Ebay and Paypal users.....

Folks,

In the past 90 days Ebay has started collecting sales fees on the shipping costs to my buyers. (Not a big deal if the shipping costs are a small percentage of the overall cost, buy mine costs are typically 30% or more of the overall invoice.)

Just today, Paypal announced that they will hold all Ebay receipts for up to 21 days to allow the resolution of any disputes. (Prior policy was that money was withdrawable as soon as it hit my Paypal account.)

I do about $2000 per year of business with these folks and it feels like they are trying to squeeze me out. (It's gonna work.)

Anybody else got experience/inputs on these issues?

TIA,

Rog

I closed up my e-bay store two years ago when the prices got out of hand just to keep the listing active. Squezzed me right out with fee's now i buy only on e-bay and sell other places like good old swap meets...They all most die around here but have seen a small comeback with people feed up with shipping cost and not as listed parts etc.

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My guess is they're doing that to combat the issue of sellers lowering the item price and jacking up the shipping prices in order to pay lower fees. Still don't agree with any of the policies ebay/paypal have implemented in the last half dozen years which is why I've completely stopped using them to sell items privately.

I just sold a set of Hella lights this summer and cut it close on the shipping fee's. I was within pennies of breaking even.

After I got a commission taken against my shipping charges I made the decision to stop selling on ebay.

I have a basement full of small Datsun 240Z parts, I have zero dollars in my Christmas fund this year and I am again thinking of making some money to help with the Christmas budget....

ebay is doing a very good job of destroying thier original business model. I no longer sell there either

I will never sell there.

Why do they think it's ok to take commission on SHIPPING? "Oh, you're going to pay Fedex $20? We'd like a portion of that please."

That sounds borderline illegal.

Armitage wrote: My guess is they're doing that to combat the issue of sellers lowering the item price and jacking up the shipping prices in order to pay lower fees. Still don't agree with any of the policies ebay/paypal have implemented in the last half dozen years which is why I've completely stopped using them to sell items privately.

That is probably it. Sellers are charging ridiculous shipping prices. By the time you factored it in, you might as well have just gone to your regular retailer or favorite web vendor. Especially since most of the sellers take forever to ship and have 0 customer service - which is probably why paypal will hold onto your funds.

I always thought ebay stores sucked. I'd rather buy peer-to-peer like it was when ebay first started.

To amg_rx7:

I do auction sales only. I show the potential buyers exactly how I am going to calculate the shipping, (because my stuff is usually bulky/heavy and not too expensive.)

My Ebay ratings have been 100% positive, with the exception of a couple of neutrals due to communication snafus.

So I do understand how Ebay can punish everyone for the sins of a few, but I don't gotta like it. (Just like group punishment in grade school.)

Rog

I agree with everything that's been said, with one caveat:

*where else will people pay good money for your old trash? I've made a ton of money selling old car and bike parts, old snowboards etc.

The costs are getting higher, but it's still worth it for the convenience and exposure. I only do auctions, BTW and they all start at $0.99

emodspitfire wrote: To amg_rx7: I do auction sales only. I show the potential buyers exactly how I am going to calculate the shipping, (because my stuff is usually bulky/heavy and not too expensive.) My Ebay ratings have been 100% positive, with the exception of a couple of neutrals due to communication snafus. So I do understand how Ebay can punish everyone for the sins of a few, but I don't gotta like it. (Just like group punishment in grade school.) Rog

Yep. Just like grade school. And government...

Reset your prices accordingly.

Like many, I ended up giving up selling on ebay years ago, when it got to where I frequently wasn't making money on sales.

I've pretty much given up on buying on ebay because so many have given up selling treasures. It's almost all new junk, or absurdly priced trash.

I think the importers of cheap junk have been hurting ebay for years. They used to be my first stop when looking for something odd, but now they're not.

If they'd only let me filter out businesses selling new stuff from individuals selling their used crap, I'd be happier. Sorry to hear that the selling side isn't any better.

I don't have much interest in selling on there anymore. Besides charging fees on the item and shipping, they have biased the system towards buyers. As a seller you have very little recourse on bad buyers. I recently got screwed because a buyer made a false claim about my item and threatened negative feedback if I didn't give a refund. I can't even give him negative feedback for being a liar and thief.

I'd rather deal with the typical CL flakes than hassle with Fleabay

With "Craiglook" gone, is there any other easy and effective National Craigslist forum?

