When you are selling and someone wants to "try".

[tautologies]

eBay. $1 with no reserve is great when you value your time and want it gone. If two people bid, you know you get a true market price.

Hmm, good point. I just think ebay takes off a lot on the top. Might be worth it.

[Clarencephil]

I agree with with the ones who say no way.

Too many possible problems and hassles.
I also ride motorcycles and I would never dream letting a potential purchaser go for a test drive on my bike

[tautologies]

Clearance funny you should say that. I saw a guy let a potential buyer test his bike and when she came back the bike tipped over and broke the steering. A great example.

Thanks guys

[FabsPH]

if you (seller) are there for the buyer to try it, why not...but, if the potential buyer crashes the kite (hard), I would call it: you break it you bought it.
If my kite was never crashed and then it did during a test flight, I don't want it anymore.
seems fair

[plummet]

Depends how keen you are. By the sound of it your not.

I cant be bothered these days either. I just sell my kites online. Guys either buy them or they don't.....

[Eurus]

Hell no you don't let him "try" the kite. Actually...you should meet him and punch him in his ear for making such a suggestion. : )

[Bille]

...

I actually stopped listing anything on craigslist because there are SO MANY IDIOTS who just want to waste your time, or barely speak english, or ...

dyyylan -- Not everyone who shops for a deal on craigslist, is a Goof-ball ; i listed
a 24ft pontoon boat for $3.5-k, and had the money in my hand in 4 hours. 4.1 hours
after listing it, i took down the add !!

Hell no you don't let him "try" the kite. Actually...you should meet him and punch him in his ear for making such a suggestion. : )

This is a Cold Reality ; i Totally Agree, and here's why :
That guy is asking you to accept the risk and liability for His performance on the
water with YOUR kite ; if He screws up, you Can and most probably Will, "Get Sued" !!

It's Sad, that people now-days are That way ; i wouldn't lend My kite to anyone , that
i didn't know and Respected (.)

Bille

[SalmonSlayer]

eBay. $1 with no reserve is great when you value your time and want it gone. If two people bid, you know you get a true market price.

Here are some lessons I learned from my EBay experiences.

Sell a kite and bar separately. You will reach a larger audience. Some may want just a bar and some may just want a kite. Only a subset of potential buyers will want both.

On each post, always mention the other items you have for sale. Offer free shipping on the bar if they buy both. It is the same cost to ship a kite and bar as it cost to ship a kite (USPS). This will allow the bidder to be willing to pay a little bit more for the bar if they don’t have to absorb the ~$15 cost of shipping. Also, try to offer discounted shipping for other gear combo purchases.

Include pictures of any damage/repairs with honest descriptions. It is very important to gain the trust of bidders so they will not hold back $$ due to uncertainty about the product they will receive. Take pictures of the wear points on the tips and front and rear attachment points. Close-up pics of anywhere that is a known wear point will give bidders a feel for the overall condition of the kite. ALWAYS pump up the kite to take pics and verify it does not leak and make sure you mention that it does not leak in the description. Fix any leaks or you will be accepting a deeply reduced high bid when you disclose the leak. Don’t forget a picture of the bag with the kite in it and a sentence describing the bags condition. Also include any accessories such as patch kits, manuals, stickers....

Don't be greedy. Don't be afraid to let the market work. Skip starting at $1 and putting in a reserve price. Reserve prices are a joke. Just start with the lowest price you are willing to accept, before you would rather keep the gear. If your starting price is too high, you will not show up in a bidders search, depending on the search parameters. It is the equivalent if hiding from customers. If you are not sure how to price your kite, gain some confidence by watching bids for a couple of weeks first.

You might like the "Buy it Now" feature. You can set a starting price low, but also set a price that someone can buy the item immediately at a price you are willing to accept. I like this feature because sometimes you find a buyer that will take the "buy it now" price to guarantee he will not be outbid.

Instead of reinventing the wheel with your kite description, find a similar piece of gear already posted on EBay, copy it and modify to your needs. After an honest description of the gear, add or link the manufactures description. If you can link product reviews, include that link too.

When posting gear for auction, pay attention to when the auction closes. You don’t want it to close on super Bowl Sunday or any other day when people will probably not be watching their bid as close. If they are sitting at their computer they are more likely to rationalize raising their bid. I am very guilty of this. I recommend ending your auction at 6PM PDT. This will give you maximum exposure to the after work, but not asleep time slot from the east to west coast.

I recommend only shipping in the lower 48 with a flat rate (if you live n the continental US). You can adjust your settings, so bidders outside the US cannot bid on your auction. In the product description, I always state "AK and HI extra. No shipping outside the US". I did not have the settings correct in my profile and had 2 Russian bidders than kept screwing up my auction. Use the slow USPS ground (please chime in if you know a less expensive way to ship). Charge ~$25 for a kite. You may eat a couple of $$ once in a while, so what!!

