I only List On eBay When I can List For Free. Just Not Enough Sales To Justify A Listing Fee.

[etvideo1ataol]

I keep finding more and more places to list and they are all free and far more user friendly, like eBay used to be.

True, sales are not as much as on eBay, but there are sales and there is ONLY a FVF.

I recently got a 200 item Free Listing Special from eBay.  So far, 3 sales off it.  It takes a lot of listings on eBay to get a few sales.  If all the money you make goes for fees on what doesn't sell, why bother?  So, I just list when it is free to do so.  If that means only fifty a month, so be it.  Gives me more time to list somewhere else.

Also the reason eBay wants images at a certain size is for eBay.  My images are always big and clear, but I keep getting the notice that they should be a certain number of pixels for better results.  That would have my scanner running very slow and would not make my images any better.

I have come to believe that the requirement is for eBay's data mining.  They are collecting our images for their use and maybe even for selling.

A lot like what is going on at Facebook.  It's why I will never use the eBay HUB which has a BIG BROTHER feel to it.  Where eBay is watching everything we do.

[retrose1]

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@chrysylyswrote:

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@retrose1wrote:

Our grocery sends our house coupons every month, and they are tailored to what we buy.  A friend of mine gets the coupon mailer and her coupons are totally different than ours because they are tailored for her shopping habits.

A person can not stop data mining -

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 --  but you can curtail it by not giving more information than required.

My grocery stores have no idea who I am or where I live.

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But some data mining is harmless if you recognize the results are happening and make the decision not to fall for it.

The data mining my superstore does is for their store and to stock it with stuff I have a history of buying.  When I get coupons and offers to buy something i don't use because it's a higher price or different brand, I pass it by - and my not buying is data mining, too.

It is just my father and me and the cats and we save hundreds every month through the offers/coupons the store sends me and the rewards for signing up to allow them to data mine.

[thatsallfolks]

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@etvideo1ataolwrote:

I have come to believe that the requirement is for eBay's data mining.  They are collecting our images for their use and maybe even for selling. 

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After looking at your photos/scans, I don't think you have to worry about that.

[etvideo1ataol]

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@thatsallfolkswrote:

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@etvideo1ataolwrote:

I have come to believe that the requirement is for eBay's data mining.  They are collecting our images for their use and maybe even for selling. 

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After looking at your photos/scans, I don't think you have to worry about that.

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I was never worried about it, just guessing why eBay is so obsessive about it.  I don't even care if other sellers use my images.

[southern*sweet*tea]

On this account I happily pay for a basic store here.  I found very quickly that 50 freebies just isn't enough, and I don't want to wait around for Ebay to send free listing specials. The stuff I sell is long tail.  Without a store I sold $100-$300/month on this account. With a store I sell $300-$700 a month.  That's a no brainer for me.  I'll gladly pay a little money to make double or triple what I usually would. Two or three sales and my store is paid for, all that's left is FVF.  

It's easy selling, it's slow money, but the money I make I keep and the buyers are great, so I'm happy. In my situation I can keep within Ebay's confines and still make money because my COGS is practically non-existent. Not everyone can. I get that.

A few months ago I reopened my Etsy store for the third time. I sell the same thing there that I sell here. I've sold TWO things since December.  TWO. For what I sell, it's absolutely pathetic there. I won't be making that mistake again. They say third time's a charm, well it wasn't for me, and unless something drastically changes soon I won't be renewing my listings. It's just not worth the effort just to keep losing money. Twenty cents per listing adds up when you have a couple hundred things listed that aren't moving or getting views.

Each and every one of us has to do what works best for us. We shouldn't worry about or have to justify how or where we list.  If Ebay works for you, that's fine. If Ebay doesn't work for you, know what? That's okay, too. Not every selling venue will work for everyone. It's trial and error most of the time to see what's going to work best.

Do what works best for YOU. You don't need to justify that to anyone else, because only you knows your situation and what works best.

[etvideo1ataol]

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@southern*sweet*teawrote:

On this account I happily pay for a basic store here.  I found very quickly that 50 freebies just isn't enough, and I don't want to wait around for Ebay to send free listing specials. The stuff I sell is long tail.  Without a store I sold $100-$300/month on this account. With a store I sell $300-$700 a month.  That's a no brainer for me.  I'll gladly pay a little money to make double or triple what I usually would. Two or three sales and my store is paid for, all that's left is FVF.  

It's easy selling, it's slow money, but the money I make I keep and the buyers are great, so I'm happy. In my situation I can keep within Ebay's confines and still make money because my COGS is practically non-existent. Not everyone can. I get that.

