Leaving eBay

[noatticgottasell]

I see so many people leaving eBay- and I understand why, eBay is updating themselves out of business but what other platform is working for you? I can’t afford to give time and money to resale for nothing. I have a number of listings and not even one look!

[krazzykats]

I still feel postage costs are the main reason that is killing online sales for the little guys.  We don't get the shipping price the big guy does.

When I originally started selling in 1998, a 1-pound priority package was $3.00 to mail anywhere.  Now, I'm paying $12 for the same priority mail package. (OR-NY)

[fashionsgalore*more]

I agree, wholeheartedly, and after 20+ years selling and buying- I believe I will look for another online site.  If my items are not promoted, they get few, if any, views.  If I promote- eBay is taking 40% of my sale. In addition, they tax the customer and then take a percentage of my total sale including tax paid by buyer. Isn’t that double dipping? I use to really enjoy selling. eBay has made it impossible to make a profit of any kind.  Last item I sold was $25 sale. My payout was $10. My accountant said to go elsewhere, as only ebay benefits!

[recycleyourself]

Hello, one of the first things I would do is make as many of your items BIN as possible. Unless it's a scarce collectible of some kind, people aren't generally willing to wait for the duration of an auction to buy something. It's fairly easy to figure out the realistic price for a Buy It Now listing--by searching like items and checking what they actually sold for. I think you're doing quite well and January can be slow.

[ibuyoldstuf]

OOAK.. One Of A Kind.. 🤔

That one took me a minute!😉

😂No Marine Corps jokes please! 😂

[albertabrightalberta]

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@noatticgottasell wrote:

I see so many people leaving eBay- and I understand why, eBay is updating themselves out of business but what other platform is working for you? I can’t afford to give time and money to resale for nothing. I have a number of listings and not even one look!

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You may see "so many people leaving" but if you look at the seller's accounts, you'll see that many of those leaving still have many active listings, including you @noatticgottasell . You still have over 100 active listings! 

How serious are these promises with so many still selling?

[rugerskick]

There are so many different sites now, some seem to be better geared towards certain types of items than others, so some may be better fits for you depending on what you sell.  Also, some people are doing the online auction stuff too.

I think the solution will be multiple platforms, with people selling certain sections of what they sell on the sites that cater to those items best.

[dbfolks166mt]

You need to PROMOTE YOUR LISTINGS if you want the traffic and views you used to get. Not at 2%, but at 10%-14%. Yes, so that your fees will be 25%+. Raise your prices and PROMOTE!

PL is an infamous death spiral and race to the bottom. Some swear by it but nobody has the ability to substantiate that PL does anything to increase sales. How do you prove that it was the use of PL that caused your item to sell. 

[dbfolks166mt]

     You may not have any views but you have sold 77 items in the last 90 days. Given you are in a highly saturated category and only have 103 active listings that is probably not all that bad. 

[dbfolks166mt]

Hello, one of the first things I would do is make as many of your items BIN as possible. Unless it's a scarce collectible of some kind, people aren't generally willing to wait for the duration of an auction to buy something. It's fairly easy to figure out the realistic price for a Buy It Now listing--by searching like items and checking what they actually sold for. I think you're doing quite well and January can be slow.

     I tend to do OK using the auction format. Sure there are down sides to it but the biggest advantage for me is I start all the auctions on Sunday and they end the following Sunday. I am pretty much free the rest of the week to do other things since I don't have to worry about a BIN item selling sometime during the week when I am on a 2 day hiking, camping or fishing trip. For me there is more to life than eBay this is just a side activity for me and not a full time job. 

[dbfolks166mt]

Two suggestions for your existing listings.

1. All but 1  of your 103  listing are auction style.  Try going to fixed  price.  Auctions are going the way of the do-do bird.  People want their stuff now and not wait to  buy or they might not  win the bidding "war".  Auctions for rare and sought after stuff might be a benefit-  like a Babe Ruth rookie baseball card in mint condition.

     I like the fact that many buyers think auctions are becoming extinct. While I don't buy much on eBay I find online auctions and auction houses that have on occasion have turned out to be a gold mine. With most of these sites you are preregistered as a buyer so there is no backing out of the bid or not paying for what you purchased. 

     I have also seen bids go through the roof on some items some of which have been 3-4 times what I could purchase the items elsewhere for. The more buyers that are uninterested in auctions the better.