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23/03/2008, 17:06 Ron Avery Joined on 29/11/2004 Aveyron 12 Posts 3,095 Re: Ebay "Is the computer you are using a French one? I ask only because I have noticed quite a difference between how I can access sites and what info I receive from them eg google.co.uk to name but one" Which Google or Ebay you get is nothing to do with your PC or internet provider Sue, you choose that yourself. However, you will find that some sites will go to a French like Paypal and Hotmail/MSN which will give you a French language page as they see where your ISP is registered.......... as do some of the spyware "viruses" that know your closest big town!! Ron in the Avey-ron    Report

24/03/2008, 7:51 merliauds Joined on 16/06/2007 Posts 21 Re: Ebay We have Orange/France Telecom as our internet provider, with wanadoo.fr emails, but we use Yahoo as our search engine/home page and Yahoo.co.uk email accounts. I find it useful to have more than one email account and have my wanadoo emails automatically redirected to yahoo, so they're all in one place. As far as ebay is concerned, I've had an account since I've lived here in France (3 and a half years) and have successfully bought (from small items to cars, from UK, USA, Hong Kong) and sold (from tins of foie gras to cars, to the UK, Ireland and Germany), so it can be done. Good  luck!    Report

24/03/2008, 10:50 inkflo Joined on 29/02/2008 Posts 54 Re: Ebay Many thanks to everyone for their help here. I have used the Turbo Lister UK as suggested by EBaynut and it has worked perfectly. It hasn't bounced me back to the French site at all, so I am one happy bunny! (It is Easter after all!) Lets hope I can sell something now.    Report

24/03/2008, 10:58 inkflo Joined on 29/02/2008 Posts 54 Re: Ebay While we are on the subject of E Bay & seem to have a few knowledgable folk here, can anyone tell me how they decide what to sell on E Bay UK?    Report

24/03/2008, 13:45 ebaynut Joined on 06/03/2007 Posts 128 Re: Ebay  inkflo wrote: While we are on the subject of E Bay & seem to have a few knowledgable folk here, can anyone tell me how they decide what to sell on E Bay UK? What to sell?  ....ANYTHING, but try to make sure they are light in weight - at least LESS than 2K including packaging (it really gets expensive then!). Brit buyers will alway be looking for something a bit different that is not so easily available here. If you are looking to trade, try searching French/France and see what comes up on the UK/USA sites. I think you will find that there is a market for anything French shabby chic/antique lace, mainly the sort of stuff you might find in a tourist shop. You can always search for what your competition is listing, and how much they are asking for. Always choose an item/subject that you like and know about, and which interests you. Remember, you might find you don't sell it, and have to keep it! Try looking here      Report

24/03/2008, 16:02 nectarine Joined on 02/08/2007 London & Lot-et-Garonne Posts 177 Re: Ebay  inkflo wrote: While we are on the subject of E Bay & seem to have a few knowledgable folk here, can anyone tell me how they decide what to sell on E Bay UK? Mr. Nectarine recently had a clear-out of his wardrobe (very reluctantly and with his arm pressed up against his back) and I pretty much put all of it on Ebay .... clothes (mostly gone), motorcycle gloves (he still has 12 pairs left), old film cameras .... you name it, I spent a day just listing stuff on Ebay.  The rest went to a charity shop locally. There's also a 'Wanted' section on Ebay where you can see adverts from people looking for stuff, and you can post a link to what you are selling on Ebay.  I have found a couple of buyers this way. I think if you are going to sell stuff on Ebay then HONESTY is the best policy, plus loads of photos.  Good feedback is important so buyers know to trust you, so if you are selling something with a scratch, dent, or doesn't work, then as long as you say so then the buyer isn't getting an unwelcome surprise.  Ebaynut sounds like the expert on this so anything they write, I'd listen to.  But before you throw it out, try it on Ebay.  There may be someone looking for just that thing!! If you look like your passport picture, then you probably need the holiday.    Report

24/03/2008, 16:10 Russethouse Joined on 23/08/2004 Forum Moderator Posts 9,485 Re: Ebay  Honesty is most definitely the best policy - I know a French lady whose job it is to check on internet sites to make sure they comply with French regulations and this also has sometimes involved complaints regarding eBay. The French authorities also keep an eye and if they consider you are a professional then you will have to pay business charges. www.quimperclub.org 99    Report

28/03/2008, 11:25 whigers Joined on 27/03/2008 Posts 3 Re: Ebay I agree - you should definitely give it a go. Whilst the French eBay is nowhere near as active as the UK site YET it is steadily growing and good stuff will always sell at the right price. There is no question that whilst La Poste are pretty reasonably priced for objects sent within France, Monaco and Andorra - as soon as you want to send stuff abroad it becomes way too expensive for most foreign buyers. We have both a website (www.ballesdegolf.fr) and an eBay.fr Boutique selling Lakeballs (balles-de-golf) and other related equipment and we have had to move to using a private courier for our national and international deliveries as the costs were too dissuasive with La Poste - remember if you are registered for TVA (VAT) in France then you have to add it to the postage costs (There is no TVA charged by La Poste to you so this is all extra costs) whereas private firms charge you TVA so this at least is offset. Depending on the volume of sales it might be worth considering approaching one - we use GLS Group (www.gls-groupe.eu) - they offer us next day in France and 48hr in Europe. They prices in France are very competitive (when you have to take into account TVA) and in Europe they progressively cheaper the heavier the item. We still do only a fraction of our business through EBay - but it serves as a valuable shop window and it can only get better as the numbers grow! As far as charges go - bear in mind that you will have eBay fees to pay as well as (possibly) Paypal fees too (once you have received a certain amount of money - the first few hundred is free I think). I have made a number of XL spreadsheets that allow me to see Fees, profit, TVA etc dependant on the cost, sale price etc of the object which helps from making a mistakes! Always answer questions and send thinks quickly and well packaged (another cost to consider) Good luck with your selling (and buying) Jim    Report

28/03/2008, 13:09 inkflo Joined on 29/02/2008 Posts 54 Re: Ebay Thank you for your remarks on this. I have now managed to list some items & am eagerly waiting to see if I get any response. The tip about the private courier was useful though as I have had a bad experience with parcels via the post in France. Many thanks    Report

28/03/2008, 14:13 ebaynut Joined on 06/03/2007 Posts 128 Re: Ebay  whigers wrote: As far as charges go - bear in mind that you will have eBay fees to pay as well as (possibly) Paypal fees too (once you have received a certain amount of money - the first few hundred is free I think).   Not sure that this is quite correct I'm afraid. You will always be charged if you accept Paypal (this can be greedy, because they also charge for the added shipping costs!) Paypal fees Which roughly means approx 20p (UK) per transaction, plus 4% of total amount, which includes any other total invoice costs (ie Shipping). We generally add approx 5% to item start price to cover Paypal costs, plus listing & FVF fees. Ebay listing & FVF fees Bear in mind that you are no longer permitted by Ebay to add any charges to your invoice after the sale to cover these fees (you are only allowed to add 'reasonable' shipping & packaging costs), they have to be incorporated into the initial listing price.        Report

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