Buying and Selling on eBay: Tips, Tricks, Problems & Questions

[kbadgley84]

I mean, yeah, clothes at thrifts are about 6x the price they were when I was a kid. But you know what else is? Food and housing. Flippers might cause miniscule rises in prices, but the rent thrift shops pay is the more likely culprit.

When i was In the restaurant industry in Miami we had the backing of a large corporation that negotiated and locked in prices of goods no matter the fluctuation in the market. RENT (if I remember correctly, at the time it was $23,000 per month) on the other hand was not able to be negotiated and when that went up (which it always did) frequently, our ROS suffered. That’s just one example in one market. When that happens across the board then that’s when the customer suffers by paying more at the table

 

[Patrologia]

eBay shipping question. I have a buyer in Canada (I’m US) who bought two items, and would like them shipped together. Already paid. One says it’s is supposed to be shipped GSP, the other is First Class International. I’m going to try calling eBay, but will they allow me to ship together since different addresses are given? Is there a way to combine these short of cancelling both and having him repurchase through a shopping cart or something? If I do go the cancellation route, does it matter for fees etc which of us cancels? Or how?

 

[div25sec9]

eBay shipping question. I have a buyer in Canada (I’m US) who bought two items, and would like them shipped together. Already paid. One says it’s is supposed to be shipped GSP, the other is First Class International. I’m going to try calling eBay, but will they allow me to ship together since different addresses are given? Is there a way to combine these short of cancelling both and having him repurchase through a shopping cart or something? If I do go the cancellation route, does it matter for fees etc which of us cancels? Or how?

I fear this is going to be a pain **********. You can't combine if they're separate purchases to different addresses, but the buyer probably won't see it that way and may become difficult. I'd message them and tell them it's not able to be combined for those reasons and just ship them out individually as they have already been paid for.

 

[Wrenkin]

Seems like a huge hassle with the GSP involved. Always a red flag to begin with for myself in Canada.

 

[dadjeans]

The debate over Depop and the gentrification of thrift stores

Thrift hauls are popular on TikTok. But is buying too much unethical?

www.vox.com

?

I think the article massively overestimates the impact of flippers on pricing. The percentage of items with resale value just isn't significant enough to change the overall pricing structure. I'm not sure about the rest of you but I usually see way more than 100 garments before I find one that's worth picking up.

I live in a blue-collar city where the vast majority of shoppers are low-income folks picking stuff up for personal use. Their purchasing habits dictate the prices. Most thrifts charge $20+ for a pair of Levi's jeans or New Balance sneakers in decent shape and would continue to do so whether flippers like me shopped there or not.

 

[goatamous II]

Agreed with @dadjeans
I've seen prices jump up across the board from a year ago on everything at my local store, especially with items that aren't being flipped.

 

[Proleet]

I think the article massively overestimates the impact of flippers on pricing. The percentage of items with resale value just isn't significant enough to change the overall pricing structure. I'm not sure about the rest of you but I usually see way more than 100 garments before I find one that's worth picking up.

I live in a blue-collar city where the vast majority of shoppers are low-income folks picking stuff up for personal use. Their purchasing habits dictate the prices. Most thrifts charge $20+ for a pair of Levi's jeans or New Balance sneakers in decent shape and would continue to do so whether flippers like me shopped there or not.

For sure. They speak about it as if half the goods are nefariously bought by people selling for profit and that only the rubbish remains. It also wouldn’t surprise me if a lot of items bought by flippers aren’t that popular with large parts of the people shopping there.

 

[Fueco]

For sure. They speak about it as if half the goods are nefariously bought by people selling for profit and that only the rubbish remains. It also wouldn’t surprise me if a lot of items bought by flippers aren’t that popular with large parts of the people shopping there.

The fact that I was able to buy a Gant by Michael Bastain jacket yesterday at 30% off ($6) points towards you being correct. There’s no way something like that sits for two weeks if people in the store buying for personal use are into it.

 

[txwoodworker]

I think it's our mindset of what's in there that changes the view. I see people in line ahead of me with Old Navy and George crap and it reminds me that some people just like to thrift shop.

 

[Nickd]

I can’t speak for US thrift stores, but in the U.K. the prices have been the same or similar since I was a teenager in the early 90s. I remember buying jackets for £2-3 and I bought a couple of shirts yesterday for £1. There is the occasional item that the shops put up for a higher price, but they are generally out of touch on what should demand those prices. Flippers are a very small part of their clientele - it’s mostly lower income and value conscious shoppers and the shops are after high turnover.

 

[Ian_David_French]

Best advice I can give for buying on Ebay is this...
When buying suits or blazers, always know your armpit to armpit measurement ( I find it easier to know this info in inches ). This avoids confusion between UK sizes and EU sizes.

If in any doubt, contact the seller and ask for this information.

 

[BPL Esq]

Just want to give a bit of a shout-out and say my first transaction with LuxeSwap was great. Snagged a Paul Stuart jacket at a great price, and I feel like it's better than described. Also reached me quickly. May see if the sleeves have room to be lengthened very slightly (not because the seller said anything wrong), but it is otherwise a great fit.

 

[SpooPoker]

Just want to give a bit of a shout-out and say my first transaction with LuxeSwap was great. Snagged a Paul Stuart jacket at a great price, and I feel like it's better than described. Also reached me quickly. May see if the sleeves have room to be lengthened very slightly (not because the seller said anything wrong), but it is otherwise a great fit.

First of many, hopefully, thank you!

 

[Steve Smith]

Here's an interesting one. Sent a shirt in a polymailer. Buyer cuts the shirt when opening the mailer. Of course this is my fault. She admits that she cut it, wants compensation. I decline. She opens a return and states in the return that she cut the shirt, "Seller packed the shirt in a way that it could not be opened without damaging the shirt." Then she opens a return for a different reason.

Reason
Arrived damaged

Funny, the last 10,000 buyers (more than 10,000 actually) could open a polymailer without damaging the shirt. A tightly packed Padded Flat Rate Envelope requires some care when opening, but a poly is easy.

I talked to ebay and apparently they are refunding her out of their end. So she gets her money back and gets to keep a shirt with a small cut. So much for personal accountability.

Buyer:

kalicempr

 

[Keith Taylor]

Just want to give a bit of a shout-out and say my first transaction with LuxeSwap was great. Snagged a Paul Stuart jacket at a great price, and I feel like it's better than described. Also reached me quickly. May see if the sleeves have room to be lengthened very slightly (not because the seller said anything wrong), but it is otherwise a great fit.

About half of my eBay purchases so far this year have come from Luxeswap, and they’ve all been winners. My three favourite pieces of clothing right now are a Valstar field jacket and pants from Billy Reid and Valentini, all three of them Luxe.

The only problem is that the auctions end at around 4AM on a Monday morning in my time zone, so I start each week sleep deprived