How to Start an eBay Business

[kkpilchers]

The first rule of starting an eBay business is: Don't do it.  It will be a big mistake.

I've been selling since 2016 and sell about $65K/yr.  I remember seeing disgruntled seller rants on these forums and thinking something along the lines of "...malcontents, what's the problem?  Just follow the rules and everything will be OK."  eBay has since disabused me of this notion.

The irony is now I am posting a rant just like they did!  In a dispute between buyer and seller, you can always count on eBay to do the best thing.  For eBay.

I'm closing my business at the end of this year.  I'm no longer going to partner with these people.  You kind of wade into eBay.  It is fun and exciting at the beginning. Then you slowly, ineluctably become eBay's b**ch.  eBay sets your business rules.  You don't.  You will be treated as a supplier.  eBay will spec an item to be sold.  The seller will be required to meet that spec.  eBay will charge you additional fees if your business model does not comport to what they think it should be.  Think of eBay as the special-needs equivalent of the company that begins with "A".

As your business grows you will have to have business liability insurance, you will pay quarterly state sales and use tax.  You will need a business license.  You will need to hire a CPA for your federal tax.    You will be doing end-of-year inventories.  Then as you find yourself spending more and more time listing items, shipping items, buying items and selling items, you will deal with your first difficult customer.  When they file a case/dispute, you will undoubtedly come out on the losing end of the deal.  This is how it will be.  This is how it will always be.  

You will of course appeal to eBay because you are "right", but you will quickly find out that it doesn't matter that you are right.  It matters that the outcome will keep eBay in good graces with buyers.   That's how it works.  Get used to it.  Embrace it.  

Wait until you call eBay customer support!  They are looong on empathy, but have little power to affect anything.  CS: "Yes, you are totally right Mr. Smith and it is perfectly understandable that you would feel that way. I would too in the same situation....."  Seller: "Are you going to do something about it?" CS: "No!"

It will only be a matter of time before you get bent over by eBay and then you will be enlightened...just like I was!  I know what your thinking.  You are thinking, but eBay has seller protection!! HAHAHAHAAHAH!!! Let me know how that works out for you 🙂

Listen, you have probably had some initial successes selling on eBay and will more than likely disregard this post.  I know because that is what I did with posts like these.  I can only suggest that when eBay throws you under the bus for the first of many times, please think back to this post you read and dismissed.  Remember: I told you so!

[auctionairecorp]

I have never seen a User Forum that is so skewed to defending the vendor ( ebay in this case) It is unrelenting. Mostly puffery talk and generally diversionary.

When they all come out to reply like on this post, that's when you know you found your self some truth.

There are other forums out there 🙂

[kensgiftshop]

---

@kkpilchers wrote:

You will need to hire a CPA for your federal tax. 

---

Why would you hire someone to do your taxes?

As long as you keep track of your numbers and can fill out the forms, it's a piece of cake.

[kkpilchers]

Wow!  If only I had had your wisdom starting out I would have been much more successful that I already am.

“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.” - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

[herjooy]

Hi friend,

Thank you!

[fairdeal*lb]

You have it all figured out, hence your sarcasm.  That's ok time should fix that the more you grow with eBay.  

"Don't Waste Your Time with a Narcissist" - Tim Allen 

[powell-memorabilia]

@fairdeal*lb 

Ebay doesn’t care about me.  That’s fair - I don’t care about eBay.  I use eBay, they use me - that’s the arrangement that I expect.

[powell-memorabilia]

@kensgiftshop 

Especially easy with MP!

[katzrul15]

..

[jott182]

The irony is people will show up here and say, “if you just follow the rules and swallow the reproductive fluid you’ll be fine.”

eBay is a nightmare, and only ever gets worse. I hear you, and I’m not a big time seller, but that’s what’s worse. As a casual seller with the best intentions and attention to detail I was bent over by eBay. 

Their customer service always treats me like I’m wrong, different agents contradict each other on critical information, oh, and they’re holding my hundred’s of dollars for going on a month now on a transaction they advised me to cancel due to the buyer behaving in a scammy way. When I relisted and sold the item the two transactions were mixed together, and I’m being told by eBay to swallow the reproductive fluid. Even though CS says, “whoa, something is wrong here.” Nothing happens. 

I am so out. 

[bimm_corp]

@jott182 

>The irony is people will show up here and say, “if you just follow the rules and swallow the reproductive fluid you’ll be fine.”

A wonderful and completely accurate description of the drivel posted by the "Cheerleading Squad " aka Comment Police.

[coolections · Accepted solution]

Nice little rant. Starting and maintaining a business is not for everyone. Good luck elsewhere.

[farmalljr]

eBay rates returns by CATEGORY. Computers and RAM sticks are listed under the same category. You can see your returns reporting under sellers hub. SO yes, you have a high rate of return. Yes, there is a way to reduce that return number by dilution, but you don't care about that. 

Returns are a fact of selling here. None of us like them, but some of us realize it's the reality and plan for it.

eBay is NOT our partner, this is eBay's platform, their rules, and "their" customers. You only need to read and understand the MBG to realize that. 

If you feel this place is too much work, and too many headaches, then you are free to leave. You are right, there are new sellers signing up every day to start making money. Most won't read or understand the rules, and eventually, leave upset, just like you. 

Me, I'll stick around, growing my store, making money. I'll adjust my model where needed, to continue making money, be it here or another platform. There are billions of dollars out there just for the asking, for the people willing to stick with it and do the work. Complaining about how a platform wants to do things, makes me no money and only makes me unsuccessful. I adapt and succeed, or I am going to wither up and suffer. 

In my eyes, I will NEVER retire. I will ALWAYS be doing something that makes me money, and keeps me active. What is retirement anyway? Anyone I have ever seen "retire" sat around waiting to croak. I'm in no hurry for that. In any event, good luck and best wishes for whatever you do. 

[kkpilchers]

That is my point.  eBay return rates are calculated by category.   Comparing computers to things like memory and other components is invalid due to the widely varying MTBFs.  I bet eBay does not draw a distinction  between used and new when calculating return rates??

[kkpilchers]

Also, why are you so obsessed with money?  There is more to life that pursuit of money.  I retired at age 55.  There has not been a single day since that I have woke and asked myself "What am I going to do today?"   I am busy like crazy with  a list  a mile long.  And if you are inclined to help others, Katie bar the door! If your life is so uni-dimensional that money is your lifelong goal, good luck with that.   If you enjoy being eBay's b**ch, be my guest.  That is not how I am going to spend my retirement.

[kkpilchers]

Thank you!  Yes, it was one of my better rants.  What led to it is me becoming apoplectic on the phone with Customer Support.   It was the first time I was legitimately angry and lost my temper in over thirty years.  My suggestion is that if you call CS with any problem that is something more than mundane, you better have your cell phone  battery charged!  I was so steamed that they sent me two levels up to someone who spoke english as a first language!!