Selling on eBay it’s worthless!!!

[zana007dean]

I don’t know why I even bother selling and listening things on EBay! Vinted and Facebook are so much better. Every item I sold on EBay it’s lost 50% of sale to selling fees, listing fees , promoting fees, postage, vat, and who knows what else… 

it takes forever for items to sell, than each week prices drops down, even than it’s impossible to sell, so u reduce it to minimum value just to sell and then on top of it I loose half to fees! It’s just not worth it! I had to pack items, I need to send items, wait to arrive to buyers… waiting nervously will they be happy or will they return it??? So much stress and hassle for 1/10 of value of my items. EBay is good for buyers but not for sellers! I would advise anyone who wants to sell do not use EBay!!!

[fbusoni · Accepted solution]

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@zana007dean wrote:

I would advise anyone who wants to sell do not use EBay!!!

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@zana007dean 

Although you are in the UK and the selling environment there might be different from that here in the US, I soundly and unambiguously reject your advice.  

It sounds to me like you do not understand fully how eBay works.

For example, if you are losing 50% to eBay fees and promotions, then (a) you are not doing a good job of sourcing and (b) you have been suckered into the promoted listing scam (along with millions of other sellers who are losing money to a fear of missing out).

And if you are "waiting nervously" for feedback from buyers... that tells me that you are not advertising your items honestly or accurately.

eBay IS good for buyers -- which means that sellers really need to up their game here.

I think that that's terrific and I hope seller requirements become even more stringent in the future.

(Incidentally, comparing eBay to Vinted and Facebook is akin to comparing apples to oranges.)

[kalyoth]

I think you might not be capable of selling online at all if you can't read all the costs up front prior to listing & spending. It's not ebay that is your problem. Those costs exist at every marketplace physical or electronic across the globe. 

There is zero requirement to promote or advertise beyond listing the item. You are agreeing to optional add-on services. Postage is a cost of doing business & you need to better understand your costs & build them into your listing. VAT is government created & enforced - not a platform fee.

"Who knows what else" is a personal problem you need to understand better before agreeing to them.

[sakic92710]

I am up to 11 sales this week on Marketplace - with 0 fees.  🙂  0 on eBay.  It's been over 2 1/2 years since I even had 11 sales in ***1 month*** on eBay.  Only 1 month in 3 1/2 years.  No matter what I list or in what category, VERY lucky to get a sale here.  Just watchers & many items with 0 views over a 30-day period.  To tell me, "No one wants your stuff." is absolute nonsense when it sells on FBM but not here.  Pretty pathetic when items sell with limited viewership than where there are over 100 million potential buyers. I know....I know....., "Competition!"  That would be true if most of the items I post didn't have little to no competition.  Good luck to all.    🙂

[toysaver]

never heard of vinted...

[wesupplytx]

Hi,

Although I don't agree with all of what Zana007Dean has stated, the selling environment on eBay has changed drastically over the past 18-24 months. eBay has effectively said "We don't care about seller ratings, we don't care about sellers, we are going to list items where whoever pays us the most is at the top, and we don't care how you feel about that" and those guiding principles....will be the end of eBay.

eBay has less than 5 yrs...because some c-suite slug thought it would be a good idea to make seller ratings mean nothing, promote garbage sellers who push buyers away from eBay with their "New, never opened" items for 50% less than what any other seller is listing at, then that item shows up in a trash bag and 1/2 the parts missing 6wks after they placed the order, you think that buyer is going to promptly get their refund and turn around and pay 50% more on the same platform for the same item and risk the same hassle? Not gonna happen.

It is so bad that they don't even show the ratings on many popular listings unless you have entered something in the search box, go drill down by popular categories and you get the top 4 sponsored listings which takes up the entire page that a potential buyer has arrived on looking for the product you are selling, then 8 regular listings though they could also be promoted or "enhanced", then 4 more sponsored, and then there you are 300 items down the list with the best price, 100% positive feedback, zero views, and zero sales.

