What happens when the listings end?
What happens when the listings end?
What's coming up
Antonio has listed some of his unwanted items for auction at the online marketplace eBay. In this activity, you’ll learn what happens when the listing period has finished.
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How did the auctions go?
Seven days have passed, and Antonio’s listings are finished. Some of his items have sold, and some haven’t. There was a lot of interest in his model train engine, which received many bids and sold successfully, but the lamp did not receive any interest at all.
What to do with that lamp?
Antonio decides to re-list the lamp for another week and adds some new photos to the listing to make it look more appealing. He also lowers the starting bid for the auction to help attract more buyers.
What next for the model train engine?
Antonio receives an email from eBay saying his model train engine has sold but not to arrange delivery until payment is received. The email has the buyer's contact details, so he emails them to get a delivery address. The buyer has four days to pay Antonio, but in the meantime, eBay sends an email reminder to the buyer that it’s time to pay. Antonio can issue an invoice if he wishes, but decides to do that only if the buyer hasn’t paid after the four days.
You've been paid!
When payment is received, eBay send another email confirming payment and reminding Antonio that it’s time to post the item. Because he chose to be paid via PayPal, Antonio will also receive a receipt from PayPal confirming the payment.
Checking the payment
Antonio checks his PayPal account to confirm that payment is received. The amount will have PayPal and eBay fees deducted, so will be a little less than the sale price of the item.
Sending the model train engine
Now that Antonio has been paid, he carefully packages and posts the model train engine to the buyer. He wants to get good feedback, so he makes sure he sends the item within the two-day timeframe specified in his listing.
eSafety Tip
Antonio knows that, even if the buyer lives close by, it’s safest to post the item he sold, and not meet the buyer in person. If it were necessary for them to meet, Antonio should arrange it to take place in a public place in the daytime and he should take a friend or family member with him.
Ratings and feedback
The buyer leaves Antonio positive feedback, so if he wants to sell more items, other people can know he’s trustworthy. Because the buyer paid promptly, Antonio leaves positive feedback for the them too.
That lamp still won't sell
Antonio’s lamp still hasn’t sold. He accepts that no-one wants it and takes it to council’s electrical recycling depot. He doesn’t make any money, but at least he doesn’t have to move it to his new home.
Well done!
Congratulations, you’ve reached the end of the What happens when the listings end? activity. You should now know what to do when an item sells successfully at auction, and when it doesn’t.
Next up, if you have registered and are logged into the Be Connected website, you'll now be able to take a short quiz to finish the Selling on eBay: case study course. If you're not registered, you are now at the end of the course.