Thanks for all the replies guys. I guess I will dig through my cars (only a footlocker cramed full) and find all of the onles I don't want and try selling those first to build a profile. Now, here is anoter question, mabey it was ansered above but I might have missed it, is paypal easy to set up and use? Kevin
Yes, it is very easy to set up and use. Just need a bank account to make deposit/withdraw transactions.
With respect to that, some folks who know that they will be using eBay and Paypal a lot set up an auxiliary account for just that purpose, leaving their main accounts inaccessible. Just a thought. Another thought: don't use a lot of different fonts, or a lot of different colors, or a lot of hyperbole (rare! scarce! hard to find!). Try to keep the fine print to a minimum-- too many terms and conditions are a turn off. And especially go easy on the exclamation points in descriptions!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Also, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Rule of Thumb: Never, ever, ever, ever go into either PayPal or Ebay EXCEPT directly through their web pages. No matter how good, or well-meaning, or authentic the frantic e-mail message appears to be, if it is legitimate, it will also be on your message section of your account. Just don't click on links, period. If ANY Ebay or PayPal message suddenly brings up a login screen....STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP!!!!! If there is a 'real' message, you can get at it that way just as easily. And you'll find out, to your horror, that the ability to completely mimic Ebay and PayPal, often on Russian (and now Iranian) web servers is just about perfect. Rule of Index Finger: Don't use the same password on Ebay as anywhere else, and for God's sake, don't use the same password on PayPal as anywhere else either. That's an easy firewall to establish. The Phishers count on you using ONE password everywhere that matters, get just one through some method and they are 80% sure they can get you somewhere else as well.
hahhah... yeah that word "RARE" cracks me up. I use it on "truely" rare items, but do it reluctantly because of it's overuse on ebay. Especially on train items. True story. I called a guy on that a couple years ago. He used that term "RARE" on nearly EVERY auction he listed. He stated an item as rare, then in the same auction listed as "10 available". lol.. He had TEN, of these RARE items,.. hahhah... How luck could he have been? lol.. It's kind alike the term "Heavy Duty" to me. Means nothing anymore, because everything used that term.
I agree 100%. I tell my kids to use the same rules on ebay/paypal as when dealing with their own banks. Their banks would never call you up or request via email your account # or password and neither would ebay or paypal. Keep them secret and you'll do just fine.
Randy has nailed everything :thumbs_up:. 100% sound & execllent advise. Follow his advise & you won't have any problems. Also,if a new scam shows up,someone here will post the warning. We still watch out for each other. You can also try selling your stuff here at TB 1st. In the marketplace train store.
Hmmm. I'd worry about that bank. Mine will lock my account if they see more than ten or twelve suspicious transactions (unrecognized vendors, a number of transactions in rapid succession) in one day. I've had to call and have my account unlocked when my debit card suddenly stopped working, and I have never complained about it! They really stay on the ball.
My good and bad experiences with ebay/Paypal: 1. Seller was in Europe. Made me pay 20 euro's for shipping, fine I wanted the item anyway, my choice. The didn't show up so I got Paypal to return my money. good for Paypal. Item finally arrived three weeks late with only 3 euro's shipping via surface. (read surface=slowboat to china and back) 2. My ex wife started our/my paypal account on our joint account when we were together. when we split up it was still on my account# with her name so I couldn't get access to the account to do anything. I called I complained. etc. It was a big hassle, but ultimately those blocks were in place to protect my account so I gotta respect that. I was able to log on and delete the account and start over with my own safe account.
Never again!! Got stiffed on a couple of dispaly cases, worth about $100. Seller did nothing but provided excuses of any/all sorts. Ebay did nothing and PayPal didn't and wouldn't do anything. Heard, and read of way too many problems with them, so i dropped my account like a hot potato!! Money Order only any more. A bit slower, but as I see it, safer. I've also passed on several items I've wanted because seller said PP only. Even contacted one seller, stating I was extremely interested, but because the inferior payment or PP, I wasn't willing to participate. Seller even offered to let me send M/O instead, because of perfect feedback. Still declined. But then, I've have banks screw me over big time, so I no longer have checking/savings accounts. So, PayPal isn't an option for me anyway. Just MY opinion based on personal experience.
Well, if it makes you feel better, Postal Money Orders have been hacked and are now untrustworthy. The Iranians and North Koreans are printing 100 dollar bills faster then we are...
I have found out the hard way that Postal Money orders are a very unsafe way to buy stuff. The Post Office will refund your money if they are lost or stolen, but if the person that you sent them to receives and cashes them, and doesn't send the goods, you are out of luck. You can file a mail fraud claim, but unless the transaction was for thousands of dollars, it will never get prosecuted. I will never send money again to someone that won't take PayPal. Keith, your experience is very rare. Normally if the seller can't provide documentation of proof of delivery, PayPal always sides with the buyer. As an even further protection, if you use a credit card to fund your PayPal purchases, your credit card co. will get your money back.