A few months ago I reopened my Etsy store for the third time. I sell the same thing there that I sell here. I've sold TWO things since December.  TWO. For what I sell, it's absolutely pathetic there. I won't be making that mistake again. They say third time's a charm, well it wasn't for me, and unless something drastically changes soon I won't be renewing my listings. It's just not worth the effort just to keep losing money. Twenty cents per listing adds up when you have a couple hundred things listed that aren't moving or getting views.

Each and every one of us has to do what works best for us. We shouldn't worry about or have to justify how or where we list.  If Ebay works for you, that's fine. If Ebay doesn't work for you, know what? That's okay, too. Not every selling venue will work for everyone. It's trial and error most of the time to see what's going to work best.

Do what works best for YOU. You don't need to justify that to anyone else, because only you knows your situation and what works best.

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I tried a store when it was only around $15.00 a month and unlimited listings.  It was like an unseen storage.  Few if any sales.

Not interested in a far more expensive one with fewer listings.

That's what the other places I list are for.

After all, it's much cheaper to not sell someplace else than to not sell on eBay.

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@etvideo1ataolwrote:

After all, it's much cheaper to not sell someplace else than to not sell on eBay.

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Depends on where you're listing at. Ebay now charges $22/mo for a basic store, and my stuff sells enough to justify the cost.

Had my own website for three years. It was a spectacular failure and I lost a lot of money.

Etsy charges 20 cents per listing, and my stuff doesn't sell. The last two times I've tried selling there I've lost money.

Bonanza, nothing sold for four years, so yes, it's cheaper to not sell there than not sell at someplace that charges a fee, but why would I continue to waste my time tending listings that aren't selling?

Amazon's fees are way higher and the prices are not as good, but hey, they're free to list. Again, why would I waste my time losing money there when I could be making it here?

Mercari isn't a good fit for what I sell, but I do occasionally list household items that I don't have a need for, so that's a couple hundred dollars a year extra. And yes, they are free to list.

Every person should do what works for THEM. If you can sell on other venues, that's great! I'm actually  jealous of those that CAN, because I'd love to be able to branch out elsewhere, but every time I've tried has been a miserable failure. I did have an excellent run on AMZ from 2010 until 2013, then the bottom dropped out of sales and never recovered.

I'll be here until my stuff doesn't sell, or until I can't make it work, and then I'll just go. No lights, no fanfare, no ranting forum posts trying to justify why I think Ebay sucks...I'll just go.

[tofu107]

In the early days,there is no free listing ,you paid 5 cent,then 10 cents then 20 cents per listing,additional pictures also cost money,but  the sell thru rate is higher than what we get now.

No one complains about listing fee then,some have scanners,some dont even have scanner or camera,I recall a jeweler will refer you to a book on gemstones to see the color of the stones he was selling.

The problem is not listing fee ,if the item sells and sells for good money,what is 20 cents listing fee?

Free listing just encourage sellers to keep relisting the same item ,hoping the ship will come in.

Bonanza is free,it will pull your Ebay listings daily,but zero sales ?

AMZN market place for books,cd and dvd,but what is your sell thru rate and what is your profit after paying AMZN fees?

I have a sneaky feeling the way Ebay search engine works,if you pay a listing fee,your chance of getting the item sold is better.

[timemachine777]

eBay has gotten to the point where it's way too time consuming to list here, which adds to your overall cost. eBay can give me all the free listings that it wants, and  it wouldn't make a bit of difference since the biggest problems are TIME and LOW SALES NUMBERS. 

eBay is always changing everything every month or so also. With those changes, everyone has to keep tweaking their listings. More TIME expelled, and LESS SALES as a result. 

[etvideo1ataol]

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@timemachine777wrote:

eBay has gotten to the point where it's way too time consuming to list here, which adds to your overall cost. eBay can give me all the free listings that it wants, and  it wouldn't make a bit of difference since the biggest problems are TIME and LOW SALES NUMBERS. 

eBay is always changing everything every month or so also. With those changes, everyone has to keep tweaking their listings. More TIME expelled, and LESS SALES as a result. 

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AMEN

Time is the most valuable thing anyone has.  I have well over a thousand prepared listings in Turbo Lister because it save time.  I keep creating and I put them there until I am ready to list.  I like to have my listing end on Sunday Night.  Even eBay says that is the best time.

So, when they take away TL, I will no longer have time to WASTE listing on eBay's slow List Your Item form and I want nothing to do with the HUB, which to me is SPYWEAR.

It's just becoming too USER UNFRIENDLY for sellers.

[timemachine777]

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@etvideo1ataolwrote:

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@timemachine777wrote:

eBay has gotten to the point where it's way too time consuming to list here, which adds to your overall cost. eBay can give me all the free listings that it wants, and  it wouldn't make a bit of difference since the biggest problems are TIME and LOW SALES NUMBERS. 

eBay is always changing everything every month or so also. With those changes, everyone has to keep tweaking their listings. More TIME expelled, and LESS SALES as a result. 

