Thinking about dipping my toe back into selling but am skeptical

S

samduhman

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 1, 2006
Messages
1,029
and need some advice on what's changed and best methods to sell/ship.

I used to flip my PC hardware and other items on ebay and near the end HardForum. I'd then roll the profit into new hardware toys. (y) However, after getting burnt by an eBay policy and the price of shipping had increased to the point where it wasn't worth the effort and hassle to pack and ship a $10/$20 item I threw in the towel. I have been sitting on all my goodies since. My family is looking to move at anytime over the next couple of years. So I'd like to start selling again but here are some questions or concerns.

1. When listing here I used to list my Heatware and my eBay profile to show my honesty and credibility. Is that still a valid option?
2. Shipping, I don't know why but I have a heck of a time determining what it actually cost to ship anything. UPS charged my wife $70+ for ground shipping to return a graphics card under warranty last year. I get it, they charged for boxing it up because I didn't have a box handy at the time but that seemed outrageous. Even USPS website throws me into a bit of confusion. When I go to their site and punch in a few dimensions, they keep pushing me towards their boxes. What if I want to use my box. Is the price the same whether i use their box or my own?
3. I only use paypal. Is that still acceptable to most HardForum users?
4. How do you add pictures to your listing? I could be wrong but I thought in the past I had to use a photo hosting site and add a link to the picture to my listing.

Thanks in advance.
 
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I would say methods haven't changed much since back in the day. I typically avoid eBay for the same reasons, eBay's cut along PayPal taking a cut as well. I use eBay as a reference point and drop of 10%-15% or so for fees associated with eBay. The one benefit is you can pass the shipping cost off to the buyer with eBay.

1. Yes those are totally valid. I would say most prefer Heat over eBay, but any credentials are good.
2. Flat Rate shipping can be very beneficial, if your items fit in the box. It's the insurance that usually will jack the price up. Shop around with all the vendors and see which is the cheapest/most efficient. Price will be different with your own box, but if pack smart it's usually not too much more than the Flat Rate, unless you shipping a case or something. Often times when bargaining with someone here I will offer to split shipping or you can just simply put in your post that shipping price is on the buyer.
3. Totally acceptable. People have stated as well that they want F&F(friends and family aka no charge) or you can simply add in that if the buyer prefers G&S(Goods and Services) they must pay the extra percentage. There's even handy calculators out there to help. I see other forms of payment, Zelle, ApplePay etc. it's really up to you.
4. The site can host the pictures for you now. Simply drag and drop into the post field and it will give you optoions.

GLWS
 
Heatware. Paypal is fine, I prefer F&F but I sell on here fairly often. USPS flat rate shipping is best bang for buck, but doesn't fit every scenario and the largest box is still like $20. UPS for bigger stuff. I use Shipstation (Paypal) to pay online and print labels, dump off at USPS/UPS or my mailbox if small enough. Pirateship is another option. For the most part I offer shipping as part of the sale price rather than trying to calculate rates for different people. Some things just aren't worth shipping unless you want to give stuff away for free if others pay shipping, which I have done a few times with big stuff like "dead" electronics, PC cases, etc.

I used to sell on Ebay years ago but got burned too many times, and now the way they treat sellers is a crime. Also no way in hell am I linking my checking account to Ebay, you cannot get paid for a sale via Paypal any longer. Like others have said, I use them as a price reference.

I think you will find that if you are an honest seller and quick communicator there are plenty of people on here looking for things.

GLWS and follow the rules, the boss is quick with smackdowns.
 
1. List your heatware. Ebay is good if you have no heatware.

2. Buy a cheap scale. Use pirateship or paypal shipstation.

3. You can use PayPal or any payment service you desire.

4. This forum can host your pictures for you. Click "attach files" and upload. A photo of the item with a handwritten username and date would be great.
 
