eBay? More like eBlah

For the lack of a good post, I made this

Today I wanted to learn to sell something on the great eBay. Having never bought or sold anything at this site, I felt like I was missing a major part of popular culture. My aversion to credit cards doesn't help either.

A little research was done on my part learning "tricks and tips" for selling on eBay. I looked at possible shipping methods and decided I would provide free shipping no matter what. It seemed like the highest selling items started with low starting bids so I'd do the same. Next I looked into Paypal. Apparently my dad setup a Paypal account when I was in middle school because I wanted an add-on to AIM (AOL Instant Messenger for the younger/older crowd) called DeadAIM. I don't recall why I wanted it so bad but I remember really liking it. Anyhow, the Paypal account was all set.

It was then that my sister then informed me that eBay has a seller fee although she wasn't sure what it was. So I check and it turns out that there are 2 fees. The first is called an "insertion fee" which allows you to post your auction. These run between free and $2.00 depending on your starting or reserve price. Okay, I can handle that. Then there's the final value free which can be between 8%-15%!! What the hell?!

That's as far as I got on eBay. I don't think I'll sell anything on there anytime soon. I just put a posting on Craigslist for free. Take that eBay. By the way, Craigslist has a new phone verification system where they call your phone number to give you a code. I'm not sure what exactly this verifies but it beats paying commission to eBay.

Let me know your thoughts and experiences in the comment section.

Sources: http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/onlinebusiness/a/ebaysellingtips.htm

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