Is EBay worth it for sellers anymore?

[johnmcelroynu]

I just noticed that EBay fees since January 1st have been 21%, I use the most basic listings. They are hostile towards sellers...always on the side of the buyer, and really don't give a *&% as they think they are the only game in town. It isn't worth it; besides the crazy buyers, a bunch of theives at EBay and the headaches...for what, 79% of my goods and I get the hassle. And if that guy comes on that always tells you to take a deep breath, hold yours for as long as you can.

[multimedea_media]

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@kgregorync wrote:

I recently sold a case of battery chargers that I imported directly from China.  Between Ebay and Paypal taking $5 and the postal service and UPS taking $12 I quickly learned that I could not compete with China based sellers that were selling the things for $32 shipped.

My question is, are overseas sellers who are selling into the US market paying US fees to Ebay?  To make $5 profit on a transaction they would have to have an out the door cost of $10 including packaging.

I have also noticed that China based sellers with ratings in the tens of thousands often have negatives in the high hundreds every month, but, they show up as 98 or 99% positive.

There should be some modification to the rating system, perhaps add a second number denoting the number of negatives in the last six months.

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Because 100 of 10,000 is 1%.

[anonymoose99]

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@kgregorync wrote:

I have also noticed that China based sellers with ratings in the tens of thousands often have negatives in the high hundreds every month, but, they show up as 98 or 99% positive.

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So you think sellers with tens of thousands of sales per month should be held to a higher standard than sellers with hundreds of sales per month? And how hard is it to figure out that a 99% seller with a feedback score in the tens or hundreds of thousands will have hundreds or even thousands of negs, without even going to their feedback page?

[speedmax396]

I myself am tired of being ripped off by ebay and paypal!!!!!! enough is enough!!!!

[komokwa]

On your last sale....

Team Associated 12R5.1 Losi Xray On Road B4 T4 1:12 Scale

you said it was a huge loss for you ...and then you accepted a Best Offer.......

weren't you ripping yourself off just a little TOO !

[Anonymous]

What I believe we have here is the human condition in action. Blame everyone but yourself for the problem(s)

[lovred]

Your right, i waited until I got the 50 free to list item, when you sell small stuff its not woth the time anymore, I am going to just dontae, I know if you make at least a 1.00 well, the time the gas, the shipping bags, ebay is just way to high, they get 10% plus listing fees if you. All your doing is using there software,  I used to love ebay but not anymore, the high cost of shipping, its not fun. There got to be a honest and cheaper way. I think I will learn.

[rollopoloboy]

From my experience thrift stores do not donate money to the poor or needy.  The same goes for those large metal donation bins.  It is all for profit. They just sell stuff they get for free and make huge profits.  The only overhead these places have is employee payroll, property rent, power, and garbage pick up for the refuse.  I just drop off my donations to local church drop boxes and have decided to not buy so much stuff these days.

[slocode111]

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@rollopoloboy wrote:

From my experience thrift stores do not donate money to the poor or needy. 

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Perhaps that's true about the thrift stores near you. The 3 thrift shops in my neighborhood are an important income source for:

1. The senior center which also houses it's own thrift shop, which is profitable, and directs ALL of it's profits to the senior dining room and our local meals-on-wheels program. This shop is run and operated by volunteers. I have worked here.
2. The local pet rescue thrift shop Supports the local pet rescue & adoption program as well a free spay & neutering clinics and free flea & tick control program. I don't know if the staff here is paid or not.
3. The hospice thrift shop uses it's profits to pay for care-givers and counselors. Also staffed by volunteers. 

It's easy enough to ask the director or manager of a thrift shop how many dollers it generates for it's charity every year. It should be a matter of public record as a not for profit organization to make this information available.

[kansas_gal06]

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@lovred wrote:

.....when you sell small stuff its not woth the time anymore, I am going to just dontae, ....

