ebay marketplace: is it a sellers or buyers market?

[ourownmemories]

I reckon ebay is an under-priced buyers market, except for a narrow range of products (such as video games, maybe car parts and fashion). Things outside this narrow range (and of course there are a few other hot items that should be included) sell for bottom price, because there is no real interest. And fair enough: supply and demand.

Take one example - books: they do not sell on eBay. There is so little interest. Or I am deluding myself to think there is any market for books these days!

Would be grateful for any opinions

[davewil1964]

I sell books only. And make enough to pay for my store and listing fees, and sometimes even make a bit for myself.

I doubt there would be several million books listed if there wasn't a market for them.

[bsal6160]

Ebay is and will always be, a buyers market place. Without the buyer, you sell nothing. What a lot of sellers fail to realise is, that once you start listing on ebay you are now competing on the world wide market.  I for one buy in the antiques section, and what sellers don't see is that I now have a world market to choice from and what a seller thinks as rare or unique is no longer that and a lot of sellers now price themselves out of the market from potential buyers.

Is it that buyers are not buying any more? or is that we now have a world wide market to choose from, not just what some sellers think an item is worth, which in the ebay market, are at times poles apart from the actual items selling value.

Some will say that without the seller you can not buy, true to a very small extent, but a buyer can always go elsewhere to spend their hard earned money.

[sonya0576]

I see ebay as generally a win win for both parties as long as people understand what they are looking for/selling. I sell mostly books and sell a reasonable number at that.

Buyers win when they get an item for less than they would normally pay whilst sellers win when they sell items for more than their expenses.

A lot of sellers who complain often price themselves out of the market as stated above. Buyers usually log onto ebay looking for a "bargain" and if a seller can make them believe they are getting exactly that then everyone wins.