Ebay vs. Etsy vs. Just Craigslisting it (or Donating it...)

Hey Gals -

I have some old clothes that are no longer in my size (nor truly alterable without ruining the actual style of clothing) and I'd also like to make a little money to increase my PUG collection (current tally: 0). I'm used to ebay as a buyer - both buy it now and auction-wise - and although I haven't purchased anything from etsy, I like how there's no auction system and everything is a flat rate. BUT, I have recently heard that ebay has increased it's fees that you are charged once you sell an item, plus you have the paypal fees (which you would have anywhere). Since none of these clothes are worth anything substantial (they are all good quality, in great-excellent condition office wear), I don't want to do this and end up paying more to sell than what the item is worth, nor do I want to charge an outrageous amount in order to be sure to cover the fees incurred.

So tell me, has anyone used ebay/etsy as a seller and what was your experience? Do you recommend one over the other? Is this not worth the hassle? My goal is to use this on my blog site to include finds from thrift stores that I pick up (hopefully in a wide array of sizes) and think that either you gals would be interested in or someone else with a vintage vibe would be interested in (especially since most thrift stores I've been to do not have a website, ebay store, or etsy store to refer someone to).

I'd appreciate any info on this... I want to make this decision by the end of the month (Sept) so I can save for both PUG, a trip to Oregon to visit my son, and VLV of course!

Thanks all!

Jenn =)


Side note: obviously, since my PUG tally is 0, none of these items are PUG/vintage repro, so selling them here would not be an option. ;(

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Permalink Reply by Renee Marie on September 13, 2012 at 6:19am

I would definitely go with Ebay! Over the past couple months I've gradually been selling clothes on Ebay. In all honesty, te Ebay fees and paypal fees together aren't that much. The only thing with Ebat, as opposed to using Etsy, is Ebay will place a hold on that money in your Paypal account until the buyer confirms delivery or up to 21 days.

Permalink Reply by Desilu on September 13, 2012 at 11:42am

Thanks for letting me know about that... That's interesting... I can see why they would hold the money until delivery is confirmed... Does the buyer have to confirm delivery or is it a matter of postal tracking confirming delivery is ok? I'm thinking of all the times I didn't immediately leave feedback showing that delivery was confirmed (or is that not how they confirm it, because I don't remember ever having to confirm delivery outside of leaving feedback). If you would let me know, that would be great! And again, thanks for feedback - it definitely helps!

Permalink Reply by Renee Marie on September 13, 2012 at 6:00pm

I think it's a matter of Ebay confirming delivery. I think I've noticed the money gets released a little faster when I provide tracking but then again I never really kept track. Also, I'm not even sure how Ebay checks that kind of stuff. The policy says it goes faster when the buyer leaves feedback about the item to make sure nothing is wrong with it, but as you  mentioned not everyone leaves feedback right away.

Permalink Reply by CK on September 14, 2012 at 10:56pm

I think Ebay has a massive audience and that's the advantage. I just sold 3 dresses and for one sale, I got more than I paid for the dress! I originally bought them all second hand and didn't wear them a lot so decided to sell them. They all sold really quickly and the fees were minimal. I haven't used any other sites but ebay has always worked for me.

Permalink Reply by Desilu on September 15, 2012 at 8:24am

thank you! between you both, i think you've answered my questions... although i have one more: the photos... i notice there are a few auctions that only have 1 photo, whereas others have multiple. i'd like to be able to post more than one photo (so you can truly get the picture of the item, no pun intended)... is this a cost thing or just a seller thing?

Permalink Reply by CK on September 16, 2012 at 4:57am

I think you get up to 6 pics for free (I think it's 6...might be 4). For the items I just sold, I put up two pics each and a link to a model with a dress on (they were all vintage repro lines so plenty of pics online). The process of making an item ad is really easy and all the fees are listed along the way but they really are minimal.

Permalink Reply by Desilu on September 16, 2012 at 7:41am

great thank you!

Permalink Reply by Raven J Campbell on September 17, 2012 at 3:29pm

you didnt mention what size the clothes are that you want to get rid of...

 

Permalink Reply by Desilu on September 18, 2012 at 10:22pm

Raven - Sizes are all over the place - I have been anywhere from a 6 to a 16 in the past few years. Not so much in the size 6s as there are in the size 12, 14, & 16 range.

Permalink Reply by Sarah F. on September 18, 2012 at 1:34pm

I do know that with Etsy, there is a limitation in the age of things you can sell - if it's clothing that's not handmade, it has to be 20+ years older, so that might knock a lot of your office-wear out of of the running (I'm guessing). 

Also, if you do re-sell vintage finds on any online website, if you make *more on them than you paid* you have to report the earnings to the IRS come tax-time (I'm don't know if there are any minimum limitations with this, i.e. "if you make less than X amount it doesn't have to be reported"). Just some other things to keep in mind, especially if you're considering the idea of starting a vintage resell business online :)

Permalink Reply by Desilu on September 18, 2012 at 10:24pm

Sarah -

Thank you - the age would matter, and yes, my clothes are knocked out of etsy then. So ebay it will be... or donation city if they don't sell. And thank you for the reminder of the taxes thing... not planning on doing a huge reselling business; more like, if I see something cute that I would think someone would like, I'd pick it up. If not, then no worries...

Thanks!

Permalink Reply by Jessi Hardin on September 18, 2012 at 5:17pm

my vote is etsy, hun

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