Selling on Ebay1

Try Craigslist. It's free and local, so no shipping. I've had amazing success with it, both buying and selling. Way better than Ebay!
Craigslist.com

I would list your Bowflex on Craigslist. That way, someone local can buy it and will need to pick it up themselves. As a buyer, I would never buy something that huge without actually seeing it first, in case something went wrong and I had to return it. I would imagine shipping fees for a Bowflex would be pretty high...

When I buy something on Ebay, I would expect to get it within a couple of weeks maximum. Most things I buy get delivered to me within a week, so I would imagine the seller is ready to ship those items immediately. The longest time I had to wait for an item was 3 weeks and I had to contact the seller to remind him to ship me my item. I was not happy.

Good luck!

For big items, I'd put it up only as "local pick-up" auction. I've sold a couch and 2 beds by local pick-up on eBay and just bought a piano. And absolutely, you should have a time based shipping policy and stick to it. As both a buyer and a seller, fast shipping is a must. I'm not sure what you're selling that needs to be dry cleaned, but it's probably not necessary to have an item cleaned first. Like most anything, the person buying it second hand is going to clean it. Unless something in in unsellable condition as is, cleaning is not usually the seller's top priority. If you need to clean something in order to take pictures, that's one thing, but if I were buying something like clothing for myself that was dry clean only, I'd clean it after I bought it anyway. You definitely do not want to appear as though you're holding or borrowing someone else's money. Giving time for payment to clear is a given, but otherwise it's like any shopping online...they pay, you ship. You'll want them to pay quickly, they'll want you to ship quickly. Good luck.

We sell stuff on eBay all the time. It's best not too put something up for sell until your ready to ship it. Most people expect it too come within a few days of selling it and if you don't then they will give you a bad review and if people are smart they check that out before buying anything. We've wanted to buy things and if the person has bad reviews then we won't buy it from them.

Big things are also very easy to sell. We've sold furniture, computers, etc. We've specified that we live in IN and they have to come and get it. We had someone drive from Ohio for a TV. We just put it out in the garage beforehand and then they don't have to come into your house. Craig's List I don't know as much about. We sold our dining room table on there and my husband said you have to be careful about "whackos" calling and trying to get info from you. Don't know the difference in them. We've always had goodluck on eBay.

on ebay you can list as needs to be cleaned you chose how long it takes you to ship I have 3-5 day turnaround but you can make yours a 7day turn around. if you list them as need to be dry cleaned give them an option to clean them themselves or you can do it. once they order and pay it will give you a way to contact buyer so you can tell them you are getting them cleaned before shipping. As far as the huge item you have 2 choices. you can make it a pick up only if you are in a large town or break it down figure out box size and weigh it. do a calculate shipping. when you do this you will have to put the box size and the lbs. it will calculate the frieght according to where they live. you might be better using ups for the bowflex instead of usps. I would go ups on it. if you have any more questions send me a private message and I will help you the best I can.

You need to ship the stuff as soon as you get paid for the items. It is best to be a fast shipper because then you will get better reviews. You can also say local pickup only on the bowflex, or just use craigslist. It would cost you way to much money in shipping to send it. Good luck!!

I wouldn't sell anything on eBay that isn't small and easy to ship. Honestly, I love Craigslist. We have bought and sold so much stuff on there, it's ridiculous. Easy and you don't have to worry about shipping.

I would recommend trying Craig's List for the bowflex. What you really want is a local buyer who will come and pick it up! I believe eBay also has a "local" option, and you would need to specify that it's up to the buyer to come get it.

If you sell on eBay, you need to treat your selling as if you had a physical store or a catalogue business. Shipping needs to be done as soon as possible after the purchase - three days works, or sometimes five, but no more than that. In fact, when you list an item you are asked to state how soon you will ship after payment, and all payments are electronic nowadays. A buyer who purchases from you will want that item asap (just as you would if you were buying). As in a local store, you can't sell something and then get it ready - you have to have it ready for someone to buy and THEN try to sell it.

That means you need to invest money up front in the items you are hoping to sell. You'll have to decide whether the items you want to sell are worth the investment.

I see lots of stuff on eBay, but large, bulky stuff I list on Craig's List.

For eBay, you can specify that you will ship within a certain number of days after receiving payment, but be aware, prompt shipping is a HUGE deal to eBay buyers! Once they pay, they want it soooooon.

I'm looking forward to your responses. I've never sold anything on ebay, but purchased quite a few things. I usually have it within 5 days and I really like that part.
That said, there have been things I was interested in that were pretty cheap, but the shipping and handling cost 5 times the price of the item so I stayed away from those. One item said $350 for shipping and I wasn't going to entertain that idea. For one thing, I think that price was inflated to make up for the lower cost of the item and for another thing....what if I didn't like it and had to send it back?
I think there is an option when you sell something that the buyer is responsible for pick up. I'm not sure. But, you should definitely be ready to ship anything that you are hoping to sell, in my opinion.
If it's a wedding dress for instance, and you haven't had a chance to dry clean, you should make that very apparent in your ad and disclose any stains, with pictures if possible.

Bowflex? Hopefully you would find someone willing to just come and pick it up.

I hope you get some great responses.

Have you considered trying to sell it on Craig's List in your immediate area? It doesn't cost like Ebay and they can come pick it up. Another thought I just put in the ad that they have to come get it or figure out how to get it. I wouldn't try to ship it, it will probably cost more than what they pay for it. As far as the dry cleaning, you can get stuff called Dryell that will dry clean at home and it is super cheap!

Good luck!

If you're doing a bowflex, I'd try craig's list so that you dont have to worry about shipping.

And usually people expect their merchandise within 5-7 days after you receive payment and it clears the bank.

Try www.craigslist.com for all of it!!! You can either let people come to your home to see/pick up items or you can arrange to meet them at a well-known location (such as the WalMart parking lot). By arranging to meet somewhere, you avoid having to tell strangers your address. Good luck selling your items!

As far as the bowflex goes, you can list on there locals only so they have to pick it up, or try listing it on craigs list.

Buyers want there stuff pretty promptly. They rate you at the end of the process and the better your rating, the more likely people will buy off of you.