Selling on eBay, are these auction conditions secure enough?

thebachellor · Oct 10, 2009

I'm gearing up to sell my laptop (see my previous post on that) on eBay, and I've written the item description and auction conditions. I would say thatI have a great amount of experience when it comes to buying on eBay, but not much when it comes to selling.

So for those more knowledgeable than me when it comes to selling, I want to know what you think of these auction conditions. Too strict? Too loose? What shouldI add or subtract?

Considering the value of the item listed, specific auction rules must be set. Read these carefully! There will be no exceptions!

-Paypal from a confirmed address or a money order from the U.S. Post Office are the only 2 methods of payment I will accept! If you are paying with a money order, it must be sent by a traceable service and the tracking number must be given to me within 3 days of auction close. Payment must be received within a week of the auction end date! No exceptions!
-NO buyers with less than 5 feedback may bid! No exceptions!
-Insurance and signature confirmation are mandatory shipping add-ons.
-The price that you win for is the final price! Try to haggle after you've won and you're gone!
-No returns or refunds! You as a bidder are responsible for asking every question you deem necessary to determine if you will bid. The description of the laptop, its specs, and known issues are given to the best of my ability. Find something that I missed? Ask me!

The laptop will not be D.O.A and will function as it should on arrival. Any attempts at claiming that a broken product (or no product) was shipped with the intention of getting a refund or to fraud (getting a refund and keeping the laptop) will be met with fierce retaliation. A mail fraud investigation will be conducted, authorities will be contacted. Believe me, its not worth it. If you cannot pay, then do not bid.

The above rules may come off as rigid, but this is a business transaction and guidelines must be set. These are in place to protect both me and you from fraud and dissapointment.

With that said, good luck bidding!

In particular, should I allow non-U.S bidders? I'm aware of the Nigerians and their antics

...but laptops are very expensive in other parts of theworld so mine might sell higher if I offer that option. Can I specify specific countries?

Also, any other advice that you may have (besides the obvious, like waiting until the money is in your bank account before shipping) would be appreciated.

Thanks.

disfunctional · Oct 10, 2009

lol @ "I'm aware of the Nigerians and their antics"

International shipping is such a hassle, you'd be better off only selling to U.S buyers.

raptors29 · Oct 10, 2009

There an increased chance in fraud when shipping overseas. Especially with electronics.

thebachellor · Oct 10, 2009

Originally Posted by raptors29

There an increased chance in fraud when shipping overseas. Especially with electronics.

Um...ok? Can you tell me HOW I can be defrauded if the money is in my account before I ship out? And it's to a confirmed address? How does your responsehelp? Come on fam....

supremeape · Oct 10, 2009

ebay has changed there policy, u can't request payment via MO only Paypal, they will not allow ur listing to go through if it says Money order ( this isfor Ebay.ca so im pretty sure its the same for .com)

thebachellor · Oct 10, 2009

Thanks, didn't know that.

Anything else? Do these terms protect me?

Also, if this sells for $600, how much in paypal fees am I looking at?

yuras718 · Oct 10, 2009

Paypal fees are roughly 4% I'm not sure on the fees for eBay electronics though. I do know with sneakers its 10% of final fee.

supremeape · Oct 10, 2009

Originally Posted by TheBachellor

Thanks, didn't know that.

Anything else? Do these terms protect me?

Also, if this sells for $600, how much in paypal fees am I looking at?

Paypal fees is around 3% and if they are sending money thats on there account it will be less. Honestly though Paypal and Ebay does little protect the seller,the only thing i would recommend is make sure u ship with full insurance and the most detail tracking u can get, Also take alot of detail pictures

430AM · Oct 10, 2009

Whats DOA mean?

IMHO the riskiest thing to do is sell used electronics on ebay, especially laptops... cause even if you put that it's in working condition a fraudulentbuyer can still say something like "it broke during shipment or something...". So more than likely that NO RETURNS policy will not fly.

cedric ceballos 1995 lakers · Oct 10, 2009

you stated everything clearly but with ebay, some people will just disregard everything you wrote and still bid and either not pay or be stupid and try andpull something.

you should put the i'm aware of nigerians part in the auction lol

thebachellor · Oct 10, 2009

Originally Posted by 430AM

Whats DOA mean?

IMHO the riskiest thing to do is sell used electronics on ebay, especially laptops... cause even if you put that it's in working condition a fraudulent buyer can still say something like "it broke during shipment or something...". So more than likely that NO RETURNS policy will not fly.

The thing is that I did not post the item description. I am including with the laptop what's left of my transferrable 2 year extended warranty (1 year). Soif they claim that it is broken, they have no reason to get their money back from me since they can get it repaired under the warranty.

socluis90 · Oct 10, 2009

OP I just sold an iPhone for 610 and my net gain was 550 I think.

check out this site:

http://www.newlifeauctions.com/calc.html

donpoppa · Oct 10, 2009

putting that stuff in the description wont mean anything. you have to set bidding rules in the settings or anybody can bid. what you need to do is searchbidding history on anybody who bids on your items.