eBay and Paypal advice needed...

[Redeemer]

Hey guys, I need some help on what exactly I just did on Paypal... and what the consequences can be.

I'm not here to advertise, it's something completely unrelated to Starfox, so don't misunderstand what I'm doing here.

Okay. Here goes. *deep breath*

I listed 2 items on eBay as a set.

Instantly, a man got in touch and asked for one of the items separately, so we arranged a private transaction and he sent me half the amount I was listing the original set. This was not done through eBay, he just sent the money directly to my paypal account.

Within the next hour, I had people emailing me asking me where the other item had went, as I edited the listing to feature the remaining item. I grew suspicious and checked out the guy who wanted the private transaction. He had a shop FULL of the stuff I was selling him, for unbelievably high prices.

I realised I was making a massive mistake, so I refunded his payment in full apologised to him, telling him that my business partner (R3d has been advising me all the way through this, it's complicated but he is my partner in regards to eBay now) had reviewed the situation and was not comfortable with it. I've now listed the item the man wanted to buy, because I now realise its value, being from a convention or whatever.

Did I do anything illegal here? Can Paypal punish me for refunding this money like this? And eBay... they can't really get involved because this payment had nothing to do with them, right?

I'm not aware what my rights are here, but I am aware that this man tried to make a massive profit from my naivety... But was just giving his money back like that WRONG?

I don't feel right about this at all... even taking his money in the first place gave me a bad feeling in my tummy. :/

[LoneWolf]

I actually eBay as my source of income, so I can give you some pointers.

First of all, there's no consequences, I don't think. UNLESS there were already bids on the item. If you seperate a lot that already has bids on it, that can cause issues for people, and I think can get you in trouble. NEVER change a lot once there are bids on it. In fact, try not to change an item in any way once there's bids on it. People are bidding for the item YOU HAVE LISTED, and any change could result in them buying an item they do not want, which means a whole bunch of hassle with refunds, etc. Otherwise, with PayPal you've done nothing wrong, and it won't count against you. And nothing Illegal has transpired, don't worry

Now, I can vouch for the guy on the other end. I buy and sell things for a profit. What he did wasn't shady, it was business. He bought something cheap in order to turn a profit. I do this at garage sales all the time. Buy a nice SNES for $3, make $20 profit. It's how stuff like this works. Just remember to check the value of your item BEFORE you sell it to prevent issues like this happening in the future, else people like me make money.

My advice for any sort of rare item is to see if any have sold before. You can set your search results to only include completed listings. Then you can know what expect. Rarely does setting a reserve on your item make any sort of sense, though. Turns off buyers. What the item sells for is exactly what supply and demand deems it's worth.

My basic system for selling a more uncommon item, or really any item in general:

1. Clean the item up, if neccesary. Clean items make good pictures.

2. Look up the item. Have any sold before? How much is it worth? Is it worth selling it or is it mostly worthless?

3. Take GOOD pictures. Make sure any blemishes are visible.

4. List the item, with a decent description of how the item was used, any cosmetic damage, is it functional is an important one, etc.

5. Make sure you charge enough for shipping. Flat rate boxes are great for heavy items here in the US. Consider wether or not you want to get tracking or Delivery Confirmation (Good for expensive items, in case people claim they never received it and you have to refund them) and add those to the cost.

6. Make sure you specify wether or not you'll ship internationally.

7. Post the listing.

As soon as bids come in, don't take the item down. Looks bad for you. Also make sure to keep good communication with your buyers, so you can get positive feedback. Letting buyers purchase the item from you outright is often shady business, so I'd try to avoid it. If they want it, then they can get it by bidding on it. You can also add a Buy it Now price after the fact if they'd be willing to pay you in full, since that way the transaction goes through eBay.

If you have any other questions about this sort of stuff, shoot me a PM. By no means am I an expert but I know my stuff.

[DZComposer]

Any of you thinking about picking and then selling on eBay, be aware that some jurisdictions require you to have an auctioneer's license. Doesn't matter if you sell a few things here and there, but it can bite you if you try to make a business of it. Check your local laws.

Anyway, there is generally nothing wrong with buying low and selling high. That's how you make profit, but keep in mind that there are ethical issues in picking. While there isn't anything illegal in buying something you know is worth $50,000 for $20, I would feel that kind of transaction to be unethical, even if the seller didn't know what it was. There is a difference between making a great deal and screwing someone.

[Redeemer]

Thank you LoneWolf that was a good read. There were NO bids on the item, he wanted to buy it privately.

And yeah DZ, I felt like he was screwing me over. Since listing last night, I have 1 bid right away and 4 watchers. I hope this works out, the thought of this guy writing to me and being an ass about this makes me a little upset. :/

[LoneWolf]

Any of you thinking about picking and then selling on eBay, be aware that some jurisdictions require you to have an auctioneer's license. Doesn't matter if you sell a few things here and there, but it can bite you if you try to make a business of it. Check your local laws.

Anyway, there is generally nothing wrong with buying low and selling high. That's how you make profit, but keep in mind that there are ethical issues in picking. While there isn't anything illegal in buying something you know is worth $50,000 for $20, I would feel that kind of transaction to be unethical, even if the seller didn't know what it was. There is a difference between making a great deal and screwing someone.

I rarely actually pick off of eBay because of the aforementioned issues with auctions etc. Usually if you're looking for money, you buy stuff in huge lots to clean up and turn for a profit. Most of the time, I buy off of Cragslist/Garage Sales, since people do not know what their stuff is worth. You can often times get stuff for $5 and flip it for $100.

As far as ethical grounds go, most of the time people are selling crap that's been sitting in their attic for a long time, doing absolutely nothing. Buying the stuff off of whoever it is moves the stuff into a better home, with someone that'll actually use it. It's greener too, since I sell vintage electronics almost exclusively, which contain mercury and other harmful elements that would otherwise be in a landfill. However, if someone's asking $5 for something I know is worth $500, I'll give them at least $50, if not $75 for it. I'm not here to rip people off, just to make money.