How To Sell Used Items Online part1

How do you sell thee? Let us count the steps...


1. Clothes


A. Wash/Iron - Whether the clothes are yours or you bought it from your friendly neighborhood ukay ukay store, it is advisable to wash and iron them. If you want to save electricity costs, you may just wash it but not wring it too tight ;-) If you dont want to wash it, it's fine as long as you state in the item description that it hasnt been washed, or it came straight from the ukay ukay.


B. Picture, picture! - This is a must. Your pictures will do the 'talking' for your item/s. You could either hang the clothes, put it on a mannequin or just lay it on a flat surface. Don't forget to use a solid dark colored background or a white one. Take pictures of the front, back (if there's a print or design) and side (if there's a print/ design). If there is a flaw, like a tear/ rip or stain, take a snap of it. You could perhaps, place a Php1 coin beside the stain.


C. Describe to the max - Describe your item as if there are no pictures taken. Say if the shirt is dark blue, light blue or blue-green. List every single flaw, stain or rip. Mention if the stain is 3 or 5 inches above the hemline. Here is an example of a shirt i listed on ebay.ph. I indicated that a part of the hemline has to be sewn and there is a stain in the right sleeve.


D. Price it right! - It is Gymboree, so what? Price it reasonably. Yes, it is a popular brand, but it's already been used! Don't put Php500 as the starting price. No frugal person would buy that.

E. Packaging - The clothing is used but it doesnt mean you should merely shoved it inside the shipping pouch. It must be packed nicely and securely so it wouldnt get wet or dirty. You could use either white japanese papers (papel de japon) or clear plastics.




Next item: books

What Do I Despise About Online Selling?

If I enjoy selling online, there are also reasons why I despise it. Here is a rundown:

1. Unsold inventory. Let us be honest with ourselves, not everything that we sell will get sold online. Make up has expiration dates; clothes get out of style; Food is perishable (This is prohibited on ebay, though.) Or perhaps, our selling price is too exorbitant that even if we marked them down to 70% off sale, no one's biting. Aside from these, there is also the possibility that there is simply no market for the products we are sell.

2. Joybidders/ reservers and unreasonable persons. There are some ladies on multiply that keep on reserving items but wont pay us even if we email/pm or text them every other day. There are also some trigger-happy persons on ebay philippines that would bid or use buy-it-now option but would not respond even if we file for an Unpaid Item Strike. And there are also a couple of persons that are plain unreasonable: they would demand same day delivery (this service is non-existent and not offered by any courier); they would demand for a meet up (even if they are only buying 1 item and knew that I'm 2 hours away from their location); they would demand next day delivery (despite the fact that they gave a wrong address or live in a very remote island or Out of Delivery Areas). X-(

3. Lack of a revolving fund. This is when I started selling perfumes. I imported the perfumes abroad hence, I paid in US dollars and the shipping entails 4 weeks plus 2-3 days custom check.

4. No down time. The schedule of a mom with two babies is tedious enough. What more if the mom is a Law student and an online seller? No, I am not complaining. :) I would appreciate it though if people would not call me at 4am (mobile phones are open 24/7 anyway. I could reply to their messages once Im awake).

5. Indecent emails/ texts. I was once bothered by my mobile phone at 2 am. It was a guy using a roaming number; He asked me if I could text him back at his local number and be his textmate. Of course, I did not reply! LOL :D

6. Not-So-Friendly Competition. There are some persons that ask for my business suggestions however there are also a few that try to befriend me but are in reality, gearing up for competition. And, this hurts. :(

How To Sell on Ebay

A friend of mine told me that she wants to sell online and, she asked for some tips. I gave a few suggestions including the following:

1. You need a computer and a digicam. If you dont own a pc, you may rent one. Invest in a good digicam. Some sellers scan their items, though.

2. You need to open an Ebay account. The account name must be something relevant to your items for sale. I use mameecloset as username because i sell items that could be seen inside a mamee's closet ;-)

3. Buy a few items on ebay. This is for you to be able to get some positive feedback or just to have a "feel" of how ebay works. I have zero feedback though when i started but, the buyer opted for a meet up.

4. Decide what to sell. I sell clothes, books and perfumes because i have access to those; I sell wholesale ukay ukay or used clothes, I looove books and I know where to source the most affordable authentic perfumes. You could start by selling used clothes, toys, books etc. Be sure that they are in good condition, though. I will try to expound on this, next time.

5. Take Pictures of the Items. Take pictures during the day. Do not use flash; I use soft flash sometimes. Use a a background with solid colors: black or white. You can lay them on a flat surface, either on the bed or table

6. Edit the Pictures. Crop the edges and resize them. Some even put a watermark of their username to discourage picture theft.

7. List Your Items. For clothes, include the following: item name, size, color, fabric and any other important descriptions. For books: name and author. For perfumes: name, edition (optional) and quantity.

8. Wait. Wait for the buyers questions or winning auctions, if ever. Answer questions promptly and send out payment invoices patiently.

9. Confirm Payment. My savings account is enrolled online so i merely check online to verify the payment. You may ask the buyer to email you the scanned copy of the deposit slip or you may ask for the transaction number. Gcash is also convenient; it shows the sender's contact number and transaction receipt.

10. Pack the Items. Use bubblewraps, packing peanuts, plastic wrappers, boxes etc depending on your items fragility. I use bubblewraps when I ship perfumes; Plastics for books. I use small boxes when i send out more than 1 dozen books for a single order.

11. Ship the Items. Opt for those which offer free pick up services so you will not spend for transpostation costs. I use Xend Express for my deliveries within Metro Manila while I use Air21 for provincial shipments. Text/ Email the winning bidder about the waybill or tracking number. The number could be seen in the upper right part of the waybill. And, it could be tracked on the courier's website (www.xend.com.ph/) or on your mobile phone (www.air21.com.ph/?q=track).

12. Feedback. Some sellers give the buyer's feedback once payment has been confirmed because the buyer's responsibility (paying) has been done. Other sellers wait for the buyer to leave a feedback for them first arguing that some buyers leave negative feedbacks for no reasonable reasons at all. I generally leave feedbacks immediately once payment has been confirmed. Im cautious though when it is difficult to transact with the buyer.