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eBay Selling Tips

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I’ve sold quite a bit of ‘stuff’ on eBay and my listings generally attract higher than average prices.

For the benefit of all, listed below are my golden rules for a successful eBay listing:

  • Use an established eBay account with a good feedback history (preferably 100% positive) to list your item. There is nothing that puts a buyer off more than a new seller with no history.
  • Choose a sensible end time for your auction. My personal favourite is Sunday evening when people are more likely to be at home and able to bid in real time. Don’t underestimate how much the frenzy of a live auction with active bidders can push the price up 🙂
  • Include a decent photo set:
    • Avoid using stock images
    • If it’s something technical then include a shot of the thing working
    • If there is a settings or status screen then include a photo of that
    • If there is any damage to the item then include a photo of that too
    • If you still have the original box and packaging then mention this in the description and show these in the photos
  • Provide pertinent technical details – include the model number, version and firmware revision. If there it’s an updated firmware available then upgrade to the latest version.
  • Make your item description clear and concise. There is no need to include superfluous blurb. If the manufacturer has a decent online spec sheet than provide a link to that instead. Avoid confusion by listing exactly what is included – and what isn’t included.
  • If the same item is sold for a lot more by an online retailer then link to their page and show how much the item sells for new. It doesn’t harm to point out what a bargain the prospective buyer will be getting.
  • Give realistic postage costs. Check the size and weight of the packaged item and find out exactly what it will cost to send (use Royal Mail’s Price Finder). Don’t inflate the postage costs in an attempt to boost your profits.
  • Finally – package the item well, send it quickly and keep the buyer informed. That way you’ll get good feedback.

Addendum

The 2012 Global Online Shopper Report confirms that 8.05pm is the most common time for UK consumers to make Internet purchases, so having your auction end just after 8pm is a good idea!

Global e-shoppers spend on average 22% (UK average: 25%) of their annual outgoings on goods and services online, shop for 5 hours a month (UK average: 6), watch TV whilst shopping online (global: 46%, UK: 51%) and make the majority of their purchases at 20:40 (UK: 20:05), according to the Global Online Shopper Report commissioned by WorldPay.

Setting the local timezone on Drobo FS

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Want to fix the local time zone on your Drobo FS?

# cat /etc/profile 
# Set the TimeZone explicitely to PST/DST
export TZ=PST8DST

Aside from correcting the spelling mistake I actually want to use my local time zone (London).

Changing the TZ environment variable to GMT0BST did the trick, not forgetting to add this to /etc/profile too.

Power to the people

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After reading about Centrica (the parent company of ye olde British Gas) reporting profits of £1.3 billion while at the same time raising retail energy prices by 18%, I got to wondering – is there another way?

As the power generators offer wholesale prices to larger customers (including the utility companies themselves), would it be possible to start a new not-for-profit energy provider which would benefit from the cheaper wholesale rates and pass these prices on directly to its members? It would be like an energy co-operative scheme if you like.

I’m thinking of doing some further research into this concept. Before I waste time on this, does anyone have any good reasons why this wouldn’t work?

Making /Volumes visible in Finder

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Since working out how to automount Drobo FS shares I’ve been looking for a way of having my /Volumes folder appear in Finder.

The solution is to use the SetFile command line tool:

/usr/bin/SetFile is a tool to set the file attributes on files in an HFS+ directory.

To make the /Volumes folder visible:

sudo SetFile -a v /Volumes

To make the /Volumes folder invisible again:

sudo SetFile -a V /Volumes

You can apply this to any folder that is invisible by default in Finder.

Coinks communications

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Me: “Can you tell me how to leave the Coinks programme and close my account please?” (18th July 2011)

Coinks: “I have closed your account and you’ll receive no further communications from us” (19th July 2011)

Coinks: “We’d love to hear what you think of our Consumer Services” (20th July 2011)

*sigh*