Giving up on Ebay?

[Bridwell]

Reading other threads it seems some of you have given up buying or selling on Ebay. I still do a little selling and about half of my buying on Ebay. What about you?

Ron R

[chaddurbin]

ebay's great for buying, totally weighted toward the buyer. i get 2% cashback on every purchase and at least 12% on bins...why would anyone give that up?

edit: too bad with most of the dealers even with the 12% cb prices are still at least 15% more than market.

[Leon]

I buy on it but rarely sell on it. I don't like their policies towards sellers. Why in the world can't a seller give a negative if he gets screwed over by a buyer, is beyond me. Also, their new 12% fee is rather expensive. To sell a $500 card it now costs $60 (though the cap might be at $50)...regardless, that's a chunk of change and not the great deal it used to be. Just my thoughts...

[BCauley]

I got an email from them yesterday advertising their new fees and advertised them as their "lowest ever". I'm probably wrong, but I'm pretty sure I paid a heck of a lot less ten years ago when I was selling on there. Granted, they are probably simply referring to the no insertion fee for anything under $1.

[quinnsryche]

I buy and sell on ebay. What are the other options? I have been looking for particular cards on the board but have been having a hard time finding members with them for sale or trade. The same for selling, I have a few for sale/trade on the board with no takers. There aren't any local shows that vintage does well at and dealers usually only buy at 25-30% of value. I just don't see any other outlets for vintage cards other than the odd sportscard website (most more overpriced than ebay) or here. Please don't bring up Craigslist. If one wants to further or liquidate his collection, ebay is the only source most of the time IMO.

[barrysloate]

I can't explain it, but I have never had anything but positive experiences buying and selling on ebay. I generally get good prices, all the people I have dealt with have been courteous, most have paid quickly (a few have been slow), and nobody has ever tried to screw me. I treat customers fairly and they like dealing with me. I'm not saying ebay is a great place these days, as their policy changes have been poorly thought out. But all my dealings have been good, both buying and selling.

[CTDean]

Originally Posted by BCauley

I got an email from them yesterday advertising their new fees and advertised them as their "lowest ever". I'm probably wrong, but I'm pretty sure I paid a heck of a lot less ten years ago when I was selling on there. Granted, they are probably simply referring to the no insertion fee for anything under $1.

Actually, the new total fees for selling will be the "highest ever". The final value fee goes to 9% of sale price. I've been a power seller for many years, but stopped selling last month.

[t206hound]

Originally Posted by CTDean

Actually, the new total fees for selling will be the "highest ever". The final value fee goes to 9% of sale price. I've been a power seller for many years, but stopped selling last month.

Most of the items I sell on Ebay go for around $100; right now I pay less than $5 in fees (since I start at $0.99). This change nearly doubles my cost to sell...Ugh with a capital U.

[joeadcock]

Haven't given up on ebay yet.

[barrysloate]

I do agree the fees are getting too high but if you consign to an auction house you will pay 12-20%, and when I ran my catalog auctions I had to pay for website design, hosting fees, printing costs for the catalog, and shipping the catalogs. So nothing is free except BST, and I must confess my experiences there haven't been great. I've had better results, and often gotten higher prices, on ebay.

[Robextend]

Love to buy on Ebay...getting good deals left and right recently.

[Jantz]

Haven't sold anything since October 2006. Before that, I would sell 20-30 items a month.

Have made 9 purchases off of Ebay in the last 12 months.

That might be a message, but Ebay will never figure it out

Jantz

[sportscardtheory]

I have to be honest, the less people selling on eBay the better I will do. Less competition is fine with me. The ones who stick around will do better.

[HercDriver]

Sure there'll be less competition - not nearly as many people bidding on fake PSA cards should make it easier for you to win a couple at a decent price...

Cheers,
Geno

[Buythatcard]

Ebay is the only place that I sell my cards.

At one time, I thought it was the best place. The only reason that I still do today is because it's the only show in town. Where else can you show your cards to so many people.

Just because I still sell on Ebay doesn't mean I am happy with them. They have never sided with me in any dispute I might have had. I am a Powerseller for several years and have 100% positive feedback. I would think that maybe just one time they would support me in a dispute with a buyer.

I didn't even know that they were changing their fee structure until I read this thread today. You would think that they would contact all members.

It's just a matter of time till a new place to sell your cards will pop up and treat sellers the way that they should be treated. I am not asking for special favors. I just want the opportunity to fight back when I get burnt.

[Jewish-collector]

In the old days, it was hard to find the buyers. You had to put an ad in SCD, Trader Speaks, etc,... or set up at a show. Of course, eBay eliminated the need for publications & shows.

