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eBay Newbie: Need Help on selling my iPhone 3G

RonHC

RonHC

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 27, 2010
996
7
I need help selling my iPhone on eBay, i have never really trusted eBay but i need the money to buy the new iPhone and other equipment

I know how Paypal is the recommended service to use but i have no idea what to do if someone buys the item.

I need tips on what to put in my description, so far i have this:
Selling an iPhone 3G 16GB (Black) Jailbroken and Unlocked 3.1.2
Everything included from the box
- USB Power Adapter
- USB Data Sync Cable
- Headphones w/ Mic
- Quick Guide, Manual, Stickers, and Cloth

Plus 3 Cases
- Clarifi Case
- Black Silicon Case
- White Silicon Case

OTHER INFO
- Only one small scratch

My E-mail for any questions: xxx@xxx.com
Click to expand...

what else should i put?

I'm putting the starting price at $300 - $350
and Buy it now at $500

What do you think
 
You really need to go read how PayPal works honestly. Better yet, have someone locally to you (friend, family member) assist you in the selling process. That way you have someone that knows what's going on and can tell you if something is fishy or not.
 
Use PayPal. Ship only to CONFIRMED addresses. If you ship to an unconfirmed address you won't be eligible for seller protection. I got screwed out of $1086 for an old MacBook Pro once because the buyer wanted to provide his own shipping label and I foolishly went along with it.

I would indicate that the phone is software unlocked and not factory unlocked.

Also, offer free shipping. It always makes an auction more enticing.
 
RonHC said:
I need help selling my iPhone on eBay, i have never really trusted eBay but i need the money to buy the new iPhone and other equipment

I know how Paypal is the recommended service to use but i have no idea what to do if someone buys the item.

I need tips on what to put in my description, so far i have this:


what else should i put?

I'm putting the starting price at $300 - $350
and Buy it now at $500

What do you think
Click to expand...

If you have zero feedback as a seller on ebay, then you might find it difficult to get a good selling price because people won't be able to trust you by seeing your track record. Your first item for sale being a high-tech and highly desirable device doesn't make it any better for potential customers.

On the other side of the spectrum, be very careful who you sell the phone to on ebay. Make sure they have received good feedback in the recent past and be wary of scams which are going around on ebay, especially in the market that you want to sell. scammers target low-feedback (i.e. new) sellers to try to get you to ship your item to unconfirmed addresses.

Regarding your listing, make it look nice by using one of the ebay themes. The more visually appealing your auction is, the more professional it looks and the more interesting it'll be for your potential customers.

I think it's against ebay's policy to provide an email address in your listing, because it opens up the way for sales being arranged external to ebay. Obviously they want to avoid this because they make more money if you sell it on ebay. Have a look at other iPhone auctions and see what sort of information they put on, they won't be too dissimilar from your listing.

Also, reserve prices are great to give you peace of mind, but in the end your iPhone WILL sell at a similar price range as all the other iPhones on ebay, so I'd trust the auction to sort out the final price for you. Reserve prices really only give ebay the advantage of working out your sales price before even starting the auction, so if you do decide to end the auction early and sell your phone locally, you'll have to pay the full ebay fee based on what you've put in as the reserve price.

Finally, offer free shipping as it makes it more appealing to customers.

Hope this helps,

Fabian
 
dont ship the item until funds are cleared in your bank account or at the very least cleared in your paypal account.
 
fabian9 said:
If you have zero feedback as a seller on ebay, then you might find it difficult to get a good selling price because people won't be able to trust you by seeing your track record. Your first item for sale being a high-tech and highly desirable device doesn't make it any better for potential customers.
Click to expand...

Seriously. I got a really good deal on an ipod this way cause the guy only had 10 feed back in a month. I wasn't willing to bid too much money cause of the iffy feedback (especially selling stuff like an ipod or iphone, you get a lot of scammers who "sell" those) but something said this was an honest one and if it was cheap enough I was willing to take the risk. It was cheap enough (and he was pissed off about it too, accused me of literally stealing his ipod but he sent it). I mean I got it for almost half price new and it was the recently introduced model too.

And I think that's the kind of buyer you are going to get if you have very little feedback. People like me that have learned little tricks on how to get the best deal out of Ebay (I usually don't buy from risky sellers unless it is a super good deal and I'm not risking too much money though. That one was and it was cheap enough I felt I'd risk it).