I didn't mean to sound negative or anything:embarassed:. Ebay AND PayPal were both absolutely wonderful before my misfortune. I still really like ebay because I can find things that are no longer on the shelves at my LHS or those hard to find brass items. It is just a shame that some dishonest people ruined a good thing for me as far as PayPal goes. I hope your experience is like that of the majority on here being trouble free.
Doug's Guide to eBay No charge! But $2 Pay-Pal donations accepted! mg::teeth: BTW, I think the answer to your question is YES, but there are some things you can do or watch for to make it not only easy, but painless too. ...Regarding Pay-Pal.... 1. Unless you have a phobia of online transactions, use Pay-Pal. I've said this many times, but one of the KEYS to having a successful auction on eBay (really, any auction) is getting MORE THAN ONE BIDDER. It is ingrained into human nature that you get your feelings hurt a bit when someone one-ups you, and there's no two words sweeter to the ears of eBay seller than "BIDDING WAR" It obviously depends on the item, but the chances of finding a suitable bidder for a specific model railroad item at a specific point in time is pretty rare. So excluding ANY part of that population greatly increases your chances of not getting 2 bidders, a bidding war requirement. 2. Pay-Pal has the aforementioned protections, etc, but MOST IMPORTANTLY it just makes life so much easier for the buyer and the seller. Take me for example...I don't write checks, seldom receive checks, and do ALL of my banking online. My bank is about 20 miles from anywhere I go on a normal basis, and I only go if something really unusual happens. For me to deposit checks or money orders is a MAJOR PAIN and I don't like mailing them in because it adds to the already ridiculously lengthy process of paper monetary exchange and the auction itself. At a minimum, I would have to probably buy more envelopes or stamps, as I seldom use or possess either. And buying a money order is about the biggest beating in the world, for me anyway. 3. Follow the rules, and don't be foolish. Don't ship to addresses not on the Pay-Pal user's address list...PERIOD. Take the advice of opening a dedicated "web account" at your bank to protect yourself from screw-ups. (either from you, from Pay-Pal, phisher-hackers, etc.) Make sure you accept a transaction, if needed, before you ship. DO NOT click on any link to eBay or Pay-Pal...PERIOD. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS type in the url, login, and navigate to the correct area. If you cannot remember the main url's to these two sites, you have bigger problems than Pay-Pal to worry about. Pay attention to your web browser's security features, and make sure you have basic computer security covered. (router, firewall, antivirus, up-to-date OS/browser patches, etc.) 4. In summary, the increased customer base and easier completion of transactions (including the USPS online shipping features) is well worth the fees for the most part. (having said that, using the Trainboard.com Trainstore, or posting on the N-Scale group in Yahoo is fee-free, pretty effective, and you can still use Pay-Pal if you want) ...Regarding eBay... 1. Never consider any auction that has less than 98% positive feedback. Period. Everybody makes mistakes, but it is rare that a mistake cannot be fixed in such a way to avoid negative feedback. The 2% allowance is simply for those folks that cannot be pleased no matter what and insist on being jerks about it. 2. Communicate! Never purchase or sell an item without e-mailing the seller or buyer outside of the realm of the automatic notifications that go out. Period. If you want to bid on something, e-mail the seller a question. Even if you don't really have a question. Ask them to confirm shipping costs and shipping method, confirm the condition of the item, verify key points in the description...whatever. You will be surprised what you learn about someone when they respond, and how your comfort level with bidding will likely change drastically one way or another. It's pretty easy to tell if it's a high schooler, or a dealer, if the person is actually in the hobby and truly knows about the item....and generally if they seem competent and motivated enough to complete the transaction quickly and without incident. That goes both ways. If you get a question from someone, that is GOOD! Means they are a likely bidder, and it gives you the opportunity to "sell up" the item a little bit...mention how you are always extra careful to pack the items well for shipping, warm-and-fuzzy stuff like that. Be sure to respond with a clear (and correct) answer to the question. Remember you want to come across in a positive manner...use spell check, etc. And when the auction completes, fire off an e-mail outside the notification to congratulate them and finalize the details. I try to send something like... "hey, congrats on the auction win. Feel free to use the standard checkout, but if you have questions, want to bid on some of my other items and need a few days, or whatever just let me know. If I get payment today or tomorrow this item should ship this Saturday by USPS Priority" ...or something to that effect. Don't go crazy or promise something you cannot deliver, but I think the personal contact is good for getting the auction completed successfully. Obviously if you are selling hundreds of items all at once this might not be feasible, but at least for big ticket items I recommend it. 3. Be honest about the item description when selling. Inspect the item thoroughly and describe any faults. Buyers will white-glove and fine-tooth-comb the items when they get them, so issues with the item won't be ignored. Plus, if they say the item isn't "as-described", you will be on better footing if you have put the effort to inspect the items. Obviously, "ship happens" and sometimes things get damaged in transit, but in my experience that is rare. BTW, do quick fixes on MRR items...like replacing couplers that are damaged, wheels, etc. Make sure locos run, also, don't just assume they did because they worked "last time you checked." 4. A little HTML goes a long way. A lot of HTML says "used car salesman". Use HTML to do basic formatting if needed but don't get crazy. 5. Be mindful of when to start the auction. Bottom line is you want prospective buyers to be awake and not busy when the auction ends Being live on the computer at auction end is a bidding war requirement. So, late Saturday morning, early Friday/Saturday evening...not so good. I like to post sometime on Sunday afternoon or evening for a 7-day auction. (I kinda prefer evening, personally) This way the auction ends the following Sunday afternoon or evening. You want to consider time zones, church at 7pm for a lot of folks, and so forth. If you are selling a lot of Southern Pacific stuff, waiting later might be better, while if it's a lot of Conrail, don't wait until 9pm Pacific time as most of your bidders will be in bed asleep. 6. Avoid starting MRR auctions between Memorial Day and Labor Day. In general, train items don't sell as well in the spring and early summer months, at least in my experience. Put your stuff on Trainboard during these periods and then eBay what is left after football season starts. That's about my list...I may have forgotten a few things but that about does it.
