<p>I am probably the oldest Ebayers among all of you. My registration on Ebay went way back in 1996 when they were just a garage operation. When I had a problem, I write to Jeff, one of the two founders.</p>
<p>Well, I have not been selling on Ebay for a while, perhaps for a year or so. I have been searching for bargains to buy and I constantly found the items I want on Ebay is priced higher than on Amazon and I was wondering why.</p>
<p>I found the answer now as I received an invoice from Ebay. Few days ago, I sold an item on Ebay for 9.99, shipping charge was fixed $15.</p>
<p>Here is the details of Ebay invoice:
Insertion fee: $0
Final Valuation fee on the item. $.90
Final Valuation fee on shipping: $1.35</p>
<p>Total fee charged: $2.25</p>
<p>Wow… for an item worth $9.99, I have to pay $2.25 to sell it, that is 22%+ ! And I do all the work?</p>
<p>It is those guarantees that Ebay give that makes the fee so high and they have no choice.</p>
<p>Ebay has really jacked up the transaction fees it charges sellers, plus in many cases they de facto force sellers to use Paypal, which in turns charges high fees. Once upon a time you could get new items on ebay in auction mode at really, really good prices, but now a lot of new merchandise is sold with a ‘buy it now price’ or even not on auction, at prices that often are more expensive then you would pay retail. There are still some bargains to be found, I have bought new clothing items and some other things on there the little I sell there, but I agree, unless it is an older/rarer kind of item, something not found elsewhere, fleabay is not a bargain…and I suspect it is going to end up hurting them, it will become basically an overpriced retail site.</p>
<p>I agree with the comments here. I have not sold on Ebay, but I’ve bought quite a few things there over the years. These days I only buy a few things there, such as collectibles that are hard to find otherwise.</p>
<p>^^ Perhaps that is why Amazon is growing but Ebay is stagnant, it will hurt their performance big time…I used to work for an art dealer who sold arts on Ebay, we used to get large dollars for the painting and the boss never trusted the Paypal, so we always require the buyer send a money order or personal checks will be held for clearing by the bank.</p>
<p>No, I have never seen Esty, but will look into it. Was on the web site only 30 seconds, they did not seem to have what I’m looking for. Just a bunch of clothings.</p>
<p>I agree, geeps20. There are a number of grocery staples that I have on autoship (15% below their already low prices and free shipping). These are things that I go through quickly, and some of them are hard to find locally (my preferred brand of quinoa, organic canned black-eyed peas, canned jalapenos,etc.) The only problem I’ve run into is that some shipments canned products contain dented cans, from 1 to 10 dented cans per shipment of 12. It’s easy to rectify, a chat message to Amazon will generate a quick refund, but it is clear to me that some shippers are using this as a way to dispose of dented cans. Comments on some of the items reveal that this is a common problem. Some of the cans that I’ve received were completely smashed in on one side. Even small dents can be a problem if they are near a seam or the end. It is also clear that the dents were not caused by shipping. The packaging is excellent.</p>
<p>I love Etsy. It’s for all things handcrafted, vintage, and the like. You can buy one of a kind artwork, handmade clothing, knitwear, jewelry, crafts and craft supplies, homemade baked goods, and so on. </p>
<p>When using the search feature, make sure to change the search drop-down bar from “Handmade” to “All Items” to find everything. Take a look around, you may be really surprised at all there is for purchase.</p>
<p>I love Etsy too. I just purchased a baby gift there - it was a receiving blanket with a beautiful applique of the baby’s initial and her name embroidered below the applique. The seller had it done quickly and shipped it directly to the recipient with a personal note. She even emailed me a tracking number and a picture of the finished product on the day it was shipped. And it was less expensive than ordering from retail. They have some great unique things.</p>
<p>What is this? Is this the % collected by Ebay on the cost of shipping?</p>
<p>How does one make money selling items, for example, that sell for under $5 if a % is also taken for shipping? I have seen sales for items for under $3. How does the seller make a dime?</p>
<p>However, over the years I have seen seller listed the item for $1 but charge $10 for shipping and the actual value of the item should be $10 for example. Obviously, they tried to avoid Ebay Fees. That is why ebay now will charge fees on shipping. So now the sellers have to factor in Ebay fees for shipping, which added costs to the buyers and losing their edge to Amazon. For the same item Ebay seller buys in small quantity and Amazon buys in bulk, the difference in price is apparent.</p>
<p>I was wondering how do eBay keep giving the 2% eBay buck. Frequent buyers like me get one day 4% offer all the time. Adding the 1% cash back from our CC, there is a 5% on the item.</p>
<p>Once in a while, you could still get a bargin from eBay on those auction style items. I.e. few other bidders want what you must have.</p>
<p>So the $1.35 was a % on shipping. Well if this is the case, how is the person selling an item for 99 cents, or even $3 making anything? Why do they bother? It is not one person selling at these prices, but lots of people. Does ebay charge for setting a minimum price that makes sense for the seller?</p>
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<p>^^ I don’t understand what this means. Could you explain? </p>
<p>Is it easier and more profitable for the seller to then sell on Amazon or Etsy, taking out the difference of the “ebay stores” (I know, more costs for those)?</p>
<p>agreed with all, been a member since 2000 (not as long as you artlovers). I used to purchase really great things, from really great sellers, for really great prces all of the time. Now it is often cheaper to buy the item locally, much less on Amazon. I NEVER had any problem with purchases or sellers until the past few years. So now ebay is my last resort for purchases rather than my go-to for conveince as it once was. I still use ebay for research on something I come across, but Amazon has become my first go-to for research even.</p>
<p>The answer is clearly illustrated in my OP posting. IN my example, Ebay and paypal together charges the seller 25% of the purchase price on an item worth $10, they can afford to give 5% to the buyer and the guarantee of refund in the event of a dispute. Clearly, Ebay collects all the money and ask the seller to pay for it. I have sold 1000’s of items on Ebay and I am fully aware of the time and efforts it need as a seller. In addition to the fees, you have to spend the time to prepare and enter the descriptions, after the item is in, you have to answer endless questions from the buyers, add descriptions to the item if there is a shortcoming. And of course handle shipping and returns. Ebay lay those burdens all on to the sellers, they only have to handle the disputes.</p>
<p>OTOH, Amazon has all the responsibilities of a seller plus the responsibilities of Ebay, with a lower price. That is the reason why Amazon prevails and Ebay is withering.</p>
<p>artloversplus, so then will you become a seller elsewhere? Which site do you feel is the best deal for a seller? I have noticed a lot of different auction sites and fixed price sites, but I don’t know how much traffic they get.</p>
<p>Let me give you an example.
Several years ago, I was tempted to sell SIM cards that uses in Digital Cameras or computers. A friend of mine worked for a SIM card manufacturer, he was in sales. The SIM cards at the time was selling at retail say $50, I can buy them at $20 if I buy qty 1000 at a time, however if I buy qty 10,000 at a time, my cost is going to be $15 or less. My investigation on Ebay, since so many sellers are selling the same item, it was priced at around $35(all inclusive), but they can only sell 100 a month. I gave up the idea as I have no way to sell that 1000 items qucik enough to make any money. However, Amazon could negotiate a $12 cost and buy 10,000 pieces and sell it at $30 and make some money. Because Amazon has the volume, they can buy 10,000 pieces and I can’t even buy 1,000 pieces. As you know to buy any quantity of an electronics is a high risk because it goes out of style in very short time frame, I just can’t sit on 10 months inventory for any thing electronics.</p>