My experience as a 20+ years seller on ebay

[sablemonet]

I have had the pleasure of selling and buying on ebay for over 20 years.

When I first opened my store it was nothing for me to sale 40 or 50 items in a weeks time.

As the years have passed I have found that there is an increasing amount of sellers on ebay and it has become harder to sell the same products I was selling in my early years on ebay.

There is so much competition and sometimes I get a bit discouraged because I don't sell the same amount of things I used to sell with ease.

This is a tough job and yes it is a real job that requires lots of honesty, responsibility, stamina, and communication skills along with many other things if you want to maintain  100% feedback as a  seller which I have held on to for many many years.  It is quite an accomplishment I feel everytime I get positive feedback from buyers.

I always put my customer first and is I have to lose a little money to keep everyone happy it is well worth it to me. 

The first 5 years of selling I was able to buy me a storage shed for my inventory that has been such a blessing and my ebay sales paid for the whole thing.

 It takes time to get established however if you please the people and disclose all issues about an item you are selling then you have no worries.

If you are just starting out my best advice would be to always stay on top of things by checking your ebay store many times throughout the day so that you are quick to answer questions and be available to your buyers.

Sometimes you have to suck it up when you get a disgruntled buyer - however my favorite thing is when I see a return buyer.

So work hard and don't give up no mater what because sometimes it takes time to get established.

So Good Luck on your new venture and continued success to all that have been around for awhile.

[whatmorefabric]

I started out in my home selling vintage items related to sewing and children clothing.     I now have a 1600 sq foot warehouse and sell fabric.

My best advice,   things change and your business needs to change.

Vintage sewing items are passe and the Great Recession took care of anyone paying 125.00 for a child's dress.

Take advice from successful people,  not the complainers.     Accept what you cannot change.   Research and stay ahead of the changes.    I just bought some great '80's style fabric,  because that floral trend is returning.

[vintage-camerastuff]

Thanks for the encouragement.  

[stainlessenginecovers]

My Experience with ebay in 25 years

Throw out the first 20 years. They mean nothing. We all have 5 years experience

The past 5 years have been fairly large changes in

Payment (MP)

Listing (GTC)

Amount of Sellers (100000x more)

Type of Buyers (more scammers, big and small; entitled) 

Collectors of 'old' things are mostly gone (as are most of the 'Antique' Brick & Mortar Stores)

Taxes (sales)($600 threshold coming)

Fees (on shipping, on sales tax charged)

Top Rated Seller Protections (50% refund possible)

Shipping Protections (was 'ship by', then 'proof of carrier possession', now proof of delivery) 

Customer Service 

Charge Backs (the new SNAD) 

SNAD (Seller Pays shipping)

Seller Metrics 

Bonus Bucks

Bottom Line: Roll with the Changes or get Rolled Over. 

[heckofagame]

Thanks for the pep talk! Sometimes I forget that the hard work is worth it in the end.

[flyingmvp]

---

‎10-22-2021 07:13 AM - last

edited on ‎10-22-2021 09:20 AM by 

 kh-ornesh

---

It seems the op's message was edited by a Moderator -

kh-ornesh? 

First time I see it, anyone can explain?

TIA 

[postingid7659]

I can have the only example of an item on eBay, per searches from two accounts, that has a track record of previous sales and is priced fairly and it does not sell.

That's the problem with eBay right now.  

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@flyingmvp  I'm not sure, but I believe the original post contained instructions to contact the poster directly if looking for help....might have included an email address, I don't remember, but I think that's what was removed. 

[goldair1_4]

That's a very nice message

Positive and uplifting messages are important for those out there who are struggling.

I'm just a hobby seller ,i make enough to pay for my car rego & insurance every year.That's enough for me.

It's good to see people succeed in their fields

[allhamstuff]

I've been selling for over 20 years and within the last couple they've added additional charges that run us, small sellers, away with these extra fees for every aspect of the sales!

[stainlessenginecovers]

There have not been any significant increases in fees since 2011 when I started selling Full Time. 

20 years ago, they charged you for 'listing'; .30 for items under $9.99; .60c for items over $10 etc. etc.

Now, they let you list for free.

So, I have no idea what extra 'costs' you are referring to. 

[johnrj1226]

Don't go back 20 years but i go back to Jan 20, 2010 when I sold my first item on eBay - yes  I paid a listing fee (35 cents  I think for every listing I created and that price went up again when you listed and item above $19.99 and  again at some other increment.  Received just1 free picture per listing and paid a dime for every pic after that up to 11 more pic max.  A year or two later - the listing fees were at a flat rate and we  received 12 free pic -  Sure eBay applied a FVF on a separated S & H charge due to some sellers paying a minimal FVF on their item but had great big S & H charge that was FVF free.  I though eBays move was just fine - as those sellers (not one that did) that elected to offer "Free Shipping" with S & H cost embedded into the selling price in reality were paying a FVF on shipping already.  Yeah  a few new sellers believed that they didn't have to pay for shipping cost as the thought it was free).  Back on track, from a cost of sales  & profit  standpoint they were at  at disadvantage compared to the  other sellers - especially when selling the same item - bad enough that a seller on the east coast ships some thing to the West Coat - live in GA and 46%  of the 1665 items I shipped went to the West coast states  - USPS luved me.

[johnrj1226]

Couple more things eBay has done that helps sellers save $ -

1. around 2011 the offered "free listings fees" for up to 50 listings/month for non store subscribers  plus periodic free listing promos

2.  more recently with in the last year the free listing monthly allotment was increased to 250 for non store subscribers

3.  In a nutshell since I started selling on eBay in 2010 my total eBay fees & PayPal fees  have  remained constant thru this 11 year period - have kept track of this via an Excel spread sheet - where these costs are expressed as a  percentage of actual selling price.

While I am winding down my selling activities -  due to personal reasons and the frequently changing policy changes spurred on by the leader (big A) in on line selling venues in an every changing marketplace/competitors which drives BUYER expectations (Buyers make sellers)  - with things like free shipping, easy return policy (kinda' like Walmart where you gotta' return your item) - no haggling about a return and buyers are refunded promptly and get to keep the  item in "not as described c claims.  Personally  had two items  bought on Amazon recently that we had a valid "not as described" claims - we  were refunded in full with in less than 1 hour and a return of the item was not required in either case.   Amasing I say.  As Lee Iacacco* once  said  "You can lead, follow or get out of the way".  This '44 model is choosing the latter to spend more time with my Grands & family and let the young gun Sellers take over my selling spot.   Enjoyed the ride and Will continue to buy on eBay and post on the boards now and then..

* his fame was  he brought the 1964 Mustang to market for Ford Motor Company and later turned Chrysler Corporation around to a profitable company with his joint venture with Mitsubishi Motors LTD  in the mid 1980's.  BTW paid for all of my college expenses by building Mustangs during the summers of 1964 thru '67  by working 67 hr/week, got paid $2.54 to $2.67/hour.  Wasn't smart enough to get a scholar ship just a B & C student.

CIAO! & Pura Vida (life is pure if you are in Costa Rica) -

GL to  All Y'All.

[downunder-61]

Explain how  ?

Heaps of posts are edited by the mod's if a members id is included in the post - so no explanation needed.

or did you mean who saw it before they moderated  ? - I missed it and couldn't repost it anyway

or who is the new mod? Been a member here since 2014

[our21stzen]

25-years... more fees.... the deals are gone.   everyone's gouging...ebay won't stem in.  Someone start something else.