So, I'd at least do a buy it now or best offer kind of deal with yours if you don't have much feedback (that way you can refuse if you don't like their best offer. I will warn you though, you may not get an offer that is close to what it's worth. People willing to buy from low feedback are looking to prey on the fact you won't get good offers). You'll have to pay for the buy it now feature regardless if it sells but it's only a dollar or so and certainly worth having the choice to refuse anything lower than what you want (and the problem with putting a reserve price on is it does chase buyers away. You're better off paying for the buy it now or best offer). Don't end up like the guy who sold me the ipod, pissed off and feeling like you got ripped off.

Also, put in pictures. Be specific about any damage (like where that scratch is). It will make you look a lot more valid when you are forthcoming about any problems (and put the buyer's mind more at ease that they will get what they are bidding on and that it's less of a risk).

If you do choose to go auction style, don't have the starting bid be the price you want. You're sure to get no bids then (I've gotten good deals by looking for sellers who make this mistake cause if you wait til the last minute to snipe them, they won't have gotten much higher than start bid). Start off at a penny or something ridiculously cheap. It's ridiculous, but honestly, the auctions that get the best prices start off this way (After perusing Ebay for good deals, I can tell you the mistakes sellers make that give me a great deal ;) ).

You can set ebay to instantly refuse bids from questionable buyers. I personally would use that. It at least weeds out some.
 
Copy/paste another like items info that has a lot of buyer interest, and tailor it to your selling points (cases etc).
 
Capt Underpants said:
If you live in a larger metro area, I'd suggest using craigslist. No fees, cash payments, local sale.
Click to expand...

I would agree here since OP is a newbie on Ebay. You're not bound to get much on ebay without having much feedback. Granted usually you won't get as much on craigslist as ebay (depending on the item it could be worthless on craigslist but have a decent price on ebay mainly cause you have a larger audience on ebay so more likely to find people who have a use for an item most people don't. Craigslist is better for items that are popular but I think an iphone would not be too hard to sell on craigslist). But in OP's case I could see him getting more on craigslist than ebay just cause his (lack of) feedback will severely hurt him on ebay.

Just be very wary of craigslist. It has its own annoyances (and dangers. There was a gang here answering ads of expensive stuff like jewelry or large tvs that would go and rob the seller. THey even killed some one. They did end up catching them finally). Yeah, don't meet people at your house. Meet up at a parking lot of a busy store preferably (and I've heard it is best to not meet them if they change venues on you last minute). And watch out for scammers. It's usually a good idea on craigslist to only sell to those who can meet you (there are a lot of scams involving shipping the item to some one).
 
Some of the highest ebay "sales" prices are scams and will get removed.

I did ebay for awhile with the original iPhone but to me it's not worth the risk / effort / reward ratio.

woodekm said:
Copy/paste another like items info that has a lot of buyer interest, and tailor it to your selling points (cases etc).
Click to expand...

Is that how you do your school work? Ever heard of plagiarism?
 
Consultant said:
Some of the highest ebay "sales" prices are scams and will get removed.

I did ebay for awhile with the original iPhone but to me it's not worth the risk / effort / reward ratio.
Click to expand...

I'm just curious, what other places are there to sell (other than cars) that won't get you garage sale prices (well craigslist sometimes that's all you'll get as well) besides craigslist or ebay?
 
The scam you may see is this: (happened to me)

-Sell iPhone and list all flaws.

-Buyer pays and receives the item.

-Buyer will complain that the screen has a dead or stuck pixel, or there is something wrong with the case (crack, scratch, discolor, etc.) that was non-existant when shipped.

-Buyer files a claim with PayPal for item not as described.

-Money is removed by PayPal from your account, or if money has already been withdrawn, PayPal charges your credit card for the auction amount.
after 30 days, the Buyer gets their money back, and you don't get your iPhone back.

-You, as the seller, get screwed.

sell locally or sell to a friend for cash. you may get less as a sell price, but you wont get caught up in the FRAUD that PayPal and Ebay allow
 
It's quite ironic that the "non-established" users of eBay are concern about the potential of scams, yet you guys are considered to be of such risk.

I would never buy a high price item from an unestablished user, and the matter gets even worse when he/she asks all these questions after I make the payment.

The concern goes both ways, and don't expect to sell your phone at average eBay price. If you do, that's when you should be wary of the buyer's legitimacy.
 
When you go through the listing process (if you do indeed use ebay), there should be an option to use their device description--it'll list all of the specs for you. From there, you can add in details specific to your device. I'd also indicate where the scratch is, as a small scratch in the middle of the screen is a big deal but a small scratch on the lower part of the back of the phone isn't quite so bad.

If you have cases and stuff, you can add those as a throw-in. I did that when I sold both my BlackBerry Bold and my 2nd gen iPod Touch.

