Ebay Question

[smoothdancer]

For you ladies that purchase from Ebay how do you go about it?

Are you jusr searching on dresses or are you going to Ebay stores?

 

You all seem to have good luck on Ebay.

[CowPrincess]

It really depends on what you want. I'm currently looking for a pair of pants, and this is the exact search I type in:

 

st. john -(bay,bright) (slacks,pants,trousers) (4,6,8,10,M,S)

 

so that I will not get "st. john's bay" or anything called bright but will get everything that does not include those words AND slacks,pants,trousers AND any of the sizes I've listed -- in the title.

 

When you get your search results page, on the left hand side is a vertical list of "item specifics" so you can refine the results further, e.g., with a lowest and highest price, or multi-colored.

 

If you tell me what you are looking for, I will help you create a search.

[iheartbda]

It also depends on whether you want to bid on something or just buy it outright.

 

You can also go to eBay University Learning Center.;):)

http://pages.ebay.com/education/index.html

[Kinkacruiser]

For you ladies that purchase from Ebay how do you go about it?

Are you jusr searching on dresses or are you going to Ebay stores?

 

You all seem to have good luck on Ebay.

 

I agree . To cut down your browsing time , key in specifics...size, colour and style st least.

[TnMama]

:)I type in the search what Im looking for...EX Womens size 11 sandals...then get down to the specifics on the left side bar,like price,pay pal accepted, free shipping,US only...only a couple of clicks and Ive got 10,000 shoes at my finger tips.

 

Now for Fiestaware,Ive been buying from the same store,b/c the lady gives me a great rate on shipping.

 

 

Plus...a tip on clothes, unless you KNOW its a brand that fits you in say a L size, use a seller with a return policy. I bought 2 dresses on there. Neither fit,but after the first not having a return policy,I made sure the 2nd seller did. all I paid was like 4 bucks for shipping the light weight dress abck and she credited my pay pal act no questions asked.:)

 

I bought a bathing suit on there. I wore it the first time on Sat to a pool party. Its one of those suck em in and up swim dresses, {Im a 16},and got lots of compliments. So happy ebaying. I may not have sailed yet,but I can talk "Shopping" all day long!:D

[JanineM]

I've bought a LOT of stuff on eBay over the years and rarely buy from eBay stores. But regardless of whether I buy from a store or an individual seller, I only buy from people with flawless (or close to it) feedback ratings. If there are a few negatives over a thousand sales then I don't worry too much - unless all of those negatives are recent, in which case I wonder if something is up with the person.

 

The biggest thing about buying clothing on eBay is to measure yourself and check the measurements listed very carefully. So many of the manufacturers are unfamiliar and their sizing is off. And even the brand name items may be irregulars with odd sizing.

[CowPrincess]

Further to Water Baby's excellent post, if there's something you need to know about an item you are interested in, ASK QUESTIONS. BEFORE BIDDING :)

 

A tip: do not automatically write off an item that has only one or 2 pictures, or doesn't list the measurements. Lots of sellers have to pay for photo hosting, and are happy to e-mail you extra pics if you ask. And many sellers who don't sell much clothing don't realize how important alllllll the measurements are.

[smoothdancer]

Thank you all!!

I think I am equipped now to give Ebay a try!!

[Alrana Eris]

I happen to love shopping EBAY for collectibles(did my Christmas shopping 1 year on EBAY) and with clothing- unless its t-shirts I don't even attempt to buy clothing online. I am a firm believer in trying on dresses in a store. Then again I'm so damn picky I always know what color and style I want. Clothing to me on EBAY is a crap shoot. Make sure they have a return policy. Because I learned one designer A's size 10 may be larger or smaller than designer B's.

You can find real interesting things on EBAY.

 

Alrana

[PennyAgain]

For us an alternative to EBay is Overstock.com which has $2.95 maximum cost of shipping and a fair return policy.

[smoothdancer]

Back again....

So I was interested in Ebay because my wardrobe is kind of strange!!!

