Ebay is getting ridiculous!

[donsrods]

Wow, are the Ebay fees getting ridicuous ! I just sold something on there and here is how it ended up:

The total of the sale was $203.50.

Paypal Fee is $6.20
Ebay Fee is $21.07
Total coming to you-$176.23


That's $ 27.27 they made on a $ 203.50 item, more than 10%. But at least I sold it. I had previously listed this on CraigsList (Mercruiser engine block) and got 1 call and he never showed up.

I sure won't be selling much on Ebay any more !!!!!! There was a time when I sold thousands and thousands of dollars of stuff on Ebay, but they have gotten waaaaaaaaaaaaay too greedy.


Don

 

[EnglishBob]

So you'd rather keep the items?
Everything costs more,plain and simple,I'd rather have $176 in my pocket than nothing.

 

[cycledog]

leeme see, 0 or 176.23. Which is better?

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

He didn't say which is better, or that he would rather keep the items. He simply stated that the fees are getting ridiculous, which is TRUE. Yes it is their sandbox, blah blah blah. But the overcharging, double-dipping and monopolization has simply gotten out of hand.

They are even charging a percentage of shipping costs now. How does that make any sense? You sell an item - the buyer pays to have it shipped, yet eBay takes a cut from that? Yes, that is GREED folks, plain and simple. Worse yet, it is trickling down to the consumer who is going to wind up paying more for an item just so the seller can afford to cover the associated costs. That being if they don't say screw it altogether and sell locally or don't sell at all. Maybe that part you needed oh-so-badly won't show up now because of corporate money-grubbing BS.

So think about that the next time you are paying $230.77 for a $203.50 item.

 

[Tripper]

Between all of eBay's fees & their really screwed up feedback system I have all but quit using them. If you sell something & have a bad buyer.... the buyer can give you bad feedback but you can't post a rebuttal. Plus... I don't think there are as many real deals on there anymore!!!

BoB

 

[donsrods]

I have no problem paying anyone for a service. What I think is outrageous is that Ebay charges you to list the item, then takes a cut of the sale price, then MAKES you use PayPal, for which they also take another cut. To me that is triple dipping.

As I mentioned, over the years I have bought and sold probably $ 50,000.00 worth of stuff on Ebay, and that most likely is a conservative figure. I made some good money on it and gave back most of it when I bought more stuff. The rates then were high, but acceptable. But Ebay kept finding ways to slide in these additional charges and forcing you to get paid through their own PayPal system, making additional money for them.

And don't even try to get a human being at Ebay on the phone to help you.....they don't exist. One time I sold a boat of mine and paid the $ 80 fee. The buyer bombed out, so I did a second chance offer and they charged me another $ 80 fee. I had to relist the same boat and they charged me a third $ 80 fee........all for the same boat. I tried to get someone there to explain they were charging me 3 times for one sale and could never get anyone on the phone, so I gave up and ate the extra $ 160.00.

No wonder CraigsList has become so popular.

Don

 

[Roadent]

I simply use Ebay as a item locator and a price index indicator. Then hop over to Craigslist and find what I am looking for.

As far as PayPal...I will NOT have anything what-so-ever to do with them due to their "unique" social/political convictions....not to mention their nickle/dime business model.

If I find an item on Ebay I specifically wish to purchase, I contact the seller directly and usually we come to mutually acceptable terms, we do the transaction outside of Ebay.

If a legitimate seller is really interested in selling an item they usually are comfortable with this type of an arrangement. I have had excellent luck using this method.

My 2 cents...

 

[Toad]

And don't even try to get a human being at Ebay on the phone to help you.....they don't exist.

You got that right! The fees and the frustration of trying to sort out any problem was what finally did me in with them! Horrible customer service is something I just can't tolerate!

Toad

 

[oldmanb]

Ebay lost me as a seller <(I had over 2000 pos. feedback),several years ago when they switched to their Paypal only option.
You sell something accept PayPal, if the buyer is dishonest, and files a claim stating they didn't receive the item,(even though they did) or it wasn't as discribed, PayPal would reimburse the buyer and your out both the item and money,and oh ya, they will still charge the listing and selling fees! Ebay even owns Paypal
Brian

 

[RPM]

We sell a lot of stuff on Ebay everyday. Yes they now charge the seller a % for the shipping fess. We had to raise our prices to cover this extra charge. We try to encourage buyers to call us and pay with a credit card. Not to mention that Paypal holds 10% of the gross ale for 60-90 days in and escrow account in case of a charge back. I hate Paypal. On the other hand it is cheap world wide advertising. To get a magazine ad would cost 10 times a month what our ebay fees are.

 

[donsrods]

What I don't get are the people who are selling items on there that cost $5.00 . How many of those do you have to sell to make any money, especially once Ebay and PayPal take their pound of flesh?

If you tally up the fact that Ebay/PayPal not only make money on the seller, but on the buyer as well, they are not cheap by any means. The only upside is that you can find some hard to find items there that you would not ever see anywhere else. I could not have built the old timey hot rods I do build if it were not for the odd parts showing up on Ebay from time to time.

Don

 

[HOT40ROD]

I use to sell alot on Ebay. I use to be one of the power sellers and have a 100% rating. but about four years ago with there new policies I only sell if there is no other way of getting rid of something. I sell most of my stuff on car site now. I check the wanted section an if I have what they need I contact them and it been working every well for me.

I still use paypal But if the person uses cash or money order I will give a better price.

Oh yea. If you are a power seller they do give you phone numbers were you can talk to a human. I use to give them out to people that were having issue with them. But that got me in trouble.

 

[earthman]

The problem is obvious Don. Greedbay has no competition.No better time than now to take them down. With your experience you know what buyers and sellers both would like to see improved.Give folks better service, charge half of what Greedbay does and still make a Brazilian bucks.
I think Tripper Jr. could set you up with a site and the growth could be phenomenal. Just folks changing over where Ebay had to introduce people to the whole idea.

 

[EnglishBob]

Ebay/paypal and all their affiliates make it easy to get the money from or to the people dealing with each other.
The chance of competion is slim and they know it so the solution is simple..if you don't like it..don't use it.
I still and will continue to use them on a very regular basis and include all costs in the price of my stuff,what I won't tolerate is the thieves trying to sell me stuff cheap and then trying to rip me off on shipping,can't blame egay for that.

 

[rainman]

Personally I've never had any luck on Craigslist!

 

[donsrods]

Personally I've never had any luck on Craigslist!

I have to admit I have had lukewarm results on Craigslist. Not too bad when I am the buyer, but not so hot when I have sold stuff there. People promise to show up and don't, then if they do come they try to beat you down on price.

The other problem is that we let NO ONE come inside our shop because you never know if someone is casing the place. We have a lot of money in cars, parts, and tools in there so when someone does come to get something I have sold I have the garage door closed and the item sitting outside. They probably think it is odd, selling out of the driveway, but it keeps prying eyes from seeing stuff they shouldn't see. Even with alarms and survailance equipment you can't be too careful these days.

In that respect Ebay is pretty clean. You get the money, box the item up, ship it, and never have to meet the buyer.

Don