Learn step-by-step instructions on how to price items for ebay, craigslist, nextdoor and facebook marketplace.
Photo by Denis Barthel, CC
If you’ve ever wanted to sell an item but you didn’t know how to price it on ebay, this blog post will help you determine the going rate on ebay. We will need to assume that your product is not a one-of-a-kind collector’s item. For this example, we’ll use a Zeiss Batis 25mm lens for a Sony camera.
Step 1: Determine the condition of your item. Does it have any scratches, scuffs or damage that could reduce the value of the item? Do you still have the original box and instruction manual and all the accessories? People tend to believe that items have more value if you have the original box and accessories, except for my wife, who is sick of closets overflowing with them.
Step 2: Search for this item on ebay to see if others are selling your exact item right now. If you see a Buy It Now for an item that is identical to your item, with the similar wear, packaging and details, it will be difficult to sell your item at a higher price. If you like the price you see, try to undercut your competitor by a few bucks, choose to accept a Best Offer or provide a faster shipping experience. If you have no competitive edge over the existing competition and you don’t like the price, wait for the existing listing to end and then list your item.
Step 3: If you search for your item and there are no competitors selling the same product or others have listed an auction-style listing with the same product and you’re ready to list today, you can also select an auction-style listing and the high bidder wins or this research will help you determine a Buy It Now price. Once you’ve searched, you need to see what prior items have sold for on ebay.
On mobile: search for your item, select “Filter” then choose “Sold Items.”
On desktop: search for your item, scroll down, then choose “Sold Items” on the left menu.
Step 4: Now that you know what an item sold for on ebay, you still want to know how much money you are going to make after the ebay, PayPal, and shipping fees. Shipping fees will be the most variable, so try to figure those out or ball park them by checking FedEx, USPS or UPS. Order some boxes from the carriers for free if you plan to sell a lot. I like to use finalfeecalc.com to see what I’m going to get in the end and see if it’s worth it for me to sell the item on ebay. If I see the average sale price of the Zeiss Batis 25mm is $900, I can enter that into finalfeecalc.com. Then I’ll guess that shipping is going to cost me around $25. If I provide free shipping for the item, finalfeecalc.com tells me ebay gets $90, PayPal takes $26.40 and I end up with $758.60.
Step 5: We now have a clear picture that the lens will net me $758.60 on ebay. Not bad. How do I price it locally? Remember, Craigslist, Facebook Market and Nextdoor don’t take a cut if you sell an item locally (at least at the time this post was written). Now you know that anyone looking to buy this item on ebay will also likely see that the lens is worth about $900, but you know you’ll get $758.60, leaving a split of $141.40. Any price you choose to sell it locally is both a windfall for you and for the buyer. You’ll make more money if you sell it for $800 locally, for example, and your buyer saves $100.
In the end, I typically will list an item for the higher price on ebay and a lower price locally. Good luck!
During a drive with @chocov to the ranch, we were recapping our year. Travel, friends and adventures filled 2011. Then Lydia Leavitt whipped up a post about 2011 and I had to do the same. Let’s get started!
January
– Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas
– Sarah comes to Texas
February
– San Francisco & Cupertino for the @Telenav Waypoint Project
– Wild at Heart Boot Camp on the Big Island of Hawaii
– It snowed in San Antonio, so I shot pictures. I wake up to a call from CNN.
March
– @lydialeavitt comes to Texas
– South by Southwest with @chocov and gang
– Met General Colin Powell
April
– Backstage at Fiesta for the Spazmatics
May
– Fortune Leadership Summit in Houston with Marshall Goldsmith
– JR & Blaire get hitched at the most amazing wedding I’ve ever attended. Helicopter included.
June
– Trail running & hard work revamping the technology in Smuggler’s Secret with @chocov and @erikdarm in Aspen
July
– Visited the Continental Divide
– Watched the 4th of July fireworks from Smuggler Mountain in Aspen
– Visited NYC during the hottest weekend in 60 years with @lydialeavitt, @rmitty, @mdflores & @bobbyfreeman
– Ice-T yells at me
– @heidigerhardt comes to town
August
– One of the best damn birthdays at @freetailbrewing
– Alamo Beer Challenge – my first 15k
September
– Chevy Mancation with @bobbyfreeman
– Jack Daly comes to San Antonio for EO
October
– Fortune Growth Summit in Phoenix, AZ with @erikdarm & @tmeyeratplay to hear @DanielPink & other thought leaders
– Spotted Mira Sorvino at the Austin Film Festival
November
– Blogworld LA with @thezippykid team
– Got on the movie set of Gangster Squad with @phikai, while standing a few feet away from Emma Stone & Sean Penn
– Ran the full San Antonio Marathon (26.2 MILES!) with @bemadthen & chocov
December
– Christmas with my family & friends in Corpus Christi
– @thebmpr Photo Walk on the River Walk to shoot the Holiday Lights
– Valero AlamoBowl with @bemadthen and @erikdarm
A big thank you to everyone who made this year such a great time. Our time together whether offline or online helped shape one of the best years I’ve had and I’m thankful to each one of you. Here’s to new adventures, blessings and tighter friendships. Happy 2012.