I think this forum's B/S/T is FANTASTIC !!! Maybe it can reach a larger audience.

[GrayGhost]

As great as this forum is, it doesn't reach the numbers ebay does. Still, the BST sections are good because people on here know what they are buying and selling and seem to be mainly honest. I enjoy posting my cheapie oddball things now and then, and very much enjoy this entire forum.

[T206DK]

ebay may look alot different by this time next year. If you watch any of the business channels on t.v. at all you may have seen some stories just in the last week or so about Ebay troubles. Alot of analysts seem to think that with Ebay will be totally dominated by the "Buy It Now" listings and that fewer actual auctions will be taking place. I couldn't find any numbers online that break down Ebay's selling, but I think I remember a reporter on CNBC saying that something like 54% of the active listings on Ebay are BIN items.
I joined Ebay way back when it was in it's infancy so I've seen it evolve into what it is today. The new policies they've enacted may seal their fate as an online auction leader. In the last few years Ebay has tended to alienate the sellers that got them to where they are today. Their latest fee hikes have chased a lot of sellers I know away, and their dispute resolution that favors the buyer a clear majority of the time has also. When a buyer can file a claim against you weeks after an auction ends, get their money back and keep the merchandise...something is just wrong with that. I talked to a guy last night at the bar I was at about ebay and discovered that he has over 10 different screen names he uses on ebay. He also proudly talked about how he had bought some accessories for a guitar on Ebay ,didn't like them , so he filed a claim with Ebay/PAYPAL to get his money back....after he had left positive feedback for the seller. Ebay sided with him and he got his money back- 31 days after the auction had already closed. My brother sold a woman some Crown Royal bags and she filed a complaint against my brother 45 days after the fact...she got her money back and got to keep the bags.....the next day when I went to check her account she was no longer a registered user of Ebay. Imagine waking up on a monday checking your bank account out and seeing that Ebay/PAYPAL has withdrawn money from which then caused overdraws to occur and bank penalties as well. a minor transaction on Ebay ended up costing my brother around $80-$100 in penaltiesand fees. I think sellers need to realize that there is a culture of this type of buyer behavior developing on Ebay and it makes me sick to see it. The woman who filed the claim never responded to PAYPAL nor did she answer any emails pertaining to it from my brother. After about 20 days he stopped getting the messages about PAYPAL waiting for the "other party to reply" and they simply withdrew the $$ from his bank account the next monday without telling him. They then deemd the "Case Closed". Ebay wouldn't even talk to my brother on the phone about the situation either. With their employee base cut in half just in the last 2 years I guess they don't have the people to answer phones now ?? If this doesn't scare you as a seller I don't know what would about Ebay. they basically dissed a charter member who had faithfully bought and sold on their site since it became Ebay back in the mid 90's. Funny Ebay has the time to call my cell phone and leave messages about their latest offers though.

[Robextend]

I agree with Alan and Scott. The B/S/T is my favorite avenue for picking up and selling cards. What makes it so good as said before, is that for the most part we are all honest and can trust the transaction will be a smooth one. If I could find all the cards I needed on here I would never use Ebay....

[Doug]

I haven't bought anything on there this year and I really try to avoid selling on there unless I can find a better option. The fees are getting out of hand. I sold a used Wii game the other day for $30 and the eBay and PayPal fees were almost $6. 20% in total fees on a $30 transaction seems pretty excessive IMO.

[martin neal]

I think I must have a thin skin. I received an undeserved neg over a year ago and haven't listed anything since. If Ebay or Paypal would have been fair, I probably would have sold at least a hundred graded t206s in that time. I hope someone there gets the message.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by martin neal

I received an undeserved neg over a year ago and haven't listed anything since.

I thought when they changed the feedback system so that you can only leave positive feedback for buyers so that sellers have no way of defending themselves against undeserved negative feedbacks was a dumb idea. The sellers are the ones paying the fees and eBay seems to do everything they can to screw them over.

[smtjoy]

I got to say I am in Barrys camp. Ebay has been good to me as a buyer and seller. It's not perfect but its many times better than the pre ebay days. While Ebays fee are not cheap they are very in line with the auction houses so why are people not complaining about them?

Right now is the best buyers market I have seen in the last 7 years on ebay, if you have the money to spend its easy to get many cards for bargin prices. I think a lot of the negative we hear is from sellers for the opposite reasons, its hard for many sellers to swallow taking a loss, they at least want what they paid even if the market has moved lower. In my case I used to run a lot of .99 auctions but now I am only using .99 in cases of cards I just want to sell at any price, the cards I dont want to lose money on I put at auction at the starting price I want to sell at and if it fails to get a bid it goes into my store as a BIN.

