Ebay is getting too expensive to sell on

[roverlordoffroadspares]

I'm starting to think is it really worth sellling on ebay, we get charged fees on what we sell then we get slugged again on a ebay fee on the postage. We don't profit on postage, and actually loose money, we also have to pay GST on the postage costs also . It we inflate the postage to cover these costs then the customer will shy away as postage is too high. If you increase postage to cover the fees then eBay get an even bigger slice as they take a fee on the higher postage charge.

Seems a win win situation for Ebay, but not so win win for the seller.

May be we should all start selling   just the item and stating postage will be charged separately direct to customer ?

Then ebay won't get a fee on postage cost .

  Ebay should take a good look at the situation, if it wasn't for sellers then ebay would have no revenue.

[knewdoors]

sorry but it's all about the algorithms

[chameleon54]

Undoubtably the algorythms do have an effect. This is particularly the case for generic items with thousands of similar listings, or catagories that are completely flooded such as womans clothing.

Everard6920's advice was spot on. If you sell unique items the algorythms have far less effect as when a buyer does a search, yours may be the only one listed. I follow similar practices to everard6920. I have changed what I sell, as the main items I sold ten years ago no longer attract the same interestl. This is due to changes in technology and competition from Chinese knock -offs. I still sell these catagory of items on two stores but sales are pretty stagnent.

The items I now sell are often one -offs and the only one of its type on ebay. I started a new store account to sell these and it is keeping me very busy. Around 40 -50% of the sales ( by value ) are to international clients and even auctions on this account still result in regular sales, sometimes with multiple bids. There are still plenty of buyers and sales to be made on ebay. You just have to find products that buyers actually want and items that are different to what most others are selling.

Stand out from the crowd with unique items, dont get lost in the ocean of bland boring stuff.

PS not including your items in that last sentence Knewdoors. I actually love your stuff......

[rayssurplusspares]

Bring on blockchain.

[morfhis-au]

I don't know about selling, but Ebay au has definately gone downhill over the last decade in terms of value for money for buyers. I mostly consider Ebay au a trap now; sellers have gotten far too greedy. Everyone wants to be freeloading rich people riding high on poorer peoples' gullibility and misfortune. Ebay au is now a place where you are more likely than not, going to be asked to pay very close to the retail prive for goods, sometimes even more than they go for retail. It's shame, but it's the same cycle most capitalist businesses go through. They offer good value to consumers until they have market share, and then they gouge and gouge and gouge until the brand is broken. This is exactly what happened with Wow Sight and Sound and Masters hardware. Then the investors stick their money into the next business at the beginning of this screw-the-consumer-over cycle. Unfortunately Australia is at a point where ALL our major retailers are at the end of the cycle and the cost of living is shooting up, at the profit gouging stage, and of course are doing their utmost to keep people decieved and paying through the teeth as long as they can. To keep that last, most profitable stage, going as long as possible.

[imastawka]

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@morfhis-au wrote:

I don't know about selling, but Ebay au has definately gone downhill over the last decade in terms of value for money for buyers. I mostly consider Ebay au a trap now; sellers have gotten far too greedy. Everyone wants to be freeloading rich people riding high on poorer peoples' gullibility and misfortune. Ebay au is now a place where you are more likely than not, going to be asked to pay very close to the retail prive for goods, sometimes even more than they go for retail. It's shame, but it's the same cycle most capitalist businesses go through. They offer good value to consumers until they have market share, and then they gouge and gouge and gouge until the brand is broken. This is exactly what happened with Wow Sight and Sound and Masters hardware. Then the investors stick their money into the next business at the beginning of this screw-the-consumer-over cycle. Unfortunately Australia is at a point where ALL our major retailers are at the end of the cycle and the cost of living is shooting up, at the profit gouging stage, and of course are doing their utmost to keep people decieved and paying through the teeth as long as they can. To keep that last, most profitable stage, going as long as possible.

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Nope.

I tried and tried with Masters.

They just didn't have the stock to compete and their staff had no clue - about anything.

You can be sure you will be ripped off on ebay if you don't do any research into what you're buying.

And whose fault will it be?

Can't legislate against idiots.

[davewil1964]

So what do YOU consider value for money?

Selling at way less than retail and not taking account of the fees charged by eBay and Paypal and postage costs?

It might interest you to know that retail stores generally don't post when they are B&Ms and do when they are online, where they add postage. Do you take that into consideration?

Your scenario, as far as I can decipher it, assumes monopoly sellers. That certainly isn't the case with the vast majority of items sold on eBay. Or anywhere else for that matter.

Sorry, after breaking your diatribe down into logical segments (paragraphs) I see that you are an anti-capitalist conspiracy theorist. Don't buy into the capitalist paradigm then, and you'll be right. Starving and naked, but standing by your alleged principles. Ditch the capitalist internet, too. And mobile phone. And house, clothes, food you don't forage for yourself, housing provided by another party, slave labour for some capitalist oppressor of the masses...

Save the paragraph.

[tazzieterror]

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@morfhis-au wrote:

I don't know...

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Thank you for sharing your concerns - it's only when users like you speak up and make your thoughts known that sellers can take appropriate steps to address perceived issues.

I can't speak for others here, but I'm glad to include you with a group eBay members who've prompted me to make a small change that I hope will ensure my buyers are only happy ones, and I too have a positive selling experience.

Take care.

[beeroclock10am]

eBay is out of control! Their costs have now surpassed expectable. It’s time for a new player in the market.
My account said free listing but that was a bit of marketing BS and they slugged me 13.5% which means it wasn’t worth selling my items. It’s time to change.

[davewil1964]

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@beeroclock10am wrote:
eBay is out of control! Their costs have now surpassed expectable. It’s time for a new player in the market.
My account said free listing but that was a bit of marketing BS and they slugged me 13.5% which means it wasn’t worth selling my items. It’s time to change.

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See ya.

Free to list has never meant free to sell. Unless you think eBay is a charity.

If you can't cover selling fees, the problem is more likely with your business model than being expected to pay for services rendered.

[joelmackenzie84]

I agree. Seem to be getting greedy and pricing the little sellers off the platform.