Re: Do you sell pro equip on E-bay?

[David Morley]

In article >,
Hans van Dongen > wrote:

> Mike Rivers wrote:
> > In article >
> > writes:
> >
> >
> >>Using the reserve price costs according to the price of the unit. If
> >>you have a reserve of $3000, that is $30 to list it with that reserve.
> >>If it sells, the reserve cost is refunded and you do not pay the $30.
> >>But, if it doesn't sell at that reserve
> >>Ebay takes the $30.
> >
> >
> > I didn't know that was how it worked, but I guess eBay needs every way
> > to make money that they can dream up.
> >
> > So you decide that you'll take $3,000 for it, post it for sale at that
> > price on rec.audio.pro and perhaps other forums where it's
> > appropriate, and see if anyone nibbles (or buys). Reserves are mostly
> > for people who don't know what something is worth but wants to be sure
> > not to give a buyer too good of a bargain. If you know what you want
> > for it, there's no reason to list it on eBay other than for the
> > exposure (which I'll admit is valuable, and probably worth the
> > commission).
> >
>
> There's a seller on Ebay called atoyboy who sells pro audio
> gear and some hifi. He always starts at $ 0.01 and no
> reserve. He includes lots of Hi-res pictures and a very
> detailed description. And he gets good prices, too; The '54
> strat that looked like it was in a time capsule got over
> twelve grand iirc.
>
> I think that's as close to perfect as it gets
>
> Hans


I usually post starting from $1 with no reserve. Seems people bid
better. If it?s something obscure, better stick a reserve on or a
starting pric which is your minimum.
I'?ve won stuff for peanuts because it?s too obscure or badly described.

[David Satz]

Hans van Dongen wrote:

> There's a seller on Ebay called atoyboy who sells pro audio
> gear and some hifi. He always starts at $ 0.01 and no
> reserve. He includes lots of Hi-res pictures and a very
> detailed description. And he gets good prices, too; The '54
> strat that looked like it was in a time capsule got over
> twelve grand iirc.
>
> I think that's as close to perfect as it gets

"atoyboy" is the account of The Audio Toyshop in England--a storefront
used-equipment company in Bath which has since closed its doors and now
exists only on the Web, at http://www.audio-toyshop.co.uk . I bought
a couple of used TLM 170s from them a few years back. They seemed to
be good, honest people. I mean, the microphones were microphones, but
the people seemed like good, honest people.

--Agreed (as one who has had a somewhat hard time selling good stuff on
eBay without a digital camera): Many people don't seem to trust any ad
that doesn't have a photo of the item being sold, unless you can say flat
out that the equipment is perfectly new or perfectly "mint" or the like.

Judging by the mail I get, most folks don't read ads very closely; the
questions people ask are usually answered in my ads, but people write and
ask the same questions again and again anyway, as if that was less work--
or as if I might simply forget to mention a $300 shock mount, which they
of course will be awarded for free merely because they thought of asking
for it.

One mistake I won't make again: To simplify payment, I've always paid for
shipping myself, and my ads always say this. But it seems that when people
compare auctions, they never to do the mental work of compensating for that
money saved. So from now on I will list a fixed shipping price and let the
bidder pay for it, since in people's minds, a dollar spent on shipping
evidently isn't equivalent to a dollar spent on the item itself.

[mr c deckard]

try "motu -heman"

or

from the ebay home page, click on the "musical instruments" link under
categories. subsequent searches search only in musical instruments
(unless you uncheck the box . . .)

cd /..


> A search for "MOTU" comes up with pages and pages of HeMan ****.

[Mike Rivers]

In article > writes:

> I've always paid for
> shipping myself, and my ads always say this. But it seems that when people
> compare auctions, they never to do the mental work of compensating for that
> money saved. So from now on I will list a fixed shipping price and let the
> bidder pay for it, since in people's minds, a dollar spent on shipping
> evidently isn't equivalent to a dollar spent on the item itself.