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  • FYI for 2024 eBay, "If you receive $600 or more in gross payouts over the course of the 2024 calendar year, we'll provide a Form 1099-K to you by January 31, 2025."
  • Selling on eBay can be risky due to scammers and returns.
  • I typically give forum buyers extra discounts due to ~13% eBay fees, eBay hassles, 1099-K, and other payment fees.
  • You can request any payment method, but some may request PayPal G&S - they no longer refund fees for returns.
  • I list all my references, heatware, eBay, hardwareswap, etc. But heatware is primary for Hardforum.
  • Heard pirateship has good rates, but haven't used it. Currently using PayPal shipping and Shippo.
    • Feel free to reuse boxes and packing material if in good condition. Just mark over all labels, markings, etc.
  • Another option for pictures is imgur.
  • Edit: USPS is cheapest for light / smaller shipments, UPS and FedEx has better rates for heavier shipments when using pirateship, shippo, PayPal shipping, and eBay shipping. Retail rates are expensive (e.g. UPS store).
 
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You keep the most money selling on offerup. That's what i use. Works like a charm. Only sell, I don't usually buy used so i don't need to deal with scammers.
I tend not to overbuy hardware because then I need to deal with selling it. I also tend to use a rig for it's entire lifespan so when it's time to sell It's not even worth it (for me) and i just hand it down to family.
Craigslist is ok for selling not really buying because again I don't need to deal with scammers.
Ebay is the absolute last method but they take too much of a cut so i avoid it at all costs also because why deal with shipping when offerup exists?
Offerup is the hands down champ. Sell, keep all money, have them come pick it up, pocket all cash money.
I don't sell enough to have a heatware, all my positive feedback is on offerup & ebay.
 
Great responses, thanks everyone. I have two more questions.

I have a old Cooler Master Stacker 830 Evolution full tower case. It's just been sitting unused. I was about to throw it away last year and then saw they were going for $100+ on eBay plus shipping. So where do you find a box that works for a full tower case or odd size items?

Do you all sell old items you can't test to see if they still work? If you do what is your process. I have a lot of old "stuff" peripheral cards, cables, memory, etc. I know they worked when I stopped using them because I throw away items that failed. For example, I'm currently looking at an old Asus EN6200GE graphics card. It worked when I stopped using it but like my Vectrex, Dark Tower and Nintendo Virtual Boy, a capacitor, connection or ribbon cable may wear out and cause the item to fail just due to time. That card is just an example. I could probably test it if I really want to but do I want to go to the effort and time required for maybe a $20 sale.. thats undecided. I may have to suck it up and just trash them even though it would cuase me great pain. :cry: , but it would make my wife happy lol
 
For those old items that still worked the last time you used them, you're likely better off using the Perpetual Freebies thread to get rid of them for the price of shipping. You can even put up things that do not work, clearly disclose that of course, and many times folks will pick them up for the price of shipping. IMO those older items still have some use, but not worth the hassle to try and actually sell.

As for the Cooler Master Stacker 830 Evolution, you'd likely need to start with a larger than needed box and then trim and cut it down to make it the correct size. Not seeing a lot of eBay action on those, so would likely try for a local sale(Offer Up was a good response from above). But it's going to be a niche want from someone who is looking to build something nostalgic vs. new. Again the Perpetual Freebies may be a good place to rehome it for it's second life for the price of shipping.
 
samduhman said:
Do you all sell old items you can't test to see if they still work?
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I personally do not, and TBH I wouldn't appreciate it if a seller did this.

I was in the middle of typing up a reply and Fritzz responded with very similar thoughts so I'll just reiterate that if you're going to be shipping in any volume whatsoever (like more than a few sales per year) a scale and a PirateShip account are incredibly valuable tools. Your anecdote above regarding UPS raking your wife over the coals for $70 happened to me also, in a very similar fashion. Once.

Let me put things into perspective: in a scenario like that, the scale will more than likely pay for itself the very first time you use it. You can get a decent 110lb shipping scale for $25 that will handle just about anything you'd ever need to ship, including huge cases. So a one-time expense of $20-$25, and I have easily seen PirateShip save me that much money in a single shipment or two. Even if you don't recoup the costs immediately, I promise that you will within your first few sales. And from that point forward you're saving money each and every time you ship something. It also makes getting rid of things easier because people are much more likely to be willing to take things offered up for the cost of shipping if those costs aren't exorbitant.