Rog

I bought some coax connectors direct from China. They took my paypal email address and sold it to the spammers.

Not only does Ebay charge an auction/insertion fee but they also take a cut of both the final item price and the shipping costs. Paypal also takes a percentage of the sale if you use them and frankly you almost have to use them anymore. Now Paypal has to supply the IRS with a 1099 form if you have over 200 transactions in a 12 month period and/or 20K in sales in the same time period. Obviously this will not effect most of us but for some it will. I do over 200 transactions a year on Ebay. Oh joy now we get to pay taxes too.

Feedyurhed wrote: Not only does Ebay charge an auction/insertion fee but they also take a cut of both the final item price and the shipping costs. Paypal also takes a percentage of the sale if you use them and frankly you almost have to use them anymore.

Exactly. Way back when eBay made it so you were forced to accept credit card payments via Paypal for all auctions was when I gave up on them. The very first time you accept a credit card payment you get "upgraded" to a "premium" Paypal account. Then they start taking 3% of every transaction, credit card-funded or cash. Making it so you had no choice but to accept a credit card-funded payment made it impossible not to upgrade your account and avoid the fees. I use my Paypal account to collect rent payments from my roommates via echeck or eft. No way was I going to be paying them 3% off of the thousands of dollars that went into and back out of my account every year for rent payments. I'd rather go back to using paper checks and waiting in line at the bank teller. Some progress we've made.

I used ebay to start my business almost 10 years ago. The exposure I got, for the fees I paid was a great deal, but there's no way I could afford to sell on there now. With the ebay and PP fees, it would cut too deep into my already thin margins.

I still do a lot of buying, though. In Canada, retail is controlled by relatively few, and pricing can be high for some things, like bike parts. I can often buy something and with shipping, still pay substantially less than I'd pay here. That, and there's usually no tax.

I've been selling on ebay sense the beginning and I've seen the rates and fees go from fare to fleecing.Now the only thing I put on there are things I need a national audience to sell to.I now use CL for most of the stuff I sell and avoid buying things I know has to be sold on ebay.Its only a matter of time till another auction site comes online and shuts ebay down.There are aution sites that will be giving them a run for there money soon but if any of you trade guns on gunbroker.com you know PP will not allow you to use your account on there site, which I feel is not right seeing how its your money on the account and there dictating how you spend it.There are European aution sites but they don't opperate in the US but when I lived overseas I sold on a site called Allegro and had great success.As soon as theres an alternative I'm jumping ship.

I gave up selling on eBay about 3 years ago, I was just a casual seller but when they jumped the minimum listing price on a car I gave it up.

Still buy but only on true auctions from private parties

I concur with what others have said above. I have been selling on there since 1999. Have great feedback, but between the eBay fees and now a percentage on shipping as well, I might as well not bother. I think they are opening the door up for a competitor ( I hope anyway) since they have squeezed out the very people that they built there business on.

We've been thinking about selling neon on Ebay but that thought just fizzled away.

Every one is making it harder and harder to do business.

emodspitfire wrote: Just today, Paypal announced that they will hold all Ebay receipts for up to 21 days to allow the resolution of any disputes. (Prior policy was that money was withdrawable as soon as it hit my Paypal account.)

Just f-ing great. Where did you read about that? Just the latest in a series of indignities from a company doing its best to destroy its niche. I've gone from selling tons of stuff on it to only selling the most specialized of items. Who knows if I'll sell on it at all now.

I've had a really bad experience with eBay and Paypal.

I sold, on eBay, a really clean old Porsche 944. I sold it "true mileage unknown" because the odometer didn't work. Buyer paid, in full, with Paypal. I then sent him the title and the car got picked up.

When the buyer received the car, he contacted me because he wanted me to sign a document stating the mileage shown was original. I referred him back to the eBay listing, where it was clearly stated that the car is sold "true mileage unknown".

He persisted and eventually told me that if I did not sign the form, he would file a claim against me with Paypal. In his words, "then I'll have both the car and my money back."

I contacted Paypal in an effort to prevent this, and Paypal was of no help at all. Simply useless.

In the end, I did NOT sign the form he wanted, and he didn't get his money back. But I'm not telling how I pulled it off. : ) I am still pissed that I couldn't leave him negative feedback, though.

I was selling there, but too many bad ebayers have made me stop selling, I do continue to buy from time to time.