eBay sellers leaving in droves

[tomsaiditagain]

but the media will not tell you that.

I have been an eBay seller for 2 years and have seen the eBay ship fill with water as it slowly slips into the abyss of nothingness for the average collector/seller. Big Box stores are where its at with the big heads up in them plush offices out in Cali. Larger purses come filled with cash, vs the smaller purses filled with spare change all in comparison to the large money corporations.

Why mess around with sellers of garage sale trinkets and vintage baseball cards from yesteryear when larger money is there for the grubbing.

In November of 2014 I made a profit of $1500. In February of 2015 I made a profit of $37.

The views of my items went to nonexistent. eBay customer service does not know what to say, except: "we are looking into the problem."

Thousands of small sellers have left and continue to do so. eBay has stopped free listing promotions. Free re-listings are a thing of the past. Things like rules made for the buyer. The buyer does not like an item, the buyer can return it free of charge and get a full refund within 6 months time with hardly a question asked. You wreck the item within 6 months, file a damage claim with eBay.

I made lots of sideline money on FEEBAY but all good things must come to an end. Especially when it is a money grubbing operation.

[Fumesucker]

1. Business is always a moving target

"Change is the only constant in life." -Heraclitus (535 BC – 475 BC)

Etsy is now allowing cheap imported goods to be sold as handmade by the seller.

[still_one]

2. What you say may be true, and I don't sell that much, but I have had no problem with what you say.

In fact I just sold a phone, received payment into my paypal account, it was on hold for a few days, then the money was released to my checking account.

The biggest problem I see with a lot of prices on Ebay is they are asking too much. They are competing with Amazon and other online merchants, and need to be competitively priced if they want to sell on Ebay.

Also, those trinkets and vintage baseball cards definitely have a market. It all depends on timing

[Dr Hobbitstein]

3. I buy and sell on eBay all the time.

I deal in vintage guitar/music gear and vintage electronics. There are more sellers now than before.

Are you selling old baseball cards and garage sale trinkets? Or are you selling things that have some sort of demand?

[GP6971]

17. I've only bought on eBay and recently

I've noticed the same sellers over and over. Up to a couple of years ago, it seemed there were many more private sellers......today not so much.

[hollysmom]

5. I quit years ago

I used to make a tidy sum there, but with the escalating fees and demands on the sellers, I am out. don't need the hassle. I have something to sell right now, but would rather donate it. Such a shame since I have so much stuff I am trying to get rid of so I can sell my house.
On the other hand, I am terrified of Craig's list.

[wordpix]

11. "I am terrified of Craig's list" - why?

I understand you may get a wacko thief coming to your house ostensibly to look at a desk or couch, but taking a few precautions like screening people by phone before they arrive should solve that problem. Also, if you're paranoid, be sure to have another person with you when the potential buyer shows up. And don't sell anything that can easily be ripped off, like valuable jewelry.

I've experienced only good people through Craigslist and in fact, I met a good friend-for-life there. He arrived for a rototilling job and we hit it off.

[hollysmom]

13. I am 70 and I live alone. Don't want strangers at my house.

[SoCalDem]

18. I sold twleve new-ish shirts when my husband retired

They were great shirts. It was my first and only sale.. I had no idea what to charge for postage and had no idea about all the fees/ I ended up making about 75 cents a shirt..
Even though we can no longer itemize (too poor these days), I prefer to donate to the Lighthouse for the Blind..

Garage sales suck..

and I am not savvy enough to sell on ebay.. I do buy stuff though..and grumble about the high postage..

[golfguru]

20. I understand you!

I stopped selling on eBay because of ridiculous fees.
With Craigslist, make sure you ask for buyer's phone number.
Otherwise do not meet with the buyer.
If buyer is coming to your home, ask for full name & address.
And never accept checks.....Cash only.
I sold 2 cars through Craigslist, each for over $4500 in cash.
Met the buyers at his/her bank.