Heatware is good. To touch back on my very first point, if it's not worth enough money from the sale for you to take the time to test it, I wouldn't bother selling it. It's an understandable position to be in since testing those older parts can be a hassle to test after they've gone out of common use. But because you are passing the testing of the part off to a buyer who is presumably equipped for said tests (or at least willing to assume the risk), you should be prepared to forfeit some of its value as well...and because it's not worth much to begin with, that is why we are suggesting that you just pass it on to the next poor sucker enthusiast for the cost of shipping. :D
 
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I avoid eBay now as I had buyers use it as a rental service and return the 29th day. Was out the shipping both ways twice.
 
unholy89 said:
I avoid eBay now as I had buyers use it as a rental service and return the 29th day. Was out the shipping both ways twice.
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Yikes. Once I sold a Dell LCD monitor and they returned it 3 weeks later saying it was broken. I had to pay return shipping. When I got it back.... it wasn't even the same monitor. It was a Dell, same size, but a different model (I had another one sitting on my workbench and it was easy to spot the difference). Ebay gave zero shits. One of many BS issues I ran into with Ebay, I gave up on selling there years ago.
 
Lateralus said:
I personally do not, and TBH I wouldn't appreciate it if a seller did this.
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Just to be clear if I wasn't. I would not purposely sell anything without disclosing full details on the item. I just didn't know if there are listings stating something along the lines of, "Item worked when it was pulled" but due to blah, blah, blah, purchase at your own risk". From the responses it doesn't sound like it is the norm so I won't list unknowns. Thanks again and I'll look into that scale and pirateship (y)
 
Burticus said:
Yikes. Once I sold a Dell LCD monitor and they returned it 3 weeks later saying it was broken. I had to pay return shipping. When I got it back.... it wasn't even the same monitor. It was a Dell, same size, but a different model (I had another one sitting on my workbench and it was easy to spot the difference). Ebay gave zero shits. One of many BS issues I ran into with Ebay, I gave up on selling there years ago.
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A similar experience is why I stopped selling on ebay. I sold a video card and the buyer came back saying it was defective and ebay returned the buyers purchase amount and an additional amount for shipping back to me. I was furious as I had just pulled that card out of my gaming rig, knowing there was nothing wrong with it. Once I had the card in hand I ran a barrage of stress tests and it passed flawlessly. I then saw where the buyer had about the same time as buying my card, bought a very similar video card, make and model but with some extra OC or memory features. Basically, it looked like he bought my card by mistake and told eBay it was defective and they automatically took his side. 🤬
 
Hate to sound like a Debbie Downer, but don't forget #5 to your list. 1099-L (I call it 1099-Loss :) ) I hope you have receipts of everything to prove it wasn't gifted to you or fell from the sky. This might be one of the biggest changes to selling in recent times. A change that was so screwed up that many users here refused to believe it.

You can just attach files/images to your post to host pictures, they added this feature a few years ago and I am grateful this forum allows you to add pictures (up to I think ... 20MB? What's the limit? Someone remind me please)

I also setup trading hardware with someone. That way the only transaction involved was buying a shipping label. Although trades can be much harder to arrange, just have a list of things that you might be looking for in exchange for trades to your For Sale listing.

If you go to Facebook marketplace, be prepared to deal with people who flake out hardcore.

You can list your eBay profile on your Heatware too! So Heatware can help other people cross reference and verify your multiple seller profiles that you may have. For example, my Heatware > https://www.heatware.com/u/52718/to
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I just sent a 3080 out today to someone on here. I used pirate ship for the label and it was like $16 UPS. In my short few years here, I feel safer dealing with people here than other places. Haven't gotten burned...in fact everyone here is way faster at working towards getting stuff gone. Then when something does seem fishy, it is like a pack of wolves to get it shut down.

I too have some stuff I should list but haven't.
 
Well, I've bought and sold a ton of stuff on here for many, many years neveranottaproblemo....so I can vouch for 99.99% of members being straight-up, honest & great to deal with...

FleeceBay... I used to sell stuff there but haven't been there in years due to the massive increase in scammerz & scalperz, the ever-increasing fees, flakey butthead buyers, and oh yea, THE FEES, and starting this year, the tax consequences/reporting requirements if you sell over $600 of stuff in a year :(

FakeBoook MP (or any other "social media" sites)... I wouldn't touch it/them with YOUR 100 foot pole :D

As for shipping, if for some reason you don't want to buy a scale (which I highly recommend), you can always look the item up on the mfgr's website or da Zon, get the product weight, add a little for the box/padding & be done....

For small stuff, the USPS priority mail boxes are great for the "if it fits, it ships" deal and includes insurance up to $100 IIRC...HOWEVER, be aware that those boxes have been consistently shrinking over the past few years, making you pay more. Meaning that items that used to fit in a "small" box will now require a "medium" box, which are of course, more expensive...