Not sure about the future but ebay has been pushing for more auctions these last two weeks with a couple specials for half price listing fees and I think under the new pricing scheme some people will get free auction listings. We shall see.

[iggyman]

Originally Posted by T206DK

Imagine waking up on a monday checking your bank account out and seeing that Ebay/PAYPAL has withdrawn money from which then caused overdraws to occur and bank penalties as well. a minor transaction on Ebay ended up costing my brother around $80-$100 in penaltiesand fees.

Dave, in no way do I want to defend eBay, but they cannot go into your bank account without authorization. So I am confused with what happened to your brother??? Here is the eBay "User Agreement" link....


http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/user-agreement.html

Lovely Day...


"Sellers must have a reimbursement method on file with eBay.

For transactions paid with PayPal, sellers agree to allow us to remove funds from their PayPal accounts to reimburse buyers. Sellers may change this reimbursement method by contacting eBay.

When there are insufficient funds in PayPal accounts, transactions are not paid with PayPal, or when PayPal is not the reimbursement method of a seller, we will require another reimbursement method.

For future claims where the seller is found at fault, we will notify the seller and continue to charge the sellers preferred method for any reimbursements made under the eBay Buyer Protection Policy. Changing a reimbursement method will not affect eBay's use of a payment method on file for other purposes (such as payment of your eBay fees). If sellers do not provide eBay with a valid reimbursement method, we may collect amounts owed using other collection mechanisms, including retaining collection agencies. We may also suspend or restrict sellers from trading on our sites until payment is made."


-OR THIS-



10.2 Reimbursement for Your Liability. In the event that you are liable for any amounts owed to PayPal, PayPal may immediately remove such amounts from your Balance. If you do not have a Balance that is sufficient to cover your liability, your Account will have a negative Balance and you will be required to immediately add funds to your Balance to eliminate the negative Balance. If you do not do so, PayPal may engage in collection efforts to recover such amounts from you.”

[T206DK]

I know all about the user agreement. PAYPAL withdrew the funds from his savings account without notifying him they were doing it. He found out 3 days or more later in his "my ebay" message box, well after the money was withdrawn and fees and penalties were imposed. I assumed this was because his PAYPAL account was empty. this was 50 or so days after the initial transaction took place on ebay !

[darkpoet]

I gave up on eBay about 2 years ago, when the policy changes turned it into the Wild West. Now the inventory is just piling up to the sky and waiting for a better venue.

[jbsports33]

I have certainly done well on eBay over the years and I am still very active on the site. The past two years I have tried other ways to sell and buy, because I am disappointed in some of the changes they have made. What I have done is adjust to those changes and make the best of it and keep going. The buy it now end prices (fees) are kind of too much and I do not list much on the store, I plan to in the future when I have a decent amount of inventory to off set the cost. The shows, my website and other auction sites are great resources as well, but without the combination of eBay those options can be a slower process. In some cases that is okay, but with the economy the way it has been, eBay can be a great way to catch up weather you’re buying or selling.

Jimmy

[jb217676]

What gets me the most is the shipping part. I offer standard, non-insured delivery as well as insured delivery. Nobody ever chooses insured delivery because it costs 2-3 times as much depending on location. Buyers expect their item to be insured at the cheaper rate. Ebay sides with the buyer on this one because to them, it is the sellers responsibility to make sure the buyer gets their item, whether the buyer pays $2.00 for shipping or $200.00. Why would someone pay $20.00 for shipping on a card they paid $15.00 for when they can pay the $2.00 shipping fee and expect the same coverage and know ebay has their back? If I offered only insured shipping, nobody would bid on any of my cheaper items. Crazy!

[Smokey Joe]

What we need is a big player (Google) to come in and compete directly with Ebay. Right now Ebay does what they want and when they want because they can.

[Bridwell]

I'm enjoying all the comments on this thread. I still go to Ebay every day, and am addicted to it I suppose. Ebay has its share of problems, obviously. I'm curious how many of us need a daily Ebay 'fix' like I do.

Ron

[jb217676]

When it comes to buying cards, I'm mostly feeding my 'addiction' from a new 'pusher' these days. His name is the B/S/T.

[rdixon1208]

I am anxious for grandslambids.com to kick off. I don't sell too much, but I am a pretty active buyer, and I plan to take my business over there. I hope it is a huge success.

