Has anyone ever sold their eBay business before?

[essential_dvds]

Im considering selling. Im just losing motivation to continually list stock, compete with people who undercut my prices, and posting sales. Has been 8 years. I just dont know what to sell the business for so looking for some honest opinions.

Heres the run down:

Included would be roughly $45,000 cost price in stock which has roughly $110,000 sale value, $4000 in furniture and shelving, a computer, $1000 in postal and office supplies, business accounts with Australia's 2 biggest DVD distributors, 1140 active eBay listings and stock for a further 200 or so listings, an eBay account with over 25,000 sales and over 15,200 positive feedback points at 99.9% positive rate, business name and logo. Currently earning about $15,000 - $20,000 profit a year and is easily capable of earning $30,000+ with current stock levels (just dont have the time while also working full time). This can be earned from around 2 hours work a day.

Any thoughts appreciated

[ejholden1963]

Didn't I read somewhere in the UA & seller's rules that you can't sell your ebay ID (business) ?????

[essential_dvds]

Well, I can sell the business and give the person the eBay account im sure

[*crikey*mate*]

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@essential_dvds wrote:

Well, I can sell the business and give the person the eBay account im sure

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How are you sure, have you already asked eBay?

In the User Agreement, which you have signed to open this account, at section 3, it says,

Using eBay

While using the eBay services, you will not:

transfer your eBay account (including feedback) and User ID to another party without our consent;

The contract that you formed with eBay is between yourself on the nominated account and eBay. You can't just break a contract, you have to have it terminated.

So, my thoughts? You will have to run it past eBay.

There is nothing at all stopping you from selling the inventory and f&f, and giving the names of the suppliers to people (check your contract with them too, they probably don't allow you to transfer your accopunt without permission either). you just can't sell the account, and thus the good will of the business, without eBay's permission.

[*crikey*mate*]

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@ejholden1963 wrote:

Didn't I read somewhere in the UA & seller's rules that you can't sell your ebay ID (business) ?????

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Yes! Yes you did!

*looks excited*

In the User Agreement!

Now, do you want to know why I am sooooo excited?

Cos it is sooo rare to come across anyone who has actually read (or at least remembers) what it was they signed when joining!

Spoiler

I know, I'm such an easy girl to please.

[chameleon54]

I think many forum users would be interested to hear how you get on with this one, especially if you do decide to contact ebay and make it all official. I get what ebay was originally trying to do with the clause about not transferring business accounts, but times have changed. Ebay is no longer the folksy, community spirited organisation it once was. Ebay itself has driven change to make it much more business and profit orientated. Small home sellers are discouraged from selling in favour of high turnover stores selling new items and dominated by Chinese junk sellers.With this drive to commercialise ebay, it may be time for the powers that be to re-visit the policy on selling business accounts. I am sure there are many ebay businesses that quietly change hands now and having transferred one of my accounts to a new email address when I moved house once, I can see it would be very simple to do. Maybe it is time for ebay to formalise business transfers as it would encourage owners to build up businesses for sale. ( There could even be an opening for experienced sellers to build businesses from scratch and sell them on )

[essential_dvds]

pathetic rule really, another masterstroke of genius by the eBay brainstrust

[putney32]

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@chameleon54 wrote:

I think many forum users would be interested to hear how you get on with this one, especially if you do decide to contact ebay and make it all official. I get what ebay was originally trying to do with the clause about not transferring business accounts, but times have changed. Ebay is no longer the folksy, community spirited organisation it once was. Ebay itself has driven change to make it much more business and profit orientated. Small home sellers are discouraged from selling in favour of high turnover stores selling new items and dominated by Chinese junk sellers.With this drive to commercialise ebay, it may be time for the powers that be to re-visit the policy on selling business accounts. I am sure there are many ebay businesses that quietly change hands now and having transferred one of my accounts to a new email address when I moved house once, I can see it would be very simple to do. Maybe it is time for ebay to formalise business transfers as it would encourage owners to build up businesses for sale. ( There could even be an opening for experienced sellers to build businesses from scratch and sell them on )

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which is exactly why eBay no longer allow the transfer of feedback/accounts.

back in the 1990s there were some shooting star businesses built up and sold and they went bust, with multiple neg f/backs in weeks/ months when the new owners bought a good business but had no idea how to run it.

[chameleon54]

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@putney32 wrote:

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@putney32 wrote:

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@chameleon54 wrote:

I

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@putney32 wrote:

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@chameleon54 wrote:

I think many forum users would be interested to hear how you get on with this one, especially if you do decide to contact ebay and make it all official. I get what ebay was originally trying to do with the clause about not transferring business accounts, but times have changed. Ebay is no longer the folksy, community spirited organisation it once was. Ebay itself has driven change to make it much more business and profit orientated. Small home sellers are discouraged from selling in favour of high turnover stores selling new items and dominated by Chinese junk sellers.With this drive to commercialise ebay, it may be time for the powers that be to re-visit the policy on selling business accounts. I am sure there are many ebay businesses that quietly change hands now and having transferred one of my accounts to a new email address when I moved house once, I can see it would be very simple to do. Maybe it is time for ebay to formalise business transfers as it would encourage owners to build up businesses for sale. ( There could even be an opening for experienced sellers to build businesses from scratch and sell them on )

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which is exactly why eBay no longer allow the transfer of feedback/accounts.

back in the 1990s there were some shooting star businesses built up and sold and they went bust, with multiple neg f/backs in weeks/ months when the new owners bought a good business but had no idea how to run it.

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Exactly the same thing happens with B&M stores. In the "real world" you dont have feedback but you do have goodwill which is very similar. A new owner can take a good business and run it into the ground in a very short time. A new owner can also take a struggling business with potential and build it up into a thriving business. If we accept that ebay has moved away from the original principles of a community orientated model to a highly commercial focus, other principles of business ( such as owners selling established businesses ) have merit and deserve to be considered and discussed in a responsible way..Personaly I think the time has come for ebay to re-consider its stance on this subject.

[thecatspjs]

Whilst eBays public statements are interesting, if an ID is a business a contact person may be changed in any case, and the process is changing the contact person name electronically, as you would do a change of address.

Given the poor verification ID process in the first place, how the heck would eBay know if a business has changed hands. 

There are inmultiple mega retail entities that have changed hands over time that have an eBay presence = so despites eBay limited public statements and draconean, anti-competitive policy, it occurs regularly with or without eBays express consent.