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I sold a TFT on eBay last night. An old 15-inch Samsung I bought  almost 3 years ago. I always start my auctions very very low; a measly 99p.  Why? Because it’s a sure-fire way of getting a lot of people’s attention.  It doesn’t work 100% of the time, but enough for me to continue this trend of auction-listing.

The TFT weighed in 7.5kg including the cables, manuals and box.  Royal Mail charges £18.50 for Next Day Special Delivery. Bloody expensive.  But the £500 compensation gives me a peace of mind should it ever get damaged whilest in their possession. I shopped around.  The next cheapest option would be with Parcel Force 48 at £17.35 with £200 compensation.  Just over a pound in difference and what, you have to wait a whole day?  Oh well, a pound is a pound, so I stuck the 2nd option in my listing.

But still, £17.35 is BLOODY expensive. Heck I won’t pay that amount of money for delivery even if it was a 99p 17-inch TFT. Who in their right mind would? Answer: eBay punters.  You’ll be surprised to find how many people are willing to part with their money in order to get what they want.

So I listed my TFT on eBay for 99p for seven days. No reserve. It’s a big risk but I was confident it would fetch a high bid.  I really needed to get rid of it anyway, so why not experiment?  On top of the delivery charges, I added £6.49 for handling making it a total of £24.99 for delivery.  I thought if I was going to sell a 15“ TFT for a mere 99p, I should at least try and make the trip to the post office, carrying a 7.5Kg’s worth of electronics more worthwhile.

A whole day passed: No bidders. Nobody watching. Bah.

Two days passed: Come on, it’s a 99p TFT! Where’s everybody?

Three days passed:  Finally a bidder!

Five days passed: What? No more bids? Come on!

An potential buyer contact me if I would allow him to collect in person. What? For 99p? I didn’t think so.  I told him if it fetches over £50, then I might consider it. He said he understood and left me his number.

One day left to go: Three people are watching. No additional bids.

Three hours left to go: Highest bidder at £24. Twelve watching. Now we’re talking.

One hour left to go: Highest bidder at £40. I’m sure it can do better!

Fifteen minutes left to go: £46. Come on! Just a little bit more!

Twenty seconds left to go: £56.01. Yay!

It was the earlier guy who contacted me earlier. Looks like he’ll be coming over to pick it up.  There goes my handling fee.

Auction ended at £56.01.

Considering the value of a brand new 15-inch TFT today is about £90, I’d say that’s not too bad.