Any tips for a Newbee Ebayer?

[ITDEFX]

Ok i just started ebaying two weeks ago.. made some good purchases lately.
I had some questions for anyone who can help me.

1. There was a OOP CD sealed for a good price two weeks ago that I bidded on. I was the lead bidder and ebay kept on saying I was the winning bid for the last few seconds. After I waited for the last few seconds to expire I found out someone outbidded me and won the auction. I checked the bid history and it looked like this guy sniped me..ok he won, fair is fair. The following week the same item, sealed goes on sale from the same seller as last week. this time i watch it and not bid until the final seconds. I bid for the amount that I lost to last time and guess what happened? The same person who won last time, one again. I started checking the histories and feedback and it looks like this guy doesn't leave a feedback and looks like hes there to raise the prices for the seller. I think these people are workign together. Is there anything I can do to stop this? I would like to purchase this cd for a fair cd price (no more than 15 dollars). but if this azzclown keeps on sniping a sale and has no intention of selling it and the whole cycle repeats then why bother selling it?!?!?!? If this cd goes on sale again, should I put my final bid for $10 with the 3 shipping just to outsnipe him or do i risk getting shammed by the seller of the auction.

2. I want to start selling some of GC games that are still sealed. I was planning on sending them via US postal mail in there standard size envelops for dvd sizes and was thinking of charging 5 dollars to ship in the US. this 5 is for the package and gas money, is that fair or am I gonna get bitched at for charging 5 bucks on a 3.65 shipped package?

[wubb]

1. You can report the user id as a shill bidder. eBay will look into it and decide if that is actually the case or not.

2. #0 bubble mailers are the standard size for a single game or DVD I believe. $5 isn't too bad, some people are lower but you aren't in the gouging realm IMO. I'd suggest you do 1st class mail with Delivery Confirmation. (Always do DC.) Run you about $2.50 or less.

[mtxbass1]

Ok i just started ebaying two weeks ago.. made some good purchases lately.
I had some questions for anyone who can help me.


2. I want to start selling some of GC games that are still sealed. I was planning on sending them via US postal mail in there standard size envelops for dvd sizes and was thinking of charging 5 dollars to ship in the US. this 5 is for the package and gas money, is that fair or am I gonna get bitched at for charging 5 bucks on a 3.65 shipped package?

I've been a seller since 2001. That being said I don't think $5 is a bad charge for shipping, although it's a little high. Games usually run $2.02 shipped first class with delivery confirmation, plus the envelope. Priority mail games run $4.30 but you can usually fit a game inside the provided priority boxes/envelopes.

[chickenhawk]

1. You could probably report the two users and let eBay know you suspect them of hiking up the auction prices. They will likely look into it especially since they caught a bunch of people doing that within the last year or so.

2. I personally don't think that $5 is unreasonable for shipping, but others will disagree. I usually charge $4 or $5 for shipping a game on eBay. If people don't like it, they won't bid.

[Kayden]

I don't know, but I'd think there would be a policy against jacking the price like that... read into it and report it if you can. Secondly, $5 is pretty standard shipping; anything higher will probably get flak. Thirdly, quit while you still have your soul!

[greenbags125]

I always charge $5 for shipping whether it be a CD or a GTA double pack (Weighs almost a pound). It saves me the hassle of calculating individual ship prices. If you ship first class, the shipping is $1.52 [6 oz. (Usually the price for DVD/PS2/GC/Xbox games with manual). Sometimes, the envelope or a few extra pages on the manual will push it up an oz (can be just .1 oz for it to go up to the next oz.) for $1.75. Delivery Confirmation is .55. An average cost for the whole package (postage + envelope) is $2.57 ($1.52 + $.55 + $.50). I use the remaining $2.43 to help me pay for Paypal/Ebay fees. Plus, I usually give CAGs a $1 discount and an additional $1 for multiple bids. Anything over $5 is too extreme.

[ITDEFX]

SOB guess what? that same CD i mentioned before ...ITS BACK from the SAME SELLER!!!! Now where do i go to report this!?!? I just want to buy it fairly. As for the 5 bucks for games...lets say I want to sell an old college book thats in extremly good condition. some of these book weight a few pounds..how do i cacluate price on this for shipping without having to go to the post office each time before i put it on sale :|

[Rig]

SOB guess what? that same CD i mentioned before ...ITS BACK from the SAME SELLER!!!! Now where do i go to report this!?!? I just want to buy it fairly. As for the 5 bucks for games...lets say I want to sell an old college book thats in extremly good condition. some of these book weight a few pounds..how do i cacluate price on this for shipping without having to go to the post office each time before i put it on sale :|

You can send them Media Mail. That is a very cheap option to send books. Someone on here can tell you the exact price of Media Mail, but I believe it's under $2...

[cheapass Gundam]

There's a lot of these scamming going on on evilBay and they do less than their fair share addressing these concerns. Basically they put a few "cover my ass" fine prints in place and do nothing until the authorities or courts got involved - a prime example is their so-called VeRO (Verified Rights Owner) program that asks IP owners to register with them before they can complain about bootlegs. Doesn't seem to make a difference when you see the amount of fake Nintendo portable carts spamming eBay.

My suggestion is stay the hell away unless it is your only means to generate income. There are a lot of unreasonable / moronic buyers on it now too, making selling not worth your time. I'm glad I quit and never looked back.

To report the scammers:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/contact_us/_base/index.html

Choose the following:

1. Report problems with other eBay members

2. Fraud concerns for buyers

3. Report a listing you think is fraudulent (you didn't bid)

Click on email and sign in, then tell them the details giving the eBay IDs of the seller and the bidder, and the auction numbbers, and URLs of their feedbacks

[ITDEFX]

Well considering that it appears that only two copies are being sold atm on ebay..one is sealed and the other is used (the fool wants 10 bucks for it) and the first starts off as a penny and ends up over 5 dollars (which isn't bad). I have looked in several stores in NYC and could never find it. I have checked out the FB on this guy and it looks like anyone outside of his circle gets damaged cds :|

Im desprate man I want that cd :)

Ebay is kinda addictive :O
I already blew over 100 some bucks in CD's alone these past few days.

There's a lot of these scamming going on on evilBay. My suggestion is stay the hell away unless it is your only means to generate income. There are a lot of unreasonable / moronic buyers on it now too, making selling not worth your time. I'm glad I quit and never looked back.

[cheapass Gundam]

Have you looked at more reputable etailers like Amazon.com? I found quite a few OOP CDs there through their third party sellers. All your purchases from 3rd party sellers through Amazon.com are guaranteed, unlike eBay.

[ITDEFX]

just checked amazon..oui..23 bucks :(

ok i will spill the beans then you can slam me for it. The cd is Mission to Mars soundtrack (2000) .. yea i know some people thought the movie sucked, but the music was pretty descent. Just look it up on ebay and track the sales of it and you will see what i mean espically watch the feedbackers/buyers(supposely)