Old 11-21-19, 11:43 AM
  #10  
wrk101
Thrifty Bill
 
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Mountains of Western NC
Posts: 23,524

Bikes: 86 Katakura Silk, 87 Prologue X2, 88 Cimarron LE, 1975 Sekai 4000 Professional, 73 Paramount, plus more

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Too many of my sales have gone to buyers with zero feedback. So I don't block them. And FWIW, I was recently scammed by someone with a feedback score of over 2,000. Realize buyers cannot get negative feedback. So they can build up a positive feedback score and still do scams. Ebay covered me on it, so all is good.


If you pack efficiently, I can send a crankset to Alaska or Hawaii for the same cost as sending to Atlanta, GA (flat rate padded envelope). Meanwhile, others charge up to $20 shipping. So I can price my cranksets a little higher than others, buyers still save as they get the shipping for a lot less. Imagine I price my item $5 higher, but the buyer is still $7 ahead. Or I price mine the same, mine sells, the other one doesn't.

Learn to pack efficiently (minimize postage). I just sent a Deore XT triple crankset, with both crank arms, dust caps and bottom bracket. All in a flat rate padded envelope ($8). I also recently sold 16 vintage hot rod car magazines, 7 pounds worth, in a flat rate padded envelope. Otherwise postage would have been over $25. For a $30 item, $8 versus $25 postage is a lot. Side note, buyer pays $8 postage, I pay $7.35. So I get a small bonus to offset a tiny amount of the fees. Better than a poke with a stick....

Half of my stuff goes first class mail. Again, same price to all 50 states. 40% goes in a flat rate padded envelope. The rest goes in some other packaging. I am allowed to send first class up to 16 ounces (typical limit is 13 ounces). I sell a lot of stuff in the 14/15 ounce range. Just sold a 0.833 size handlebar stem. 14 ounces.... I was charged $5.33 postage.

I just sold a spare seat from a 2002 motorcycle. $245. Had I attempted to sell locally, I would have gotten $25 for it, maybe less. Win/win. Buyer was pleased to get a pristine like new motorcycle seat (I took it off on day 1). I got my $245, less fees.

Last edited by wrk101; 11-21-19 at 11:47 AM.
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