Shoes

[kahootz]

On 5/22/2014 mustbuyless said:

There's gotta be a better way of getting rid of stuff. I donate so many nice things it's ridiculous. I just gave two very nice B. Makowsky bags to a local shelter for abused women. I don't mind donating, but just wonder whose hands my nice things end up in. I don't want to do Ebay and would never sell on Craigslist. Craigslist isn't worth the wacko person you might run into. When we've sold cars on there we have had to deal with some total crazy people. I wish I could pay someone to Ebay my items and just have them take a cut.

__________________________________________________________

In response to the post above: I started looking because of the security issue. There is Amazon, but that just doesn't appeal to me as much. Luckily I found others, one of which I am going to try. Details below. On Amazon, I don't see a whole lot of listings for the kind of apparel I'm interested in- and I can't tell if they do auctions or allow used. Most of the stuff I'll sell is new with tags but there is the occasional used designer item.

So I started looking up alternative e-marketplaces yesterday. There are quite a few options, but they are not well-known. The most promising seems to be bonanza (sometimes listed as bonanzle): low seller fees; easy selling and buying policies and less bullying all around; reasonable buyer AND seller protection as far as I can tell; plenty of listings in categories that interest me (apparel, bags) etc. Not an open invitation to criminally-minded buyers, as ebay now seems to be. Low fees- only about 3 % for the site and 3% if you use paypal.

The disadvantage of bonanza: The only complaint I've seen is that they just don't have the same "foot traffic" as ebay, because they don't advertise. Even so, the selling and listing fees are so low, and process seems so simple, I think I am going to list there anyway and if it doesn't sell then go to amazon.

They have a lot of dooney listings by the way:

http://www.bonanza.com/items/search?q[catalog_id]=&q[filter_category_id]=&q[shipping_in_price]=0&q[s...

Finally, here's an article comparing ebay and its various alternatives:

http://www.skipmcgrath.com/articles/ebay-alternatives-other-auctions.shtml

Thanks for the information. I briefly checked out Bonanza and that may be an option. I have soooooooo many things I want to sell. An antique Pinocchio Pelham puppet, designer sunglasses, a few watches, antique Avon decanters (from my mom's old Avon days), shoes I've never worn, etc. I donate A LOT, but these types of things I would like to sell and don't just want to drop off at Goodwill. Can you tell I am a clutter free fanatic (ha, ha).

[smoky22]

On 5/21/2014 TootyJane said:

On 5/20/2014 smokymtngal said:

Has anyone ever sold a Dooney on Craigslist?

Sold my LV Speedy 25 on Craigslist several years ago. Would definitely do it again. HTH

Thanks for the response. We've sold several things on craigslist (electric stove, area rug, fireplace tools, etc.) never met any wackos. I only have one Dooney to sell. I guess I have nothing to lose by listing it.

[PamB226]

On 5/22/2014 Pandora Girl said:

I have sold some things on Ebay that has included a Coach Purse. I also sell things at the consignment shop but I agree that you will never get much money back from your purse. In regards to the idea that you should just take your purse to the consignment and be happy with what you get, I beg to differ. It may not be worth thousands but on my budget, a couple hundred is significant. Some of us like to buy nice things which we save for and when we are done we would like to (or need to) get some of our money back if we can! But I digress....go on ebay, search purses like yours, put them on a watch list and see how much they sell for then you can see what the market is for your purse. You can learn tricks of posting from others who are posting items similar to yours but you should NEVER copy their posts or pictures. List your item at a reasonable starting price you are willing to sell the bag at and see what happens. If you have other items you could sell, list them first and start building your feedback. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Great post!

[Bissylou]

BetsyDoodle, I've sold many bags on both Poshmark & Threadflip.. They're free apps that are very easy to use and download. You just upload pics of your item you'd like to sell, list it with the price you want which you have total control over, good descriptions, etc. and you can do everything from your iphone, ipad or android smartphones. They are by far the easiest ways I've done online selling and the templates are also the easiest to use. When you do sell something, they do take a standard 20% which is essentially the cost of doing business to list all items, however, they provide you with all your pre-printed labels for shipping or you can have the buyer pay shipping. You can get all your priority boxes at the post office for free. I've been doing it for other things too but handbags are the best sellers. They also have what they call " trunk shows" or Posh parties and will feature a specific brand to sell at which time you just share your listing with everyone else. You'll get push notifications when anyone "likes" or "shares" your item(s). The women are fabulous, really helpful and it's very social media based. You can be as active or non-active but keeping up means more $$$. It sure beats any consignment store which takes either 50-60% of your sale and then they continue to discount it after 30-60 days, ugh! When you have time just google either one, Poshmark has been around a bit longer but both operate pretty much the same..hth & good luck! Like anything else, there may be a hiccup here and there but I've been very lucky and have gained many followers and the extra $ has helped too!

[Irishrose136]

On 5/21/2014 TrvlAgt said:

I would NOT sell it on ebay, especially if you are new to selling there. There are buyers that definitely look for newbies so they can take advantage of you (saying that it's fake - having to return it and send YOU a fake back, not the original. Or saying they didn't even receive it despite tracking said it arrived. ) There are all kinds of scams out there. Ebay almost always sides with the buyer.

Also, being a new seller, ebay/paypal will hold your funds for a certain amount of time. You may even have to ship it without getting paid first. There are all kinds of new rules out there.

If ebay is your only source, I would buy a few things first to establish some sort of feedback, although as a buyer, you will only receive positive feedback. Sellers can not leave negative or neutral feedback for buyers.

Also consider the cost. ebay fees are 10% and paypal takes 2.9% plus .30. Then there is shipping and insurance to consider. Do not sell outside the U.S., tracking is not provided worldwide in some instances. That is another whole ballgame.

What she said!

There is a learning curve to selling on ebay. If you're interested I would start with easy items. When I buy ink for my printer I get free Canon paper - great to sell. I've bought DVD series under my buying ID, watched it once then sold it under my selling ID. Books - craft items. All these have a low-scam factor.

Honest buyers will not purchase a Dooney (or any designer bag) from a 1st time seller. They won't trust you.

The whole purse-selling is difficult on ebay because of scams involving fakes. There is one forum alone dedicated to purses. Apparel is a bad area too. Buyers will claim the color or measurements are "off" and will want to send back merchandise.

Fees are high. Do you know ebay even takes a % of the money the buyer pays you for postage. Yikes! And as a new buyer, Paypal will hold your money.

The only way I would recommend selling via ebay is if you have a friend who can walk you thru the steps of establishing yourself as a reputable seller.

Good luck!