And I can also recommend OfferUp & PirateShip, as they can save you some serious $$ in some cases.....
 
I use a cheap and flat kitchen scale and it certainly paid for itself very quickly.
This is what I use, and I'm sure there are better scales for your needs. 95% of the things I ship will weigh within the limit of this scale (18 pounds) including a flat piece of board that I place on top so whatever I'm weighing doesn't apply weight off to the desk or floor. And I have another scale for heavier items.

ALSO, one more thing to add, get a digital tape measure as you'll be typing in box dimensions frequently.

Another great thing to add are Avery 8126 sticky labels. 2 shipping labels per page. This beats the hell out of using plain paper and folding and taping all around it. I hope to find a great deal on a real shipping label thermal printer in the future.

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dogDAbone said:
Well, I've bought and sold a ton of stuff on here for many, many years neveranottaproblemo....so I can vouch for 99.99% of members being straight-up, honest & great to deal with...

FleeceBay... I used to sell stuff there but haven't been there in years due to the massive increase in scammerz & scalperz, the ever-increasing fees, flakey butthead buyers, and oh yea, THE FEES, and starting this year, the tax consequences/reporting requirements if you sell over $600 of stuff in a year :(

FakeBoook MP (or any other "social media" sites)... I wouldn't touch it/them with YOUR 100 foot pole :D

As for shipping, if for some reason you don't want to buy a scale (which I highly recommend), you can always look the item up on the mfgr's website or da Zon, get the product weight, add a little for the box/padding & be done....

For small stuff, the USPS priority mail boxes are great for the "if it fits, it ships" deal and includes insurance up to $100 IIRC...HOWEVER, be aware that those boxes have been consistently shrinking over the past few years, making you pay more. Meaning that items that used to fit in a "small" box will now require a "medium" box, which are of course, more expensive...

And I can also recommend OfferUp & PirateShip, as they can save you some serious $$ in some cases.....
Click to expand...
My package today was cheaper on pirate ship with custom measurements than if it fit in a usps large box...and my box was bigger.

Once you ship like a pirate ya wont be returning.
 
How were shipping rates compared to Shipstation for the same box and carrier? I know USPS flat rate box rates SUCK these days.
 
samduhman said:
and need some advice on what's changed and best methods to sell/ship.

I used to flip my PC hardware and other items on ebay and near the end HardForum. I'd then roll the profit into new hardware toys. (y) However, after getting burnt by an eBay policy and the price of shipping had increased to the point where it wasn't worth the effort and hassle to pack and ship a $10/$20 item I threw in the towel. I have been sitting on all my goodies since. My family is looking to move at anytime over the next couple of years. So I'd like to start selling again but here are some questions or concerns.

1. When listing here I used to list my Heatware and my eBay profile to show my honesty and credibility. Is that still a valid option?
2. Shipping, I don't know why but I have a heck of a time determining what it actually cost to ship anything. UPS charged my wife $70+ for ground shipping to return a graphics card under warranty last year. I get it, they charged for boxing it up because I didn't have a box handy at the time but that seemed outrageous. Even USPS website throws me into a bit of confusion. When I go to their site and punch in a few dimensions, they keep pushing me towards their boxes. What if I want to use my box. Is the price the same whether i use their box or my own?
3. I only use paypal. Is that still acceptable to most HardForum users?
4. How do you add pictures to your listing? I could be wrong but I thought in the past I had to use a photo hosting site and add a link to the picture to my listing.

Thanks in advance.
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Use Pirateship for shipping. Save $.
 
One more thing I forgot was that one buyer requested to cancel and I cancelled through the eBay link. The buyer then left me a neutral review saying I didn't ship the item. I was not allowed to leave an feedback. Had to contact eBay to get feedback removed. But took a couple emails back and forth with them.
 
Binar said:
PC hardware doesnt sell well on OfferUP....Not in my area ( Phx) at least. Cars/tools yes but PC components wont sell at all.. I'm better off with Ebay
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My 1080Ti, 2080Ti, and 3080Ti all disappeared on Offerup in a week or two max. That's 3 high end expensive graphics cards. If the item is in high demand it will sell depending on what your asking price is. This was my experience.
 
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