When you get a call from Chevy asking if you want a 3/4 ton Silverado 4×4 for a week for you and a buddy, the only answer you can give is “absolutely!” (expletives excluded) That’s exactly what happened. My pal, Bobby Freeman, and I took the adventure seriously. We packed rifles, fishing rods, cameras and the like and hit the road to make the most of our adventure. Our first stop was the Llano River Ranch outside of London, Texas. We found a stunning ranch house to hang our hats, but more importantly, we found over a mile of the Llano River. The perfect playground for our whip. We drove through, shot photos, saw 3 beavers cruising up stream, at least 500 deer, turkeys, axis deer and a pesky skunk that would not leave the proximity of the house. We explored the multi-thousand acre ranch while our truck cruised over anything we threw at it. Bobby spent a good portion of the day fishing and catching a number of large and small mouth bass. Even a silty, dry river bed wasn’t enough to stop us. That’s a good thing, because we were 3 miles away from camp and many more miles away from cell phone coverage. The walk would have been complicated to say the least since it was 9:30 PM.
Once our adventures had wrapped at the Llano River Ranch, we hit the road again to Smithville. Their City Hall was the hub for the Bastrop Fire recovery. We picked up our name tags and shot over to the distribution warehouse. We met Mary, an EMT from South Houston, who volunteers around the state in disaster recovery. Bobby and I were tasked with sorting the donations. We spent the afternoon sorting toys, housewares, clothes and books. It was an eye opening experience for donations. So many man-hours are spent merely in the sorting of the goods. The outpouring was amazing and we had a wonderful time with the kindhearted team of people. We closed the evening in Austin enjoying a DJ set by Foster the People who were throwing an Austin City Limits after party at Republic Live. A great way to close a busy day.
Our next and final stop was the Cuatro Ranch near Zapata. It was a surreal experience passing through the countless security cameras near the border, then even more peculiar once we went south of mile marker 1. The temperature went through the roof upon arrival – 110 degrees. Then the most fantastic electrical storm rolled in. The sky would not stop flashing and then the bottom fell out. We had forgotten what rain smelled and looked like – it was refreshing. We drove through the rain on the ranch, smiling and enjoying our evening. The next day wrapped by having the finest Mexican pastries this side of the border and we cruised back to San Antonio, fulfilled from the fresh air and open skies. We’re thankful that Chevy gave us the opportunity to put their truck to use and even more thankful that the Silverado came through. But if you want the real look and feel of the adventure, catch the video at the top. Please. Share it with your friends.
“Thank yous” go out to:
Chevrolet for a rugged truck & the great opportunity
Llano River Ranch & Erik Darmstetter for the awesome guide work at Llano River Ranch
Smithville for allowing us to volunteer & Mary Matheny for being our volunteer director
Cuatro Ranch & Tiger for the fantastic guide work
Ancira-Winton Chevrolet & Marissa Morales for the approving and filming of the closing shot
Life continues to prove to be anything but stable. 2010 was a very difficult year for me and produced a dramatic transition in my life. In October 2010, I was introduced to John Eldredge’s book, Wild at Heart, by my friend and pastor, Kevin Joyce. Eldredge, with support of modern movies such as Gladiator and Braveheart, paints a picture of what a man looks like. And not just any man, but a hero. A man that can lead other men; a man that inspires and captures the heart of his beauty. That man is brutally fierce in his battles yet showcases his grace and compassion towards others who go unloved and don’t have a voice. A dichotomy that most men are lacking. Notice that you find this with William Wallace and Maximus. Guys you aspire to be. Warriors and lovers. We’ve experienced a bastardization of this in our lives; either being filled with rage or with a passivity that inspires no one and leaves others feeling cold around you. Maybe you’ve experienced this in a friend, family member or coworker. I personally had built walls around myself emotionally. Logic ruled in my book. As I read this book, along with coaching from Kevin, I began to see the value of my logic. I also saw my flaw, which I hadn’t recognized, in my deficiency of heart. This was created by my smothering of emotion by logic. As another friend, Scott Austin told me, “Nan, you’re the perfect guy when there’s a fire in a building. You’ll get the bull horn, get on a table and move everyone out safely. The problem is – there’s not always a fire.” Scott certainly had my attention. Allowing myself to experience emotion? Yikes. If you’re like me and most other men, that sounds pretty damn horrible. Leaving yourself vulnerable? Sounds scary.