[alanu]

In spite of all the seller BIN museums, I still enjoy trying to find that card "I can't live without" on ebay at a reasonable price.

Still selling some on ebay, and doing a little more consigning to auction houses.

[Cat]

EBay has pushed me to the auction houses. I used to auction anything below $3K on EBay. Now, I send anything that I believe has a value of $400 or more to the auction houses. Basically, I am letting anything below the $400 level (and some items above that level) stack up.

I've often thought that Yahoo got out at the wrong time. Even though Yahoo started off poorly, they had the platform and name recognition to be able to move the card market to their site. They just needed to do a bit of "member clean-up" and that wouldn't have taken long.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by rdixon1208

I am anxious for grandslambids.com to kick off. I don't sell too much, but I am a pretty active buyer, and I plan to take my business over there. I hope it is a huge success.

Thanks for the kind words. The Grand Slam Bids site really should be open within about 2 weeks (no promises) for a final beta test. Our goal is not to close it down but go straight from beta to production and not miss a step. Both Matt and I are as anxious as anyone. The few large fixes are very important for the very large sellers. These few large items are being worked on then it will be opened. We believe it will be a great additional site to self-service sell your sports items on, in addition to ebay. There won't be tons of reprints except in the reprint section...Buyers AND sellers can leave feedback....and as of now, our thinking is that ALL bidders will be seen after the auction is over. We almost can't wait!!!

www.grandslambids.com

[baseball tourist]

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com...g-amazon-a-go/

[Northviewcats]

Hello Everyone,

I buy and sell on eBay all the time and I wouldn't have a collection with out them. Ebay has change--but it is what it is. It works better for post war cards, but if you adapt to the changes you still can find plenty of opportunities, even with prewar. I'm a "top-rated seller" on eBay. I guess that means I average about $1000 per month in sales. I buy cards on eBay and then flip them on eBay for a profit. It works for me.

I'm not a big enough fish (yet) to buy a lot from the auction houses, although I have made a few purchases from auction houses that I thought were real good deals.

I'm looking forward to Leon's site. I hope that he is very successful with it, but I still believe that eBay will still be an important venue for my business. I think you will always need to be open to all possible venues for buying and selling cards.

Best wishes,

Joe

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by baseball tourist

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com...g-amazon-a-go/

Jeez, if you think Ebay's fees are high..............

I've got a few minor things over there but I almost dread it when I get an e-mail saying I've sold something there.

[FUBAR]

I just browsed at amazon and the prices of the items i looked at were crazy high! Maybe its just me cause i am rather cheap, but i couldnt see spending 5k on a 1999 yankees signed bat

[Bamacollection]

Ebay is a done deal as far as selling goes for me. But, it is still a buyer's buffet... a lot of filler with a few hinden treats!

[chaddurbin]

i won't persuade the buyers that've left to come back to ebay....i just hope the sellers don't move their entire overpriced inventory bin from ebay over to GSB, extra work for me to filter them out.

[oriolesbb6]

I averaged 12k in sales per month on ebay for the past few years and now have been totally dissatisfied with selling. I have resorted to local auction houses and have done very well. I will still buy for the hope of finding that hidden gem....

[Matt]

Originally Posted by chaddurbin

i just hope the sellers don't move their entire overpriced inventory bin from ebay over to GSB

Our hope is that the significant savings in fees will allow those sellers to lower their prices while maintaining their potential profit margin.

[chaddurbin]

so what you're saying matt is there should be no more excuses for exhorbitant prices on GSB...i'm a fan already!

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by smtjoy

I got to say I am in Barrys camp. Ebay has been good to me as a buyer and seller. It's not perfect but its many times better than the pre ebay days. While Ebays fee are not cheap they are very in line with the auction houses so why are people not complaining about them?

Right now is the best buyers market I have seen in the last 7 years on ebay, if you have the money to spend its easy to get many cards for bargin prices. I think a lot of the negative we hear is from sellers for the opposite reasons, its hard for many sellers to swallow taking a loss, they at least want what they paid even if the market has moved lower. In my case I used to run a lot of .99 auctions but now I am only using .99 in cases of cards I just want to sell at any price, the cards I dont want to lose money on I put at auction at the starting price I want to sell at and if it fails to get a bid it goes into my store as a BIN.

Not sure about the future but ebay has been pushing for more auctions these last two weeks with a couple specials for half price listing fees and I think under the new pricing scheme some people will get free auction listings. We shall see.

In my opinion, Scott has his thumb on the pulse of ebay regardless if you collect Baseball Cards, Pez, Fishing Lures, or Comics.

Good points all the way around Scott.