 

We cruise often and also attend a lot of formal functions because of our hobby of competitive ballroom dancing... So my closets are jam packed with high quality formal gowns worn only once. Then I have business attire but little or close to nothing of casual wear.... We have our first Med cruise booked in Sept. on NCL that is a casual ship and I absolutely have nothing to wear!!

 

We usually pick ships with formal nights so I did not want to spend a lot of money on casual clothes I might not ever wear again after this cruise.

 

Well after going on Ebay I decided that I have so many gowns that have been worn once and perhaps I should be a seller..... Also I have many competition gowns I no longer wear and are in the "dead zone" of my closets that perhaps I should sell.....

 

What an adventure!! I started by putting 3 of my competition gowns on EBay... I think I priced them pretty low which immediately caused this crazy rush of questions....

 

So now from a sellers point of view... WOW, It was only about 2 hours after I posted my gowns that the questions started to come in... Very time consuming to answer all the questions... Then.... another WOW,, 4 hours later one of my buy it now gowns sold.... I was so excited, jumping up and down but then I was like ok, now what do I do!!. LOL, I really did not expect anything to sell.... So now I have only 3 days to ship the gown, if the buyer gives a negative response they hold the money in your paypal account....There is a lot to this as a seller....

 

Also figured out that when you put something up to bid it is not until the last few minutes that the bidding happens and then all of a sudden it is like an all out war!! Watching this as a seller is pretty instense.

 

Anyway, I want to thank you all for putting me in the right direction... Was not my plan to sell but to buy. I thought I would post here to give you a perspective of the other side of this Ebay thing!!

 

My name on EBay is dresslady201010 if you want to watch a very"green" Ebay person stumble along!!

[MIcruiser99]

Also figured out that when you put something up to bid it is not until the last few minutes that the bidding happens and then all of a sudden it is like an all out war!! Watching this as a seller is pretty instense.

 

That is crazy! I learned to put in my highest bid and not worry about losing the item. Otherwise, you can keep upping your bid and pay way too much for something! I have lost an item and it is really annoying when the bidder does it with 2 seconds left and you think you have won!:rolleyes:

[iheartbda]

That is crazy! I learned to put in my highest bid and not worry about losing the item. Otherwise, you can keep upping your bid and pay way too much for something! I have lost an item and it is really annoying when the bidder does it with 2 seconds left and you think you have won!:rolleyes:

That's called sniping, some people only bid that way and consider themselves masters if they can do it in 2 seconds or less. The pros will tell you to do it just like you do, put in your highest bid...the most you are willing to pay. If you don't win, they say there's always another one.:)

[DivasDare]

I either use BIN (buy it now) or I use an automatic bidding software to place my bids, since I am normally busy when the end of an auction comes around. But sometimes, I like the thrill of an old fashion *snipe* in the last few seconds. Sad, but true. :rolleyes:

[iheartbda]

I either use BIN (buy it now) or I use an automatic bidding software to place my bids, since I am normally busy when the end of an auction comes around. But sometimes, I like the thrill of an old fashion *snipe* in the last few seconds. Sad, but true. :rolleyes:

But that also shows that you were willing to pay more for the item than someone else.:)

 

Smooth,

Good luck with your selling. You might as well get something back on your investment if they are things you no longer wear. Hanging in a closet gets you nothing. If people are happy with what they got from you, they will look for you again.:)

[DivasDare]

But that also shows that you were willing to pay more for the item than someone else.:)

 

Smooth,

Good luck with your selling. You might as well get something back on your investment if they are things you no longer wear. Hanging in a closet gets you nothing. If people are happy with what they got from you, they will look for you again.:)

 

Only slightly. Most of the time a few dollars. Most people only put in five dollars over the starting bid, so with no other bids, say $5.51 over the start is not much. Most of the time it's cheaper and easier than paying retail. And what I don't like, I sell back.

 

Smooth, good luck and don't forget to make sure that you get your expenses of postal charges and ebay fees. If not it's almost like giving the item away.

