Offers to sell outside of Ebay

[porcelain_dolls_by_me]

A potential buyer sent us a message asking if it was possible to collect an item directly from us.  We confirmed no problems and just call us to arrange a time.

Straight away we get an email from EBay accusing us of making an offer to sell outside of EBay!! 

Rang to expalin that we merelye answered to customer question and if they had visited then the transaction would have been processed through our EBay account (for our own accounting purposes if for no other reason).  Not a good enough explanation for EBay - customer needs to make purchase first and then ask about local pick-up.

[padi*0409]

---

@melbourneclearance wrote:

No one will send a certain sale out the door to have them buy through ebay first. Why do you think ebay is cracking down hard on this and losing lots of commissions? Because it's worth it for them!

---

I've made numerous pick-up buys on eBay and never has the seller asked or implied for an off-eBay sale for the items.

The problem with eBay's bots is that they are picking up "indications" of an off-eBay sale and immediately restricting both the seller and the buyer for 7 days or more, when neither of the parties had any intention of selling outside eBay.

THAT is where commissions are being lost.

[chameleon54]

---

@melbourneclearance wrote:

You seriously want me to believe that you would have a potential customer come inspect your stuff, he says "Great! I'll take it!", and you would say "No, no, no. Whip out your smartphone and buy through ebay first. If you don't have a smartphone then go home, buy through ebay, and come back here to pick up the item"? Maybe scream "Hallelujah! Praaaiise the ebay!" somewhere in between?

No one will send a certain sale out the door to have them buy through ebay first. Why do you think ebay is cracking down hard on this and losing lots of commissions? Because it's worth it for them!

---

I was brought up on a farm near a small country town where your word was your bond. Farms worth hundreds of thousands of dollars often change hands on an initial hand shake.  When I soId a farm a number of years ago, it was listed with my regular local agent. They worked hard to achieve a sale, but in the end I arranged to sell it to a local farmer privately. We still put the sale through the agency and paid the commision, as they had done the hard work to get the property on the market. Sure I could have screwed the agent over and I,m sure many people would, but that would be dishonest wouldnt it ?

Currently I have a lease agreement on my cropping farm worth tens of thousands of dollars that is being honoured by a verbal agreement over the phone, until I find the time in the next few months to formalise it in writing. I have been offered a higher lease payment from some-one else, but I have an understanding with the current tenant and intend to honour it.

It may be a foreign concept to you, but I aproach my dealings on ebay with the same values. It seems to be working as I have 100% pos. feedback on all three selling accounts, feedback in the many thousands and a busy, bustling business that I can barely keep up with, when many are struggling to make sales.

Sorry if you find it hard to comprehend, but many rural people are still honest in their business dealings and have respect for the code of integrity that business is conducted under.

[brerrabbit585]

There's also the fact that it's not worth your time to meet up somewhere with someone to do a pick-up, and I know you don't want anyone coming to your place.  The extra time and messing around in organising to meet with someone often just isn't worth it, especially when a lot of them never show up and you've wasted your time for nothing. 

For some people, time = money.  Much better to pay ebay the fees and put the time into something that'll earn far more than the ebay fees would be on said sale.

My experience is that people who want to buy off ebay will almost always waste a LOT of time.  I learnt long ago to tell them I don't do private sales!

[melbourneclearance]

When someone wants to buy a $400 item, or a lot more for that matter, they deserve to inspect it first. ebay has no easy way to allow this at the moment. Sure you can get the buyer to commit to buying without paying first, but that's getting the buyer to COMMIT. We all know what people think of commitments.

I wonder how people sell cars on ebay. Maybe nobody does.

[brerrabbit585]

The seller has the right to dictate terms, as in whether they allow inspections before the sale or pick-up.

I agree that ebay are cutting off their nose to spite their face over this. It's stupid to automatically restrict a $100K a year seller for a "possible" sale off ebay that's worth a few dollars. But I can remember saying well over 10 years ago that ebay seems determined to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Nothing's changed.

[melbourneclearance]

---

@brerrabbit585 wrote:
I agree that ebay are cutting off their nose to spite their face over this. It's stupid to automatically restrict a $100K a year seller for a "possible" sale off ebay that's worth a few dollars. But I can remember saying well over 10 years ago that ebay seems determined to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Nothing's changed.

---

Good thing ebay didn't listen to you then.

According to the Wall Street Journal ebay's Net Income is better than ever. Their Gross Revenue halved in 2014 but the Net is spectacular.

[padi*0409]

---

melbourneclearance wrote

________________________________________________________________________________________________________:

According to the Wall Street Journal ebay's Net Income is better than ever. Their Gross Revenue halved in 2014 but the Net is spectacular.

---

About the time they split from Paypal???

[melbourneclearance]

---

@padi*0409 wrote:

---

---

About the time they split from Paypal???

---

That must've been it. Don't tell me PP is a rotten egg and now they must increase their Net by tripling their fees...

[springyzone]

---

@padi*0409 wrote:

---

I've made numerous pick-up buys on eBay and never has the seller asked or implied for an off-eBay sale for the items.

The problem with eBay's bots is that they are picking up "indications" of an off-eBay sale and immediately restricting both the seller and the buyer for 7 days or more, when neither of the parties had any intention of selling outside eBay.

THAT is where commissions are being lost.

---

Must say that has been my experience too. If an item says pick up available & I live locally, I buy then pick up, no dramas.

When we were selling, same in reverse. Never any attempt to cheat ebay.

My experience as a buyer has been that if it is pick up, then I need to go to their house, even for small items. I don't think any seller should feel obliged to travel or go to that trouble for the buyer.

Way back in the past though, I can remember ads where sellers (usually mum & dad sellers, which is what most sellers were back then) would say-you are welcome to inspect the item (or try on the item) prior to bidding. That applied mostly to more expensive items such as cars, wedding frocks, furniture etc

I don't think most people were trying to cheat. I suppose the opportunity was there for those inclined to, but I think in most cases they were items a buyer may legitimately want to know more about before bidding.

[melbourneclearance]

There are Auction biddings on a listings with a set expiry time. The potential buyers can come look and you can send them away to bid.

And then there are Buy It Now listings, where the potential buyers come and say "Perfect! I'll take it!" and wave their $100 bills in front of you. These ones you don't send out the door. I understand that ebay wants their commission, but they do not have an easy way of allowing inspection of an item before buying. If GT, a much smaller company, can allow this sort of dealings and still be profitable, why can't ebay?