Best eBay alternatives?

[thedbarz]

Best eBay alternatives? I’ve been a low volume, amateur buyer and seller on eBay for over 15 years.  I feel that selling on eBay is just too flaky now;  high fees, flaky buyers, and forced returns where sellers have no recourse makes me wonder about better alternatives.  I’ve used Facebook Marketplace with good results but it’s limited to mostly local buyers.  Thoughts on the pros and cons of other platforms?

[donsdetour]

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@tex-421 wrote:

Do you think my drive way qualifies and as off eBay "site"?

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Yep

[mrdutch1001]

"Ebay is still one of the highest ranked selling sites but is quickly loosing ground to other platforms. ">>other sites have been coming into play for over 15 years , most of which have gained very little ground..other sites have come and gone ...

Successful online selling is about the product-it's uniqueness, quality, supply & demand, target market.etc...

eBay does not work for everyone, everything, just as Mercari and Etsy are not  suitable for everyone and everything. Each and every selling venue has its pros and cons. Sellers do have choices, sellers can test the waters of other sites, but in the end it's  still about the product/items...

"Ebay is still one of the highest ranked selling sites but is quickly loosing ground to other platforms."

Folks have been saying that for the past 15 years and yet eBay just keeps rolling along....

I have tried many many selling sites over the years, some of which no longer exist, some which are far worse than eBay, but in the end you get what you pay for..

I currently sell on 3 sites plus locally...

[vintagedragonfly61]

If you had a store in your town, the overhead would be so much more than ebay and you would have to be there everyday.   No matter where you sell you will have to deal with all sorts of buyers.  I don't agree with being force to take back returns, but I just deal with it and move on.  I have tried other online sites, but never did as good as I do on ebay.

[nickelsanddimes2015]

Thank you for sharing this. 

[deltilogical]

" Today I cant list on ebay because the photo uploader is in constant spooling mode. "

that's why I'm killing time on the board - upload works fine in Chrome but Firefox as normal is dorked up.

Based on this, I don't think I can depend on Ebay for retirement.   The tech people have a mantra to not fix current software but implement new.  It is a system designed to never work.  I don't want to have to learn a new process everyday. 

[rosemary6525]

I thought this "ask the community" forum was independent of EBAY??  

[rosemary6525]

Is you still allowed on here????????

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@rosemary6525  This forum is "powered by" a company called "Khoros" which supplies discussion boards to many other sites as well. Each of those sites can set their own rules for the administration of the site. ebay sets its own rules here.

[rosemary6525]

Ok thank u very much  Poor guy selling on his driveway probably gone by now.   Wasn't exactly how it worked. I often have been chastised for cussing    but guess I better keep my pie hole shut

[dbfolks166mt]

     From what I can tell you are in a pretty rural area just south east of LA so the local forums while good from a low or no fee perspective are a bit limited since most involve local pickup. Although I have shipped items that I had listed on local forums without any problems or issues. I am diversified across multiple sites and while they all have a smaller buyer base than eBay I currently sell about 70% of my items through those forums largely because I can list the item considerably cheaper 15-20% since there are low or no fees and I don't have to build in scammer risk. Most are also local pickup so payment is usually in cash, there is no concern about shipping and potential damage or loss and most important the buyer can physically look at the item before they take possession and pay so almost 0 chance of returns. I also run a lot of items through consignment auction houses several of which have reasonable fees because they split the fee between the seller and the buyer. 

     While you cannot beat the eBay buyer base the size of that base also comes with a downside for sellers and that is the amount of competition that is out there for certain products and you almost have to be the best buy from a total cost perspective to attract buyers. When I buy off eBay, which is seldom, I always find the item and rack and stack the results by price + shipping lowest first and work down the list from there. 

     Rising costs: shipping, fees, risk mitigation % and a number of other factors have pretty much leveled the value playing field for eBay to the point where they are no longer the best value option out there. The COVID situation increased that competition and buyer marketplace as online shopping sites stood up everywhere. 

     While I am prohibited from mentioning specific sites you can Google looking for sites and find 100's out there as well as potentially some local forums in your area. I suspect there are also some consignment auction houses or online sale companies that you could utilize. Explore you may be surprised at what you find. 

[downunder-61]

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@deltilogical wrote:

" Today I cant list on ebay because the photo uploader is in constant spooling mode. "

that's why I'm killing time on the board - upload works fine in Chrome but Firefox as normal is dorked up.

Based on this, I don't think I can depend on Ebay for retirement.   The tech people have a mantra to not fix current software but implement new.  It is a system designed to never work.  I don't want to have to learn a new process everyday. 

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I used to always have issue with FF - Chrome was my go to in the end - not dismissing the eBay tech issues but  just check that your browser is up to date.

https://www.whatismybrowser.com/

[katzrul15]

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@downunder-61 wrote:

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@deltilogical wrote:

" Today I cant list on ebay because the photo uploader is in constant spooling mode. "

that's why I'm killing time on the board - upload works fine in Chrome but Firefox as normal is dorked up.

Based on this, I don't think I can depend on Ebay for retirement.   The tech people have a mantra to not fix current software but implement new.  It is a system designed to never work.  I don't want to have to learn a new process everyday. 

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I used to always have issue with FF - Chrome was my go to in the end - not dismissing the eBay tech issues but  just check that your browser is up to date.

https://www.whatismybrowser.com/

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Agreed - have to abandon firefox and we use Edge

[7606dennis]

There are, of course, other platforms upon which someone dissatisfied with eBay can sell.  However, just as I attending an auction by a competing auction house and passing out my business card in an effort to steal clients from them would be a violation of the code of ethics by which most of the auctioneer associations to which I belong, so too do I feel that promoting alternative sites on eBay's boards is inappropriate.

[postcardcountry]

Deltilogical,

I don't remember exactly where I saw it, but I recall eBay reps saying Chrome is the preferred browser.

Which would explain why folks like us using firefox often have our own set of problems.

Not about to attempt to install / use that on my 8 year old still functioning fine desktop

[myboardid]

@vintagedragonfly61 - you expressed it perfectly!  I do have a retail store, also use some other sites but eBay at still the best for me.  During the holiday season I am so busy with eBay I have to close the other sites because I can't keep up.  Been on eBay since 1997, 2020 was my best year ever, 2021 was a very close second, only hampered by supply chain issues.  Expecting this year to be good also but not as good as the last two because I am taking three months off & spending my time in warm Florida in stead of cold snowy New England.