It is a "buyers beware" world, but if you are going to sell old gear that is not good for beginners, I think you are ethically bound to add something similar to the following. "If you are a beginner, stop here. This is not the kite for you. This kite is only for bidders that know exactly what they are buying. Bidders should be experienced Kite borders only". I have seen many deceptive "good for a beginner" descriptions for old kites on EBay and Craig s list. Life it too short and your integrity is too precious to spend time taking advantage of peoples trusting nature.

You can get boxes at Lowes or Home Depot for less than $2. Box size matters more than weight when shipping USPS. Pack a kite in the smallest box possible. You can fit more in a small space if you remove the kite from the bag to ship.

That is all I can recall for now

[matth]

eBay. $1 with no reserve is great when you value your time and want it gone. If two people bid, you know you get a true market price.

Here are some lessons I learned from my EBay experiences.

Sell a kite and bar separately. You will reach a larger audience. Some may want just a bar and some may just want a kite. Only a subset of potential buyers will want both.

On each post, always mention the other items you have for sale. Offer free shipping on the bar if they buy both. It is the same cost to ship a kite and bar as it cost to ship a kite (USPS). This will allow the bidder to be willing to pay a little bit more for the bar if they don’t have to absorb the ~$15 cost of shipping. Also, try to offer discounted shipping for other gear combo purchases.

Include pictures of any damage/repairs with honest descriptions. It is very important to gain the trust of bidders so they will not hold back $$ due to uncertainty about the product they will receive. Take pictures of the wear points on the tips and front and rear attachment points. Close-up pics of anywhere that is a known wear point will give bidders a feel for the overall condition of the kite. ALWAYS pump up the kite to take pics and verify it does not leak and make sure you mention that it does not leak in the description. Fix any leaks or you will be accepting a deeply reduced high bid when you disclose the leak. Don’t forget a picture of the bag with the kite in it and a sentence describing the bags condition. Also include any accessories such as patch kits, manuals, stickers....

Don't be greedy. Don't be afraid to let the market work. Skip starting at $1 and putting in a reserve price. Reserve prices are a joke. Just start with the lowest price you are willing to accept, before you would rather keep the gear. If your starting price is too high, you will not show up in a bidders search, depending on the search parameters. It is the equivalent if hiding from customers. If you are not sure how to price your kite, gain some confidence by watching bids for a couple of weeks first.

You might like the "Buy it Now" feature. You can set a starting price low, but also set a price that someone can buy the item immediately at a price you are willing to accept. I like this feature because sometimes you find a buyer that will take the "buy it now" price to guarantee he will not be outbid.

Instead of reinventing the wheel with your kite description, find a similar piece of gear already posted on EBay, copy it and modify to your needs. After an honest description of the gear, add or link the manufactures description. If you can link product reviews, include that link too.

When posting gear for auction, pay attention to when the auction closes. You don’t want it to close on super Bowl Sunday or any other day when people will probably not be watching their bid as close. If they are sitting at their computer they are more likely to rationalize raising their bid. I am very guilty of this. I recommend ending your auction at 6PM PDT. This will give you maximum exposure to the after work, but not asleep time slot from the east to west coast.

I recommend only shipping in the lower 48 with a flat rate (if you live n the continental US). You can adjust your settings, so bidders outside the US cannot bid on your auction. In the product description, I always state "AK and HI extra. No shipping outside the US". I did not have the settings correct in my profile and had 2 Russian bidders than kept screwing up my auction. Use the slow USPS ground (please chime in if you know a less expensive way to ship). Charge ~$25 for a kite. You may eat a couple of $$ once in a while, so what!!

It is a "buyers beware" world, but if you are going to sell old gear that is not good for beginners, I think you are ethically bound to add something similar to the following. "If you are a beginner, stop here. This is not the kite for you. This kite is only for bidders that know exactly what they are buying. Bidders should be experienced Kite borders only". I have seen many deceptive "good for a beginner" descriptions for old kites on EBay and Craig s list. Life it too short and your integrity is too precious to spend time taking advantage of peoples trusting nature.

You can get boxes at Lowes or Home Depot for less than $2. Box size matters more than weight when shipping USPS. Pack a kite in the smallest box possible. You can fit more in a small space if you remove the kite from the bag to ship.

That is all I can recall for now

Good advive.....Two tips I would add, open a paypal account, and download the ebay app to your smartphone. Paypal is the best and safest way to transfer money, it also gives your buyer some protection, and the ability to pay with CC, Only negative is you may have to wait a few weeks for paypal to clear payment. You can avoid this by providing baking info.
Ebay app streamlines the ebay process and is stupid easy to use. Just snap photos with phone , add description , set price and wait for the sale. I never use the main site anymore , too much clutter and confusion.

[sijandy]

Hey so I am selling a kite, and this person just wants to try it. I am leaning towards nope because I really don't have time to wait for it these days. It is fair deal to pump it up and see that the kite is okay, but for me to go to the place, then wait for them to try and see if the kite is a good fit makes little sense.

I have no problem letting people having a go on a kite of mine if I am there, but spending hours selling a kite for cheap makes little sense to me.

What are your stance on it?

F**k that! I get pissed off when they keep messaging stupid questions let alone wanting to see it and actually fly it. All you need to know is what it is and how much!