[JanineM]

Back again....

So now from a sellers point of view... WOW, It was only about 2 hours after I posted my gowns that the questions started to come in... Very time consuming to answer all the questions... Then.... another WOW,, 4 hours later one of my buy it now gowns sold.... I was so excited, jumping up and down but then I was like ok, now what do I do!!. LOL, I really did not expect anything to sell.... So now I have only 3 days to ship the gown, if the buyer gives a negative response they hold the money in your paypal account....There is a lot to this as a seller....

 

Congrats on setting up shop! I've sold on eBay since about 2000 and things have really progressed since then!

 

The addition of shipping information and pricing quotes has made the whole process so much easier. I ship Priority Mail only, and have set-up a USPS account so I can just pack everything up in a flat rate box, print out my postage and either drop it at the post office or put it out in my mailbox (depending on the size of the box). SO much easier than the "old" way where I had to find a box, go to the post office, stand in line, weigh everything, write out the proof of delivery form, etc., etc. Now I can have things in the mail the day after the auction ends.

 

One suggestion I might make is that you state in your listings that shipping will take place within a week of the auction ending. That gives you some leeway in case anything happens. People can be brutal with the feedback and they don't care if you have a flat tire on the way to the post office! Since the gowns are valuable you may also want to make insurance mandatory. I did that with some more expensive books that I sold and it really paid off when one box went missing. The buyer didn't want to pay for insurance but I insisted, and neither of us was out money when it appeared three months later, torn apart and the books ruined.

 

Continued good luck with your selling!

[Occy]

Good luck smoothdancer, I'll be keeping an eye out for you. Have never sold on ebay, but I certainly have done my fair share of buying !!!!

[nicolen1101]

My name on EBay is dresslady201010 if you want to watch a very"green" Ebay person stumble along!!

 

You do have some very nice dresses. My only comment would be that your shipping seems really high unless you are only going to use UPS or Fedex, if that's the case you may want to advertise that. When I sell things online I try to keep the shipping cost as low as possible to get the most sales possible. If someone bids say $20 on a dress and has to pay $12 shipping it's now over 50% more than the cost of the dress itself.... just a thought

[DivasDare]

Looks great! I only have one suggestion that you add the size in the description. Many like myself search based on size, oh and if you have the brand name I would add that as well.

 

Much success to you!

[lawskool10]

I would add measurements as well, since one designer's size 10 can be different that another designer's size 10.

[smoothdancer]

Thank you for the comments.

 

RE.. The shipping, this is a hard one I know. I think I donated and shipped maybe 20 dresses on the donation thread. I found that my shipping costs were anywhere from 8-12 depending on location. Once I add in packaging costs 12.00 was about what it cost me, on an average. I am though going to consider a 7 day ship rather than 3 which would help. I do however understand your point.

 

So far I have sold two competition gowns and I can tell you for this kind of shipment, 12.00 was not quite enough to recover my shipment costs, but of course this is unique to a normal formal gown. These gowns really do need special care in shipment and requires a box large enough so the gown can move within the box.. My last sale(today) the final bid was 430, so 12 for shipping makes sense.

 

Measurements.... yes I am going to have to put more work and thought into that.

 

Many thanks for the feedback. This has been a good learning experience so far and I am learning a lot from the more experienced Ebayers!

[CowPrincess]

For anything over $250, make sure you send it with SIGNATURE CONFIRMATION. Including the dress you sold tonight. This is an added level of protection FOR YOU. And in the future, don't be afraid to use the Priority flat rate boxes for your gowns and high end formal wear, and charge the correct amount to cover the postage costs. :)

[kborth]

I just found an Isaac Mizrahi straplesss satin dress for 13 bucks. Just search under strapless dress and your size or you can try putting in his name. I love his clothes as they fit me well

[LiveWell]

Has anyone had anything custom made at one of the on-line stores on E-bay? How successful, or otherwise, was it?