Pics (close up--use the macro mode on your digital camera and make sure they're in focus) are also very helpful to buyers. Personally, I don't buy anything on ebay if there's no pic associated with the item for sale.
 
thatisme said:
The scam you may see is this: (happened to me)

-Sell iPhone and list all flaws.

-Buyer pays and receives the item.

-Buyer will complain that the screen has a dead or stuck pixel, or there is something wrong with the case (crack, scratch, discolor, etc.) that was non-existant when shipped.

-Buyer files a claim with PayPal for item not as described.

-Money is removed by PayPal from your account, or if money has already been withdrawn, PayPal charges your credit card for the auction amount.
after 30 days, the Buyer gets their money back, and you don't get your iPhone back.

-You, as the seller, get screwed.

sell locally or sell to a friend for cash. you may get less as a sell price, but you wont get caught up in the FRAUD that PayPal and Ebay allow
Click to expand...

If item is SNAD, don't you have to get the item back before they get their money back?

For what it's worth, I sold my 3G on eBay, got a good price and no hassles. OTOH, I have 100% rating on 220 feedback, and think I know how to spot the scammers.
 
thatisme said:
The scam you may see is this: (happened to me)

-Sell iPhone and list all flaws.

-Buyer pays and receives the item.

-Buyer will complain that the screen has a dead or stuck pixel, or there is something wrong with the case (crack, scratch, discolor, etc.) that was non-existant when shipped.

-Buyer files a claim with PayPal for item not as described.

-Money is removed by PayPal from your account, or if money has already been withdrawn, PayPal charges your credit card for the auction amount.
after 30 days, the Buyer gets their money back, and you don't get your iPhone back.

-You, as the seller, get screwed.

sell locally or sell to a friend for cash. you may get less as a sell price, but you wont get caught up in the FRAUD that PayPal and Ebay allow
Click to expand...

This is what scares the crap out of me and why I will probably just use CL.

Edit: Just found this:
http://reviews.ebay.com/PAYPAL-POTHOLES-WATCH-OUT-SELLERS_W0QQugidZ10000000001933229

Item Not As Described
Buyer states after receiving item that the item was "Not as Described". They file a claim, you agree to refund their money. Problem is, once you make that agreement, PayPal immediately refunds their money...BEFORE you get your items back. You must be aware of this. It seems simple enough but it bares outlining here...DO NOT have PayPal refund their money until the item is back in your hands. You have absolutely no recourse if PayPal issues the refund prior to you receiving your merchandise. The [PayPal] system is such that if you do NOT state you will agree to a refund only after the item have been returned, PayPal simply issues the refund. Remember, during the claims process to request explicitly, the buyer to return the items FIRST!
Click to expand...

Sounds as if you can require the item to be returned first, but you must be explicit during the process. Anybody else w/ experience in this area? Should I attempt to sell mine on eBay?
 
eBay can be good and bad, depending on how and what your selling. As others have stated, be weary of low feedback or no feedback buyers. I had a macbook listed on ebay and a dude from Russia joined eBay the same day he emailed me asking if i'd ship it outside of eBay for more money. Scam! If you can do a craigslist sale, awesome! However, eBay will give you a larger audience to view your item. Here are the tips I usually follow and have never ever had an issue:

1. Paypal only - No checks, money orders, cash, etc.
2. Ship only to US eBayer's with feedback. Look at when the joined and how often the buy/sell and what others have left about them.
3. Look at other items to give you a price point to start. Alot of phones will be listed for 400+; doesn't mean they'll sell. Look for phones with actual bids.
4. List your item as detailed and to the best of you abilities. Note flaws, no matter how big or small to you, may mean the world to the next person. More info is better than no info.
5. Return policy - AS IS or whatever you are comfortable with. I sell all my items AS IS. Never had an issue since I always am 100% honest in my listings.
6. Pictures, pictures, pictures
7. Shipping: free shipping or actual shipping costs. Don't inflate shipping to cover the cost of ebay/paypal fee's. You gotta 'pay' to 'play'.

Hope that helps.. Shoot me a PM if you need any more hints/advice!
 
You might also want to say a bit about how you unlocked it, so you appeal to the more in the know user (I suspect that would be a more desirable buyer for you). With what was it jailbroken? Did you back up your files? Tethered or untethered? What carriers can run it? I have seen this last point in parentheses many times (AT&T, T-Mobile). Just have a small space for the finer points of technical ownership.

Also, have a good photo of any imperfections. Bad surprises are, well, bad surprises.

And I second waiting until any e-checks have cleared and you see the money turn up in your PayPal account.
 
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