I've never understood this, and I've seen some perfectly outrageous
fixed shipping charges. I think the seller probably doesn't care what
he gets for the item as long as he gets someone paying his shipping
charges.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )

[Analogeezer]

(David Satz) wrote in message >...
> Hans van Dongen wrote:
>
> > There's a seller on Ebay called atoyboy who sells pro audio
> > gear and some hifi. He always starts at $ 0.01 and no
> > reserve. He includes lots of Hi-res pictures and a very
> > detailed description. And he gets good prices, too; The '54
> > strat that looked like it was in a time capsule got over
> > twelve grand iirc.
> >
> > I think that's as close to perfect as it gets
>
> "atoyboy" is the account of The Audio Toyshop in England--a storefront
> used-equipment company in Bath which has since closed its doors and now
> exists only on the Web, at http://www.audio-toyshop.co.uk . I bought
> a couple of used TLM 170s from them a few years back. They seemed to
> be good, honest people. I mean, the microphones were microphones, but
> the people seemed like good, honest people.
>
> --Agreed (as one who has had a somewhat hard time selling good stuff on
> eBay without a digital camera): Many people don't seem to trust any ad
> that doesn't have a photo of the item being sold, unless you can say flat
> out that the equipment is perfectly new or perfectly "mint" or the like.
>
> Judging by the mail I get, most folks don't read ads very closely; the
> questions people ask are usually answered in my ads, but people write and
> ask the same questions again and again anyway, as if that was less work--
> or as if I might simply forget to mention a $300 shock mount, which they
> of course will be awarded for free merely because they thought of asking
> for it.
>
> One mistake I won't make again: To simplify payment, I've always paid for
> shipping myself, and my ads always say this. But it seems that when people
> compare auctions, they never to do the mental work of compensating for that
> money saved. So from now on I will list a fixed shipping price and let the
> bidder pay for it, since in people's minds, a dollar spent on shipping
> evidently isn't equivalent to a dollar spent on the item itself.

RE: Shipping....

I've been having pretty good success by stating that the buyer pays
shipping, but offering to cover any amount over a certain amount. This
works on small rack stuff, etc. but not so well of course on large
items.

I think this has worked pretty well because people think they might
wind up paying less than the stated amount (usually around $15), but
they know I won't come back and zap them for another $10 over the $15.
the most I have been out of pocket for this was $4, obviously you need
to figure up front about what it would cost to send it somewhere. Of
course watch me get burned by somebody from Alaska or Hawaii winning
something I post on Ebay.

You are right though, I think people don't really pay attention to the
seller offering to pay shipping, unless it's part of a "Buy it Now"
deal.

Analogeezer

[sgordon]

To use eBay search effectively, you have to use the "-" operator.
That way you can remove items from unrelated areas. For instance,
to find Neve equipment, search on: neve -campbell

Scott


Kurt Albershardt > wrote:
: Thomas Bishop wrote:

:> "transducr" > wrote in message
:>
:>> Of course, the worst thing is trying to do a search for a brand of
:>> audio gear that shares a common name with other items...
:>> for example, do a search for "Neve" and see how many 8"x10"s of Neve
:>> Campbell come up! :)
:>
:>
:> A search for "MOTU" comes up with pages and pages of HeMan ****.


: And one of many Papua New Guinea languages ;>

[Troy]

I don't see what the big deal is shipping out of the USA.You guys seem to
think its a big process.Its not,you just write on the paper what it is and
how much it costs and sign and date it and you are done.I live in Canada and
do alot of buying and some selling on ebay and I hate it when people don't
ship out of the USA.It should be a rule that items will be shipped within
North America as Canada and the USA are the ones using ebay the most.I have
shipped stuff to Russia and its no big deal.




David Satz > wrote in message
om...
> I wrote:
>
> > Judging by the mail I get, most folks don't read ads very closely; the
> > questions people ask are usually answered in my ads, but people write
and
> > ask the same questions again and again anyway, as if that was less
work--
> > or as if I might simply forget to mention a $300 shock mount, which they
> > of course will be awarded for free merely because they thought of asking
> > for it.
>
> whereupon Analogeezer wrote:
>
> > You are right though, I think people don't really pay attention to the
> > seller offering to pay shipping, unless it's part of a "Buy it Now"
> > deal.
>
> An auction of mine has just concluded--I was glad to see someone buy one
> of my spare Neumann battery power supplies, but the auction clearly says
> "Will ship to U.S. addresses only" and the winning bidder is apparently
> in France. I don't currently have time to deal with export paperwork.
>
> Perhaps it will develop that the bidder has a U.S. "ship to" address--one
> can always hope. But if not, then apparently it's yet another case of
> people just not reading the ad, or reading it and thinking that what it
> says somehow doesn't apply to them, because they don't wish it to.

