Tundra Tiger
AH legend
I have a few “theories” that I use as a seller.
1.) People want it fast. Take digital payments.
2.) People want it to arrive. Don’t jerk people around with the nonsense USPS, pay extra and do Fedex or UPS that has a service-level commitment for delivery. (FYI - You can’t even attempt a recovery of a USPS priority package unless its MIA for TEN business days)
3.) People like communication. I always copy-paste the shipping label into the PM so people know there stuff is heading their way.
4.) Tell them up front on the ad where you will and won’t ship. Hawaii and Alaska are problematic to ship to, if you’re willing, bless you, if you’re not, spell it out.
5.) Don’t jerk the buyer around waiting for their check to clear. It’s all a fiction. Either reject them as a customer, or send them their stuff. It takes about THREE WEEKS to definitively find out that a check is bad. About TWO WEEKS for a cashier’s check to be identified as truly bogus. Jerking people around for an arbitrary 2-3-4-5 days waiting until your bank “clears” the check is stupid, because it isn’t “clear” in 2-3-4-5 days, your bank has just “lent” you the money on your recognizance and a claw back could happen many days later.
6.) If the item is very expensive, the seller should have an insurance policy covering it in transport. You can assign a cost to the buyer, or you can eat the costs, but don’t SOL the buyer if you can help it.
7.) Always share your contact info via PM and your phone number via PM when closing the deal. Only 5% of people take me up on the call, but they know how to find me and I think that gives a bit of assurance to a buyer.
8.) Keep your listings up to date. It’s annoying to see listings years old that may/may not be still available.
9.) Lower your prices. If it isn’t selling, either drop your price or end the listing and sell it somewhere else. Either it was the wrong audience or the wrong price, having it “back to the top” for months on end at the same price is dumb.
10.) Never, ever, ever play middleman. It's insulting and the deals always turn to $h!t. If it isn't your stuff, you don't know what you're talking about and you're not going to take a return or exchange, stay out of it. You're also liable for your own misstatements. If you act as an agent for another in a sale, you deserve all the hell that comes your way. I can't recall a deal in life I've had with a middleman that ever went correctly, most recently I had to threaten suit on a used car deposit because the guy misstated the year because it was his friend's car. I should have known better than dealing with middlemen.
Item 2: not everything is one size fits all.
Where I live in Alaska the USPS is your most reliable, least expensive option. UPS is getting better but takes a lot longer and is more expensive. FedEx is a rumor.
Virtually everything I do is online - GunBroker, Amazon, and eBay are the biggest. I try hard to target interactions that ship USPS.