Ebay is out of hand.
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Over the years I've moved away from eBay. I do have a hard time finding stuff for other things but I won't shop on there- people tend to abuse it and steal money.
The worst thing I tend to see on there is something that's worth $10 listed for $2 but the shipping is $20 when the item will fit in a $5 flat rate box.
There are still good deals on there but you need to read the auction page carefully and have an idea of the value of what you're looking at.
I've bought a few things off amazon.com and they seem to be a little better lately for getting decent deals.
Two other places to check out when you're looking for something is Thefind.com and Google.
Thefind.com searches multiple sites and puts up their prices on their site.
Putting the item you're looking for into google does the same thing if you click the shopping link on the left side after starting you search.
There are still good deals on there but you need to read the auction page carefully and have an idea of the value of what you're looking at.
I've bought a few things off amazon.com and they seem to be a little better lately for getting decent deals.
Two other places to check out when you're looking for something is Thefind.com and Google.
Thefind.com searches multiple sites and puts up their prices on their site.
Putting the item you're looking for into google does the same thing if you click the shopping link on the left side after starting you search.
I use to sell on ebay but the fees are out of control and the post office changed rates again. Ebay made it a rule that certain items have capped shipping cost. So an item might cost me $6.00 to ship yet I can only charge $4.00. On top of that they have a new rule where they take part of the shipping cost also as the final value fee. Rip off.
What did me in for selling was when I bought a nail gun at a yard sale that sold for less then I paid. Some people would just say its out of stock but I did the rite thing and took a loss. Slap me in the face. The turd that bought it left me negative feedback cause he didnt get a tracking number. Well if u change your email address and dont update with pay pal then you wont get a tracking number. The guy never even asked for it. Then ebay says they can do nothing about it cause its buyers opinion. Shipping was on time too.
So I said okay u turds. Wana play that. The next 5 things I buy will be with negative feedback no matter what, cause my opinion is that you people suck. I only did it once and put that the seller was A+ but ebay sucks. Bet they took that one off.
What did me in for selling was when I bought a nail gun at a yard sale that sold for less then I paid. Some people would just say its out of stock but I did the rite thing and took a loss. Slap me in the face. The turd that bought it left me negative feedback cause he didnt get a tracking number. Well if u change your email address and dont update with pay pal then you wont get a tracking number. The guy never even asked for it. Then ebay says they can do nothing about it cause its buyers opinion. Shipping was on time too.
So I said okay u turds. Wana play that. The next 5 things I buy will be with negative feedback no matter what, cause my opinion is that you people suck. I only did it once and put that the seller was A+ but ebay sucks. Bet they took that one off.
Yarr - Ebay has become a haven for swabs and blackguards of all stripes since the last round of rule changes.
I used to buy lots of tube radio gear when I was in my collecting phase but selling became too much of a PITA.
I used to buy lots of tube radio gear when I was in my collecting phase but selling became too much of a PITA.
It was a good place to buy things that where hard to find a few years ago. Now that so many people left its hard to find stuff again. I really wish I could make money selling things online again but its hopeless. Craigslist is unwilling to add my city so I have 4 of them all at least 2 hours away. Makes it hard to make any money. I doubt ebay will ever recover. They seem to like the direction they are taking.
Just filled out a customer survey. I spent 20 minutes on that thing and the very last thing they ask is do I sell more or buy. They have a rep for favoring the buyers. Guess that 20 min was all for nothing. I want to be able to sell and make a profit. Otherwise why bother.
Not all sellers on Ebay are scumbags. For the last 6 years or so I've been selling parts on there for the Harley dealership I work at. I've had well over 8,000 transactions on there and only 2 neutral feedbacks out of all of those. Both were for BS reasons. One guy had his package "stolen" from his from porch (UPS verified delivery) and another was an international one where the guy wrote something not in English that made zero sense with an online translator (and never got back to me). My job is to clearance parts out that we aren't selling at the dealership and to get rid of all the take off/random stuff that's laying around. People get some amazing deals because of this. I even give people tech support (been there for 11 years) and go way out of my way to figure stuff out for them or find out where they can get a part. I like helping bikers and understand where most of them are coming from. I work partially on commission, so the more I sell the more I make. I'd rather not make a sale and get someone the right part from somewhere else than just tell them to .... off. It's hard, but you just need to find the right sellers on Ebay and it can make for a much more pleasant experience. I have many people that will email/call me directly and ask if I have X part (new or used) that they need.