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AMEN

Time is the most valuable thing anyone has.  I have well over a thousand prepared listings in Turbo Lister because it save time.  I keep creating and I put them there until I am ready to list.  I like to have my listing end on Sunday Night.  Even eBay says that is the best time.

So, when they take away TL, I will no longer have time to WASTE listing on eBay's slow List Your Item form and I want nothing to do with the HUB, which to me is SPYWEAR.

It's just becoming too USER UNFRIENDLY for sellers.

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Word of warning...When eBay retires TL, you will not be able to open the program on your computer to access those listings. You'll need to export them before hand.

[etvideo1ataol]

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@timemachine777wrote:

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@etvideo1ataolwrote:

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@timemachine777wrote:

eBay has gotten to the point where it's way too time consuming to list here, which adds to your overall cost. eBay can give me all the free listings that it wants, and  it wouldn't make a bit of difference since the biggest problems are TIME and LOW SALES NUMBERS. 

eBay is always changing everything every month or so also. With those changes, everyone has to keep tweaking their listings. More TIME expelled, and LESS SALES as a result. 

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AMEN

Time is the most valuable thing anyone has.  I have well over a thousand prepared listings in Turbo Lister because it save time.  I keep creating and I put them there until I am ready to list.  I like to have my listing end on Sunday Night.  Even eBay says that is the best time.

So, when they take away TL, I will no longer have time to WASTE listing on eBay's slow List Your Item form and I want nothing to do with the HUB, which to me is SPYWEAR.

It's just becoming too USER UNFRIENDLY for sellers.

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Word of warning...When eBay retires TL, you will not be able to open the program on your computer to access those listings. You'll need to export them before hand.

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Domo Arigato.

I had done that a long time ago, but I need to do that again.  I created my listings using an ancient program called AuctionPro2000.  Sadly, it only works on a 32 bit computer, but I have thousands and thousands of listing saved.

However, I have found that by exporting them, it's easy to put them on other sites without having to redo them.

[mg152]

I hate those darn cameras! I’m trying to buy cosmetics or Tide and the darn thing starts recording me like I’m a thief. I hate it! I’m suspicious because I’m looking at everything because I can’t find what I want? Yeah, I’m picking up stuff and looking at it because I can’t see it on the shelf. It’s annoying & they never have the shade of foundation I want so I have to pick up & look at every one. I can’t stand going to Walmart.

[thatsallfolks]

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@timemachine777wrote:

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@etvideo1ataolwrote:

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@timemachine777wrote:

eBay has gotten to the point where it's way too time consuming to list here, which adds to your overall cost. eBay can give me all the free listings that it wants, and  it wouldn't make a bit of difference since the biggest problems are TIME and LOW SALES NUMBERS. 

eBay is always changing everything every month or so also. With those changes, everyone has to keep tweaking their listings. More TIME expelled, and LESS SALES as a result. 

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AMEN

Time is the most valuable thing anyone has.  I have well over a thousand prepared listings in Turbo Lister because it save time.  I keep creating and I put them there until I am ready to list.  I like to have my listing end on Sunday Night.  Even eBay says that is the best time.

So, when they take away TL, I will no longer have time to WASTE listing on eBay's slow List Your Item form and I want nothing to do with the HUB, which to me is SPYWEAR.

It's just becoming too USER UNFRIENDLY for sellers.

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Word of warning...When eBay retires TL, you will not be able to open the program on your computer to access those listings. You'll need to export them before hand.

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So if your Internet connection is down, you can't run TL? I'll have to test that before I call Bravo Sierra.

[mg152]

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@tunicaslotwrote:

Glad to hear you are branching out and hope things pick up for you! I've started using a couple of other venues more frequently - so far only one sale - so the bulk of my listings will remain here until I see improvement elsewhere.

As far as pics ect - it's their playground. Takes me twice as long to list on another site due to their glitches - you think you have the listing set but you may have to reset your zip code - which means you have to set up the shipping again and then you have to be careful about your pricing - because move your mouse an inch and the price readjusts. So all sites have those little problems which are annoying.

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I like the sites that get your label for you. 1-3 lbs is $4. 3-10 lbs is $7 etc.. They have a deal with fed ex & USPS. I don’t use smartpost even though it’s cheaper.

[castlemagicmemories]

You are not alone.  There are lots of sellers that just use the free listings to list.  If I had a penny for every time I read that...well, I would have an awful lot of pennies,  LOL!  I might be up there with Bill Gates.

Whatever works for you.  

Wishing you the best.