Really poor showing

[antgri_2741]

Years back I used Ebay and was really impressed with the number of hits and quick sales. Recently I decided to get back into selling only to find the number of views over a 7 day period were single digits, and a few had zero views. After such a poor showing I turned to FB Marketplace, the views alone show a massive number of people are at least seeing my items. 

[ittybitnot]

 Facebook Marketplace was supposed to be charging for selling when June rolled around. Since you are listing there, what are the charges?

@femmefan1946   

Not sure what the charges are supposed to be.  Last time I looked it was 5%.  They get to handle your money, etc.  yada yada.   Since I don't use the pay service I don't know how buyers feel about handing over their c.card info to F.Book. 

However, be advised that you are not REQUIRED to use that pay service YET unless you have a Facebook store, or get tricked into signing up.  This was a notice sent out in the last two weeks about stores. One can only use the pay/FB version of managed payments in your store now.

In general they get you signed up for the "pay" service by a link that says "reach more buyers...provide shipping" or something of the sort.  One can advertise on Marketplace, or in the many Facebook buy/sell groups and ship on your own.  You can ask for a PayPal invoice without the bother of paying fees to Facebook and having yet a another "money manager".    On my listings I put the shipping cost up front, say they can ask for a PayPal invoice or buy directly with a credit card via my website, or pick up for cash if local.  You are not prohibited from other payment options as well, though most buyers know not to use P2P cash payments.  Right now my sales are about 50/50 Paypal and website.  I live basically in the "middle of nowhere" so I rarely get a pick up request. 

The advantage of using their pay service (which you become enrolled in for the life of your account once you click that "will ship" button) is supposed to be wider visibility.  A regular Marketplace post is only supposed to be shown within a 100 miles of your location.  If you PAY that is supposed to increase to 500 miles.  That is for MARKETPLACE only. However, I still get purchases on Marketplace from many other states, so there must be a search app out there somewhere or the distance shown is incorrect.   Buy/sell groups are different altogether, still free unless you click that "will ship" button.  

I suppose I could "click on" that will ship/set up shipping nonsense to find out EXACTLY what their fees are going to be, but after being on eBay for 25 years I am not inclined to do so. 

[femmefan1946]

Thank you.

I've bought a few things on FBMarketplace, but never sold anything.

Does the US have etransfers yet? As a seller I like those (no bank fee, deposited directly into our online selling account) but as a buyer I would be wary of using them since the bank cannot refund it.

[bubbapeaandme8178]

You think that's bad, how would you like to have 288 items listed and sell 1 in the last 8 days. This is as bad as I have seen it  and this is my 24th year on this site. I can't believe my items are being shown all the time.  bubba

[ittybitnot]

Does the US have etransfers yet?

@femmefan1946 

As far as I know, they do not.  The US chooses to support the credit card industry, and the clunky ACH system where fees are assessed.  Otherwise there is a hefty charge to accept other forms of deposit assessed by the receiving bank.  It used to be  a $25 flat fee charge to accept a payment regardless of the total amount i.e. $25 for $2000, or $25 for $10, while people in European countries did it every day free of charge, and did not particularly embrace credit card use. 

Three years ago a friend sent some sort of deposit to my bank account in the amount of $2k.  He is in the US, his bank account is in the US, I am in the US and I had to pay the $25 charge. 

The P2P services such as Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, etc. are free to use, but the buyer/sender is sending CASH, and it is not recoverable, even if you make an error in spelling during the process. Though they are not supposed to be used to accept payments for "sales", many people do it anyway.  These services were designed to send money to people you know, not to buy products just like P.Pal friends and family. 

[bonjourami]

With this poor economy, I dont imagine any overpriced items are doing well.

[northforke]

gas prices dropping...??? - from Biden's prices.....they we're about $2.00 gallon......vaxxed??? i could say a lot about that horror....we're giving billions to Ukraine and no accounting....if I spent money like the stupid govt. is doing i'd be living on the street...everything the govt. hands out is paid for by the tax payers....the economy is horrible....food prices, gas, diesel, home heating and jobs are being eliminated by the thousands....yes, the stock market is ok...but not everyone has a gazillion bucks in that.....and how many of these companies are investing in china rather than the USA....crime is outrageous and criminals set free...those who try and protect themselves are arrested / criminalized....and I myself wonder why ebay is bad....???  I can see why because i'm not buying either...too worried about prices....double heating our home; 25-50% more for food; diesel fuel about $4.00 a gall...(thats doubled).  I love it when the govt. states that gas is going down...LOL...from them not drilling.  We could have been the largest oil producer in the world and all of us would have profited.  I'm 75 and still kicking and let me say; there have been cold winters and warm ones - same for the other 3 seasons.  Its about control.  And we're paying for it folks in our little business's....pooh pooh or not.....these are facts.