[Carey Carlan]

(David Satz) wrote in
om:

> --Agreed (as one who has had a somewhat hard time selling good stuff
> on eBay without a digital camera): Many people don't seem to trust
> any ad that doesn't have a photo of the item being sold, unless you
> can say flat out that the equipment is perfectly new or perfectly
> "mint" or the like.

That picture is THE most important part of the ad. There is a danger,
however, that a picture could be stolen from a different ad.

I'm selling a golf bag right now. The picture was taken with my Nikon on
slide film, then I developed and scanned it here and built the page. It's
a nice bag, but the picture makes it look even nicer.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3615944970

If I want to get rid of an item at any price, I'll start at $1. I wanted
to skip the BS bids on this one, so I started at $50.

[David Satz]

David Morley wrote:

> Can´t you just go to the post office and post or do you need export
> paperwork for your accounts?

There is export paperwork, which involves choosing a category for the
equipment from a set of categories which are defined in absurd ways
that no one understands. Worse than that: I cannot predict how much
the shipment will cost. So I must go to a Post Office with the package,
wait in a long line to find out the shipping cost, contact the buyer,
wait to receive his payment, THEN go back to the Post Office again
and wait in another long line to send the thing.

I begin teaching an intensive five-day course tomorrow morning. I will
not have time to go to any Post Office even once, not to mention twice,
until the following week. And then to receive payment from France will
require perhaps another ten days after that ...

With a U.S. destination I can accept the agreed-upon payment, drop the
package off at any Federal Express location on my way to work, no extra
paperwork and no waiting in any line; it takes about five seconds total.

[David Satz]

"Troy" wrote:

> I don't see what the big deal is shipping out of the USA. You guys
> seem to think its a big process. Its not,you just write on the paper
> what it is and how much it costs and sign and date it and you are done.

Hmmm, if it's so simple, would you care to explain why I was charged $420
duty for returning a pair of borrowed microphones to Schoeps a few years
back? It was a non-commercial shipment which I properly labeled as such.
Federal Express authorized the payment on my behalf (without such power
they will not accept a shipment) and they were then unwilling or unable
to appeal it, so I was left paying that amount.

Import duty is decided by the officials on the receiving end of a shipment.
My disagreement was with the Federal Republic of Germany, with whom I don't
have very much influence. Could you help me, perhaps?

[Troy]

I was not talking about borrowing anything.I was talking about shipping
things to Canada.Once you are payed and have the money in your account any
charges will be the responsibility or the purchaser,such as tax and duty.If
they don't want to pay it then they don't get the package and you are not
expected to pay it,its the buyers porblem.Once I ship something its out of
my hands.I don't sell garbage or broken items,if they show up that way then
its the fault of the shipper and I am not responsible.

Its very simple.


David Satz > wrote in message
om...
> "Troy" wrote:
>
> > I don't see what the big deal is shipping out of the USA. You guys
> > seem to think its a big process. Its not,you just write on the paper
> > what it is and how much it costs and sign and date it and you are done.
>
> Hmmm, if it's so simple, would you care to explain why I was charged $420
> duty for returning a pair of borrowed microphones to Schoeps a few years
> back? It was a non-commercial shipment which I properly labeled as such.
> Federal Express authorized the payment on my behalf (without such power
> they will not accept a shipment) and they were then unwilling or unable
> to appeal it, so I was left paying that amount.
>
> Import duty is decided by the officials on the receiving end of a
shipment.
> My disagreement was with the Federal Republic of Germany, with whom I
don't
> have very much influence. Could you help me, perhaps?