Best, Jimmy

[iggyman]

Originally Posted by smtjoy

While Ebays fee are not cheap they are very in line with the auction houses so why are people not complaining about them?

Okay, I let it slide the first time and I almost agree with everything that Scott, Barry, and now Jimmy said. But, I do take exception to one little itsy-bitsy-thingy.

Once eBay fees (starting on March 31) start hovering around what an auction house would charge. Then from my standpoint as a seller, that venue is "dead as a dodo bird!!!" It's a no brainer, because to sell on eBay I have to...................

grade cards,
create lots,
take pictures,
pay for image hostings/templates/scheduling,
write descriptions,
update listings,
reply to questions,
sweat it out waiting for a sniper(s) to rescue me,
send invoices,
create shipping labels,
answer "do I combine shipping" questions,
securely package cards,
go to the post office,
make small talk with a burly postal worker with bad breath,
answer "why have my cards not arrive" questions,
track lost packages,
issue full refunds,
issue partial refunds,
accept returns,
deal with non-paying bidders,
re-list items,
deal with eBay's resolution center,
explain to my wife why I spend so much time in front of the computer,
keep records of all my transactions for the IRS,
balance my books to to see if I am in the red,
purchase bubble mailers
purchase top loaders
purchase bubble wrap
purchase/find boxes
purchase six-pack and/or heart medication.

For now, the beer is working, but in a few more years the only thing left would be the heart medication. Thus, do I want high blood pressure or for the same fees and profit margin will I now send my stuff to auction houses for 90% less agravation? I might not look like Einstein, but after March 31st, me and him will have alot in common.

Lovely Day...

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by iggyman

Okay, I let it slide the first time and I almost agree with everything that Scott, Barry, and now Jimmy said. But, I do take exception to one little itsy-bitsy-thingy.

Once eBay fees (starting on March 31) start hovering around what an auction house would charge. Then from my standpoint as a seller, that venue is "dead as a dodo bird!!!" It's a no brainer, because to sell on eBay I have to...................

grade cards,
create lots,
take pictures,
pay for image hostings/templates/scheduling,
write descriptions,
update listings,
reply to questions,
sweat it out waiting for a sniper(s) to rescue me,
send invoices,
create shipping labels,
answer "do I combine shipping" questions,
securely package cards,
go to the post office,
make small talk with a burly postal worker with bad breath,
answer "why have my cards not arrive" questions,
track lost packages,
issue full refunds,
issue partial refunds,
accept returns,
deal with non-paying bidders,
re-list items,
deal with eBay's resolution center,
explain to my wife why I spend so much time in front of the computer,
keep records of all my transactions for the IRS,
balance my books to to see if I am in the red,
purchase bubble mailers
purchase top loaders
purchase bubble wrap
purchase/find boxes
purchase six-pack and/or heart medication.

For now, the beer is working, but in a few more years the only thing left would be the heart medication. Thus, do I want high blood pressure or for the same fees and profit margin will I now send my stuff to auction houses for 90% less agravation? I might not look like Einstein, but after March 31st, me and him will have alot in common.

Lovely Day...

You don't have to do any of those things Iggy. Either you choose to, or not to, do them. Now if you are trying to do this as full time employment, just remember this...when going into business for yourself, you get to choose ANY hours that you want to work! Any 14 hours a day.

Best, Jimmy

And BTW... Yes, it is a lovely day here in in Pasadena

[smtjoy]

While I do sell a lot on ebay I have many cards that when I do decide to sell them, they will go to an auction house as i think that is the best way to maximize my revenue.

Even with the fee increases I just feel ebays sweet spot is cards in the $1-$200 range, thats a range many auctions do not sell in and/or want to combine them into lots. I also feel that ebay has tons more low end bidders than auction houses, just goto the CU boards and see how many posters there buy all the time from ebay but have never bid in an auction.

[iggyman]

Look it, I'm not arguing that eBay isn't a great place to sell stuff or that it is too much work. The new changes, actually make it a little bit cheaper to sell cards under $25. But my point is simple, starting March 31th eBay's fees will reach the 12% threshold and at that point, from my perspective as a seller, the rewards are not worth the work. At least, not when I have other options.

Lovely Day...

[DaveW]

I have to say that as a guy that buys mostly under $100 cards, I love EBay. I do think there's way too much overpriced BIN stuff, but I just filter that out and look at the cards I'm interested in. I can usually find something interesting to buy. Now if I were a seller, I'd probably be annoyed with all the changes but where else would I sell all the low priced stuff? Maybe on the BST here where you have a pretty good pre-sorted audience.
- Dave