The State of eBay

[perezfan]

I was just telling some friends that eBay has become completely worthless for buying memorabilia. The endless supply of overpriced common, mass-produced crap dwarfs anything of rarity/quality/value that might be hiding there. The searches have become a complete waste of time.

Yes, the supply may have dried up a bit, but re-selling has always been a "thing" until now. It's because of the 1099-K forms and lowering the reporting threshold to its ridiculous new level. NOBODY wants to sell under these conditions, and is crazy to do so under their current policies.

I used to do very well, selling on eBay. It was quick, easy and inexpensive. But with the new "rules" I do not have the time or ability to scrounge up non-existent records of what I paid for something 30+ years ago.

Much of the stuff has actually gone DOWN in value (Hartlands, Stanford Pottery, etc.) and if you can't prove it, you are completely screwed. Not to mention that you typically need to sell something for 40-50% more than you originally paid, just to break even! You must sell a given item for enough money to overcome the original purchase price, the sales tax, the Buyers Premium, the original shipping and insurance charges, etc. And then when re-selling, you have to cover the eBay and PayPal Seller's fees, which exceed 15%. NOT WORTH IT!

To Howards point... eBay has taken ALL of the fun (and profit) out of selling. Perhaps it's still okay for cards (which have appreciated more and cost little to ship), but that's the reason most sellers have left the platform.

[toledo_mudhen]

Originally Posted by perezfan

... eBay has taken ALL of the fun (and profit) out of selling. Perhaps it's still okay for cards (which have appreciated more and cost little to ship), but that's the reason most sellers have left the platform.

Ditto!

[gunboat82]

eBay sucks for all the reasons stated, but it also seems to be the only place left where I can still close deals without bending over backward. I suspect it's a combination of much lower traffic on other sites and Facebook algorithms burying some posts.

Here are the shipped prices for all my eBay sales going back to last month, with what the same items were listed for on Facebook and other forums:

1500 (highest offer 1000) --> eBay 1803
3650 (highest offer 3400) --> eBay 4475
4300 (highest offer 3500) --> eBay 5083
2200 (tirekickers, no takers) --> eBay 2508
340 (no offers) --> eBay 434
415 (tirekickers, no takers) --> eBay 499
750 (no offers) --> eBay 1076

Outside eBay, most of the offers I receive come from high-volume resellers, and the negotiations generally involve them pointing out why my card looks worse than another card that sold for the same price two years ago.

And the prices speak for themselves. Collectively, eBay buyers spent $15,878 on my items, which they could have had for $13,105 if they simply knew to where to look. But they don't know where to look (or don't want to bother), so they pay a 21% fee.

[Brick442]

I have sold a lot on eBay in the past, not so much in recent years due to many factors (most mentioned above). However, when I sell items recently I get tons of messages from buyers: where's my item? did you ship? despite always being delivered within the window eBay specifies, sometimes by several days.

Not one buyer of mine has ever received an item late, yet I get several of these messages a week. Even after a telling a buyer "you will receive your item on time" I get more messages about the shipment.

Now I understand why one of the largest sellers of autographed cards on eBay blocks buyers from bidding after messaging one of these questions. Drives me nuts! Rant over lol.