[David Morley]

In article >,
(David Satz) wrote:

> There is export paperwork, which involves choosing a category for the
> equipment from a set of categories which are defined in absurd ways
> that no one understands. Worse than that: I cannot predict how much
> the shipment will cost. So I must go to a Post Office with the package,
> wait in a long line to find out the shipping cost, contact the buyer,
> wait to receive his payment, THEN go back to the Post Office again
> and wait in another long line to send the thing.
>
> I begin teaching an intensive five-day course tomorrow morning. I will
> not have time to go to any Post Office even once, not to mention twice,
> until the following week. And then to receive payment from France will
> require perhaps another ten days after that ...
>
> With a U.S. destination I can accept the agreed-upon payment, drop the
> package off at any Federal Express location on my way to work, no extra
> paperwork and no waiting in any line; it takes about five seconds total.

Ok, but you are losing a lot of potential sales as the dollar is low, so
buying from europe is great these days. Also I can get all my shipping
prices on-line (German Post, Fed-ex, UPS)

You can alway insist on bidpay or paypal for payment.
I understand it´s a bit more of a pain, but I just bought a Dolby 740
from the states. there was me and one other bidder. If I hadn´t bid
because it was US only, it would have probably gone for $299. Instead,
the seller has §140 more in the bank. Surely this makes up for having to
get a pshipping price. I paid with paypal. The seller had the money a
few hours after the end of the auction.

[David Satz]

Troy wrote:

> Its very simple.

It's admirable to to carry on commerce without worrying about
national boundaries, and I can only wish you continued good luck.

However, one's luck in dealing with agencies of foreign governments,
and sometimes one's own government, is outside one's own control and
can change in expensive and troublesome ways at times.

Mostly I, too, have had good experiences with overseas shipments but the
occasional mishaps can really put a damper on things. So I think it's
more accurate to say that it's simple until and unless it happens to
become quite complicated.

[David Morgan \(MAMS\)]

"David Satz" > wrote in message om...
> Troy wrote:
>
> > Its very simple.
>
> It's admirable to to carry on commerce without worrying about
> national boundaries, and I can only wish you continued good luck.
>
> However, one's luck in dealing with agencies of foreign governments,
> and sometimes one's own government, is outside one's own control and
> can change in expensive and troublesome ways at times.
>
> Mostly I, too, have had good experiences with overseas shipments but the
> occasional mishaps can really put a damper on things. So I think it's
> more accurate to say that it's simple until and unless it happens to
> become quite complicated.


I sold 5 rolls of 1/2" 456 to a fellow in Canada about a year ago. He had
agreed to pay for the FedEx ground shipping and sent me an international
MO up front. My total profit on the deal was $0.00, because I sold them
below cost to the who had 'gentleman' conned me into 'understanding'
his tarriff costs and I didn't need the tape anyway. So off it went.

Over 6 months later, FedEx reversed the import 'duty' charges to the effect
of $36 dollars US, because the recipient had refused to pay but was allowed
to take possession of the shipment.

This pales in comparison to the Schoepps incident, but this was my first
personal sale across an international border.... haven't done it since.

--
David Morgan (MAMS)
http://www.m-a-m-s.com
http://www.artisan-recordingstudio.com

[Mike Turk]

"Troy" > wrote in message
a...
> I was not talking about borrowing anything.I was talking about shipping
> things to Canada.Once you are payed and have the money in your account any
> charges will be the responsibility or the purchaser,such as tax and
duty.If
> they don't want to pay it then they don't get the package and you are not
> expected to pay it,its the buyers porblem.Once I ship something its out of
> my hands.I don't sell garbage or broken items,if they show up that way
then
> its the fault of the shipper and I am not responsible.
>
> Its very simple.
>

I bought something a while ago from the
U.S. and after 2 weeks it still hadn't arrived
here in Canada and tracking by phone and
web showed the item was in different places.
Finally after me sweating about it and phoning
FedEx for an explanation they told me it was lost.
Now here is where it gets interesting ... who is
going to take the hit ... the shipper or the receiver?

FedEx told me the shipper has to make the claim
for reimbursement. The item wasn't insured either.

It turns out they had lost the paper work and I got it
eventually but I'm not sure how things would have
turned out going through the claim process.

-mike

[Rob Reedijk]

I guess since you are in the US, you can afford to ignore a smaller market
like Canada. But the opposite is not so true for me.

