Comments on: My Experiences Selling Online

By: KC

KC — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:08:39 +0000

I find half.com is great for books, CDs and other media. EBay, however, has become a hassle. About 8 years ago I sold a bunch of stuff in order to move and it was great. But through the years their fees have increased and they’ve pandered to the buyer more than the seller. They’ve squeezed out the home-based people/collectors who aren’t in business, just trying to unload some crap – which is who the site was originally designed for.

I sell a lot of baseball cards cause that’s my hobby and I frequently have buyers ask me if they can come by my store and see what I have. My initial thought is “this is eBay, no one has a store”. But of course, I’m wrong – only “real” businesses are on eBay anymore – its evident from their fees and their policies.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:24:18 +0000

I’ve been using Half.com (owned by ebay) to sell textbooks and other media (CDs, DVDs) for about a year now, and it’s a really great option. I found eBay a little intimidating, but Half is really easy to use – you can set whatever price you think is fair based on past item sales, then just sit back and wait for someone to buy.

If you have an existing eBay account you can use it on Half, so any positive feedback you already have can be used to your advantage when selling here. I think Half uses Paypal exclusively, both to collect from the buyer and give to the seller, and you can also use Paypal’s USPS connection to print mailing labels – it’s really a seamless process. Half takes a commission on the initial but they reimburse shipping, so I find it works out about even unless you’re shipping something huge and heavy.

For finding the weight of books, try using Amazon. Once you find the book there, you’ll usually find the weight in the product details.

By: Smithee

Smithee — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:42:34 +0000

Yeah, I’m familiar with some of the more idiotic parts of copyright law, and I’m okay with publicly disregarding them.

By: Jason Kratz

Jason Kratz — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:39:28 +0000

“I had a number of DVD box sets of a favorite TV show that I wanted to unload (while keeping a soft copy of the better episodes on an external hard drive at home).”

You sure those are details you want to share on a high-traffic blog considering its illegal? Just asking…