Did I really want to do this? Enter Kevin, who had me read the story of Jesus and Lazarus. You trivia nuts will know about the shortest verse in the Bible – “Jesus wept.” Here’s the quick story. Lazarus was dying and these dudes were asking Jesus to show up and save him. Jesus delayed. (He had his reasons.) Finally, when Jesus and the guys arrive, Lazarus is dead. Jesus says, “nah, he’s just sleeping.” The guys are in disbelief. They keep arguing with Jesus. It says Jesus became angry and wept. Wait, what? So Jesus, the human version of God, got angry and wept and raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus logically knew that he could and would raise Lazarus from the dead, yet still he experienced the anger and sorrow. He didn’t just brush them off and do what he needed to do. Ugh. Feelings.
So after having read Wild at Heart and doing some additional learning of who we are and who God wants us to be as men, I was bouncing around John Eldredge’s Ransomed Heart website where I stumbled upon the Wild at Heart Boot Camp. I knew it was something I needed to do for myself and for the people around me. I was going to attend in Colorado, but my mom gifted me an upgrade to Hawaii – how could I say no to that?
I arrived at the Kona airport where I met a number of guys from around the country and later, the world, where Shane had flown over 30 hours to get from Cape Town, South Africa to the big island of Hawaii. That’s commitment. We had over 300 men in the Boot Camp, men from as young as 18 to men in their 70’s, ranging from dudes that look like they never left the beach to physicians and business owners. Clearly, this message resonated across all demographics of men.
It’d be impossible to cover all that we learned in the four days that we were there, but here are a couple of highlights of the teachings I received during those emotionally and spiritually rigorous days.
Wounds Of Our Fathers
We are human and our dads, unsurprisingly, are as well (hopefully). In being human, they made mistakes and they wounded us, oftentimes unintentionally. They were wounded themselves from their fathers. How could they know better? As boys we need to know that we’re loved AND that our dad’s believe in us and that we have what it takes. Maybe our dads loved us but never hugged us and spent intimate time with us. Maybe our dads did hug us but didn’t tell us frequently enough who we were as men and that they believed in us. A boy needs his father to provide this for him on a consistent basis. This is lacking, and has been for generations. How do I know? It came from hearing a room full of over 300 men weeping uncontrollably when Eldredge talked about this on stage. The first thing we need to do about this is forgive our fathers. Forgiving them doesn’t mean that your wound didn’t hurt you horribly, nor does it make it alright. It’s a choice to release your dad. As they said, don’t wait to feel like forgiving, because forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling.
Agreements
Morgan, a team member with John, described agreements as lies that we agree with internally. Morgan, after seeing his dad cry at a funeral without a discussion afterward, made an agreement that he would be the strongest man he knew. He would be Atlas and carry the weight of his world on his shoulders. Another guy was told by his stepdad that he was “nothing but a seagull – good for sitting, squawking and shitting.” That was the name his father gave him, so as a boy he made an agreement internally that that was who he was. These agreements that we have all made shape our existence, our relationships and our decision making process. These agreements need to be broken so they don’t continue to encumber our relationships and decision making for the rest of our lives.
For Me
I know that I carry wounds of my father. One of those that was passed along to me is the stoicism that he carries. Some could read me as cold or uncaring. I knew internally that this wasn’t true, but until I went through the book and further this boot camp, it had been difficult for me to show emotion. Things are changing for me. I’ve forgiven my dad. Poor man, he didn’t know that he was doing wrong by me. I know that since we are God’s children my dad isn’t just my dad, but also my brother. We all carry that young boy inside of us and he raised me based on his wounds, from his experiences, in the best and most loving way he knew. I also learned that God is not a substitute father if your dad didn’t provide you what you needed; He’s the primary. Your earthly father is in addition to your dad in Heaven. As Morgan described, God brings other fathers into our lives to serve and teach us. His financial father figure is Dave Ramsey, his marketing dad is Seth Godin. God uses other men as his hands and feet. Hell, Morgan even talked about his father in learning how to bow hunt – an 83 year old woman that competed in archery in the Olympics. It’s not necessarily about the gender. Recognizing the agreements that I’ve made with myself over the years from my experiences will continue to unravel and reveal themselves. I don’t know them all explicitly yet, but now when something goes awry or I’m feeling something that’s not of God, I am aware that there might be an agreement there that needs to be prayed over and broken.
