What eBay is like in my head...
As I get approximately three hundred* parcels delivered to work each week, people have started to ask me for tips on how to buy stuff on eBay that isn’t total junk. ‘Where did you get that dress, Tash?’ has become ‘how much was that on eBay, Tash?’ This is usually followed by disgruntled WHAAATTs when I tell them my totally Christopher Kane inspired vintage denim & leather pinafore was £1.40. Haters gonna hate. So here are my tips for eBay. My friend Gemma from GG's Closet asked for some tips the other day and I drew a blank, so I've given it some thought. I am in no way the best eBayer and have cried myself to sleep over some items I’ve lost – some embroidered Giuseppe Zanotti ankle boots I lost for £12 have appeared in my dreams no less than seven times. But I do spend a lot of time on there and have learnt a few tricks…
Sundays are the best times to list, but conversely, the most expensive times to buy...
The app is so useful – it sounds obvious but set up alerts for watched items and make sure you’re free at the time that your listing is ending. There is no worse feeling than losing an item purely because you forgot about it.
DON’T USE A BIDSNIPER! They’re unfair and I can’t believe eBay doesn’t stop use of them. They’re also a very easy way to spend a lot of money very quickly. Just put an honest bid on the item and wait and see – you can’t be mad at yourself if you were honest. But at the same time, be realistic. That Chanel purse might be on £6 now, but are you going to be upset if your £15 bid isn’t quite enough? eBay is ephemeral – here today and gone tomorrow. Dry your eyes - there’ll be another.
Have a limit on each item and promise yourself you won’t go over it. Bidsnipers encourage the ‘oh it’s only £3 more’ attitude, but this adds up. Trust me. I can’t guarantee you won’t want to punch yourself in the face but it’s so easy to get carried away with the odd few pounds, you can land yourself in trouble! Remember – we’re bargain hunting!
If you’ve missed your DREAM ITEM (we’ve all been there more than once), then there are steps you can take. Firstly, don’t remove it from your watched or bidded on items. If the buyer doesn’t pay for whatever reason, you may become eligible for a second chance offer, or be notified when it gets relisted. Secondly, set up an alert for when the same item gets relisted (but think carefully about what people might name it!).
When searching for an item, be aware that not everybody may be as fashion-savvy as you. So you may know lovely satchel bags as ‘Proenza PS1 style’ or that Peter Pan collar dress as ‘Valentino AW13’. But what about your aunt who’s emptied her loft of some vintage treasures? What would she call it? Think laterally about these things…
Also if an item has been seen on a celebrity and you have loads of money, go ahead and search for that celebrity’s name. If you think you might want it if it’s a fiver, then don’t search for their name. The reason they go for more money with a celebrity name in the title is because they’re easy to find. No pain no gain my friend. Remember those hours spent searching in TK Maxx for a pair of discounted Cheap Mondays in year 9? Well those hours have shifted onto the computer. To win at eBay, you need to dedicate a little searching time. As my favourite TV show, Extreme Couponing, shows us – you can’t be the Coupon Queen without a few papercuts! Don’t judge me – there’s a moral in there. You can’t be the eBay queen without a couple of hours digging…
There’s a lot to be said for these sellers in Hong Kong. They make excellent replicas, particularly of high-end high street items (think Zara/Reiss/Cos) at a fraction of the price. Don’t expect them to be amazing quality, but if you’re buying them for a season, you might not want to spend £300 on a leather sleeved coat when a pleather one would do. I have lots of love for pleather. Once you find a good seller, favourite them as they update their stock very frequently and you might be surprised! The postage tends to be cheap too considering it’s shipped, though naturally the wait is longer than if your item is coming from the UK.
If someone says ‘check out my other items’ then…check out their other items! It’s a great way to combine postage, and if you like one item of theirs, then chances are you’ll like some of their others. Always make sure you message to ask them to combine the postage unless it’s listed in the description, as it’s not a necessity but is generally seen as good eBay practice and most people are happy to oblige.
Don’t be scared of menswear. It is often cheaper than womenswear – how many men want to sit in front of a laptop for two hours on a Sunday? THIS IS YOUR SPACE. I got an amazing paisley vintage mens shirt for £2. The same item would have undoubtedly sold for a tenner if listed in womenswear. So long as it’s a loose fitting item or something with a good cut, you’ll be fine. Androgyny is eternally cool.
Be realistic about the item you’re expecting. Sometimes you will get a pristine leather satchel bag for £2 (this did happen once), but sometimes you might get a battered up, old crappy pair of shoes with about three minutes wear left in them. What did you expect for 99p? You’ll learn from it, you’ll spot when people are being dodgy with their pictures and you won’t do it again. Think about if the return postage is enough, it’s sometimes cost me more to actually return an item and that’s just not in the eBay spirit! I’m not suggesting you let people get away with selling crap, but leave honest feedback and move on…some people take it way to seriously…
Don’t be afraid of designers! So you can’t afford that Burberry trench coat Cara’s wearing in the new print ad? But maybe you can afford a Burberry trench coat that’s a couple of seasons old for the price of a new one in New Look! I am not kidding. Designer clothes go for less than you would imagine on eBay (notable exception – Chanel. Everything Karl touches turns to PayPal GOLD). Be brave and search out designers that you wouldn’t normally even dare look in the window of. It won’t be this season, we’re not in Kansas any more, Toto, but if you look for classic items you can get exceptional quality and the cuts will be so much more flattering. One thing to take into account is that designer clothes tend to be tailored much more accurately than high street ones – there’s no glamour sizing for Prada. So be honest about your size – if it’s listed as a size 8, then it will absolutely be a true size 8. Just be prepared to dry clean it once you’ve got it - you don’t always need to, but at least it won’t be a surprise dent in your shopping budget then! And if it says dry clean only and you ignore it – you only have yourself to blame.
Brush up on your needlework. Nothing big, you don’t need a sewing machine. But beautiful items with very small amounts of damage go for a hell of a lot less than pristine ones. Sweeping generalisation but: most people are lazy. Think of eBay like the Hunger Games. He with the most skills wins. You need patience, you need timing, you need savvy and you need your year 8 certificate in needlework. There’s a button missing? A bit of stitching has come away? A collar needs starching? MAN UP and DO IT. Or ask your Nan very kindly to teach you – remember that saying about giving a man a fish or teaching him to fish? You will not regret learning a quick technique or two.
*Slight exaggeration. I promise.
