How to sell parts online?

I would like to sell some of my extra xj's parts online. How exactly does one go about selling motorcycle parts online?
how do I know how much to charge?

 

Look on Ebay for ideas - see what other parts sell for, don't just start your bids at $.99 or the price will never go anywhere. Better to price at $25.00 first week, then $20.00 the next or add a "make offer" feature.

Ask ludicrous amounts for the battery cover, ignition, gauges, and carbs.

 

Remember that advice is free yet you aren't forced to take it. Quick story...a few years ago I decided to open the vault and sell off some extra Kaw triples parts. I knew they had value but really didn't know how much, kind of like you. I list everything low....and just like TTR said, I got screwed by a bunch of vultures that I found out later, were all friends....they wrote and pretended to be my friend and begged me to take down my ad's so they could buy my stuff directly. Me, being a fool, did that and I lost thousands of dollars worth of stuff for next to nothing. After that pile of stuff was nearly gone.....all my new "friends" disappeared.

I learned my lesson. now when I list something, my starting price is what I'm willing to sell it for...if it goes up, fine.....and if it doesn't, that's fine too since I don't NEED to sell. Just like they say....burn me once, shame on you, burn me twice, shame on me....it won't happen again.

Good luck my new best friend....now, what can you give me for nothing? LOL...just teasing. Just don't let yourself get screwed like I did.

jeff

 

I've got a parts bike I'm selling parts from. When someone on here asks me for a price I check ebay and see what the completed completed listings are going for for that item and average them out. Then I usually knock a bit off the price since I'm not trying to get rich on the parts and really just want them gone to a good home.

 

Don’t forget those prices on E-Bay aren’t the final selling price, unless it’s a Buy Now item. Most of the action takes place in the last minute or two. Find the items you are interested in, then go to “Add to Watch list. When the bidding is over, you will be able to see what the item sold for in your “Watch List”. You have to become a member to have a Watch List. :roll:

 

You can use the advanced search feature of ebay and highlight the "only completed listings" option to see what the items have actually sold for, or even if they didn't sell at all.

 

If the parts are good, get an idea of price from ebay then put a reserve on (the minimum you'll part with them for).

I listed stuff cheap - it sold, but maybe I could've got more.

Then again, I sold a project bike XJ650 (which I'd never had running) for £200.
A few weeks later the guy who'd bought it lost interest and let it go to someone else for just £80!
I thought about buying it back (to part out or sell again) but it had moved on once more...

Remember, parts are only worth what someone will pay for them - and, of course, you'll get the best price if more than one person wants the part, at the time you list it.

 

yeah. the completed listing on ebay can tell you alot, as others have said.

just be aware of the fees that both ebay and paypal charges, even though ebay owns paypal! lol

Last time i sold something im pretty sure its 9% of the final sale price(not including shipping) is deducted/charged, as well paypal charges 3% of the total, which includes the cost of shipping.

so basically, figure on ebay taking out 12% of what it sells for, and you still got to pay to ship it.

As for shipping, if you print the labels online, it is not only cheaper rates than if you brought it to a post office - you also get a free tracking number to give to the buyer(which makes them happy) as well as free delivery confirmation, which clears your name if you get caught dealing with a buttmunch who claims that he never got what you had sold him/her.

If you have any ebay or paypal q's, feel free to ask here or pm me, ive done a fair amount of it to say the least, lol.

 

Oh! and start the listing at the minumum that you'll take for it instead of putting a reserve on the auction. Reserves tend to turn bidders away as they have no way of knowing what the reserve is, which to most, they wont even bother dealing with it, because you could be asking a redic. price, so they just go to a different listing where they can see exactly what its going to cost at minimum, and not have the uncertainty be a frustrating factor.

 

If you want the part to SELL.

Handle the sale like an Advertising Company did the offering:

1) Intelligent well written description. Include ALL pertinent information.
Correctly describe the goods. Include every bike it fits.
2) Clean the merchandise.
3) Photograph the merchandise like its a one-of-a-kind.
>a) Focus
>b) Model lighting (Get 3 Clamp-lights. Eliminate any shadow)
>c) Background. (Gray sheet. The shot shows only the goods.)

YOU have to make what you're selling ... THE one to buy!

 

One more important thing - end time!

It's very much worth starting your listing at the right time, so that it finishes at the right time... ie, when interested bidders are a) awake and b) likely to be in front of their computer.

Best time to finish a listing is apparently around 8pm on a Sunday.

There's a start-time option on the part of the ebay listing form where you enter price etc. So, if you go for a 5 day listing for instance, choose a start time of 7.59 pm on the Tuesday.

 

ahh, yes i forgot to mention this! This is VERY important believe it or not! most of the time, all the action happens at the end. So if everyone is working when it ends, your out of luck.

Also, If you have your photobucket open in a different window, you can drag the pics from your photobucket right into the description box.

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