I'll second Strigoi's view, as I work for a 14-year eBay seller who's sold well over a million items on eBay. Yeah, my boss has had some bad feedback (generally either from people outside the US who complain about the time they had to wait when they chose the lowest-cost shipping option, which we warn can be a few weeks in bad cases, or from people who bid on 100 items and then want us to cut them a deal because they're getting so many items -- I should note that as all our auctions start at a penny, we don't tend to cut deals for bulk purchases on our auctions). But on the whole, feedback is generally incredibly positive, because we ship within 24 hours of payment if it's a weekday, or first thing Monday if payment comes in on a weekend, and we're picky about our quality level.
Like anything else, you just have to pay attention who you're buying from. There's the idiots who charge $10 for an iPad and then charge $1000 shipping. They're the exception, not the norm. Just pay attention, and you'll be fine.
Like anything else, you just have to pay attention who you're buying from. There's the idiots who charge $10 for an iPad and then charge $1000 shipping. They're the exception, not the norm. Just pay attention, and you'll be fine.
Some how we got off topic. That's all positive reinforcement for someone though. Im a little more advanced. Been buying and selling since they added pay pal.
On the other hand I dont see how u have any auction starting at a penny. Just for kicks. U sell a dvd for a penny. Your shipping method is priority only so u can get a tracking # to the buyer. Helps make sales. Here is where u lose. Ebay will only let you charge $4 max for shipping. Well it cost you over $5 to ship plus the 12% that ebay takes out of the $4 shipping that the buyer paid. How can u add that one up to get ahead? Then u add the 12% for letting pay pal collect the money along with the 12 cents from the 99 cent item.
So basically you have to get real lucky, say its out of stock, or loose money. I let the loosing money deal hit me when I wasn't looking a couple times. Thats annoying to say the least. Picture that with one sale that u lost money on where the buyer left u neg F and ebay telling you its opinion and nothing can be done.
So I have learned not to go over the listing count and list for free only. Only one picture so thats free. If an item needs more pics I make a youtube clip and post the link in the auction. Then only start the price where u want to sell it, so if it sells it will cover the fees and leave u with some profit. I would rather keep it then pay for a buyer to have it while ebay cashed in, the buyer cashed in, but the one bringing the entire deal to the table and doing all the work gets spit on and neg feedback to boot. Everyone says my auction descriptions are spot on. Im over critical for sure. I just know how moody people can be so I fix all that on the front end of the sale.
On the other hand I dont see how u have any auction starting at a penny. Just for kicks. U sell a dvd for a penny. Your shipping method is priority only so u can get a tracking # to the buyer. Helps make sales. Here is where u lose. Ebay will only let you charge $4 max for shipping. Well it cost you over $5 to ship plus the 12% that ebay takes out of the $4 shipping that the buyer paid. How can u add that one up to get ahead? Then u add the 12% for letting pay pal collect the money along with the 12 cents from the 99 cent item.
So basically you have to get real lucky, say its out of stock, or loose money. I let the loosing money deal hit me when I wasn't looking a couple times. Thats annoying to say the least. Picture that with one sale that u lost money on where the buyer left u neg F and ebay telling you its opinion and nothing can be done.
So I have learned not to go over the listing count and list for free only. Only one picture so thats free. If an item needs more pics I make a youtube clip and post the link in the auction. Then only start the price where u want to sell it, so if it sells it will cover the fees and leave u with some profit. I would rather keep it then pay for a buyer to have it while ebay cashed in, the buyer cashed in, but the one bringing the entire deal to the table and doing all the work gets spit on and neg feedback to boot. Everyone says my auction descriptions are spot on. Im over critical for sure. I just know how moody people can be so I fix all that on the front end of the sale.
