Wow, I Made My First Internet Sale...and It Was So EASY!
Written: Aug 13 '01
| Customer Service: |
 |
|
| Selection: |
|
|
| On-Time Delivery: |
 |
|
The Bottom Line
Great place for first time sellers. Also a great place to find bargains on books, movies, cds, games and electronics. But be careful, can be addicting!
|
| Full Review |
Garage sale days are over for me now that I have discovered Half.com. This website makes buying and selling over the internet easy than I ever thought possible.
Lately, I have heard many stories about people making fortunes selling their stuff on ebay and other auction sites. After visiting ebay, I determined that I would need to do more reading before I was ready to list an item there, and that's when I stumbled across half.com.
At Half.com you can list books, cds, electronic items, movies, video games, computers, sportings goods and trading cards for sale and you can likewise buy these things at a discounted rate.
To try the site out, I had recieved a coupon for $5 off a $10 purchase. I searched the site (very easy to do) and found a cd that I wanted for $8.20 and a hardcover book for $1.92, so my total with shipping and minus the coupon was about $12.00. The items I ordered arrived in less than a week in like new condition. I was very impressed. Although shipping charges were a little spendy, I still got both items for less than the price of just the CD at the store.
After my happy buying experience, I figured it seemed like a good place to try selling something. I decided to list a CD that I bought by accident (thought there was a song on it that I wanted, anyway). To list items you type in the ISBN number and the item picture is shown. You then decide what condition the item is in (Like New, Very Good, Good, and Acceptable). Then you list any notes about the product such as "Still in shrink wrap" or "Small crease in book cover" and so on. Then you list your price. Half.com will also suggest a price that you can edit and will list average price and the current high and low price of the item.
All you do after that is hit submit. When a buyer purchases your item, you will be notified by email. You will then have 48 hours to confirm or cancel the order. After that you just pack it up and ship it media mail to the buyer.
I sold my CD within 10 days, and shipped within 2 so that the buyer got their product right away. This also helps to ensure a high seller rating for you. (by the way, I got a 5!)
Half.com also lets you keep track of the items that you have purchased or have up for sale. You can also edit the selling price at any time if it seems your item is not going anywhere.
Of course, half.com needs to make money for providing this service. They charge a commission of 15% on sales and shipping of less than $50 except on books, music, movies and video games where the commission is just on the sale price and not the shipping. The commission structure decrease depending on the size of the sale. At $500 the commission is 5%. Shipping is a set price for buyers and half.com provides a shipping allowance to sellers on cds, books, movies, and games.
Another feature they have is the "on vacation". This lets you take your items off the for sale list if you can't confirm the sale in 48 hours.
The main downside to this service that I can see is that you can't list the multitude of item types(like beanie babies, clothing, etc.) like you can on ebay but for first time sellers this is the place to be!
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
About the Author
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 3 members
|
