our auctions are held for seven days. We will, on occasion, run an auction for 10 days if we feel that the item will end with a higher final bid if it is available for 10 days. For example, if a seven day auction would conclude on Thanksgiving Day, it would most likely be in your best interest to run the auction for seven days since many people are away from home and computers on Thanksgiving Day. If an item does not sell within the initial listing period, we will re-list the item once more at no additional charge.
We accept MasterCard and Visa for payment via a third-party company, PayPal. Any fees associated with a buyer paying via either of these methods are our responsibility and are included in the Administrative Fee.
We also accept money orders, cashier’s checks and personal checks. Some buyers will send cash but we do not encourage it for obvious reasons. We have found it pointless to hold personal checks for clearance before shipping an item. In our 4+ years in selling on the Internet, we have only had a few bad checks with all but one of them being made right by the buyer.
Your account will be reviewed on the 15th and the last day of the month. A statement and check, if applicable, will be sent to you at that time. The statement will outline all auctions closed during that time period. It will also include the final sales price, outline any deductions for Administrative Fees and Final Value Fees and the amount due to you.