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That's what I've been doing, donating a lot of stuff instead of listing it here.  I had saved a bunch of boxes & packing materials so all I ever had to buy was tape, paper, and printer ink. Either the postman picks it up or I drop it off on my way to work, so I don't spend gas getting the stuff in the mail with special trips to the PO.

When they started charging fees on shipping, I stopped listing anything heavy. All that stuff got donated or sold off-ebay.  Now I have more heavy stuff I need to get rid of. Thinking about getting some friends around for a garage sale. If I had some help, and borrowed tables, I think it could be a success.

It just takes too much time to take the photos & write the listings, for what things sell for.

When ebay goes to all sellers paying return shipping, I'm not sure I'll list anymore at all. Yeah, I know a lot of high-end retailers have had free returns for years and now Target and I suspect other big-box stores are doing free returns, but .... I'm not gonna. 

That being said, there are a few places I won't donate to. One is extrememly blatant about having too many pickers volunteers  at the drop-off bay.

[godzillafan2020]

Ebay fees are are not 21% ??? And if you run your Ebay Business correctly you can get actual Ebay fees down to around 7.7%, pretty cheap to show your stuff to millions of buyers.

Some people are rediculous and expect something for nothing. I see lots of sellers that complain on here and when you look at there listing quality they should be banned from sellling on Ebay anyway, terrible blurry small pics, almost no info on the product they are selling and hardly any selection,  sounds like lots of trash sellers are leaving. Good, this will make Ebay a better place for everyone.

[liw48]

EB and A*Z are the only sites for me.  I'm a part time "hobby" seller, I don't make a living off of my sales, but I enjoy the shop & buy and sell cycle.  When I resell, EB and A*Z are the only places I think about first.  Then I consider placing items on Ecrater (hardly anything moves on that site) and I've almost closed my account on Bonanza.  Etsy never worked for me.

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@godzillafan2020 wrote:

Ebay fees are are not 21% ??? And if you run your Ebay Business correctly you can get actual Ebay fees down to around 7.7%, pretty cheap to show your stuff to millions of buyers.

Some people are rediculous and expect something for nothing. I see lots of sellers that complain on here and when you look at there listing quality they should be banned from sellling on Ebay anyway, terrible blurry small pics, almost no info on the product they are selling and hardly any selection,  sounds like lots of trash sellers are leaving. Good, this will make Ebay a better place for everyone.

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[slocode111]

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@godzillafan2020 wrote:

Ebay fees are are not 21% ??? And if you run your Ebay Business correctly you can get actual Ebay fees down to around 7.7%, pretty cheap to show your stuff to millions of buyers.

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Hi zilla,

Got any tips for getting from 14% (eBay/Paypal combined) down to 10%?

[animal-instinct-2009]

I liked your comments, they were useful, and, sounds like me!

I am a Mom that sells as a part-time thing.  Too much stuff, but its the what to do?

I found also that the shipping being (doubly dinged), 1st the costs have went up significantly on shipping itself....then, 2nd, Ebay taking a cut of shipping profits.  I find that there have been too many times, that I put "FREE SHIPPING"....and, then find when it sells, I am in the NEGATIVE or, close to it.

I have had a string of unlucky destinations though.  Being on the east coast, and, you get an AZ or California buyer, it can even with lighter weight items, eat into what you need to make.

FOR large items, as your describing, CRAIGS LIST!  That's also been a secondary tool for me.

Donation is the best, because things get gone quickly!  If speed is important to you, then I encourage donations, and, have been surprised that it can really help at tax-time!

[old_man_arthur]

You KNOW that eBay is getting bad when people are saying that you might get more profit by Giving  Items Away and getting a tax right-off.

I guess that it does make sense once you have lost money on enough items.

[mudboy5]

I found this page by googling "ebay isn't worth it anymore"...💔 I'm a small time seller and the monthly invoices I am getting from ebay barely makes it profitable to sell. I now donate small items or save them up for a yard sale. As much as I HATE yard sales, I am not loading any money trying to sell something not wanted by anyone. At the end if the day I givd it away for free. That declutters my life and it feels good to give stuff away to someone less fortunate. 👍