Giving up on ebay selling

This may sound like sour grapes, however I don't mean for it to be....

 

I have decided not to sell on ebay anymore.  I am sick of being at the whim of buyers in regards to feedback.  I try to go out of my way to describe the items accurately, I don't overcharge for postage, I post the day the item is paid for, I wrap the item as if it has been sold from an expensive boutique (at my cost).  The buyer doesn't read the listing and then complains about their purchase.  I offer a refund (although it's not my fault) and they give you negative feedback.

 

I am not a big time seller - just a few things here and there.  I predominantly purchase things on ebay.  I only have given negative  feedback in one instance when the seller outright abused me.  I don't buy from people who have been given negative feedback & I hesitate about purchasing from people with neutral feedback.  Stupidly, because I assume other people leave feedback like I do.

 

There should be a better review system for when buyers leave unfair feedback.  Me just responding to their stupid feedback is worthless because how much weight do people give my response - of course I'm going to say the buyer was the one in the wrong.  If ebay responded, that would be given greater weight by potential buyers.

 

Anyway - I just neede to vent I guess.

Good bye ebay.  My selling days are over. 

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Giving up on ebay selling

we hear your pain and say good luck..ebay are the kings of goal post movers..something isnt working..we have had the worst sales for the past 2 months..never known it to be bad..and thats considering even the quiet months (they werent as bad as now) and overseas customers have totaly disappreared..(nothing to do with local politics)...im trying to think why..its obvious the SEO is a key..it's where the SEO's are being handed out to..it's clear EBay has taken on a "shopping mall" attitude..it gives priority to the big guys and leaves the smaller stores to suffer in the shadows..look at the Sunday promo..thats all about big companies..so effectively ebay has become a mall for the big guys..they used the sweat and goodwill and MONEY i hasten to add of folks like you and many others here who have helped build the brand and now..we are being left behind..ridiculously high fees, no chance to leave neg feedback to unscruplous, unfair and unreasonable customers..the bite out of postage fees..the digusting double grab for the conglomerate via paypal fees.throw in the "robot" like customer service reps and you get the picture as to why we understand your move...if things dont improve for us we'll fiollow suit had a gutful of ebay telling us unreasonably what we can and cant do and then they get payment for doing so ..Ebay used to be a great earner and fun..it's now nothing more but a deeply disappointing experience it has tried to foster "corporate values" on to everyday decent folk who use common sense and gold old fashioned fair decency values when dealing with people..something Ebay doesnt understand in the slightest..

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Giving up on ebay selling

One neutral won't hurt you, don't give up yet.

 

Maybe, when you send an item in future include a pre printed note/card :

 

Thank you for purchasing "blah blah" from "blah blah" -  if, in the unlikely event you are less than 100% satisfied with this item, please do not hesitate to contact me on xxxxxxxx.com.au or 1234567 so I can work towards an amicable solution for any problem you may have.

 

I sent the same message (roughly) on an invoice whenever I sent an item, and so far, has  not failed me.

_________________________________________________________

You can't please all the people all the time, so now I just please myself


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Giving up on ebay selling

look at it this way .. if paying for a real shop in the real world compeared it to ebay 

FVF =  (Shop Rent which could be $2,500 - $5000 per month)

Paypal fees = Bank fees ( $300 - $500 per month) includes bank & eftpos fees 

Postage is just postage & should be covered in item cost or as seperate amount 

continginies .. all the big retailers add 30c-50c per item to cover shop lifting ..(cyber/ebay shop lifing is real)

NO advertising costs .. ebay does it for us  

 

look at ebay as one big super shopping centre .. & we are sub leasing some floor space .. just as Harvey Norman does at his stores

 

having ran a real shop .. I am now more comfortable doing it all on ebay

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Giving up on ebay selling

A very good example.....and I want the OP to stick in there as well, but you have faux priced quite a lot in your asimile depending on the size of a business.

 

A stall outside a shopping centre (on a main strip on the Sunshine Coast) will cost about $750 a month.

 

Cash is the main payment, or merchant controlled credit card, and the item is not handed over till the cash is recieved.

 

No chance of negative feedback or of a charge back or fraudulant claim later.

 

As many items per day can be sold that does not affect the seller's bottom line, as no postal costs invoved.

 

No postal charges, no return postal charges, no paypal fee's, and no eBay fee's.

 

Last time I checked my bank did not charge me anything for depositing cash each day.

 

No advertising fee's - pretty much every man and his dog goes to Coles or Woolworths each day.

 

To each his own, but small concern can easily make money this way.

