Ricardo sale of camera equipment I was tracking ended up on Tutti, private seller with over 100 cameras and lenses ...... mark up was 30% on Ricardo sale price.
The Tutti profile carries SFr10,000 stock but has no balls to register as a business, so buyer protections must be zero.
I sold mine on Ebay to a photographer in Russia, after fees got more than both Ricardo and the still for sale item on Tutti. All was good, you just have to get your postage right for Ebay in advance.
Just depends on what you are selling, the OP strategy is a good one and thanks for informing about Ricardo/Tutti ownership ....
Swiss local ..... post is hassle
Disagree, there are profi sellers using sourcing from Ricardo and listing for free on Tutti, one I know has two profiles and pretends to be his wife .... and they are both Swiss in the Basel area. Fun happens when "he" sends you an email as "the wife" because of a problem and wants a discount.... advised her I would collect it back and give "him" his money back .... he/she backed down ...
We've bought almost all of our furniture off Tutti, and have fantastic experiences with it. Lots of "like new" stuff at 10%-20% of new cost. When people move to a smaller flat they can be a bit desperate to sell bigger pieces. Just be sure to ask if it comes from a smoke-free household if that's important to you.
Ricardo was unable to help us when we had a no show, after the bidding had closed. The buyer simply changed his mind, and we lost a couple of thousand Swiss Francs. Ricardo did waive our fees, though.
With Tutti, it is possible to have direct contact with buyer and seller. The seller has the option of posting a phone number. A potential buyer can email. As a buyer one can go and look at an item without the risk of someone buying it outright while you are on your way as can happen with Ricardo.
With Tutti you can look without the obligation of buying if it doesn't meet with your expectations and you can negotiate a price on the spot. With Ricardo you can refuse the item if you see it in person and it is not as described but this is a hassle.
I have sold many items through Tutti. I will ship anything that can be shipped, and I find that makes a big difference. I will also deliver items if nearby. For shipping I usually add a requirement for a signature since items are paid for in advance and I want to be sure they arrive.
Personally I don't pay very much attention to the Ricardo reputation system unless someone has consistently negative reviews. That is a bit worrying.
Of course no matter where you advertise you will have no shows and rude people. At the same time I have met some very nice people through ads I have placed.
Have you checked to see what similar items are being advertised for on the sites? Sometimes it works to sell things for just a little less than you'd like and then actually sell them, rather than the items getting views but no offers to buy. See how many other similiar items are for sale. If there are loads of the same thing then it can take a while, and you need to make yours more appealing. If I've something that's been up for a week and not sold, I'll remove it and then readvertise a few weeks later.
More often than not these items sell better than when I've just bumped the item. Good luck.
Make your photos very pleasing and super-clear to understand. Avoid distracting backgrounds or foregrounds. Upload as many photos as you are allowed to do. Check that they are facing the right way up.
Name or describe the materials.
e.g. solid pine wood with shiny metal legs
Note any defects clearly, and include a photo of them.
e.g. small scratch on the inside of the lid - see photo
Add all the measurements, including irregular ones.
For a sofa, for example:
total length including armrests
length of seating surface
total height including backrest
height of seating surface. etc.
It can help to photograph a standard-sized object with the item you're selling, e.g. a matchbox, a tennisball or a 30cm ruler.
Specify whether the item can be dismantled for transport.
Or: "on 3rd floor, but there is a lift".
If your home is smoke-free and animal-free, specify that.
So you were able to sell your stuff by posting the ads in English and replying in English while buyers would contact you in German? I recently started using tutti.ch, and was wondering whether I had no replies because I posted in English or because I was too ambitious by asking for 50% of the original price for nearly unused furniture!
Thanks for your reply! What would you suggest is an ok price for second-hand furniture then? I have never had to sell any before and I thought to start with 50% of the original price for furniture that really has been more decoration than anything else or that I bought but never used and stored in my basement. I was actually was wondering what would be an OK price (i.e. as a percent of the original price) for furniture that has really been used such as a bed and closet.
It's free market, competition shapes the prices - look at the prices in your competitor ads and current bids and/or historic auction prices on ricardo via google search. Some furniture items might be desirable and might fetch a high enough price but generally second hand furniture is pretty illiquid and hard to sell. It might happen that even if you offer it for free noone could still want it - transport and recycling themselves cost money and time
Due to a move, we were selling lots of furnitures and other small items. I posted on couple of places and almost all of them got sold through tutti. I also bought small items through tutti. It was really easy to use. Btw I posted all in German.
I actually managed to sell several items, received most of the replies for the items posted in German. It seems that luck plays a big role: even if the what I thought was a "fair" price did not match the "market price" there might be someone living closeby that might just need what you are offering. This happened several times to me, so I would recommend starting with what you think is a fair price if you are not in a rush to sell.
I personally wouldn‘t pay more than 25% for used furniture. That said, it hasn‘t stopped me from selling furniture on Ricardo for 60% of it‘s new price after half a decade of usage.