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Quality Jewelry at Affordable prices
Following is short tips on selling on auctions:
To make your life easier, you should focus on things that are easy to package and ship, with predictable/repeatable weight and size. And you should stick to products that you use and appreciate yourself, that you understand well and care about. And instead of selling one of this kind of thing and one of that, you should focus on just one or just a few similar kinds of products, so you can build a reputation.
You can set up standard auctions where you indicate the "starting price," and the final price is determined by competitive bidding. That approach works well for collectibles, one of a kind items, and old or limited supply items -- whenever the enthusiasm of potential bidders might drive the price to illogical levels. In this case, you decide how long the auction will last (e.g., 5, 7, or 10 days), and there is no way for anyone to buy your items before that time has expired.
You can also sell in "Buy Now" mode, where you establish a fixed price, and the "auction" ends as soon as someone agrees to pay that price. The fees are the same as with standard auctions, but you could sell multiple copies of the same item in the time it would have taken you to run a single "standard" auction. This approach works well when you have a large renewable supply of the same goods, or you make the goods yourself. It's also good when you don't want the delays of standard auctions or the uncertainties of a variable auction price.
With both those ways of selling, you potentially make your pitch to all the tens of thousands of people who use Bid or Buy regularly and who might chance upon your listings by conducting searches or by browsing through the categories of goods at Bid or Buy.
As a seller, keep in mind that the best way to build trust is by trusting. (e.g., I don't wait for payment before shipping. I ship as soon as the sale is completed; and by doing so, I get burnt very rarely, and I very frequently turn ordinary customers into delighted customers, likely to come back for repeat sales.
Other simple ways to delight online customers include:
* answer questions immediately, and
* ship the goods as soon as possible.
It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of selling and to focus on the money coming in, losing track of your costs. Keep careful records -- not just for tax purposes, but also to make sure that your pricing and your practices are leading to a significant profit.
Take into account:
* Sellers need to pay a transaction fees if they successfully sell the item on bidorbuy. Listing items on bidorbuy is free, except Classifieds wherein a listing fee is charged. Surfing and buying is free on bidorbuy.
* the final value fees -- which vary with the ending price,
* any fees for special listing options you may be tempted by
* Bank fees -- Many people buying at Bid or Buy use Bid or Buy's online payment service. That's more convenient for them than mailing a cheque and gets you the money right away rather than a week or two later. But there is a processing fee, which varies with the amount. For instance, if your selling price is R10.00, you'll actually get R9.50.
Standard Auctions Fees
R0.01 to R250.00 = 5% of the Winning Bid Amount
R250.01 to R5,000.00 = R12.50 + 4% of the Winning Bid Amount over R250.00
R5,000.01 to No Limit = R202.50 + 3.5% of the Winning Bid Amount over R5,000.00
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