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So seriously? What is the point?

Seriously all. Why is everyone hanging around just spinning their tires? Complaining about this and that. All ,of which IS true. Do any of you think things will change for the better?  reality check?

Message 1 of 23
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22 REPLIES 22

So seriously? What is the point?

Some have no other place to go or any other alternatives to try.

Message 2 of 23
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So seriously? What is the point?

What one might view as complaining, another might view as keeping each other informed.

Message 3 of 23
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So seriously? What is the point?

It's raining.  No golf today.

Sherry

=^.^= =^.^=
( ) ( )
" " =^.^= " "
Message 4 of 23
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So seriously? What is the point?

I would tell everyone Emerald. To hang on to hope. It's coming. Because this isnt going to work much longer.

Message 5 of 23
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So seriously? What is the point?


@grasshopperx wrote:

I would tell everyone Emerald. To hang on to hope. It's coming. Because this isnt going to work much longer.


My husband holds on to his full time job.  I hold on to my part time one.

 

Because I never had any delusions about ebay.

Message 6 of 23
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So seriously? What is the point?


@grasshopperx wrote:

Seriously all. Why is everyone hanging around just spinning their tires? Complaining about this and that. All ,of which IS true. Do any of you think things will change for the better?  reality check?


I'm not.  There will be a time in the not too distant future when you will not see me here, as a seller or otherwise.

Message 7 of 23
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So seriously? What is the point?

Reality is what we need, glad you used that term.

Hope is nice, it's what gets us through. But, it doesn't pay the bills. One can hold onto life changes for too long, hoping for something that doesn't happen.

And no one knows what will happen.

 

Ebay for us has been dissappointing from the start.

Very long learning curve.

A lot of time has been required with not nearly enough monetary return.

Ebays constant policy changes require massive effort to keep up with.

Things move way too slowly.

Rarely have we made our modest goals.

Mistakes are inevitable. And costly. One small mistake can wipe out two days of hard work.

 

To top it off, it's lonely and isolating. Buying is fun and gets us around people, but again, too little $$ return for our time.

The way ebay operates, so much information is not available. 

Not seeing, talking to, being around customers makes day to day information impossible. We had a B& M store. So much we liked about it. Transferring to ebay has not been smooth.

 

We have current steady sales of low priced collectibles. If we had to be out buying, we don't think a steady supply of goods would be possible. We have considered trying for higher priced items ($50 would be a good price point). But, don't know what that would be. Research, sourcing, seeing what sells would take a long time. Given the chaotic state of ebay's policy changes and the economic and political state of today's world, more time invested may not be the right choice. (Currently appears not to be)

 

At this point, we don't tell many around us we sell on ebay.

Its not a job that is understood.

Any job "status" or recognition does not exisit. It appears to most we aren't working.

And we are working hard!!

Message 8 of 23
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So seriously? What is the point?


@grasshopperx wrote:

Seriously all. Why is everyone hanging around just spinning their tires? Complaining about this and that. All ,of which IS true. Do any of you think things will change for the better?  reality check?


Seriously ?  I don't think anything is going to change for the better unless you sell in a product category (new, electronics, small kitchen appliances, water softeners, turbine engine fans, who knows) that ebay gets factually correct in its catalog.

 

I sold something a little while ago and my first thought was, "oh small fish that cannot be named, now I have to go to the post office tomorrow."

 

I am not long for this venue so my tires will not need to be rotated any more.

Sherry

=^.^= =^.^=
( ) ( )
" " =^.^= " "
Message 9 of 23
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So seriously? What is the point?

Totally agree.

It may not just be ebay, although that contributes.

The marketplace is changing dramatically. 

 

"Stuff" is cheap. A place to put it isn't. 

Discretionary money seems to be disappearing.

what does one want, a nice addition to a collection, or heat in the winter? (I really appreciate being warm) 

 

Why are sellers still trying? If something was once successful, it's hard to not keep going back. Very difficult to know when to quit. The future is always unclear.

 

Horses run back into a burning barn. It was safe once.

 

Yes, we still have a lot to move. 

When it's done, hopefully.... So are we.

Message 10 of 23
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So seriously? What is the point?

Ebay changes the rules, I don't change what I'm doing except where I am forced. No free returns, no 30 day returns when I can help it, no short handling time, and on. When ebay tries to change me, I don't play. 

When the competition got fierce after being mostly non-existant, I got better at what I do. When the competition became crushing, I got even better. Now I walk out of the estate sale, yard sale, thrift store, with the one thing that will bring the bucks. I leave the rest on the shelves for others. And this works. 

That said, there's something I want, vintage, and the pickings on ebay are pathetic. I went over to Etsy...and there they were. The items are still out there, they're just not on ebay. 

Message 11 of 23
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So seriously? What is the point?


@grasshopperx wrote:

Seriously all. Why is everyone hanging around just spinning their tires? Complaining about this and that. All ,of which IS true. Do any of you think things will change for the better?  reality check?


eBay is like any other drug. Is the drug still benefitting you or are you just addicted?

 

Tough question, but bears serious reflection.

 

For me personally, I stopped flailing with eBay's changes and micromanagement in 2010. My "business" here is a hobby, and hobbies are supposed to be for enjoyment. That thrill was gone, to paraphrase BB King. I still have the hobby and the hobby business, just not here.

 

On the automotive end of it- I used to consign my customers cars for them occasionally. Since about '08, selling other people's stuff for them on eBay simply became too hazard fraught. I like people; just not enough to put my financial neck on the line for them recklessly.

 

"But eBay has the traffic... noplace else is as good". Well, then, you have to add up the pros and cons and decide if the misery is worth it. Selling on eBay is supposed to be a sort of freedom. Is it?

 

I'll also point out that eBay started off from nothing once too. I've heard sellers complain bitterly that "we built eBay into what it is but they have forgotten that".  Where is it written that you can only build something... once? 

 

Either find a new bed or sleep in the one you've got.

Chaos is NOT an "industry standard".
Message 12 of 23
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So seriously? What is the point?

Some of us still make money here. Why would we go?

But I agree with you; for those who aren't or can't figure it out, why are you staying? If there comes a time when I'm not making money, I will definitely go. I won't even post here about it, I'll be gone.
Message 13 of 23
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So seriously? What is the point?


@ripcityresell wrote:
Some of us still make money here. Why would we go?

But I agree with you; for those who aren't or can't figure it out, why are you staying? If there comes a time when I'm not making money, I will definitely go. I won't even post here about it, I'll be gone.

I'm still making money, just not enough to make it worth my time, and more importantly, not enough to make it worth giving up 1000 sf of my attic, porch, garage, and house to store the stuff I sell.

Message 14 of 23
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So seriously? What is the point?


@grasshopperx wrote:

Seriously all. Why is everyone hanging around just spinning their tires? Complaining about this and that. All ,of which IS true. Do any of you think things will change for the better?  reality check?


It often does feel like just spinning tires, but I suppose some of us are still trying to help each other out.

 

And just because it gets posted here over and over again does not mean the audience is always the same. 

 

There seems to be a constant influx of sellers here who still do not realize that there is no effective seller protection; that eBay will not force a buyer to pay; and that eBay will do just fine without them.

Message 15 of 23
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