The only time I sell anything these days it is usually between 0-48 hrs after lodging a complaint or resolving a case where eBay internationally shipped an item and it took an extra 32 days to reach the buyer, meanwhile eBay went ahead and refunded the buyer using my money because the "decision period" had completed and I hadn't given a refund yet....uhhh because I haven't received my item back yet...so 0-48 hours later something will sell and then it is a month before I sell another.

The buyers lose, the sellers that don't promote and try to compete on price lose, and....the Shareholders continue to lose...they should be asking why that 12% they started charging anyone who wants to sell didn't show up in the 2024 earnings report.

@eBayBOD I am available for consulting during Q2-2025 at a reasonable 10% of  promotional rate of just 22.5% of all revenue generated by eBay during Q3 and Q4. I am practically giving myself away here, I will send over my resume, @eBaySlugs have HR forward it straight to the board for a vote because someone there needs to consider shareholder interest and it certainly isn't any of those gastropods slime-ing down the executive wing over there on the way to their 11th Teams Sync call for the AM.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@toysaver 

I think Vinted is primarily used clothing, and it's very popular in the UK , where the OP is based.

[jerseyboymusic]

@zana007dean Thanks for your rant

If you are losing "50%" to Ebay, then you are either not doing the math right (it's around 13% for Ebay fees) or have no idea as to how to sell on Ebay

If you offer "free" (for the buyer, not for you) shipping, you eat that cost. If you elect to promote your listings, that is your choice and you know the percentage up front. Maybe you buy stuff to resell at a high price and don't markup correctly?

I do pretty good making a nice profit on Ebay on my selling account, since I am aware of how selling on this platform works

[stuff4divas]

@zana007dean   ok, tell it on the UK site, we here in the US may feel differently, I know i do

[mr_lincoln]

Hi @zana007dean 

Hopefully you are just selling your stuff as a side hustle there in the UK and not as the main source of your income.  

I see you only have one item for sale and only sold 4 items in the last 90 days.  I wonder if your shipping costs are accurate, you sold a faux leather coat that shipped for L3.71 which would equate to $ 4.80 US ... no way anyone here could ship a coat for that amount ... 

In any event, here is a convenient link to the UK Community where you can voice your concerns with fellow Sellers there: Home - UK eBay Community

[mommaknows]

Oh my! ....and here I woke today excited for my new Ebay adventure....

[soh.maryl]

Regarding fees: promoting your listings is OPTIONAL, not required.

Shouldn't your buyers be paying shipping? If you're offering free shipping, the shipping costs should be built into the item's price.  VAT is something set by GOVERNMENTS, not by eBay.

Most smart sellers on eBay figure out how much it's going to cost them to sell an item BEFORE listing it.  

[mr_lincoln]

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@mommaknows wrote:

Oh my! ....and here I woke today excited for my new Ebay adventure....

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Hi @mommaknows 

Please remain excited ... you opened your account near the end of January and have sold 20 items and have 53 for sale as of this writing.  Part of eBay is a numbers game, the more quality items you list the better chance more items will sell.  You will also develop some specific niches that you sell in consistently. 

The OP of this thread only has 1 item for sale and only sold 4 items in the last 90 days ... so in basic terms it's a big rant about a small amount of business. 

I would say go through at least one full year of selling organically here (meaning DON'T Promote your items either on eBay or via their Offsite ad feature) and the see where things sand for you.

[mommaknows]

@mr_lincoln  First, thank you for your encouragement,  it is very much appreciated. I have been here reading and utilizing the advice read in other posts. 

I am hopeful that this works out for me. I am trying to supplement my Social Security. Every sale I do a happy dance in my living room...(not to be confused with a medical emergency 🫣). I am grateful for this opportunity,  not to mention it is a way to meet others.

Again, Mr. Lincoln,  thank you for taking the time. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

[glenvonnie]

It's simple, everyone who is complaining is just selling the wrong things or paying too much for their products.

You have to adapt and adopt, keep up with the market.