The two basic arrangements
1) “Leave the Driving to us”
This is our preferred method. You don’t pay anything up front, and we determine the best way to get the highest selling price on eBay. Frequently this means setting a low starting bid, but not always. It generally is a 7 or 10 day auction.
Since we work on commission, we want the item to sell well and our 5000+ auctions give us a sense of how best to achieve positive results. We will also sometimes decide to use an eBay Store rather than an eBay auction.
2) “You drive”
You set a starting bid and auction duration, and can use a “Buy It Now”. There is a “pre-payment” for using this method: $20 for the first $100 of starting bid plus $1 for each additional $100. This pre-payment is applied against the commission if the item sells (i.e., it is not an additional fee). If the item doesn’t sell after 2 listings, the pre-payment may be forfeited – usually we will, with your permission, re-list the item at a lower price to get a sale.
Fees
We pay all fees* other than the eBay Commission (Final Value Fee) which is typically 2 – 3%. Our commissions begin at 35% and decline as the value of the item goes up.
For items expected to sell for more than $3000, we will negotiate a commission. There are circumstances under which we will negotiate a lower commission, in line with the level of effort involved in marketing the items.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Selling Price
|
You Recieve
|
Your Percentage
|
||
|
$100.00
|
$
61.63
|
62%
|
||
|
$
1,000
|
$671.88
|
67%
|
||
|
$
1,500
|
$
1,064.38
|
71%
|
||
|
$
2,000
|
$1,456.88
|
73%
|
||
|
$
3,000
|
$
2,241.88
|
75%
|
||
|
$
5,000
|
$
3,911.88
|
78%
|
Questions to ask when considering doing it yourself or using another eBay Drop Center:
- What
is your/their eBay Feedback Rating – While it doesn’t
make much difference for an inexpensive item, many eBay buyers won’t
bid for expensive items unless the seller has sufficient feedback (more
than 500 with 99% or better positives). We have received more than 3400
positives (99.7%). Some of the local competitors are below 99%. Ask
to see their negatives; it is public information and you are entitled
to see it.
- Are
you prepared to deal with fraud? – There are many
ways that criminals “pay” for an item, receive it, and then
the payment bounces; counterfeit money orders, forged cashier’s
checks, fraudulent credit card chargebacks, etc. I know ways to protect
myself, and in any case, I am assuming the risk of bogus payment; you
are insulated from it.
- What
is your/their experience – There is no substitute
for experience on eBay. We’ve done around 5000 auctions. This is
especially important to ask about when considering using a franchise;
it doesn’t matter how many auctions were done by all of the franchisees,
what matters is how many were done by your local person.
- Are
they bonded? – Our eBay transactions are bonded
up to a limit of $25,000. While this kind of bond is seldom activated,
it provides reassurance to bidders, and studies have shown that they
are more likely to bid, and bid higher, when the seller has bonded the
transaction. To the best of my knowledge, we are the only local Drop
Center that bonds transactions.
- Do
they have a SquareTrade Seal? – SquareTrade is an
organization that allows its seal to be used by approved eBay sellers
who meet criteria of good business practices. They also provide mediation
services when there is a disagreement between buyer and seller. We are
SquareTrade members, and have additionally earned the right to sell
Travel-related items (tickets, timeshares, etc.), a more stringent certification.
- What
do the auctions look like? – Look at some listings.
Note especially whether the auctions provide sufficient and good quality
photos. Note also whether the listings are more an advertisement for
the Drop Center’s services than an auction for your item. If you’re
thinking of doing it yourself, what will your auction look like?
- Do you have the time to do it yourself? - Preparing an auction for eBay takes quite a bit of time, as does answering the emails, processing the payment, shipping the item, etc.*
We pay each auction’s listing fee ($2 - $9, typically), PayPal fees (2.9%), bonding fees (1%), and other miscellaneous fees (photo hosting, etc.)
