I HATE EBAY....

[Marc Chevalier]

I like to think I make more on my sales due to their monopoly of the market for buyers.

I know that I do! Especially since that market is international. New Zealander, Swiss, Japanese, British, etc.


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[Twitch]

I've noted that the reserve is about 95% of any "buy it now" price if that helps.

I'm curious as to the e-check thing that now allegedly takes 3-4 days to clear. Did I click something I don't know on PayPal since it used to be instant debit?

 

[reetpleat]

I know that I do! Especially since that market is international. New Zealander, Swiss, Japanese, British, etc.


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Yes. I understand it can be a hassle, but cutting off over seas sales seems like cutting your throat. WHo will pay more for ameericana than the Japanese?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Who will pay more for americana than the Japanese?

You said a mouthful. Exactly right. Which is why it pains me to hear Americans complain about the "high" price of vintage americana: gabs, suits, fedoras, jeans, Hawaiian shirts, and more.

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[Vintage Betty]

I have a store on ebay. I don't do too much business, just sell the occasional item that I no longer wear. But every month I pay the fees for a store. They aren't all that much.
Anyway, for the past 5 months or so, every month about a week after I receive notice that my ebay fees have been charged to my credit card (I set up recurring credit card payments) I get an alert saying that my fees have not been paid!! Every month that this has happened I send them the email that I received stating that my fees had in fact been paid. It takes about 4 to 5 emails to straighten out the situation, in the meantime, I keep getting alerts.
So, after talking extensively with someone in customer service I changed from recurring credit card billing to recurring paypal payments. That did no good, this month I got the same alert. Even though I sent them the email receipt I had received from PayPal they still insisted that I did not pay my fees, and ended up shutting off my ebay privledges and shut down my store!!! I had been waiting three days for an auction of a dress that I really really wanted, and I couldn't bid on it.
I put in yet another complaint with ebay expressing that I did not understand how they could consistently make the same mistake, month after month. I don't expect anything to get resolved, so I'm going to close down my ebay store. If I decide to sell something, I'll just sell it individually. I am so darn aggravated. The jerk that I spoke with tonight told me I had to pay the 3 months of payments that I owed in order to re-instate my account!! I send him copies of all the emails that I had received, stating that each month all my fees had in fact been paid. He told me he would turn my account back on, but it was just a favor, and if I didn't pay all that was due in full in 5 days, my account would be shut off again. I asked him if the forwarded confirmations of payment made any difference. He said no, I had to send him a copy of my credit card statement, that was the only solid proof they would accept. I am not sending them copies of my credit card statements, and I am now dealing with a supervisor, who will supposedly set things straight.

I am so incredibly fed up with ebay. Why do they give sellers the option of recurring credti card or paypal payments if they aren't going to charge my account. Even more frustrating, is the customer service rep looked at my account and admitted that he saw that all of my billing information was in fact there and correct. So, he had no idea why this keeps happening. I am infuriated with this. I know it doesn't go on my credit report (at least I don't think it does), but I pride myself on paying my debts, and paying them on time. If anyone were to look at my feedback on the bay they would see that each and every one of the people who have left me feedback has commented on my fast payments. Why would I make such speedy payments for the things I buy, and not pay ebay what I owe them. Argh! What a pain in the butt.
Anybody else having problems with ebay billing?

I think it's time to revive this thread.

To make a long story short, I had an ebay store with many items I am trying to dispense from my collection.

Ebay shut down my store, and refused to reinstate it. Furthermore, when the problem got resolved, I was told that it was my responsibility to relist the items that were shut down. Ebay would not help me. Gee, I'm so glad I paid those monthly fees on time and lost money each month, waiting for people to buy my stuff.

It was probably a blessing in disguise. I decided to give things away on the Lounge instead of losing money each month.

I have little to no interest on to list items on ebay any more. The only thing I've done recently is list some items as a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society as a favor for a friend.

Vintage Betty

 

[dakotanorth]

Ebay going the way of Microsoft?

Seems like companies that start out as "The People's Company" always become driven by profit margins and 1/1000th of a cent per transaction.

I have to say, I've been losing my rear-end on EBay; unless you sell something for BIG money, you lose your profit on the commission fees!
I realize Paypal takes a cut for using their services, but it still irritates me that they get a cut from the selling price AND the shipping fee paid to you, the seller. In principle that means you are losing a bit of money by shipping your item to the buyer! I know, but you get the idea.

Honestly I think Americans are BROKE and can't afford to buy anything- easily half of what I sell goes overseas.

I'll gladly use an outdated non-Java driven website if that keeps the costs down. I think all of the animated pop-up auto-fade-out 3d-rendered windows are annoying when you're trying to crank out a few listings. Especially at work...

 

[Foofoogal]

I have a small ebay store but hate ebay. I also sell on 2 online antique malls. My question to you all is have you ever heard of http://www.powersellersunite.com? You don't have to be a power seller to join. The reason I ask is it has charts to the other online auctions as well as some other places to buy and sell. Very informative and relevant.

 

[Twitch]

For all the hassle it can be it makes just donating all your "stuff" to some charity, get a receipt, fill it in for the amount you value your stuff at and take it off your taxes, sound attractive.

Before they changed the rules about vehicles I donated 2 cars and got average Bluebook value to wright off. Now you cn wrtie off only exactly what the vehicle actually sold for at auction or disposal so that sucks.

