The small people pay more...............
I am really frustrated......once upon a time you list it ....people view it a lot ...then it sells..........
now it's PAY TO GET MORE VIEWS........THIS ISN'T A CABLE TV BOXING MATCH ..........or is it??????...........
selling small items on Ebay doesn't make THEM money............so they make you pay more........
But sure if you want to sell a BIG MONEY ITEM........IT GETS VIEWED BECAUSE EBAY KNOWS THEY GET A GOOD CHUNK FROM A HIGH VALUE ITEM...........
To me this is TOTAL CRAP......some people are here because they aren't well off and really need some money to help get by in the real world..........
I'm sure I'm saying what a lot of other hard luck sellers are seeing and feeling........ 🙂
chapeau-noir
·1 year ago.THIS ISN'T A CABLE TV BOXING MATCH ..........or is it??????...........
Sloppy bar fight.
hartungcards
·1 year ago"Sloppy bar fight."
You mean like this?
bennotbill
·1 year agoIt's usually the tall people that pay more especially when it comes to clothing.
gloryglorygifts
·1 year agoI'm horizontally and vertically challenged, so I pay more for clothing too! 😂
ryry-jj
·1 year agoEbay doesn't owe anybody the right to make money....sellers have to figure that out on their own. And yes, its difficult, especially on a platform where lower prices benefit buyers, and eBay wants buyers more than they want sellers. I've never seen or heard any ad trying to attack more sellers to the platform, but I've heard plenty to attract buyers.
eBay is no different than any other other commerce. Have you ever seen a commercial on TV that is looking for distributors? From the point of view of sellers, it is a boxing match, a dog-eat-dog environment....every day is just another pie fight!
meme6253
·1 year agoI agree it has become more difficult to sell, Anything $10 & under just is not worth the time & energy, But you can still make some money on items priced higher than that, But you need to have a lot of listings, I use PL's only because I am in a saturated category of mainly collectibles, But I never go above 3%, Hard to say if it really helps or not?, I keep plugging along, Best of luck to you.
soh.maryl
·1 year agoIMHO, anything $10 and under has never been worth the time and energy. And I'd currently raise that to $20.
reallynicestamps
·1 year agoI find that while about 25% of my (collectible) products are Promoted at 2%, only about 5% of my Sold products are Promoted.
But PL definitlely brings in Views.
My suspicion is that the PL items are found in Search, Viewed, rejected ->BUT the customer goes on to browse my Store (there is a link my every Description) and buys something else,
So I get the advertising but only pay for it on the few PL items that actually sell.
YMMV
mam98031
·1 year agoDo you realize there are a whole lot of sellers of items under $10 that are successful sellers. They would certainly disagree with you.
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year agoA lot depends on how efficient you are and how much you pay for your inventory, so obviously there is no general rule.
My personal rule is I have to make at least $5 per item to justify listing.
When I get going, I can create up to 50 listings in an hour.
I have inventory and packaging materials which make packing quick. Almost everything goes in a stay flat mailer. Almost everything is shipping Ground Advantage. Almost everything goes into the USPS dropoff in my lobby.
My COGS is almost zero, I have bought in large lots, and paid back the cost of the lots years ago.
Does my situation apply to everyone else - highly unlikely. Does it apply to any one else - also unlikely.
At any time only a fraction of my inventory is listed on Ebay, and I list more when I feel motivated. I suspect it would take over a dozen years for most of my listed items to sell, if they sell at all. If I need a boost in sales, I can list a lot more. But I will only select inventory which meet my criteria listed above.
mam98031
·1 year agoI was simply commenting to a blanket statement by @meme6253 . Blanket statements are rarely true.
I'm glad you found a method that works well for you. That is what each seller should do. Develop a policy / method that works for them. It doesn't matter if it works for others, do what is best for you within the rules of Ebay.
fbusoni
·1 year agoI recall something that you wrote, maybe eight or nine weeks ago, in which you said (and I paraphrase): “I could lower all my prices to five dollars per item, and then I’d sell a million.â€
And I replied, “then you’d make $5 million.â€
oopsbegone
·1 year agoI Agree 100%. And it's worse than that because the search engine is so convoluted now that you don't find what you are actually after, instead you get pushed unrelated or semi-related products and have to work hard with the engine to find what you're after.
