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ebay Fee Increase

Started by GACollectibles,

65 posts in this topic

joe_collector

joe_collector

Posted
Posted

EBay doesn't seem to want collectibles clogging up their bandwidth anymore, and would much prefer more discount wholesalers selling a truckload of "scratch and dent" refurb DVD players at $39.95.

 

But what EBay fails to understand is that once all the "cool items" leave EBay, and it turns into a repository for faulty electronics, the customers will leave too.

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comicdonna

comicdonna

Posted
Posted

I'm done selling on ebay. I pick up collectibles other than comics, and sell them on ebay, and use the proceeds to buy comics. I have a ton of stuff, and it looks like I will have a huge lawn sale this spring! headbang.gif

 

Mike

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Mr. Zipper

Mr. Zipper

Posted
Posted
But what EBay fails to understand is that once all the "cool items" leave EBay, and it turns into a repository for faulty electronics, the customers will leave too.

 

893scratchchin-thumb.gif

 

Very good point. thumbsup2.gif

 

I never look at anything on ebay except collectibles... if I wanted scratch and dent electronics or used DVDs, I'll go to the local flea market.

 

I wonder what the average transaction is on ebay.

 

Once it is no longer worthwhile listing items priced less than $10, I have to think a lot of listings and traffic will dry up. Bear in mind, the bulk of the transactions are probably low/midgrade books that cost $7.

 

A viable competitor will eventually emerge... it's just a matter of when.

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capt_comics

capt_comics

Posted
Posted
So you buy a comic that's $3 in Guide for 50 cents, 16.7% of Guide. Sounds like a good deal and you want to flip it. You add a ten-cent backing board and list it on ebay starting at 99 cents, costing you 40 cents. It sells for the opening bid because it's a common enough book and there are enough copies around that it's only cover price in the Guide. Ebay charges you a Final Value Fee of 6 cents.

 

Your sunk costs: $1.06

Your turnover: $0.99

 

And that's if your buyer doesn't want to pay via Paypal. And that's if all your items sell. And if you don't have a BIN of $3 on the book as a listing upgrade. So even if you buy $3-in-Guide stock at a sixth of Guide, your buyer pays by MO, and 100% of your items sell at what most people would call FMV of $0.99 each, you still lose money, even if you place no monetary value on your time spent sourcing the book in the first place, creating the listing and shipping the book.

 

And if ebay feels you are overcharging on shipping to make perhaps 50 cents on the book instead of a seven cent loss, or asking paypal users to pay a surcharge to cover your contributions to building their private volcano lairs, they can suspend your account.

 

If anyone can reach a conclusion other than that selling dollar comics on ebay is utterly futile, I'd love to hear from you.

 

You are correct - I would rather take the $1-$5 books and sell them at a convention. There are lots of books that sell quickly at shows for $1-$5 that get no bids on feebay

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Kakapo

Kakapo

Posted
Posted

You are correct - I would rather take the $1-$5 books and sell them at a convention. There are lots of books that sell quickly at shows for $1-$5 that get no bids on feebay

 

Sure, because with safe shipping (i.e. boxed Priority Mail) that $0.99 book costs the buyer between $5.99 and $7.99 - thus they are overpaying on a book that you as a seller lose money on. Anything less than a box and my mailman will mangle the living spoon out of it. I assume deliberately, I even tried leaving him a polite note asking him not to bend packages marked "please do not bend" but that's another thread...

 

Getting back to ebay, if the book in my previous example sold for $3 in a fixed price listing, your FVF would be higher so you'd get $1.84 after deducting your costs. That's the best-case scenario, i.e. no Paypal (and 95% of ebayers I've dealt with have paid via Paypal), no unsold items (price books at Guide, even when Guide is 3 bucks, and at least half will just sit there, having cost you the non-refundable insertion fee). And you've still had to put in the time buying, scanning, grading and packing and shipping the item. $1.84 for all that? You're not going to finance your retirement doing that all day.

 

Living as I do, in a cave a thousand miles away from all the exciting comic conventions, buying books worth less than $10 for resale is a waste of space, time, money and anything else you'd care to mention.

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tth2

tth2

Posted
Posted
Big whup.

 

I'll pay 3.5% any day over the usery charged by the other auction houses.

Bill, you clearly haven't mastered how to behave properly in the General Forum yet. 893naughty-thumb.gif You have to learn to whine like a little girl about every little problem. gossip.gif

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ciorac

ciorac

Posted
Posted
Big whup.

 

I'll pay 3.5% any day over the usery charged by the other auction houses.

Bill, you clearly haven't mastered how to behave properly in the General Forum yet. 893naughty-thumb.gif You have to learn to whine like a little girl about every little problem. gossip.gif

 

Oh sorry!

 

3.5% Wahhhhhhh! That is awful! Wahhhhhhh!! frustrated.gif

 

What will I ever do? How can I survive paying 3.5% on my sales to uncle eBay for giving me access to millions of potential buyers everyday and the ease of PayPal for collecting my loot? frustrated.gif

 

Wahhhhhh!

 

better?

 

flowerred.gif

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tth2

tth2

Posted
Posted
Big whup.

 

I'll pay 3.5% any day over the usery charged by the other auction houses.

Bill, you clearly haven't mastered how to behave properly in the General Forum yet. 893naughty-thumb.gif You have to learn to whine like a little girl about every little problem. gossip.gif

 

Oh sorry!

 

3.5% Wahhhhhhh! That is awful! Wahhhhhhh!! frustrated.gif

 

What will I ever do? How can I survive paying 3.5% on my sales to uncle eBay for giving me access to millions of potential buyers everyday and the ease of PayPal for collecting my loot? frustrated.gif

 

Wahhhhhh!

 

better?

 

flowerred.gif

27_laughing.gifhail.gif

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tth2

tth2

Posted
Posted
Buy eBay's shares. That way you benefit from the fee increases as a shareholder at the same time that you're getting hit by the fee increases as a ebay user. confused-smiley-013.gif

 

delkkerste recommened to stay the hell away from eBay stock. gossip.gifconfused-smiley-013.gif

Gene recommends to stay the hell away from everything except gold, canned food and guns! 27_laughing.gifpoke2.gif

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richnerd

richnerd

Posted
Posted
check out the site in my sig line. richnerd and svndust, boardies, run the place.

 

Thanks for the plug Arex.

 

Truth be told with my wife being sick the update was delayed. But I'm looking for a new programmer to get started on it. My time is limited as we are in the Dr. office a lot right now. Hopefully good news will come soon and life will go back to the abnormal way it usually is. 27_laughing.gif

 

But if anyone here is interested I will float FREE selling accounts till the end of the month. If you want to go and list some of you stuff or set up a store. Might as well advertise it for free until you can have that garage sale.

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