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That's why my boss doesn't ship priority mail. The business ships media mail. He stopped doing priority just before all the fee changes went into effect, and we sure don't miss it. 
But ebay does allow you to charge more than $4 for shipping -- you just have to print your shipping labels through them to do it so they can prove that yeah, it actually cost more than $4 for shipping.
I moonlight and sell some stuff on the side on ebay from home, and I tend to do first-class mail (through ebay, it comes with a tracking number, so I don't HAVE to ship priority). I charge $4 for shipping, the actual shipping costs me usually about $2.70, the padded envelope I ship in costs me about a buck, and I figure the leftover 30 cents covers the tape and paper/toner for my printer. Course, the stuff I personally sell doesn't start at a penny, because I gotta cover costs. (My boss can do penny auctions because of the law of averages -- when you've got 800 new items going up every day, seven days a week, some will sell for a penny, and some'll sell for $30, so it all balances out.) I don't have that kind of personal stock, nor the time to handle it all, so I can't do that for my own stuff... but it works fine for my boss, and he's got a good customer base.
Still, my point was more that ebay isn't all bad. There's some great people on there, and there's some quality stuff on there. You just have to be careful who you're buying from, which is the same thing as you have to do anywhere else.
But ebay does allow you to charge more than $4 for shipping -- you just have to print your shipping labels through them to do it so they can prove that yeah, it actually cost more than $4 for shipping. I moonlight and sell some stuff on the side on ebay from home, and I tend to do first-class mail (through ebay, it comes with a tracking number, so I don't HAVE to ship priority). I charge $4 for shipping, the actual shipping costs me usually about $2.70, the padded envelope I ship in costs me about a buck, and I figure the leftover 30 cents covers the tape and paper/toner for my printer. Course, the stuff I personally sell doesn't start at a penny, because I gotta cover costs. (My boss can do penny auctions because of the law of averages -- when you've got 800 new items going up every day, seven days a week, some will sell for a penny, and some'll sell for $30, so it all balances out.) I don't have that kind of personal stock, nor the time to handle it all, so I can't do that for my own stuff... but it works fine for my boss, and he's got a good customer base.
Still, my point was more that ebay isn't all bad. There's some great people on there, and there's some quality stuff on there. You just have to be careful who you're buying from, which is the same thing as you have to do anywhere else.
That's why my boss doesn't ship priority mail. The business ships media mail. He stopped doing priority just before all the fee changes went into effect, and we sure don't miss it.
I moonlight and sell some stuff on the side on ebay from home, and I tend to do first-class mail (through ebay, it comes with a tracking number, so I don't HAVE to ship priority). I charge $4 for shipping, the actual shipping costs me usually about $2.70, the padded envelope I ship in costs me about a buck, and I figure the leftover 30 cents covers the tape and paper/toner for my printer. Course, the stuff I personally sell doesn't start at a penny, because I gotta cover costs. (My boss can do penny auctions because of the law of averages -- when you've got 800 new items going up every day, seven days a week, some will sell for a penny, and some'll sell for $30, so it all balances out.) I don't have that kind of personal stock, nor the time to handle it all, so I can't do that for my own stuff... but it works fine for my boss, and he's got a good customer base.
Still, my point was more that ebay isn't all bad. There's some great people on there, and there's some quality stuff on there. You just have to be careful who you're buying from, which is the same thing as you have to do anywhere else.
No ebay is not all bad. Its just sad to see a $3 item that was already marked up, with an additional 333% mark up. I also print my labels. Also have the pay pal card to have access to my sale funds. Only I have yet to sell anything in a while. Its tied to my bank account so I can still use it to buy things online like ecig stuff.
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Yeah I see that the markup is the worst for items listed US sellers. I buy most of my stuff from top rated sellers overseas and get some killer deals. This is especially great for mod parts. I have a supplier in I think korea that I get capacitors and stuff from. .99 and free shipping for buy it now is a good deal when US sellers sell the same thing for 4 bucks and 5.00 shipping. The stuff I get from overseas comes in fairly fast now a days too.
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