 

 

_________________________________________________________

You can't please all the people all the time, so now I just please myself


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Giving up on ebay selling

"look at ebay as one big super shopping centre .. & we are sub leasing some floor space"

yes and then they force you to put advertisements for competition retailers in your front window and charge you a commission on your business operating costs (eg, commission on postage) and to make matters worse routinely hide your shop/items as punishment for not selling enough thus becoming a self fulfilling prophecy ..

this place could easily send you insane as it would appear that no amount of effort will result in consistent/any profits and many here are now liquidating stock and exiting .. be careful .. I personally find it extremely difficult to take this place seriously and am straining my brain looking for alternatives .. I reluctantly still use ebay but note that to sell I need to savagely discount and even then often won't get a sale as am well hidden via best match and/or cassini ..

it seriously distresses me when I see ebay insiders/gamers outselling me 10 to 1 even though their prices are double what I charge and everything about my DSR and ratings is very good or better than theirs .. I had a gutful of ebay many years ago and unfortunately am still stuck here unsuccessfully attempting to milk this corrupted botched cow of an interface ..

I find for the mostpart that a handful of sellers with massive bloated slow selling inventories now fairly much dominate each category and that a lot of the truly unique stuff is no longer sold here and they are moving back to conventional auction houses where their items can be seen/found by prospective buyers ..

 

In My Opinion the people who are often found on these boards spruiking ebay are obviously content with a few table scraps randomly swept in their general direction from time to time and are happy to see injustice and chaos prevail ..

 

anyway I think it is too late to fix this place now and as soon as something remotely viable appears I will grab onto it with both hands but unfortunately ebay dominates the online auction market in Australia and it is obvious they will go to extreme lengths to eradicate any viable competition .. as a buyer and seller all we can do is vote with our wallets when the cost is too high ..

 

The recent commission on postage has seen a flurry or restructuring and inconvenience for many ebay sellers and many simply cannot afford to sell here any more ..

Many corporates/businesses have become remarkably grubby in recent times and have resorted to underhanded and fineprint tactics to legally exploit consumers .. obviously our ACCC is toothless and useless ..

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Giving up on ebay selling


@decoops5 wrote:

This may sound like sour grapes, however I don't mean for it to be....

 

I have decided not to sell on ebay anymore.  I am sick of being at the whim of buyers in regards to feedback.  I try to go out of my way to describe the items accurately, I don't overcharge for postage, I post the day the item is paid for, I wrap the item as if it has been sold from an expensive boutique (at my cost).  The buyer doesn't read the listing and then complains about their purchase.  I offer a refund (although it's not my fault) and they give you negative feedback.

 

I am not a big time seller - just a few things here and there.  I predominantly purchase things on ebay.  I only have given negative  feedback in one instance when the seller outright abused me.  I don't buy from people who have been given negative feedback & I hesitate about purchasing from people with neutral feedback.  Stupidly, because I assume other people leave feedback like I do.

 

There should be a better review system for when buyers leave unfair feedback.  Me just responding to their stupid feedback is worthless because how much weight do people give my response - of course I'm going to say the buyer was the one in the wrong.  If ebay responded, that would be given greater weight by potential buyers.

 

Anyway - I just neede to vent I guess.

Good bye ebay.  My selling days are over. 


It was neutral.

 

Given you've never given the boards the benefit of your wisdom before, why do you feel the need to now let us know you won't be selling anymore?

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Giving up on ebay selling

Maybe they should have contacted ebay and voiced their concerns.

 

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Giving up on ebay selling

I AGREE WITH YOU 100%- I am done selling on e-bay and more so paypal- thank god for fair trading cause with-out them the little guy has no chance in a dispute over fees with these two ( buyers buddies)! there are other ways to sell without losing over 12% to others!

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Giving up on ebay selling

and market stalls can be good as a extra .. & I do them at times my self  when I want to clear stock ..  but I still have to take into account ..

1  the stall cost

2  stock insurance

3 market insurance (public liability) 

4 petrol

5 GST

6 stock

7 wages 

 

when I had a real shop I had to make $12,000-$15,000 per month to cover out goings .. which at times was stressfull .. but with ebay I do not have tthat stress & only pay per sale .. all business bank accounts have fee's .. personal bank accounts do not 

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Giving up on ebay selling


@briansoldstuff wrote:

"look at ebay as one big super shopping centre .. & we are sub leasing some floor space"

yes and then they force you to put advertisements for competition retailers in your front window and charge you a commission on your business operating costs (eg, commission on postage) and to make matters worse routinely hide your shop/items as punishment for not selling enough thus becoming a self fulfilling prophecy ..


I find for the mostpart that a handful of sellers with massive bloated slow selling inventories now fairly much dominate each category and that a lot of the truly unique stuff is no longer sold here and they are moving back to conventional auction houses where their items can be seen/found by prospective buyers ..



I agree with the above statements.

Anythink I sell that is also sold by others, meaning general kind of stock, is a non or low selling item, even if I have the best price.

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