Thinking About Quitting

[as915b]

I am thinking about throwing in the towel as well.  I have been working my tail end off but all the returns, cancels, fees, postage increases are driving my share down to next to nothing!  I think I have actually lost money in January so far!  Now granted some of it it my own fault as I have been trying to list so much that I have made several errors in my listings and gotten a few returns on that but a lot of the returns are not my fault and the quantity has gotten out of control!

The problem is I have been at it so long now I just dont know what I will do if I quit.   I have been working on couponing and cutting monthly expenses but  I cant afford to keep at Ebay much longer. I am literally terrified of taking on a part time job. Those of you out there that have quit what are you now doing with your time post Ebay? Do you end up spending more money on activities now?

[divwido]

I"m working on the same thing right now. 

I never thought I'd be here this long and, honestly, it's taking up all of my time.   I have a community garage sale up this spring and I hope that's the end of selling.

[bubbleman2010]

Go get a pat time job and downsize your ebay inventory to a manageable level..

[bubbleman2010]

Also move your handling time up to 5 days and that works real well when wanting to take a little break...

[nhfd4976]

u have sold 80 Items this month and you have not made money mabe you should hang up EBAY.

[victorjunkman55]

eBay has never been my "Bread & Butter" and yes, This gets old after awhile. I closed my store last spring, right before the rate Increase, It was just taking up to much of my time for very little return. In the Warmer months, I'm a Vendor at an Outdoor Flea Market, and not only do very well, It lowers my Blood pressure. The Crowds, Talking to Customer's, Dickering on an Item, The Fresh air. Nobody on eBay needs a store to make money here, Sure you may have more Listings, but you also have more Dust. My pockets are full of Cash when I leave the Flea Market, I've made new friends, I rarely have to Unload my Truck because I sold it all. eBay was once a fun place, but times change, and you go with the flow. Go on Vacation this spring, Visit your Local Flea market, make some Deals, Get a second wind. Good Luck to you whatever you decide.

[rainbowcolorz]

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@as915b wrote:

I am thinking about throwing in the towel as well.  I have been working my tail end off but all the returns, cancels, fees, postage increases are driving my share down to next to nothing!  I think I have actually lost money in January so far!  Now granted some of it it my own fault as I have been trying to list so much that I have made several errors in my listings and gotten a few returns on that but a lot of the returns are not my fault and the quantity has gotten out of control!

The problem is I have been at it so long now I just dont know what I will do if I quit.   I have been working on couponing and cutting monthly expenses but  I cant afford to keep at Ebay much longer. I am literally terrified of taking on a part time job. Those of you out there that have quit what are you now doing with your time post Ebay? Do you end up spending more money on activities now?

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I looked at your sold listings.  Pretty good, IMO!  Perhaps you're paying too much for your inventory?  

[thatsallfolks]

From the looks of it, free shipping is what's doing you in. If it were me, I'd start charging shipping on all of my listings, and see what effect that had on my sales.

[a_c_green]

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@thatsallfolks wrote:

From the looks of it, free shipping is what's doing you in. If it were me, I'd start charging shipping on all of my listings, and see what effect that had on my sales.

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Indeed. If it's under one pound in packed (package) weight, you will know in advance what your on-line postage cost will be to send it domestically via First Class Package, since that's not zone-based, only weight-based, so you can factor that into your opening price and offer Free Shipping, regardless of where your domestic buyer turns out to be. 

If it's over a pound in package weight, weigh and measure accurately, then offer calculated shipping and let the buyers pay for it. That way you won't have to worry about eating a Free Shipping expense on a heavy lump that needs to go all the way across the country.

[bubbleman2010]

Also dump the free shipping your ASP is just to low to be handing out free shipping. Another thing is round your prices up or down you aren't selling gasoline and the minds eye sees $7.99 as a higher price than $8.00

[insuredartequities]

I feel your pain, boy..do I ever.  Returns of New in Box items are eating me alilve, I'm done.  Been doing this since 1998, yes, 1998.  I am officially retiring from ebay selling 2017 and cannot wait.  The returns, the fees, the neverending research and time consuming end of closing a simple sale to a public that only wants lowest price possible...thanks, but no thanks.  I'm hiring other sellers in my city on a 50/50 cut to sell my remaining inventory, contacted a charity in town to come pick up a 1300 sq ft storage locker when my leases are due and I'm saying good by to ebay forever.  I can't wait, it's like I'm giddy that I want to quit so bad.  I can't stand this process any more.  I sell, but it's so unpredictable, so erratic.  Hey, I'm with you.  

[insuredartequities]

I got royally screwed twice this month on FedEx Ground rates jumping and I quoted way lower shipping so I canceled both orders and said the hell with it.  Just tired of it, ebay has burned me out.  I have to work so hard to make a $50 sale and net $25 bucks...no thanks.  And then pray to the Lord that it doesn't come back thanks to ebay's pro-buyer return policy.  

[insuredartequities]

I totally agree.  Resellers of used or new in box unique goods spend far too much of their time researching and listing and returning and packaging and blah, blah, blah.  2017 is it for me.  I've seen the hey day of ebay from 1998 to about 2004, then it all turned into a job.  After Meg left, wasn't the same after that.  I felt like I was an employee of ebay rather than a partner.

[banana-posts]

I can't imagine depending on ebay for your sole income. What a nightmare.

[bubbleman2010]

ebay is nothing more than a giant slot machine toss your junk in the hole pull the lever and wait for the reels to stop spinning. Depending on where they stop you are either happy or sad...