Realistically you get the full amount you want when you do a tax write off. It's not in cash but it is less cash you'd have to pay the gov't if you owned at the year's end. If you got money coming it IS cash added to your refund check.

 

[Weston]

Maybe whats being sold is not worth selling – I hate to be devil's advocate but eBay's been pretty darn good to me. I'm now a PowerSeller. I clear a decent sum each month, and when my wife was unemployed for two months and I was in school, it paid EVERY bill. Fees are high, true. Don't want to pay them? Don't. Plenty of other ways to sell. Your high fees are paying for eyeballs and wallets to observe your auctions.

I sell mostly toys from the 80's and Indiana Jones things. I do alright.

 

[Twitch]

Yeah, you're legitimately buying and selling for profit. That's fine. But for some people that inherit a house full of a deceased relatives "stuff" for example, it is daunting.

If you're not familiar with the stuff, what is it all worth? Are the dozens upon dozens of knick knacks and figurines sentimental or do thay have some universal monetary value? What about non-vintagey clothing, sheets, lamps doylies, bedding, towels etc? How about vintage tools? What if they aren't vintage?

One would have to devote a large block of time if they decide to dedicate the sales to Ebay with seeking similar items and watching what they sell for and deal with the listing fees of things that don't sell.

For the average people not interested in delving into the twists and turns of Ebay with a bunch of "stuff" like that they're better off giving it to Salvation Army type thrift store and writing off an imagined value at tax time. There is also a "sick of this clutter!" emotion going and when one can releive themselves of the burden with one drop off or thrift store truck pick up they're happy.

 

[Mike Hammer]

Hi there all.
My first post here.
I've been an Ebayer since '99. In that time I've watched ebay become more and more profit driven, less customer friendly, more impersonal and less about the seller than ever. It's infuriating to find that I have to list item for more than they are worth just to make fees back.
From a buyer's point of view, I've also found that since the site gets so much traffic, it's nearly impossible to get a really great deal. With the amount of international traffic the site gets, when you win an item on Ebay, you are in effect saying "I'm willing to pay more than anyone else in the world for this item!"

Another more sinister aspect, and one that has not been addressed in this thread so far, is the proliferation of thieves, cheats, rip-off artists, and my personal heartburn, fakers. I collect (or collected, anyway) military items, especially uniforms and helmets. There are so many fakes and "bent" items that I have completely, totally stopped looking on ebay. I've seen several copies of the same "unique" item be sold by the same seller over the period of several months. Complaints to ebay go unanswered and the seller is allowed to go on flogging his poor copies as "gen-u-wine originals!". I'm sure you civilian collector folks have to wade thru masses of "vintage original" clothing and accessories made last year just like the military folks do.
Frustrating and time consuming.

 

[Vintage Betty]

Maybe whats being sold is not worth selling – I hate to be devil's advocate but eBay's been pretty darn good to me. I'm now a PowerSeller. I clear a decent sum each month, and when my wife was unemployed for two months and I was in school, it paid EVERY bill. Fees are high, true.

I was a Powerseller for over two years. I did it as a hobby. The marketplace is becoming so liquidated with identical items, that prices are being driven down. At the same time, ebay is raising fees to cover dismal marketing campaigns and takeovers of companies to appease the shareholders.

I really really loved the small vendors on ebay. The women who would purchase a roll of fiber and you could choose to buy a yard or two for a small fee so you didn't have to pay for a full roll. Regretfully, they were squeezed out with the price increases.

Don't want to pay them? Don't. Plenty of other ways to sell. Your high fees are paying for eyeballs and wallets to observe your auctions.

I think that's the key phrase: Observe your auctions. Not necessarily place a bid and buy your stuff. I've had 17 people looking at an auction and no one bid.

I have had some very collectible items that sold very poorly. The prime example is that I sold a pristine 1940's swing dress for $15 US to a woman in England. It was really worth about $125 US.

I used to expect a 25% return on the actual retail price of an item. Now it's less than a 15% return, and that's before the fees, shipping supplies, etc. My husband and I figured out what it was costing me on a ROI, and that's when I decided it wasn't worth it as a hobby anymore.

The interesting part of all this is that the average price I placed on selling a vintage item was the price I paid for it 10+ years ago, and it still didn't sell for the minumum bid.

Gas prices are now reaching $4 per gallon, and this season should be one of the highest in years for gas/coal/fuel for winter. We won't even discuss the mortgage industry or the ruined crops across the US, driving up milk and food prices.

I expect there to be some dissapointed sellers for Christmas, and some great bargains to be found.

 

[Twitch]

Hammer- welcome to the party, pal!...to quote Die Hard. Interesting slant on the Ebay thing. I too have caught that use of verbiage "unique" in ads.

We always return to "vintage" tis and "vintage" that. Yeah, everything is vintage from some era even if its 1990s. I've seen tons of things listed as vintage new, whatever the hell that is besides exploiting key words.

And Betty I have seen nice things get insulting bids. Yet other times a few idiots with more money than sense bid an item far beyond it value simply to prove they have money I guess.

Yard sales have always pissed me off. I can't stand to hear some a-hole ask "Will you take a dime for this?" on an item priced $.25. I got no patience with that and so I get vicariously bummed out to see insultingly low bids on things.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

One thing I really hate in ebay listings is the use of the word, "minty". Also when a lister thinks it's cute to do this in the title,----> L@@K Just give me the facts succinctly without all the triteness. Oh yeah Twitch, the cheapskate hagglers that ask,..."What's my price"? are way-annoying too.