Toad

I have about 70 VHS tapes I'd like to sell, in bulk (all-at-once) if possible. I obviously want the service that costs less money, and that takes less of a percentage of my sale.

For payments to me, I want the easiest -- none of this paypal stuff. Money going straight to my account sounds nice.

What do you think is the better option?

LBPound

I think Half is better for VHS but you can't sell them all at once, and you won't be able to get as much money selling in one order at eBay.

ellone

You won't get much selling a big lot of VHS on ebay, so you'll probably have to go with half.com. But you have to list them separately and they may take a while to sell.

D.Pham5GLTE (>60GB)

n00b

seriously, Half is the best if you want to have the money direcly deposited. if you want to sell at once, then eBay. no real way around this. the other option is to only accept money order/cashier's checks, but a lot of buyers don't like this option. it might work if you have a lot of feedback though.

T-rex

Half.com collects 15% per sale (for items under $50), but they also give you a shipping credit. You have to list each item separately, but it's pretty easy, since you can just type in the UPC code for each video. You can also have earnings deposited directly to your bank account (I think you can do this also w/ eBay if you use eBay Payments). But you'll still have to use eBay if you want to sell them all at once. eBay collects a smaller percentage (5.25% of the first $25, and 2.75% of the rest, plus a few more if you use eBay payments), so maybe you wouldn't lose that much compared to Half.com. But it depends how much you could get for them on eBay. Of course, you might find it's worth not making quite as much if it means you can make one shipment instead of up to 70.

Sorry if I confused you. Hoped that helped a bit.

Toad

For those of you who ship using Media Mail -- do you got to the post office EVERY time you sell something to obtain/send these?

I would like to sell all in bulk, but I guess that would cost a lot to ship. I thought someone might be more willing to grab 'em all at a low price -- but maybe that's just too much...

Thanks a lot guys, I appreciate the help!

POWERBOMB

I chose Half for everything except promo cd's and VHS that I collected over the years that Half doesn't list. Within my first 3 days I sold over $30 worth of merchandise at Half, but I haven't sold anything since.

As for Media Mail: What is the difference between Media Mail and shipping something First Class? I know there is a price difference, but what else?

Copenhagen

Media Mail arrives in something like 7-14 (IIRC) working days.

T-rex

Not sure what you mean by "obtain," but yes, since I only occassionally sell stuff, I go to the PO each time. Half.com requires you to ship an item w/in 24 hours of confirming the sale. You could probably sign up for one of those on-line postage services and print your own postage and hand stuff to the carrier (if it's a small amount). Not sure if the still do, but Stamps.com has given $10-20 in free postage to new users who try out the service for a month. Then you can cancel. And if you sign up for their premium service, they send you a free scale (you have to pay for the first month, I think, in order to keep the scale).

First class usually takes 2-3 days. Media mail can take 2-14 days, depending on distance, sometimes longer. Shipping something from East coast to WC took 10 days when I did it a couple weeks ago, so I'd say it's usually in the 4-10 day range. You can also add Delivery Confirmation to Media Mail shipments, but you can't w/ first class (but you can do certified mail instead, which proves you shipped the item, I think, but doesn't let you track it on-line like w/ delivery confirmation, and it's a bit more expensive).

I've heard some people say that for some reason when they send DVDs first class it takes longer than w/ Media Mail, but I can't say if this is true or not, since I usually use Media Mail. Never had a problem w/ Media Mail, though.

beebs

I highly recommend Half.com for selling stuff. You can list stuff quickly, set prices you can live with, and assuming interest in your stuff... sell it steadily.

Be sure to check your inventory from time to time and price down stuff you wanna move. This is the way to keep the sales coming. Some stuff, particularly midlist books from a decade ago, may never sell.

Once you get a sale, be dilligent. Pack it well. Ship it on time. If you have a problem, solve it to the satisfaction of all without taking it in the shorts.

Good feedback will get you sale when you don't have the best price.

-Beebs

NavinJohnson

I've been using Half.com too; much faster to list items. As far as Media Mail is concerned....I like the price, but I usually meet resistance from postal clerks. Example:

Me: I'd like to send this media mail w/ delivery confirmation.

Postal Clerk: You can't do that. Delivery Confirmation is only available with Priority Mail.

Me: Um, I believe it is...it just costs 10 cents more w/ Media than w/ Priority. (This is I got from usps.com & the poster on the wall behind her.)

Postal Clerk: Oh...(types on keypad) OK.

Now as far as time goes; I've had Media Mail arrive in three days....and I've had it arrive in twenty-three days. And one little thing bugs me about Half.com's shipping reimbursement. They charge the buyer $2.30 for shipping a cd or dvd. OK. But, as a seller, I get back $1.85. A nitpick I guess...I've had no problems selling so far.

D.Pham5GLTE (>60GB)

well, my post office has a huge sign saying how much delivery confirmation costs...so if that happens to me, i just point

POWERBOMB

I just sent off my first coupla orders from Half. The lady at the post office convinced me to use 1st class cause it was cheaper and would arrive sooner. It wasn't that far off from what Half is paying me in reimburstment. But can a person leave me bad feedback because I didn't send Media Mail as required by Half?

ellone

I don't think they will leave you bad feedback because first class mail is better than media mail (which is 4th class). In their comments a lot of seller say they will "upgrade" media mail to first class mail.
People will leave you bad feedback if they pay for priority and send it media mail instead.

NavinJohnson

As ellone wrote, 1st class is faster than media mail. However, did you get delivery or signature confirmation? Most of the time you won't need it; but when a buyer claims he/she didn't recieve the item in the time allotted....you'll need to show Half.com a number that says it was delivered.

T-rex

You can't get Delivery Confirmation with First Class. I'd recommend sending Media Mail w/ Delivery Confirmation, in case you have a problem like this. My general rule is that if the item is under $10 value and first class is cheaper, I'll use first class since it's faster, and I'm not too worried if the package is lost and I'm out the $10. If it's over $10, I'll use Media w/ DC. And if it's over around $25, I'll consider insurance too. But even for items less than $10, it might still be better to get delivery confirmation so you don't risk negative feedback from a seller who claims they didn't get your package. You have to consider if it's worth the extra 50 cents in the long run.

Stangman68

What would you take for the entire collection? I may know of a buyer, if the price is right.

NavinJohnson

Good point; I'd forgotten that...
From usps.com- Delivery Confirmation Fee in addition to postage:
Priority Mail - $0.40
Parcel Post, Bound Printed Matter, and Media Mail - $0.50