holli

This weekend I went to two different birthday parties, DC Big Flea, and a yoga class. Dating someone is really turning me into less of a homebody. I think I like it.

(Big Flea haul: a bunch of vintage photos, a dress, and a jadite bowl. Then I went thrifting today and got a dress, a painting, a mug, and another jadite bowl for a total of $5. Which is a lot less than I spent at Big Flea.)

eta: Just occurred to me to ask: has anyone here sold on ebay before? I've only sold vintage on Etsy, and I have a '70s Lanvin dress that I suspect I could get more money for if I Ebayed it. But I've never sold anything there, hence asking.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

ankaret

I've sold quite a lot of stuff on eBay and it was... a mixed bag. 90% of the time people are lovely, the item gets there quickly in the post, they leave feedback, you leave feedback, and voila! the item has turned into money. 5% of the time, you get people who are a bit slow or aren't eBaying in their first language or who just didn't read the small print, who bid when they're in countries you don't ship to or want to send you payment in some form that you don't take or, at the scammier end of things, try to get you to end an auction early with some sob story or other.

And 5% of the time you get the people who make you wish eBay had never been invented. I've had people threaten me with legal action when an item took more than four days to *cross the Atlantic*, people leaving negative feedback and complaining that the item was dirty when it literally went from the washing machine to the line to the hanger to the parcel, people asking for refunds because a pendant I sold (and clearly stated in the description that the auction was just for the pendant, not the original chain or box) did not come with the original chain and box, people demanding a copy of the proof of posting for the item, then messaging me saying 'its ok i dont need the proof of posting', then messaging again saying 'i will give you three days to send proof of posting otherwise reporting you to e bay....' (I think I cleaned up the spelling a bit on those two, but you get the general idea). People will find fault with you in ways you didn't think possible, and will blame you especially for the foibles of the postal service.

Also, if you're selling at auction, whether you get what you expect for any given item is a bit of a crapshoot. There are ways of maximising what you get back - have good, clear photos, list at a weekend when people are likely to be browsing eBay, craft a title with the right words in it - but you can never tell when there's going to be a bidding war that pushes your item up past what you'd get on etsy and when there are going to be crickets.

Most of the time, it's great. The site's very easy to use - much easier than it was a few years ago - and it does get your items in front of a huge market, and it can be fun to watch your item get bid up. But there are that constituency of overentitled weirdos and actual scammers and eBay is not that invested in helping you against them, and I can't wholeheartedly recommend it.

From:

holli

Thank you so much! This is pretty much exactly what I was wondering. I think I might go with Etsy instead, as I have had no bad experiences there and the listing fees are lower.

From:

flea

I've sold on ebay, but mostly children's clothes; I suspect the conventions and market for vintage are different! But ebay in and of itself is pretty straightforward.