Sales Decorum

[swcarroll]

Over the last several years, I’ve accumulated a small hoard of parts and it’s time to sell stuff. Some items may be of interest while much of it is pedestrian. I’m seeking suggestions as to how to do this efficiently and honorably. Some observations to get things rolling:

Regarding the best venue, ESR is an obvious option but there are issues here. Some items are “claimed” almost immediately after they’re posted, only to see them sold to someone who may not have responded “publicly” or is not “first in line”. I realize that PMs might be involved, or that an item is also posted on another site, but this sometimes leads to a nasty dust-up. I’m sure some of these events occur because a late responder has privately offered a higher price. The rest of us can only speculate. So, what is fair here?

Speaking of ads on multiple sites, what’s your feeling about that? I would think that parts intended for early 911s would be better placed on ESR than The Samba or the 356 Registry. I’ve never understood that logic unless it’s to avoid a public discussion on ESR about an item’s pricing or originality. That said, I particularly consider The Samba to be an excellent site, best of the VW universe.

Another issue I see in the ESR postings is the reverse auction. Some of these seem reasonable to me, with bumps spaced by weeks instead of days, and price drops which are of consequence. Some postings, well…differ from that philosophy. I think I’ve seen rules about bump limits, but that doesn’t prevent the seller from simply posting a new ad for the same item when his bump limit is reached. What do you folks think is a decent bump frequency? (Some time back, I suggested that bumps should cost the seller five bucks each. That would certainly help the club’s finances, although some sellers may need a truckfull of fives.)

One ESR member sells typically high-quality stuff almost exclusively on eBay, but I never see a link to the item in ESR. Is that because there’s a rule against doing so? Is eBay considered a villain? In some respects, I like the idea of posting on eBay but think it would be helpful to the seller and the ESR membership to post a link here.

Regarding payment, I’m pretty sure that most sellers accept Paypal. I would, too. Some sellers request that the “friends and family” option be used. I understand that obligates the buyer to pay the fee, which I don’t think is a significant amount. However, it’s my understanding that it’s against Paypal rules to request “friends and family” payment if an item is being sold. I also understand that the type of Paypal transaction has tax implications for buyer and/or seller. Does that warrant using one type of transaction over another?

The last observation I would make regards packaging. Having bought many items online through the years, I’ve seen some horrendous packaging and the resulting, inevitable damage. Who the hell actually thinks a handful of loose foam peanuts is going to protect a radio? Are these people stupid, lazy, cheap, or all of the above? In any case, I’m of the opinion that careful packaging is not cheap and should not necessarily be free. What say you?

Thanks for listening. I look forward to your comments.

[70SATMan]

Haven’t sold anything publically in a while but, that’s going to change shortly. Here’s what I’ve done in the past.

I Start by posting on ESR exclusively because this site is more of “my family”. If not sold after a week, I’ll cross post on PP only providing a link. I used to duplicate ads but that’s a pain to manage so, I’ll post the item and a link to the ESR thread. If they are interested, they’ll follow the trail. That forum allows direct links with no posted prices.

If I’m buying and someone offers me F&F I’ll take it but, I don’t ask for it. When selling I don’t offer it. PayPal provides a service that I find useful and I’m not a “taker”. I like to pay my way. Having said that, on lower cost items, I’ll factor that into my asking. It’s not a business so, I’m not out to squeeze every last penny from a fellow enthusiast. On very high dollar items I’ll ask a buyers to split the fees with me. We both are receiving something of value using PayPal. Beats writing checks or paying for wire transfers (not to mention time).

There is no “dibs” just because of an appearance of being first to post a response on a thread. Whether, a post, PM or email, time stamps rule the order in which I’ll respond to a potential buyer. I also respect the fact that we all have lives. If you contact me with serious interest (and I can tell) then you have some time to make up your mind and I’ll manage others in line the same way.

I never run behind the scene auctions. That’s for the lowest of the low. Someone offering more does not get to jump the line. My integrity is worth more than a couple o bills.

Honest, complete discriptions up front cut down on the back and forth noise.

Above all, solid and concise communications. No half a$$ed cryptic texting.

Only you can determine what prices you’re comfortable with or how long you want to hold out for the price in your head.

[mobius911]

You've done a great job laying out many (most?) of the problems that arise in online selling. And given that we are a community with a shared interest trying to help each other out, it does cause some hard feelings if there are mismatched expectations of the deal terms.

The easiest way to avoid that is to spell it all out in your ad. But then you end up with 1 paragraph describing your item and 5 paragraphs of "terms and conditions of sale" and that becomes a turn-off. So I've pretty much defaulted to the golden rule when I sell- I treat prospective buyers the way I want to be treated when I'm a buyer. It's not perfect but has worked out reasonably well.

I don't have much to add on commercial sale vs. hobbyist, bumping, etc. but I know they have spawned discussions in the past and others will likely chime in.

[ibmiked]

Create a one time payment button in PayPal and include it in your post. As soon as someone pays, the button automatically becomes inactive. That way there is no dispute about who contacted you first, since the first person to actually pay you gets the item. It also creates a sense of urgency, which you as the seller want.

It’s effective but takes a little time to set up. It also avoids the uncomfortable conversation about saving the fees by using friends & family. That’s nice in a private transaction but could lead to a lot of heartache on a publicly offered part.

Good luck.

[jaudette3]

As some of you know, about a year ago I opened an online store specializing in lighting parts (and some other cool parts) for air cooled Porsches. At the time I set it up I included a section for selling parts on consignment to help a friend (and member here) who wanted to sell some his surplus parts. He shipped me a fairly large number of things and, to get things started, I listed a few steering wheels. The level of activity was actually pretty good for a brand new site and we sold a couple of wheels, but as time went on I neglected that part of the store. I was pretty well overwhelmed by setting things up and could only keep so many plates spinning in the air at once.

I'm starting to get comfortable with the online retail environment and my friend and I are discussing where to go from here with the considerable number of his parts that I still have in my shop. Then I saw this thread and it motivated me to make an inquiry to the group about the usefulness of such a consignment service. Classifieds here and at PP are very viable platforms but there are some folks who rather not mess with the marketing, packaging and shipping of items they would like to sell. My thought is to provide a turnkey service: you send me what you want to sell, determine the price, and I will handle the rest. Pictures, listing, marketing, inquiries and sales, packaging and shipping, and followup if required.

It seems like a nice service for sellers who don't want to mess with the buying and selling process but who would like broad exposure. And it seems like a nice service to add to the offerings at the store. Customer have confidence that things offered there have been vetted and that they are buying from a known buyer. I'm only passingly familiar with the fee structure used in consignment sales but my thought is that 20-30% seems like a reasonable range.

What do you think? Is this a service that you might be tempted to use? I'm currently endeavoring to build Audette Collection to the point where I can take on an employee or partner and start building in some succession.

Thanks,
John