ebay is STILL the place to go

Maybe three years ago, but like Wall Street e-bay has been getting to greedy gets to be a bit much with all the changes and all. I for one can't wait for auctive to get things running. I've started my new store and will add to it as time goes on.

Chinook

I simply will not reward eBay for it's bad manners by selling on their site.

I would throw my stuff in the trash before I sold it on eBay.

Suzy is right.
There is nothing like ebay if you want to sell.
I agree they are not a very nice bunch and if you let them get to you they can cause a lot of anger.

Having said that they are in business and so am I so I will not let my emotions stop me making money.

Hopefully auctiva commerce will eventually be an alternative source of sales but it will only ever be an addition to my ebay business never a replacement.

Steve

My financial situation doesn't allow me to leave Ebay just yet. I am hoping by the end of this year though. But, my sales on Ebay has dropped. So, it may take alittle longer before I can say goodbye to Ebay.

I would love to sell on the other auction sites but they have NO traffic. I sell mostly home audio equipment and every single alternative had a miniscule audio section and nothing had sold. I checked as far back as possible...no sales. It's unbelievable. It seems people are only buying the higher end stuff now, vintage also. Less are buying items in need of repair or less desirable. But still if you find the right items, in good condition, create a good professional listing with great pics, you have the best shot with ebay, no question.

Ok, I didn't realize until now this thread was so old. It was only a few down in this forum. Guess it's kind of dead around here...

Yes, I agree fully we still need eBay and we need it without "AUCTIVA". Hopefully Auctiva has caused enough discord in the last four months that both their ecommerce and any doing with eBay will end here in the next few months.

quote:

Originally posted by Suzy:
sadly ebay is STILL the place to go in regards to traffic

i am moving & decided instead of having a garage sale i would ween through things & add auctions into my Store on ebay
i have been making a KILLING on items i was going to put right to the curb!

thanks to my choice to list on ebay instead of garage sale & curb i may get my powerseller rating back much sooner then i ever expected!

between my holiday store item sales & my auctions i am set to purchase my kids new bedroom sets with CASH made via sales on ebay!

i still plan to open my auctiva store as soon as we finish moving to our new place & get settled in but i do NOT plan on quitting ebay just yet
we NEED ebays traffic to draw buyers to our OFF ebay stores

fact is fact...no matter how bad it has gotten there we still NEED ebay

I sat around for months waiting for "Auctiva" to get something to work. They still haven't, the only thing they have done is made life as miserable as possible for the people that used their services on eBay. Don't waste your time on this one. Both Auctiva's ecommerce venture and hopefully any doings with eBay will disappear soon enough

quote:

Originally posted by Chinook:
Maybe three years ago, but like Wall Street e-bay has been getting to greedy gets to be a bit much with all the changes and all. I for one can't wait for auctive to get things running. I've started my new store and will add to it as time goes on.

Chinook

Not to advocate for the competition but since you are at the end of your patience w/this store, what a lot of us Auctiva sellers are doing is diversifying - keep the Auctiva Store, come back in a few days after your head clears...in the meantime a bunch are also opening stores at buyitsellit . It is not perfect but is comparable to the same Auctiva Com features. Not for everyone but seems to be a nice way to cover alternate bases (for free) or the upgrade is $9.95 a month.

Good luck! We've all been there and feel your pain. Don't give up!

Well Suzy, I am glad you are making money on eBay. (However, if you calculate the actual profits, I suspect you will find you aren't making money, really. I challenge you and anyone else to make a list of the items you listed on eBay, have a column for the price you paid on each item, sales tax paid, then how much the item sold for, then how much you paid in eBay fees, then PayPal fees. Add the price paid, sales tax, ebay fees, paypal fees, other fees (such as auctiva fees, etc.) then how much is left from the sale price. What percentage did eBay/PayPal keep? What percentage do you get? Did you actually even make a profit? We haven't even included the cost associated with supplies, etc. But, at the end of a month's sales, you can take all the profits (and losses) and combine them, then subtract the cost of supplies for that month)

Now that you have determined how little you actually made, look at how much work you put into listing the item, taking them to the PO, UPS, Fed Ex and packaging things up. Divide the number of hours spent selling on eBay, by the profit (or losses) and see now how much you have earned; if anything.

Now, keep in mind, that there are buyers who will leave you negatives for no other reason than "They can". And, sadly, they will, and have. I was given information on one seller who has left greater than 28% negative FB this past year, since eBay's adoption of the new FB policy, disallowing sellers to leave legitimate negative feedback. There are also claims she has filed complaints with payPal to get money back, and has kept the items.

Now I hope this doesn't happen to you, or anyone else. But, this has to be expected, and of course, this comes off your profit margin, when it does. So, when it does, or if it has, you can take the amount of money spent on the item, the fees, the postage, and the bid amount, along with the postage fees paid, and you can now subtract that from your profits too.

Personally, I cannot afford to sell on eBay. Just ONE rotten apple would ruin me. Even on great sales, I barely make a profit. Then to have ebay/paypal take my money back? AND allow the buyer to keep the item too? NO THANKS! I'd rather flush money down the toilet. At least that way I know I'd be charged $95 an hour, and I'd at least have fun watching it go down the hole.

Tim
http://forums.delphiforums.com/boycottebay/start

I think it's becoming clear to all that eBay is the place for low-volume sellers and individuals.

Listen, if you are a high-volume seller, you've got to get your own website and cart. Just run the numbers, meaning add up your total annual eBay fees paid, and compare with the cost of paying someone to develop your own site and cart. Rememver to add in the cost of credit card transaction fees or PayPal fees, etc.