Glyde vs. Half.com
If you're like me, you probably have DVDs, CDs, games or books laying around the house that you don't want or need anymore. For the past few years, I've been using Half.com as a way to pare down my media collection. A few days ago, I mentioned in a tweet that I had become a fan of a new service called Glyde. Today, @wildeep asked me what the differences were.
Why switch to Glyde? I think it's best explained by this quote from their about page:
"It's as easy as throwing away"
Unlike Half.com, Glyde provides postage-prepaid, padded mailers to ship your items. Simply search for a product to sell, select a condition, and then set your own price. Glyde even tells you if your item will be the first to sell at that price:
Cost of Selling:
Glyde's fees are slightly less than Half.com, and remember the mailers, postage and delivery confirmation are included.
For a typical game or DVD, Glyde charges:
- $1.25 for the padded mailer
- 10% of the sale price
Simple, right?
For the same DVD on Half.com, you would be charged:
- 15% of the sale price (for items under $50)
plus your own costs for shipping & supplies:
- ~$0.18 for a padded mailer (I used to get mine from eSupplystore)
- ~$1.90-$2.24 for First Class mail postage (cheaper & faster than Media Mail for DVDs/games)
- $0.80 for Delivery Confirmation (optional, but a good idea if you don't want to gamble -- more on that later)
- minor cost of printing labels, etc.
- $2.39 for DVDs, $2.89 for games
Glyde can be a bit less expensive, but it's a lot less hassle & work.
Transaction Policies:
I consider Glyde's policies to be more fair for both buyers & sellers. For example: if an item doesn't arrive, but is confirmed as being shipped, the buyer and seller split the loss. On Half.com, the seller would be 100% responsible. Unsavory buyers could claim to never have received an item, and if you didn't purchase Delivery Confirmation, you'd be required to refund the money.
Buyers on Glyde are protected by a return policy; if an item is not as described, they can elect to return it for a refund. Return shipping costs are split with the seller.
As for timely delivery, when someone buys your item, Glyde automatically ships you a prepaid mailer. You agree to ship your item within 24 hours of receiving the mailer. Simple.
Get Paid:
Glyde allows you to withdraw your sales proceeds anytime via direct deposit (withdrawals must be at least $10).
Half.com automatically deposits your proceeds twice a month (15th and 30th of the month). Add to that an all-too-common 'processing' delay and you may have to wait 3 weeks before receiving the proceeds of a Half.com sale.
So Simple:
That brings us back to the best reason to switch to Glyde: it's so much easier. No need to print labels. No need to calculate postage or use the APC. No manually entering delivery confirmation numbers or marking items as shipped. Glyde handles all the mundane tasks for you.
I'm not alone in hopping on the Glyde bandwagon. Check out these posts from Kotaku: [Part 1, Part 2].
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