Our Full Terms and Conditions can be viewed here. Returns within 14 days (please see our Returns page) bhf_shops unfortunately do not accept: Any payment method other than PayPal Offers and/or requests to end auctions early Collection in person (unless specified as a 'Collect in Store' listing) Exemptions or to open auctions to excluded bidders Requests to wait longer than 7 days for payment - we have an automated system bhf_shops are unfortunately unable to accept requests for: Buyers to organise their own delivery Take your home to the next level with stunning, stylish furniture and create a space that speaks to your inner designer. Whether a room needs high-end pieces from top designers to the simple furnishings you need to tie a look together, you can find everything your home needs on eBay. Enjoy sifting through the choices to track down contemporary, traditional, rustic, or modern home furniture that appeals to you, your family, and your personal design sensibilities.
Revamp your bedroom with new furniture, starting with a comfy mattress and choosing a sturdy, stylish bed to offer you a better night's sleep. Complement the relaxing style with beautifully crafted essentials such as nightstands, dressers, or antique-style wardrobes to create a getaway that exudes a calming vibe at the end of the day while remaining functional. Dress up your kids' and teens' spaces with durable, customisable contemporary furniture, from funky and versatile desks in bright colours to loft beds with futons or playhouses beneath. Throw in a few kid-friendly elements to make the room more inviting for guests, including trundle beds and oversized bean bag chairs. Bring everyone together by outfitting the family room or living area in comfortable furniture the entire clan can enjoy. From sleek suede or microfibre sofas to sturdy oak entertainment centres and modern accent tables, this space can be as attractive as it is cozy. Bring a bland dining area up to date with a pub-style dinette set and chrome and leather bar stools, or create an individual look all your own with chairs of different styles and a long table that facilitates family conversation and memory-making.
With so many choices at your fingertips, decorating is easy and fun again.Today, more than 212 million people are registered eBay users worldwide. The company, founded in September 1995, describes itself as a "global online marketplace where practically anyone can trade practically anything." The Web site first gained notoriety as a place to buy and sell collectibles — everything from rare antique toys to coins, baseball cards and other memorabilia. As the site caught on, however, people soon were buying and selling just about everything on eBay, including cars, boats, homes, furniture and construction equipment. Overall, at any given time, eBay has about 105 million listings worldwide and about six million listings are added each day with eBay users trading in more than 50,000 categories. One of the most expensive items sold on eBay to date is a private business jet for $4.9 million. It’s no wonder the company’s slogan is, "Whatever it is … you can get it on eBay." "Business & Industrial" is one of eBay’s main categories on the Web site’s home page, leading to scores of sub-categories including "Heavy Equipment & Trailers."
"It’s important to understand one thing about eBay. We don’t elect to go after a certain industry. We’re a community-driven marketplace, so the community sort of comes after us," explains Daniel Leffel, category manager, eBay Business, San Jose, Calif. "We had construction equipment listed on the site originally in an ‘other’ category. Then we created a category for it and that business started to perpetuate itself. We get a nice little bit of activity in that particular category," he says. In mid-January, for example, the "Heavy Equipment & Trailers" category had 1,551 items listed, including scissor lifts, boom lifts, backhoes, skid-steers, tires and more. Rental equipment also might fit in other categories such as the "Industrial Supply" category for forklifts and palette trucks and the "Restaurant, Food Service & Retail" category, which has bar and beverage equipment, commercial kitchen equipment, tables, chairs, chair covers, linens, dishware, flatware and more.
On the construction equipment side, Leffel says eBay is seeing an increase in the quantity of machines up for sale in addition to items with higher average selling prices. "More often, that is reflective of the type of item being sold, being more expensive. We think that has to do with people being more comfortable with the platform. An industry will take awhile to get used to a concept like this and people have quickly realized this can be a great place to dispose of rental fleets," he says. The advantage of selling used equipment like scissor lifts and walk-behind trenchers on eBay instead of through an auction service, Leffel says, is the cost. "We’ve seen a ‘sweet spot’ develop for us with equipment priced below $20,000. For eBay, to list a piece of heavy equipment, it costs $20 plus 1 percent of the sales price, if it sells, which is capped at a maximum fee of $250. Even if the piece of equipment sells for less than at a live auction, the seller can make more money because the seller doesn’t have to pay as much in commission.
