Selling curriculum here

[ReidFamily]

So, I am rather new here and before I dive into the buy/sell forum here I have a few questions...

 

-I have bought and sold things (lots of things) all over the net. Ebay, craigslist, diaperswappers, etc. However, I'm new to selling curriculum. What is the going rate for used curriculum. I understand this probably varies and I'll eventually pick up the knack but what is the typical percentage from retail price? 70%, 60%, 50%?

 

-Are prices expected to be postage paid or do prices typically reflect just the cost of the curriculum and shipping is calculated based on the buyer's zipcode and calculated afterwards?

 

-Anything else I should know? I've never had a bad experience buying or selling online but I've read a few threads on this site that make me nervous about curriculum never showing up, etc.

[Night Elf]

Oh my, there doesn't seem to be a standard way. So many people, so many ways. :)

 

If the curriculum is a hot item, something you know will sell well, you can ask for a decent amount. I have always stuck to about 60% simply because I price it to sell so it doesn't hang around my house. But it's also a good idea to check out the competition because if you price yours higher than others, obviously it won't sell.

 

Always describe the item as accurately as you can, including any marks on or in books, tears on the binding, pencil erasures, etc. It's very upsetting to get something in the mail that was advertised as very good only to find out my definition of very good doesn't match the seller's definition.

 

I usually price with postage because it's not something I'm willing to haggle on, though I've had people try. They'll ask for the item at $2-$3 off my price which I'm assuming is their way of getting free postage which for some reason makes an item more appealing. That's not my type of logic though.

 

I can't think of anything else off the top of my head at the moment.

[NanceXToo]

Well, I haven't sold anything here, but I've looked to buy something specific, and I did a search on it on the for sale boards and saw what the average going rate was, so I would know about how much I'd want to spend.

 

So I'm sure you could do that for pricing yours, too...do a search on it, see what other people have sold it for/paid for it, and make it comparable.

 

I would think how you handle shipping is up to you. You could round up a bit and say that it includes pp shipping, or you can say 'plus exact shipping charges' and determine them when you know what they would be or whatever.

[fhjmom]

I haven't sold any curriculum, but I have bought a few things and I will share from my own personal buyer's perspective. I prefer to know exactly how much something is going to cost me at a glance. That means that postage is included in the list price as well as any fees for using PayPal. I also will tend to skip ads requesting that the buyer to use personal PayPal to save on fees or for the buyer to calculate and add fees to the purchase price if they want buyer protection for a PayPal purchase. I know there have been threads here stating that PayPal says it is okay for buyers to ask that in private transactions - I am not debating that - just stating what I personally am comfortable with. Many people do ask that or ask that buyer pay fees, but for me that is another hassle to figure out what I am going to have to pay above the list price so unless it is advertised for a steal, I won't bother.

 

Just my preferences!