Selling through Ebay

I'm going to start selling some coins to make a profit on ebay but i was wonderring, how do you all normally send/recieve your coins? Do you package them in some huge box full of packing peanuts or just an envelope and some bubble wrap? And what's the safest company to ship through (UPS, fedEx, or just the mail)?

Thanks for any help,
Sam

 

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What would you say the average value of the coins you're looking to sell would be? As for minor stuff, I put it in an envelope and mail it USPS first class mail. For bulk items such as rolls, I use USPS Flat Rate boxes.

 

I'm just starting so not too high value. Mostly between $1 and $100 each.

and i havent gotten into bulk yet.

 

If it's a single raw coin, and it's not a high value piece, I stick it in a small coin bag and ship it in a regular envelope with a stamp. For the low dollar stuff, you have to be careful not to eat into your profits by getting too complicated with the packaging. Or else you'll have to set your shipping fees so high that the coin won't attract buyers anyway.

 

Yeah, that's what i was thinking too. I dont know how these people on Ebay can make money with shipping $1.00 coins for free.

 

Thank you for the advice!

 

Here's how I do it. I put the coin in a 2x2, print out the Paypal slip and wrap it around the coin. Then I put it in an envelope and tape the envelope closed. Most coins can be shipped with a regular stamp. If it's a big coin or two or three coins, it might take a 66 or 86 cent stamp. Anything more than three I generally use a small bubble mailer. You can buy them in bulk on Amazon or eBay for a few bucks. Charge for shipping what it will cost you plus a little more to cover some of the fees. I charge 75 cents for the first and 25 cents each additional coin. Combined shipping definitely will get more people to bid on your coins. Sometimes I have one person buy 30 coins from me. Free shipping is overrated. If shipping is free, people have no incentive to buy multiple coins from you.

 

Oh, i never thought of it that way. That's a good idea. And i just bought 100 of each size 2x2 a few minutes ago (and made a big inventory list with all the coins i own written down along with their composition. It took a few hours but it was worth it i think)

 

I've been thinking of getting into ebay selling myself. Do you have any problems with people trying to keep your coins without paying for them, or trying to give you the old switcheroo by "returning" coins that you didn't send them?

 

sometimes you run into a problem buyer, but not often. I ship through ebay, and that comes with free tracking.

 

I've only sold low value coins on Ebay. I've always just shipped via usps. I put my coins in 2x2s and secure them inside of a piece of 8.5x11 paper to make sure it doesn't shift around inside the envelope.

 

I won't buy multiple coins from a seller just because they combine shipping.
If they have two cons for sale that I want I'll buy them both even if theydon't combine shipping.

 

It is NOT safe to put coins in an envelope with a first class stamp- coins get lost and damaged like that all the time. I spring for the extra 22 cents for "non-machinable" first class postage. These extra 22 cents ensure that the envelope never goes through a machine.

 

Me personally if it is a very expensive sale I always take it to the post office and drop it in the box. The reason being I feel like you are eliminating one possible way of it getting lost. I've sold quite a few items on eBay. Have never had a problem. The key is accurate description and shipping labels. I buy from one guy that has some cool lincoln cents and have bought some higher priced ones from him. He always just puts it securely in an envelope and puts a stamp on it with no tracking info. I could easily say I didn't receive it. I think for the most part that most people that buy and sell on eBay are honest people. I know there are tons of war stories but on the other hand there are tons of good stories to. The main thing is to always cover yourself. I think you can't go wrong with accurate description, good photos, and shipping label.


Dusty

 

You're leaving money on the table, then.

I just bought a large (for me) lot of silver from a buyer in Canada. She was auctioning batches of 25 US silver quarters, with shipping listed at $12.70, more than 10% of the lot's melt value.

Rational bidders price that into their bids, and for whatever reason, the irrational bidders -- and the bidders with my strategy -- weren't out that day. I bid a bit over melt to win the first lot, and then a bit under melt on each of the others. Since my competing bidders weren't counting on combined shipping, I easily won each of the other lots at an effective $12 discount. I ended up paying comfortably below melt on 145 quarters (including shipping from Canada), even though quarters-by-the-roll still routinely get 21.5-22x FV, close to 25% over FV.

If I turned right around and sold these as a single batch on eBay, I could probably make a nice profit, even after shipping, eBay fees, and the intervening 5-6% drop in silver prices. And I wasn't even taking advantage of a bad lot description or an underpriced BIN (my usual habit).

 

If you are going to do this seriously you need tracking on 90% of your shipments to get Top Rated status, which gives you a 20% final value fee discount as well as a bump in searches.

 

I only sell lower value world coins, but I've never had anyone return a coin the whole time I've been doing it. People can't keep them without paying for them because you don't ship until they pay. Once in a great while someone says they didn't receive the coins, but it has only happened maybe 5 times out of hundreds of transactions, and I believe them because it happens to me as a buyer on occasion too. Sometimes I read horror stories about dishonest buyers but the people I've dealt with are generally good. The biggest problem you have is someone wins your auction and then just never pays. You then have to open a case with eBay, wait four days and then they cancel the transaction if the buyer doesn't respond. You don't lose any money, it is just a bit of a hassle. You can set up restrictions on buyers to cut down on those.

You might not, but a lot of people do. I've sold coins to people that I know probably wouldn't have sold without combined shipping. I do the same as a buyer. I see a coin that isn't worth the price plus $2.00 shipping, but if I can combine shipping I'll buy it.

 

In my opinion, having the coin in the 2x2 really helps keep it from getting lost, as does wrapping the packing slip around it. Loose coins can and do work their way free of the little plastic bags. I've received more than one shipment with a little slit in the side of the envelope and an empty plastic bag inside with a hole in the side.

 

Good luck Sam, you got to work hard to make a nickel on Ebay. Ebay eats its own...:yes:

 

My advice, always use a tracking number. State in the description "SHIPPING TO UNITED STATES ONLY!."