All of the important points on ebay/paypal transactions have been covered very well. However, I'd like to expand on the use of the online tools available to sellers, which really make for a smooth, nearly painless process. When an auction closes and the paypal transaction is completed, you can safely deposit the cash directly into your personal bank account with a couple of clicks. With a couple more clicks, you can print out a postage-paid mailing label that you simply slap on your package and leave for your mailman to pick up. Meanwhile, ebay provides a number of useful selling report tools so you can keep track of who has paid, who hasn't, which items have shipped, etc., etc. I agree with Doug, and consider these tools well worth the fees that are applied to the transactions. When you figure what your time is worth (and you really ought to be thinking about this), it represents a considerable savings over tracking the transactions manually, waiting to receive money orders, driving out to the bank to deposit them, creating mailing labels, hauling the packages to the PO to have them weighed and postage applied... etc., etc... what a royal pain. Thanks to these tools, I am easily able to run a couple of dozen auctions concurrently, whereas before, when everything was manual, I'd max out at six or eight before things started to get overwhelming. I have also migrated over to paypal-only transactions for buying and selling. The last few auctions I ran where I accepted MOs, I noticed a distinct drop in the reliability of the buyers, and after a couple of no-pays, I said, that's it, paypal only. One thing I do to stimulate more sales is to ship first class, which makes for significant savings for the buyer. I've never had an item lost in the mail, and buyers really appreciate the low shipping fees. No one has ever complained that I don't use priority. From what I've seen, priority mail doesn't offer much of an advantage; it's rarely any faster, and from what I've heard, the process of filing claims is so messy and unreliable that it's not worth the extra bucks. And it sure isn't worth it just to get the "free" boxes. After several years of buying and selling, I must say the good far outweighs the bad. No real horror stories to relate, but this may be because I pretty much stick with model railroad items; when you get into buying and selling electronic goods, antiques, jewelry and certain other stuff, all bets are off.
I agree!:thumbs_up: Sounds like I need to reconsider my previous thoughts and follow those steps. Thanks!!!:teeth:
If youa re a seller and your buyer doesn;t like your item or they don't recieve your item [becasue they havne;t bothered looking evry closely around their place in the wird places mailmen drop things] they will lock your account [ALL your funds] regardless of if all those funds are involved with the transaction or not. My repsonse to this is I pull all funds form my paypal account as soon as I ship the item. If there's a problem, I will still need to go through the process of resolution, BUT they will not have me over a barrel. Hence, I try not to sell between thanksgiving and christmas, you have a lot of stressed postal workers and even more people on ebay with no less then two braincells in their head. Best times to sell are around Labor day and Between jan 1 and April 15th [Tax return day for us low folks]April - August is a slow point, Oct to jan is a stress point where everything that can go wrong will likely go wrong and you will pay for it. But if you like Highstake vegas, then it's for you! Oh yeah, if youa re worried about your account and paypal, go to your bank or a local bank, open an account [you usually only need $25] and make that account tied to your paypal account. Keep just a little spending money in it, don't take out a debit card, and use that banks online transfers to manage your money. And if the bank offers it, use the Visa card that comes with the account for all hard transactions and keep good tabs with your credit company. Credit is pretty recoverable, cash and moneyorders = Nada. My credit card company calls me about things quite a bit. When they start asking me questions though, I have realized it could very well be a scammer phishing my information over the phone. Call it my Criminal MasterMind backed by my Gypsie Genentics, I could very well invision someone doing that if they were smart - i realized this one day after my card company called me and asked a whole bunch of questions I shouldn't have answered bt did - now I DON'T! I cut them to the chase and ask THEM what the issue is, and give them MINIMAL information PERIOD. I don't know them, I didn't call them, I don't recognize thier number, so why should I cooperate??? Its not that hard, is it?
