eBay

djc01978 · ‎04-14-2020

I have been selling on ebay for a few years now. An as of late its miserable. As a small seller I don't have the ability to sell a product at walmart prices. Yet that is what I have to compete with.

I researched ideas of how to provide goods at prices that are on a more level playing field. I found sellers using autods an paid for a subscription to try. In the 3 weeks that I have used the system. Ebay has flagged me due to how the autods works. Despite the fact that products purchased have been processed, shipped, and will arrive within the proper timeframe. Ebay, and PayPal claimed the fee.

As a result my account gets throttled, and I get punished for trying to grow. I am losing sales, and as I'm not a business. I have to pay full retail on select items, and mark up enough to earn less than the tax I paid for the item. Now I have to worry that I get hit with price gouging I get punished again.

Im angry cause small sellers already have the system rigged against them. We have to pay fees, a store subscription, shipping materials, storage, etc. If I buy a item for 149.99 I have to sell that item for 209.99 with free shipping. If that item is anymore than 15 I lose money, and compete with wholesalers who sell it for 129.99 free ship.

As a seller that values their reputation. I have to deal with scammers, and fraudulent buyers with little to no protection. For fear that my feedback will be marked negative an my profile goes down. Can anyone give advice on this. I feel like ebay is forcing me out as a seller by the completely unfair competition.

luckythewinner · ‎04-18-2020

@djc01978 wrote:
As a small seller I don't have the ability to sell a product at walmart prices. Yet that is what I have to compete with.

You will never compete with the Walmarts of the world.

They are bigger and better than you.

So stop trying.

Seek out products that the Walmarts of the world do not sell.

If online retail was easy, everyone would be rich.

kittykat.949 · ‎04-18-2020

I think mowing lawns or cleaning peoples swimming pools would be a safer business for you---GOOD LUCK Homer Simpson

adkhighker · ‎04-18-2020

@bar-29368 wrote:
Better pictures on a few might help some.

Maybe change your camera angle as well, I was getting vertigo looking at some of them. Straight on is always better then looking down.

That's definitely good advice. Maybe in a couple instances, though, like whatever that thing is that looks like a stereo component, maybe the OP was taking the shots from above to prevent glare coming back at him or her. On my own pieces there are more than a few times that I might have to shoot 30 or more shots just to get the one I'm looking for, not just to get a nice shot, but sometimes it takes moving lamps around in different spots and trying all sorts of things to eliminate problem reflections and that sort of thing, ugh.

adkhighker · ‎04-18-2020

@kittykat.949 wrote:
I think mowing lawns or cleaning peoples swimming pools would be a safer business for you---GOOD LUCK Homer Simpson

Judging from the OP's style of the way they handled the replies in this thread with such a good attitude and a willingness to learn, I'm guessing that the OP is going to go on to open a very successful business sometime soon and will make so much money that maybe they'll come back here someday and offer some of us summer jobs mowing THEIR grass and cleaning THEIR Olympic size swimming pool. 😊