So I Sold Something.....

[TriCityBassin']

My question....online auction site no longer a good choice for the regular Joe looking to offload some stuff?

 

I sold a depth finder online at AUCTION.  To my surprise, if you are not a constant seller but just sporadic, your funds are held for a very long time.  If you want your funds faster.....purchase the postage directly from the auction site and print your shipping labels off the website.   Hmmmmmmmmm  NO

 

If you want your $$$, ship the item and upload the tracking #.  With out my money or the shipping that the buyer was charged?  Rock and hard place on that one.

 

Once all is said and done.....Auction site now takes 9% of the total selling price to include what was charged for shipping.  Are they mafia run now?  I work for a Credit Card company and 9% fee on every transaction would have people coming after us with pitch forks and torches.  I used to work for a big box retailer.....There are precious few items that have >9% margin on them.

 

This is ridiculous....9%!  And the fees change depending on what you are selling.  If you are selling clothes, the fees are like 14% or something. What in the world!!!

 

 

I think i am done with this website.  Have you all been using any online listings to sell stuff?  Am i just out of the loop?  Am i being ridiculous?

[KentuckyDave]

I agree with you on fees for a website because there is no payroll tied up in working but I work in retail right now and have my whole life...my entire store operates above 35% margin....

[Hi Salenity]

I had the same problem PP sent me an email saying I was at high risk and they were going to hold my funds for 30 days on all transactions? I called and asked why, telling them I had 100% + feedback and I'd NEVER had any complaints... they told me it was because I hadn't sold anything lately. ?????? and this makes me a bad person or a risk?

Anyhow after the 30 days they will reevaluate your account. at this time mine was unlocked.

[TriCityBassin']

I agree with you on fees for a website because there is no payroll tied up in working but I work in retail right now and have my whole life...my entire store operates above 35% margin....

OMG....well I worked for WM.....that type of margin didn't exist. Holy cow 35%!

[deaknh03]

I would bet that wal mart's average margin is between 25-30%. 

[J Francho]

Standard consignment fee is 20%. The infrastructure isn't free. There is no charge in our Flea Market.....

[jhoffman]

Just wait till you get to the shipping part and see that exhorbant fee. I shipped a frame backpack from PA to CO in the summer. $70+, I quoted $25 thinking that would be high. Selling online isnt really worth it anymore unless you know what its going to cost to ship up front. These days of listing a price and saying it includes shipping is over unless you wanna lose big time.

[MyKeyBe]

The bay hasn't been a good place to sell for a long time. It used to be so easy. Between all the fees and now the crazy shipping prices...

I gave it up about 6 years ago, it was starting to get crazy then. I wonder if I collect interest on the $12.00 or $13.00 that were still in my PP account?   There is no way I would even try it anymore. CL and forum flea markets seem the way to go for the average person anymore.

[Phish]

Ebay sure can be tough, especially for someone just looking to unload some items on occassion. I've never heard of payment being frozen like that though, sounds sketchy to me. If that's what PayPal is doing now it's just one more thing that will prevent eBay from enouraging commerce and growing. Unfortunate.

 

I personally have sold and bought for years, and just recently opened an eBay shop to support a small part-time hobby / business. You really can only make money on large marins and you need every strategy and cost cutting tool possible to do well long-term. Definitely ship using eBay / PayPal shipping tools, I see no reason not to. If you're not selling large quantities or large shipments often, USPS is the best method. And it's likely the best method period - Priority Mail or 1st Class for under 13 oz. And there's never any reason to waste gas or time with Post Offices, unless perhaps you need to ship something balloon rate. I get all my shipping supplies delivered, and all shipments picked up, almost all for free. Factor shipping costs and the asinine eBay fees on shipping cost into the item cost.

 

But then again, if you're an occassional seller looking to unload unwanted items, then I don't think you're depending on sales for income. Ebay tends to prey on the little guy like this. It's too bad. Amazon I hear is even worse for small businesses, not sure but I've yet to research it. Craigslist is a crapshoot of scammers and bargain hunters and it's tough to get noticed by a large audience.