I am committed to being a whole man, a man that will fight fiercely for what is right and who will show tenderness and grace appropriately. I will feel, I will love and I will fight. I know I’ll drop the ball and stumble along the way, I’m human and thankfully, we have God’s infinite grace for these instances. Men, God wants you to live a life of adventure with him. Notice that I didn’t write about being a nice guy, there were no descriptions of being Mister Rogers. Jesus was fierce, he was loving (funny too!) and that’s who God wants us to be as well – Maximus or William Wallace. It’s what resonates in our hearts. This will be a lifelong path and it will be worth it.
People, encourage the men that matter in your life to read Wild at Heart and to give the Wild at Heart Field Guide an honest try. It may be exactly what they need to help them escape their life of passivity or rage and unlock the heart that God gave them. If you have questions, please reach out to me and I’ll make time to talk to you about it.
On Sunday I experienced humanity in a way that I never had before by attending the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon and Half-Marathon. The race was a great equalizer. The distance of the course doesn’t care about your age, race, health or anything else.
As I stood at the finish line watching the runners and walkers come in, I was so impressed with everyone in attendance. There were over 27,000 participants and the spectators were cheering them all on. I saw an elderly gentleman walking the final stretch. As he saw the finish line, he put his hand over his mouth, preparing for the flood of tears that were coming. It was clear that this was something special – he was walking with an oxygen pack. People cruised in on walkers, one gentleman trotting along with a full 55 pound military pack. Others were running for loved ones that had lost battles to disease. It was striking to watch the pain, the joy, the sheer excitement of every participant and how much the onlookers were experiencing these feelings with the runners. It was amazing. As my friend Lisa said, “the finish line is the reason WHY I run.” Wow. I couldn’t ever fully appreciate what that meant until yesterday.
You’re likely in the middle of your marathon of life right now. Look towards those people on the sidelines cheering you on. Seek out the people that are going to tell you to not give up, even when giving up feels okay, because you’ve gone through so much. Reach for the right people who can move you forward when things get tough. Do it, even when a train stops the race. The finish line is so much more fun than stopping mid-race.
High achievers can get caught up in the perfection of their work. “I don’t want to put my name on it unless it’s perfect.” Sound familiar? I’ve said it too. It’s easy to get paralyzed by perfection. You need the words to be just a little better in this email or you need the shot to pop just a bit more before rendering the video. Here’s the truth – people will notice that you didn’t ship your product but they might not notice the extra effort that you invested to meet your own level of perfection.
Sometimes, your level of perfection is important. It can be critical…if you’re a brain surgeon. For the rest of the population, choose to avoid the perfection paralysis and ship your product instead. Do great work and ship. Get better on each iteration of your product and notice what people comment on and care about instead. This will be a much more valuable use of your time and you’ll have something to show for all your hard work.
I’m a lucky guy. People contact me regularly because they need someone to talk to about changing jobs. These are people from all walks of life – older, younger, educated and not, those with “dream jobs” and those looking for a better life. We sit down either face-to-face, via phone or Skype and talk about their dreams and how they can take another step in achieving them. Dave Peckens and I have never met in person, but we’ve been in close contact for about a year or so where we share life. Dave’s outside of Detroit and remains a big dreamer – I see him as a super dad, a person that cares about the rebirth of Detroit and a passionate guy about his career. I asked Dave to share his progress with me and how he’s moved the needle.
What do you do to pay the bills?
I have been doing some form of technology support for over 15 years. Although this is not what I went to college for, it has always paid the bills nicely. In the past I’ve done everything from professional acting to pizza maker.
What happened a year ago to change your mind about who you wanted to be when you grew up?
When I grow up? I doubt that will ever happen, but since you’ve asked …
I’ve always been chasing the “what I want to be when I grow up” idea. As a child I never had any “active” support from my family, so I never pushed ambitions very far. Taking my years of tech support knowledge and flipping that into a freelance business was a natural progression. Plus it helps me spend more time doing what I love… being with my wife and children. And I still plan to open a pizzeria/bar restaurant some day.
What steps did you take to change your life?