The equipment can remain in the fleet and out on rent while you try to sell it, which you can’t do with a piece that’s part of a live auction," he says. Leffel says it is difficult to compare eBay to other methods of selling used equipment because of different fee structures and available services. "With us, the seller does the work to market the item. We only provide the buyers that the seller can market the item to. With a live auction company, you drop off the equipment and you’re done," he says. While eBay’s "Business & Industrial" category has grown to account for an estimated $1.9 billion worth of transactions each year, the live auction business also has grown substantially (see story on page 88). In addition to tools and construction equipment, Leffel points out rental businesses could use eBay to sell other things. "Every business has assets sitting around that are not working for them. This can be an old phone system stored in the closet or old computers and eBay can be the venue to turn those assets into cash," he says.
By taking a small percentage of any sale as its fee, eBay has turned into a multi-billion-dollar corporation. The company’s campus in San Jose, Calif., has several buildings, each dedicated to categories such as jewelry, collectibles, toys, music, sports and business. For eBay Business, Leffel says the buyer expectations are different and the company does try to help people wanting to list construction equipment for sale better understand how to sell using eBay. "Anybody can put anything up for sale on eBay, but there is a difference between doing it and doing it well. There is a learning curve and we allow people to have one-on-one phone consultations with representatives who are here to help people get started on eBay," he says. "This is a service for businesses. , there is a ‘help’ section and a way to schedule an appointment to talk on the phone with someone to help get you started," he says. To buy an item on eBay, users register for free, search the site for items and make bids to buy things.
Auctions are timed and when the sale closes, the highest bidder wins the right to buy the item and works with the seller to complete purchase and delivery. Buying equipment on eBay does have its risks, but Leffel says there are safeguards for buyers. "If someone has bought something across state lines before, they know there are certain safeguards for doing that. You have to ask, ‘Is this a reputable company I am doing business with?’ and ‘Can I have an inspection done on the equipment?’ At eBay, we have a great track record when you ‘play in our parking lot.’ People have a lot more problems when they go outside of eBay and make the deal an off-eBay transaction," he says. One key safeguard for eBay transactions, Leffel says, is that feedback occurs, allowing buyers and sellers to rate each other. "The feedback becomes your identity and it is important if you are a professional seller to maintain a good feedback. You have the ultimate incentive to make sure you play by the rules.
If you do not play by the rules one time, negative feedback will make it harder to do business in the future," he says. Each item listed on eBay includes a section called "Meet the Seller" and includes the seller’s eBay identity, the percentage of positive feedback and how long the seller has been a member of eBay. There also are links to read feedback comments, ask the seller a question, view other items the seller has for sale or to visit the seller’s online "store," if the seller has one. For certain categories, such as heavy construction equipment, eBay also offers a business equipment purchase protection program. This program covers buyers for up to $20,000 worth of fraud or material misrepresentation. "If you buy a track loader on eBay and the loader has a faulty hydraulic system that wasn’t disclosed, eBay will step in and help the buyer for up to $20,000. Certainly you could run up a bill much larger than that in a bad case, but at least we offer some padding.
Most of the classes of equipment rental businesses would be selling would most likely be under that $20,000 level," he says. "We also have a trust and safety department that has a number of measures in place to try to identify items that are inappropriate and shouldn’t be on the site. We don’t talk about the exact details, but there are measures in place. The thing is, if you’ve stolen a piece of equipment, eBay would be the worst place to sell it. You’ve just broadcast to the world that you have it and you’ve made it searchable. The incidents of stolen equipment have been surprisingly low considering the vast amount of equipment exchanging hands through eBay," he says. Right now, he says, eBay is most concerned about making the site work better for users. "When the site grows so substantially, year over year, just the sheer number of items changes the paradigm by which the site has to work to deliver results for users. We do have to make the site better to use for buying and selling items for your business," he says.
"How do you sift through what’s available? When a category has 20 items, that’s easy. When it grows to 4,000 or more, you have to think of different ways to surface what the buyers want. You have to know what they want based upon sometimes rather obscure search queries or actions the users will engage in. We have to be smarter as a company in serving more relevant options for buyers," he explains. Buying a $20,000 piece of equipment also is different from paying $75 or $100 for a collectible item. Some sellers will accept credit cards, ask buyers to use an online payment service like PayPal, request a cashier’s check or only send the item to a buyer after a personal check clears. "The eBay site is designed to be a platform about figuring out what the price is going to be. We leave almost all of the details of the transaction up to the buyer and seller. The seller, before he lists something, will specify how he is comfortable doing business and the buyers decide whether or not they want do business with that seller based on those business practices.