But, I have now bought and sold across the border numerous times and
knock on wood, never had a problem. It's all about doing your homework.
I try to research the people I do business with. I inform myself on
brokerage/duty/tax issues so that I don't get any surprises later.

I have to admit, I prefer to buy and sell within Canada, because it is
slightly easier...but only slightly.

I know that some of you have had some bad surprises when dealing with
people in Canada. But it wasn't because there is something implicitely
wrong with dealing with Canada (Blame Canada!), it's because someone
either didn't do their homework, or you dealt with bad dude (maybe you
did not do your homework).

Are you telling me that Americans never get screwed when dealing within
their own country?

Rob R.

"David Morgan \(MAMS\)" > wrote:

> I sold 5 rolls of 1/2" 456 to a fellow in Canada about a year ago. He had
> agreed to pay for the FedEx ground shipping and sent me an international
> MO up front. My total profit on the deal was $0.00, because I sold them
> below cost to the who had 'gentleman' conned me into 'understanding'
> his tarriff costs and I didn't need the tape anyway. So off it went.

> Over 6 months later, FedEx reversed the import 'duty' charges to the effect
> of $36 dollars US, because the recipient had refused to pay but was allowed
> to take possession of the shipment.

> This pales in comparison to the Schoepps incident, but this was my first
> personal sale across an international border.... haven't done it since.

> --
> David Morgan (MAMS)
> http://www.m-a-m-s.com
> http://www.artisan-recordingstudio.com

[Scott Dorsey]

Rob Adelman > wrote:
>David Satz wrote:
>
>> I begin teaching an intensive five-day course tomorrow morning. I will
>> not have time to go to any Post Office even once, not to mention twice,
>> until the following week. And then to receive payment from France will
>> require perhaps another ten days after that ...
>
>The money can be wired to your acount. Takes a day or two. Call the post
>office and ask the cost of a couple of pounds priority mail to France.
>It really isn't such a big deal.

I strongly recommend c2it.com for funds transfers. In the US, banks tend
to charge outrageous fees to wire money around, which is not the case in
Europe at all. c2it.com makes it a lot more convenient to deal with European
and Asian firms who are used to wire transfers as being the normal way of
doing business.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Lorin David Schultz]

"David Satz" > wrote in message
om...
>
> [...] one's luck in dealing with agencies of foreign governments,
> and sometimes one's own government, is outside one's own control and
> can change in expensive and troublesome ways at times.


I can't speak to the issue of overseas shipments, but sending stuff
between Canada and the USA is a no-brainer.

First, thanks to free trade, you have to look really hard to find
something to which duty applies. Almost everything any of us would buy
or sell crosses the border duty free.

Second, you don't need classification numbers just to ship something.
It's the broker's job to figure that out and it happens at the
receiver's end on the receiver's dime. The receiver will have to pay
taxes (#%$&*!!!) but that doesn't affect the shipper in any way.

Shipping a package from the USA to Canada is no more complicated for the
seller than sending the package *within* the USA.


--
"I got into audio because I like pushing buttons...
...never figured on all this freakin' wire!"
- Lorin David Schultz

[Troy]

Right!!!!!



Lorin David Schultz > wrote in message
...
> "David Satz" > wrote in message
> om...
> >
> > [...] one's luck in dealing with agencies of foreign governments,
> > and sometimes one's own government, is outside one's own control and
> > can change in expensive and troublesome ways at times.
>
>
> I can't speak to the issue of overseas shipments, but sending stuff
> between Canada and the USA is a no-brainer.
>
> First, thanks to free trade, you have to look really hard to find
> something to which duty applies. Almost everything any of us would buy
> or sell crosses the border duty free.
>
> Second, you don't need classification numbers just to ship something.
> It's the broker's job to figure that out and it happens at the
> receiver's end on the receiver's dime. The receiver will have to pay
> taxes (#%$&*!!!) but that doesn't affect the shipper in any way.
>
> Shipping a package from the USA to Canada is no more complicated for the
> seller than sending the package *within* the USA.
>
>
> --
> "I got into audio because I like pushing buttons...
> ...never figured on all this freakin' wire!"
> - Lorin David Schultz
>
>