Return or sell on eBay?

[RJU690]

I purchased a Nintendo Wii on April 1, 2007 and due to a lack of time and the financial limitations of being fourteen years old, I am forced to sell or return it. Don't worry though because I'm going to get a Wii for Christmas hopefully! I recently offered the Wii on eBay because I thought I could make a profit due to the limited supply of Wiis. The bids on my Wii only reached up to $102.50 and now I'm nervous. The auction ends on May 3 and I think I can only return it to Wal-Mart until April 30. Should I cancel the auction and return it to Wal-Mart just to be safe?

 

[paintba||er]

Why would you only be able to take it back until April 30th? I thought that Walmart had a lifetime 100% satisfaction guaranty. I know I took my PS2 back two years after I bought it when it stopped working and I got a new one.

 

[Syntax]

If you know your not going to make a lot off of it on ebay I would return it to the store you bought it from.

 

[RJU690]

To my understanding they have a 30-day return policy in which you get your money back, not store credit or a new Wii.

 

[paintba||er]

Must be different here. You don't even need a receipt to take something back at the Walmarts here.

 

[Wiinter]

You should never list something as expensive as a Wii without a reserve price (or at least a starting bid you can live with). One thing that will figure into the price is your feedback score. How high is it? I would not normally order something so expensive from someone with low feedback or someone who had not been a member long. I would also be hesitant to order one from someone who didn't have a decent history of selling rather than just buying. 'Course, I wouldn't buy from a 14 year old on ebay either.

Do you allow payment by paypal? Did you use an actual photo of your Wii? Did you place a legible photograph of the receipt in the auction? Did you describe it's full condition (whether it had been opened or not) and the circumstances that are leading you to resell it? Is shipping clearly designated and is it clear what the cost of insurance will be? Is your description well-written, grammatically correct, clear and well-organized (so that it doesn't look like it was done by a teenager)?

If you didn't do these things, or your feedback is low, or your Wii has been unpackaged, there is some additional risk in the auction--experienced buyers may be wary of the listing. For the record, lots of people wait till the last minute to bid, to take away the ability of others to outbid them.

But don't take heart in that, the way you seem to have listed it, leaving the price to chance, was a gamble--and you should never gamble what you cannot afford to lose, no matter how good the odds are.

If money is tight, as you say, do the safe thing. One option is, if you can cancel it, to re-list it with a shorter auction period (3 days) and with a proper reserve price or a starting bid that doesn't force you to take a loss. If no one goes that high, you're out a couple of dollars for the listing and can still return it to Walmart. If they go higher, you profit.

 

[RJU690]

Thanks that's a really long post! I have everything like a photo and awesome description except this is the first item I ever sold on eBay. Here's the link http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MESE:IT&viewitem=&item=250107592880&rd=1&rd=1

 

[Wiinter]

It does look like a good listing, more complete than about half the listings on ebay (kudos), but that 0 feedback/recent ebay join date could still hurt the price. Paypal protection only covers people to 200$, so the only people still bidding above that will be those who know that their credit card companies will cover any potential fraud. Ebay users are warned to beware of accounts whose first (or close to first) auction is a high-priced piece of electronics. Sadly, fraud happens, so buyers will (or at least should) beware.

If you are prompt answering questions, you may inspire some additional confidence. Some local buyers may be willing to risk it if they can see and test it before handing over money (please make sure your parents are in the loop on that, and present). Local buyers may also be willing to bid higher since they won't have to shell out for shipping. Also, be sure and protect yourself from payment fraud (personal checks might not clear).

You were wise to place a reserve on it, but setting the auction after your return date puts some risk into the equation. If you can't afford the risk, do the safer thing.

 

[legbuh]

You'll get at least what you paid for it. The last few minutes of the auction are where you make your money.

What I would have done is started at $250, with BIN of $350. Probably would have sold it by now.

 

[Thepalmreader3eb]

You'll get at least what you paid for it. The last few minutes of the auction are where you make your money.

What I would have done is started at $250, with BIN of $350. Probably would have sold it by now.

Definitly would have, I have seen some buy it nows go for 499.99 just for the wii. This one has a couple games too.

 

[RJU690]

What is a BIN on eBay?

Edit: Duh that's Buy It Now lol

 

[Wiiownu]

Your making a mistake selling, wii is the chepest gaming machine all around. I say sell on ebay.

 

[RJU690]

I don't get your post at all. You're saying I'm making a mistake selling so I should sell it on eBay?