As title really, never quite understand this – but then lost track of ebay fees. Also what makes a good classified advert – clearly price for one 🙂

im thinking of using ebay (need an account yet tho)….ive tried classifieds on here but no sale of my hardtail bike as yet… maybe more poeple looking on ebay ? who knows 😉

I'm pretty ragged off with ebay /paypal, but when I've tried classifieds, even trying to sell dirt cheap, nobody is interested. I always ebay at £1, no reserve, so I know it's going to sell within a week.

yep, I'm struggling with the Classifieds on here… might give eBay a go, even with their insane fees, you usually come out in front…

Is 15% about the ebay hit to final price?

each has its benefits. I would always try here first, and Bike Radar too. then try Ebay if no biters there as although the fees are pretty high you tend to get more for your items so they work out about the same.
one of My gripes with ebay is that it takes longer to post an item with the plethora of options and classifications for items!

STW can sell an item instantly. I've gone from posting an ad to the post office in 20 minutes! But sometimes things just don't sell. E-bay takes a week of uncertainty, takes a big cut and lacks feelgood factor for me. The main advantage is that it hits a bigger audience and is pretty much guaranteed to sell.

I think a good classified advert should be easy for the potential buyer to find. And bargainous, obviously.

I imagine that eBay is certainly a less preferred option amongst those on here, we'd rather support the forum. I'd say that STW Classifieds sometimes feels a bit untidy. Does the section get house kept, are adverts over a specified age archived, can the person placing the advert remove it when sold? I'd like to see a better search facility and better grouping / classification on STW Classifieds (eg Frames, Suspension, Complete Bikes, Lights etc.); that would cost money to develop and we'd all have to pay, but if the fees were reasonable that would be good and worthwhile thing, wouldn't it?

How about it STW? Is there a proprietary, customisable forum classifieds package that would give richer search and classification functionality and would advertisers be happy to pay so that STW make a few quid on the side? Or is the established informal approach more about the community we're in, and would tarting it up cause us to lose that?

A pound per ad would probably work well.

If something is under say £50 in value, as a rule I wont bother with either.

Some of the stuff advertised on here 'pedals £5, old seat post £3' etc is just a waste of everyones time. Especially as most of the stuff looks like its been chucked down a coal cellar.

I always expect to pay less on classifieds here than on ebay. Buying from the classifieds is far riskier for the buyer, and cheaper for the seller.

Ebay is fairly well policed considering the volume of stuff on there, and I've never had a problem with anything I've bought off the place. On the other hand, I have had problems with things bought off, and I've bought much less here than I have on ebay. On ebay, the buyer has the upper hand, whereas here, it's the seller.

I put that down to the ebay feedback system – everyone is keen to maintain as close to a 100% rating as possible. On here, you've got to try trawling through posting histories and the ropey search facility. Which isn't anywhere near as good. I can't see why there couldn't be a rating system – lots of forums have reputation ratings for members.

The biggest problem with selling on STW is that it's not an auction; you think of a price that you feel is reasonable and most likely you're either way too optimistic, in which case no one is interested, or you go too far the other way and someone bites your hand off.

An auction is a better way of getting the true market value for your item.

Fees including Paypal are around 17% although you can usually take this down to 15% if you end up with a little extra on postage (not a policy I am suggesting you do deliberately; it's just terribly hard to be 100% accurate when you list the item).

If something is under say £50 in value, as a rule I wont bother with either.

Hora – someone was selling a used inner tube the other day 🙂

You are kidding? I don't see the point. Yes it may be de-cluttering however some items are worth more to me than they would 'realise' if sold. If that makes sense.

I have marked sear posts which are perfectly good but would only fetch chicken-feed if sold. Better to hold onto such stuff.

Plus it fills up the classifieds pushing down decent stuff.

If something is under say £50 in value, as a rule I wont bother with either.

I think that's a bit harsh – some people could do with the odd tenner. Helps those looking for a cheap build too.

Some people could do with the odd tenner- but having to pack and take down to the post office? Hassle/time spent .v. cost and reward?

"£50" is a little high on reflection but some of the items do look like its not worth the hassle or even holding onto yourself if Im honest.