[hollysmom]

21. I am in the phone book, so people can find me by name, I don't know how to turn my cell phone to

anonymous and if I did, my friends would stop taking my calls. So the second I talk to anyone on the phone, they know where I live.

[golfguru]

22. OK, here is how I work with Craigslist:

(1) Place Ad saying please respond with your phone number.

(2) Verify the phone number given. Many search sites will provide
address, relatives, age etc of the person.

(3) If it looks good so far, I call them on phone. Unless I am selling
a $5000 diamond ring or other such very pricey item, I am not going
to worry if they can find my home address. Everyone knows my home
address from the phone book.

(4) If the buyer is coming to my home, I make sure there are others
in the house.

(5) For anything over $100, I will meet them in a bank.

[hollysmom]

23. are you a 70 year old woman who lives alone near some high crime areas?

Edited to add : with louy typing skills, heh

[FreakinDJ]

6. Ebay - you mean the" Ali Baba Outlet Store"

Used to be good but is totally worthless now

[msongs]

7. ebay and etsy have been taken over by cheap junk from China Inc nt

[Tansy_Gold]

8. And all too sadly. . . .

. . . what people want to buy is cheap junk from China.

[wordpix]

12. true ^^^^^^

[Tansy_Gold]

14. Etsy has taken initial steps to file for IPO

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/04/hand-knit-shipping-labels_n_6803952.html

Etsy, the online seller of hand-knit beard warmers, vintage Madras sportcoats and everything in between, filed for a $100 million initial public offering on Wednesday evening.

The precise details of the transaction are subjection to revision and addition, but the basic outline of the Brooklyn-based company's financial details and strategy are unlikely to change much, if at all. Etsy generated $195.6 million in revenue last year, up 56.4 percent from 2013, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The details also show that as Etsy begins the process of going public, the company is in transition: It's making less and less money selling things to customers and more and more money selling services to sellers.


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As always, the "comments" section is highly informative.

[golfguru]

9. eBay has provided me great service as a seller

When I hit a few bad golf shots, I always blame it on the clubs!
It can't be me! So I list my badly behaving club for sale on eBAY at an attractive price, and it always gets sold! The buyer pays me via Paypal, and the funds received are immediately available for my use since I have 100% satisfaction rating from buyers. Then I ship it via USPS Priority mail.

During the last 10 years I must have sold over 150 golf clubs, some in a bunch as iron sets. Then I buy some other clubs on eBay using the funds received and adding my own as necessary. Hope springs eternal in my golf abilities. One of these days I will stumble on a magical set of golf clubs which will cure all my bad shots!

In the old days, before eBay, it was nearly impossible to sell my used clubs. Some stores would accept my used clubs for trade-in but they paid a pittance. On eBay I get a much better price.

So, all in all, eBay has been very useful to me.

[Fuddnik]

16. My swing is not worth a shit. Could I sell it there and buy a new one?

Actually, I've only used e-bay a couple of times. Last year I got a great deal on a new set of Rocket Bladez, and an R-1 driver.

And, I sold a watch, and got a really good price, more than I expected.

I haven't seen many good deals on there lately (looking for a kayak), and I may sell a few things. I don't particularly trust Craigslist

[wordpix]

10. I'll tell you one problem: fewer auctions on items

nowadays you can hardly find an auction and if you can, the minimum bid price is often so high people won't bid, myself included. After searching for a certain vintage item for months and encountering this problem, I found the item at a 2nd hand store for a good price. It was easy and didn't involve months of online searching.

[golfguru]

15. Sellers have figured you out!

Those low starting auction prices can be the final selling price because of lack of higher bids. That is a net loss for the seller.

That is the reason my listings are always "buy now" variety,
at a very reasonable price, and get sold 95% of the time.

[olddad56]

19. I stopped selling on Ebay when wrong advice from an Ebay rep on a dispute cost me $1500.

I will never sell on Ebay again. Doubtful I would ever buy either. Fuck Ebay.