The shift in On-line platforms

[traditonalproducts]

I have read numerous comments on FVF on this board. It's tough trying to gage and price an item on EBAY. I sold on Amazon and final killed my account due to Amazons direction of killing 3rd party sellers along with overwhelmingly siding with buyers and specially the Chinese. I can say that EBAY is not even close to Amazon namely when it comes to suspending an item or canceling one's account. Even the Amazon fees are tremendous compared to EBAY. I will say that since Amazon is weeding out 3rd party sellers, the use of bots, and products I have benefited here from their ridiculous policies.  Volume is down on EBAY compared to Amazon, but I have less headaches and enjoy my selling on EBAY. If you ever want to see how bad Amazon is just go to the seller discussion board and I can say its eye opening.

There are pros and cons on both platforms, but I have had minimal issues with EBAY since I started buying/selling in 2005. Hopefully it will continue. Good luck out there.

[farmalljr]

You can "enjoy" something all you want, but most all of us are selling to make money. Less sales mean less money. Amazon MAY be a headache, but there is no comparison in potential growth. Yes, Amazon is harder, more rules, and less forgiving. But there have been plenty of people here suspended or banned because they sold too much, too quickly. eBay is not the wild west and at times, is not friendly to sellers. They have rules too, that at times, wave with the direction of the wind. 

I just had a listing pulled the other day for "violating policy". It claimed I violated the alcohol policy because the bottle was not shown to be empty. I can assure you it was and pictures were not necessary. That's because it was an inflatable store display, that never had alcohol nor is it made to hold any. It wasn't a bottle at all. THIS is how eBay works. Sure, Amazon has some screwy policies and actions too, but there is no filing an appeal here. Read the posts here. Lots of things done by the platform that are nonsensical. Lots of issues that have been going on for years that are not fixed. 

And just remember this, eBay, like Amazon does not want to show items from sellers who are not selling trending and in demand items. You will be on the bottom of the list, if you are not listing AND selling what buyers want. Meaning that you sell what eBay wants you to sell, or you just don't get traffic. 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@traditonalproducts  Well, every platform has pros and cons.  I think some are just a better "fit" for some people rather than others. ebay isn't for everyone, and neither is Amazon or any of the other platforms. I'm glad you are happy here---a good attitude goes a long way to making any selling experience better.

[traditonalproducts]

I truly understand your situation and agree with your comments on long standing issues that need to be corrected. To clarify, I never said I was here not to make money. I have had my share of issues on Amazon and have dealt with their ridiculous group. Appeals on Amazon is more of a feel-good situation and a huge time-consuming situation. There is no perfect platform except your own website.  I not really sure about "what eBay wants you to sell, or you just don't get traffic."  Thats a generic statement to me. 

Hope you get your situation sorted out. Good luck & thanks for your comments.

[duffy4444]

   I've got to say I'm in overall agreement with the OP, except for the volume of sales. I sell the exact same items on both sites, and my sales volume on eBay is ten times the exact same items  in my Amazon store.

   However, the hassles with returns and refunds that make no sense is way higher on Amazon. Case in point:

   It wasn't too long ago I had an INR case on an Amazon sale within 10 days of the sale. Even though the tracking showed precisely when and where it was delivered, the buyer was automatically refunded by Amazon. I appealed to a live Amazon CS rep supervisor with USPS proof of the details of the tracked delivery, and was told by the supervisor that tracking showing delivery is not enough acceptable proof. It has to be with a signature confirmation  in order to be valid to Amazon. I explained that with a $5 item, just the signature confirmation takes up about 50%. They said to raise my prices by the cost of the signature confirmation. Knocking me out of competition with other sellers over a requirement to have signature confirmation? Are you kidding me? I almost ended my relationship with Amazon right then and there over that, and would have if the bottom line loss of the item hadn't only been a couple COGS  bucks.

    eBay has its serious problems with the chasm of fairness between the way buyers and sellers are treated, but nothing like Amazon. I may pull my items from Amazon entirely, if this holiday season's sales there continue to decline as compared with my success on eBay.

Cheers, Duffy

[dolcetreasures]

Amazon is a nightmare but for different reasons. Most sellers here, most seasoned sellers here are not equipped to handle Amazon (emotionally & logistically).

Prepare to lose a sizable portion of your inventory in false returns/return scams/damaged merchandise. Prepare to deal with small margins.

Having said that, the volume of sales can dilute those horrific losses and small margins if you can maintain inventory supply.