Ebay is a great place................................for selling your stuff dirt cheap

[mikejrust]

Ebay is a great place.................................for selling your stuff dirt cheap and then getting ripped off by high and usury seller fees.  And Ebay buyers are so **bleep**in' cheap, they would not buy a dollar bill for 50 cents. And the US Post Office keeps jacking up their postage rates and S&H costs every month.  Someone should report these crooks to the FCC and get this website closed for good. 

[upgradedendmills]

That someone should be you. It's your idea and you should be the one to promote it.

[magicjohnsonsvariety]

"Whoever keeps watching this item, I will not go any lower"......

I have to admit......I Haven't tried this line yet.

[847amyw]

But, we all know, most of the people watching are just other sellers wondering what you'll get for it and how they should price the one like it that they want to sell.  

[847amyw]

Actually, 'usury' can be used in a moral or a legal sense.    It can also pertain to a Payday Loan, which is what I always consider Ebay to be like.   You make a little money, think you're taking advantage of the "Free Listings" offers, which is rather misleading (there's always other fees that factor in), you make a little money, and, by the time the next invoice rolls in, you're paying a big chunk of it back.    I laugh and say to my husband, "Selling on Ebay is like getting a Payday loan to get you some cash you need at that moment."   Not always, but most of the time.   Amazon isn't much better, by the way, but for a multitude of other reasons besides the rip-off factor.   If you have some really awesome collectibles and antiques to risk selling on Ebay, go for it!  Especially if you didn't pay much for them, yourself, as you'll never get what you think you should.   Also, it takes a lot of learning to deal with the scammers in the proper way, and look out for yourself and your 'business'.     

[847amyw]

Promotions only cost a seller even more money and make Ebay more.    Most of the time, probably not worth it. 

[u_cant_take_it_with_u]

And that's the way it has been here for a very long time now. The way I figure it about 1/3 of the people watching my listings are buzzards, hovering to see if I'll drop the price to next to nothing, a 1/3  just want to see what it sells for, and the remaining 1/3 want to know what they can expect out of the one they have to sell.  Buyers want $1,000 worth of service and ego stroking, on an item they hope to buy for $10.00

[bearswatching]

I’m really confused. How is it that you are paying a final value fee (fvf) of 20%? In 20 years on eBay I have never paid more than 10%, the current percentage . Can you post a screen shot of your invoice showing 20%? Personally I would be on the phone to C.S. to ask why. Also, the USPS raises prices annually, not monthly. You should be digging deeper into why you are being overcharged.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

This is not usury for the simple fact that eBay sellers choose to sell here. Payday loans are usury because they prey on desperate people with no other choice. Places like hospitals and grocery stores are prevented from denying service or jacking up prices on things like milk. Those are necessities and that’s why we have price gouging laws.

eBay sellers have plenty of other choices. eBay is not a charity and does not exist for people to sell things other people don’t want. If the seller cannot make money they need to find something else. eBay as a company with shareholders has a fiduciary obligation to make money for those shareholders, not for sellers. They are a business and have the right to set their own prices. Sellers have the choice of whether to pay those prices or walk.

BTW the vintage collectibles in my category are selling like gangbusters. Good items are MUCH more scarce than they were 20 years ago.

[magicjohnsonsvariety]

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@847amyw wrote:

But, we all know, most of the people watching are just other sellers wondering what you'll get for it and how they should price the one like it that they want to sell.  

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Guilty....

I would say at least half of those watching are sellers.

The other half is split between serious buyers and "window shoppers".

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

I don’t think anyone “knows” who watchers are. There are plenty of buyers like me who have hundreds of items they’re watching.

Why does it matter who they are anyway? A potential buyer who doesn’t buy has the same outcome as a competitor. Sellers should not make business decisions based on the watchlist. Regardless of who is watching.

[magicjohnsonsvariety]

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@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:

I don’t think anyone “knows” who watchers are. There are plenty of buyers like me who have hundreds of items they’re watching.

Why does it matter who they are anyway? A potential buyer who doesn’t buy has the same outcome as a competitor. Sellers should not make business decisions based on the watchlist. Regardless of who is watching.

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It actually quite easy to tell who watchers are. My estimates are based on the number of active bidders compared to the number of watchers when an auction ends. 

Actual active bidders are almost always around 20%-30% the number of watchers.

[sakic92710]

I don't sell dirt cheap so, sales are a rarity.  One entire sale this weekend.  Maybe I should try selling junk?  lol  My listings are going to dwindle here & grow on other venues.  Good luck to us all.    🙂

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

But that doesn’t mean they’re sellers. I’m a buyer and don’t bid on everything I watch. Why be suspect that they’re other sellers when it’s really irrelevent anyway?

[847amyw]

People who sell on Ebay, don't have many other choices.  Amazon is not too great.  Garage sales, flea markets???   Don't think those are too hopeful.  Again, those attract bargain-hunters, hagglers, want-everything-for-nothing scavengers, and people who get it super cheap and re-sell as "Vintage Resalers" online.   People getting Payday loans have other choices,  but nothing is too hopeful, either.   Sure it's all your own choice, but there sure ain't much to choose from.   Many of the people selling on these sites are simply trying to make some much needed extra cash without having to resort to PayDay Loans.    I'm glad you're doing well with your vintage items and Estate Sale Hunting.  Too bad you can't sell them yourself without having to share an unfairly huge portion of your earnings with greedy companies. 

[inhawaii]

I do this crazy thing when i sell. 

I don't sell anything for LESS than i want to.

It's a little secret i've learned selling for 20+ years.