Ebay is now a pay to play site with terrible functionality, unappealing and outdated esthetics with insanely greedy fees. The functionality is clunky as can be and any intuitive operation of the site as a seller has gone out the window.
mam98031
·1 year agoYou are assuming that more sellers are using Promoted Listings than likely actually are. With that said, some categories that are saturated with listings, seller use Promoted listings more than in other categories. So it may depend on what you look for on a regular basis.
"...unappealing and outdated esthetics with insanely greedy fees..." This is a wholly unfair statement as Ebay does NOT set the additional fees a seller is WILLING to pay when using Promoted Listings. Those fee rates are set by the SELLER. So that means they are willing to pay the additional fee for a sale.
I know it is easier to blame Ebay, but not everything is Ebay's fault. Sometimes it really is the sellers. If you don't like the program the answer is a simple one, don't use it.
If every seller was using the Promoted listings on every listing they posted, it would be chaos and a useless program.
For some sellers this program works well and for others it doesn't. You just need to decide if it is right or wrong for you.
soh.maryl
·1 year agoYou are aware that promoting your listings is OPTIONAL and not mandatory, right?
hartungcards
·1 year agoI think the more acceptable term you're looking for is "little person" or "person of short stature."
fbusoni
·1 year agoIt's too early for me to be laughing.
soh.maryl
·1 year agoOr perhaps a person who's longitudinally challenged.
mam98031
·1 year agoI call it vertically challenged.
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bfyS-S-IJs
fbusoni
·1 year ago@mr.hemitom9
I agree with you... I think a lot of sellers are frustrated these days.
"Once upon a time"... eBay was the only game in town. And not many sellers did business here.
eBay does not care if it takes a cut of a $5 sale or of a $105 sale; computers have no feelings.
I think the thing to keep in mind is that no one is entitled to sales.
And if a seller is suckered into paying more to get more views, then he / she may be experiencing the dreaded "fear of missing out."
Just keep in mind that if you do promote any listings, you will simply be entering another pool of sellers where the competition is the same and where the playing field is once again leveled (to the extent that is possible on eBay).
lakefor94
·1 year agoI would not be concerned with promoting the 4 items you have up for sale. Won't help.
mam98031
·1 year ago@mr.hemitom9
"some people are here because they aren't well off and really need some money to help get by in the real world" I would venture a guess that most small sellers are in need of the funds to make ends meet.
Promoted listings is a choice. Most sellers don't use them, but if you feel they help you to get sales, then you should use them. But it isn't a requirement to get a sale. So if you are using them and you don't like them, stop using them. It is just that simple.
Not sure about your title. Ebay fees are for all sellers. There are not different fees for small sellers, so you'd have to be more specific about what you are experiencing.
reallynicestamps
·1 year agoWhen sellers ask how to get more sales they often get the same advice.
List more items.
Take good photos.
List often, preferably daily.
If something sells, ship promptly.
If you find something you think will sell, list it.
Price fairly -> but make a profit.
Your titles are your best advertising, don't waste keystrokes.
Use Free Shipping.
Don't Panic.
"Free" shipping means your shipping costs are factored into your asking price for the product.
Use Best Offer.
List many items.
Leave feedback promptly.
Don't dropship.
None of these cost anything above the basic fees -> a 30c-40c service charge plus a 13.5% fee charged on purchase price +shipping charge+ buyer paid sales tax.
Promoted Listings are optional.
The lowest fee for Promoted Listings is 2%.
The seller is only charged IF the product sells.
chevymontecarlo88
·1 year ago@mr.hemitom9
Good advice â˜ï¸
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year agoI doubt that promotion makes a difference for the items you have currently listed.
I doubt if you have many competitors with the identical item.
I also doubt that there are many people who will view your listings for your item. All you need is one motivated buyer to make a sale.
I doubt if there is any site more likely than Ebay for someone to look for your items.
4 uncommon items will take some time to sell.