I simply reached out to my network and asked “What do you see the Dave Peckens brand as”? And for years I’ve had multiple side projects in the wings waiting for some spotlight. The majority of the feedback received pointed to the BlackBerry and my flair for sharing mobile technology tips and tricks with people. So I took the corporate class I had been leading called the “BlackBerry Users Group” and took it public. The response has certainly kept me and my BlackBerryology business hopping.
What were some of the struggles that you faced in making this change?
When I started booking more consulting work it not only interfered with family time, but also my day job. What I have learned from this is how to best manage my time, to clearly understand the client’s needs, and to over-deliver on what is expected. Getting the word out and actually keeping freelance work consistent was also a challenge, but over time the positive testimonials and referrals have helped push this project forward.
What are some successes you’ve encountered?
I’m presently in the final round of the CrackBerry Idol competition on CrackBerry.com, an American Idol-type of contest where the contestants are voted on by the public, but here, instead of singing, we are writing BlackBerry review blog posts. Also, in terms of direct mobile technology consultation, I have repeatedly booked the same clients and that list continues to grow. It seems there is a thirst for this type of knowledge and delivery. (Dave won CrackBerry Idol)
How are things progressing?
I expect to have a new website launching soon. It will be more directly focused on marketing the services I offer.
What’s next for you?
Bottom line is to continue helping clients when and where I can, all while supporting my family both financially and emotionally. It’s a continual balancing act.
How can people support your continued path to success?
Winning that contest would be killer! (a good thing). Also, as I enjoy sharing knowledge and solving tough mobile tech issues, feel free to contact me (http://davepeckens.com) with your troublesome experiences. And when I finally open the doors to “Dave’s Pizza Emporium” come on down to enjoy a slice and beer!
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A big thank you to Dave!
You may think you’re too far into your career, too far in debt or just too far gone to work towards what you want. I hope sharing Dave’s story will help you reconsider this position. If you take small steps daily, you can see exciting new things in your life, too. The first thing you need to do is decide that it is true.
Peter Winick is a friend of mine. I met him a few years back in Vegas when he was working with Keith Ferrazzi, author of Never Eat Alone and Who’s Got Your Back (amazon affiliate links). Thankfully, he and I have been able to keep in contact. He’s worked with other incredible authors and speakers including my friends Jack Daly, Mark Goulston and Bob Bloom. He and Warren will be putting together a webinar that you need to consider if you’re an author that wants to build a sustainable platform. Below is the information from Warren’s site…
Book Marketing Strategists Warren Whitlock and Peter Winick announce a new value priced webinar series for authors who want to turn their content into self sustaining income streams while keeping cost inline.
“We have used webinars for clients to save on travel costs and get cost saving efficiencies, but I normally work one on one with my clients” said Whitlock. “Peter has done the same with some very large book and information product launches. However, we know there is a need for authors wanting this knowledge so we’ve come up with a program to combine our talents at a fraction of our costs. It’s our author stimulus package”
The Platform Roadmap Coaching Series is the least expensive way to engage the same top talent that millionaire and NY Times best selling authors rely on to focus not only on your book but to enable you to develop a business with multiple income streams such as keynote speaking, training, consulting and such.
The webinar series will be held in June with authors who are accepted into the program. The group will be large enough to lower costs, but much smaller than most online courses. Winick and Whitlock will supplement the webinars with private coaching to insure each other has a success.
Peter Winick has over twenty years of experience and has worked with a variety of thought leaders. In addition, he has built and managed several consulting and professional development organizations.
Warren Whitlock has been a serial entrepreneur over the past 23 years, focusing on book marketing, authors, publishing and conversation strategies for social media. He is co-author of the first book on Twitter “Twitter Revolution: How Social Media and Mobile Marketing is Changing the Way We Do Business & Market Online”
Sprint launched a 4G contest to win an android powered HTC EVO smartphone. Here’s my contest entry.
Today, I read about Sprint’s newest contest “Blaze Across America with 4G” on Engadget. They’re looking for the most humorous, creative and original essay on why you’re fast, to win the new HTC EVO, cash and a 4G trip to either Houston, Chicago, Maui or Vegas. I thought I’d share my entry to the contest:
I:
caused Usaine Bolt to change his name to Usaine Thunder after following my lightning speeds.
tweet faster than @Scobleizer.
play a faster fiddle than the devil down in Georgia.
hit 88 mph faster than Doc Brown’s DeLorean.
drink a gallon of milk in 36 seconds (it takes Chuck Norris 37).
do a 101 hand slap in the time E. Honda can do a 100 hand slap.
beat out Speedy Gonzales as the fastest mouse in all of Mexico, then came back to Texas.
have a measurement of time named after me – NANoseconds.