[sfau]

I have not hit the summer slump yet and average a sale a day or every other day - but it is just our online garage sale to get rid of the massive amount of stuff my kid's have....

[ms.rodriguez*]

Leave politics out.   Ebay was awful for me during the tRUMP administration but I don't blame him. I blame COVID and so many folks not working.  Many turned to selling. I would not be surprised if there were more sellers than buyers during that time.  I did not check out what you sell but perhaps you need to expand to include other types of items.

Anyway,  there are too many places now to buy.  There are free websites too to sell.  If a seller has no fees, their prices can be lower too.  I personally, rarely buy anything here anymore.  I do not collect as much as I used to.   There are many people like me here too.  We probably way overspent when Ebay started and now , we are trying to downsize.

Summer is always slow.  Also postal rates are killing many sales.  2 lbs priority mail from NY to Cal. is over 11.00.   Hard to sell cheap item that weighs 2 lbs. with the box.   11.oo shipping, you might as well drive to the store and pick up that cheap toy. 

Don't forget to the high cost of food, fuel, high car prices, high interest rates.   This is a worldwide problem and you can NOT blame this on any party or president.   Go read a foreign newspaper and check out what the folks over there pay for fuel, food, cars, etc.   The USA is one of the better countries to live in right now compared to others.

[northforke]

Politics and who is running this government has everything to do with things.  The more people pay for things to exist keeps them away from buying things they can do without.  What is wrong with people anyway?  You are afraid  or what.  Under Trump my husband and I did far better.  Since at 76 and 77 we still work, thank God for that, and my husband now pays almost double to run his truck and to heat our home.  Food is way up.  To think that what I HAVE to pay to live doesn't have anything to do with extras is delusional.   My sales, not income, sales we're doubled under Trump.  Its his policies and I didn't fear war.  Lets at least try and deal in facts when we speak of making money on ebay and quit hiding our heads in a hole and ignore reality.  

[northforke]

My Grandmother and friends came to the USA legally to live a better life.  Thats what the USA always offered.  Some of these other countries we're and are communist, controlling the people limiting them and often using them.  My father and husband fought for our freedoms here and I'm lucky to be a citizen here but if things keep changing there won't be that freedom.

I like to sell on ebay and other places.  It helps us in our senior years increase our income.  How BLessed my husband and I are.

But when people are strapped with prices that are 25-50% higher than 2 years ago and they feel their future doesn't look as good as it used to; i'm sure ebay and buying our things is not top of their list.

[northforke]

overpriced?  you are free to sell as high or as low as you want to; if your sales slump good thing to look at pricing.  I'm saying this in a little kinder way :).

[goldrushfinds]

"With this poor economy, I dont imagine any overpriced items are doing well."

That, was a nasty dig....

[goldrushfinds]

"Politics and who is running this government has everything to do with things.  The more people pay for things to exist keeps them away from buying things they can do without.  What is wrong with people anyway?  You are afraid  or what.  Under Trump my husband and I did far better.  Since at 76 and 77 we still work, thank God for that, and my husband now pays almost double to run his truck and to heat our home.  Food is way up.  To think that what I HAVE to pay to live doesn't have anything to do with extras is delusional.   My sales, not income, sales we're doubled under Trump.  Its his policies and I didn't fear war.  Lets at least try and deal in facts when we speak of making money on ebay and quit hiding our heads in a hole and ignore reality. "

You attribute everything regarding the economy to the president in office at the time, while history would suggest otherwise. The economy is cyclical and presidents typically have little influence over that. Assets of all kinds, as well as the stock market, are grossly inflated and in bubble territory. Whether it were Trump or Biden in office at this time, the U.S., as well as most of the world, are due for a recession or at least a slowing of the economy. You watch too much Fox News.