When did Ebay go to crap?

[Frizzle Fry]

So I haven't sold anything in a while (used to send out 50+ packages a week) and I noticed there was a "Free Listing, Free Picture" deal on Ebay. I had a brand new PC game to get rid of, so I listed it up to take advantage of the deal and make a few extra bucks for my paintball-splurge PayPal war-chest...

One $45 sale later and Ebay is telling me I owe them $4.50 in "fees" for the auction, not including anything related to PayPal... Really? Without listing fees or picture fees? Does Ebay now take over 10% of your "sold" price? What the hell?

[going_home]

Yep.
They went way up on fees.
Paypal (which Ebay owns) gets just about as much.

[Tropical Life]

It has had many changes, you do have to watch your listing fees and what you select when listing cause it could get pricy. Bay has heavy fees but your getting a bigger audience looking at your item, so your item will mostly sell always.

[paint magnet]

Not a big fan of Paypal or eBay. Had way too many friends who sold textbooks on either eBay or Half.com and got screwed over by people who said they never received the book. Tracking/insurance # confirmed packaged had been delivered, yet without even asking the seller what happened, Paypal withdrew the payment from their bank account and made them go through a lengthy process to get reimbursed...all with bad feedback to boot. That's why they will never have access to my bank account, and if I ever do stoop to using them, it's by paying with card.

You also can't buy or sell firearm-related items using either service any more, and they charge outrageous fees. I say the hell with both of them but it can be hard to do business online now since it seems that's what everyone wants to accept.

[Hobbez]

ebay is 10% of sale value now, some categories is 15%! and paypal is 4.9% Its pretty rediculous, but none of the other auction sites are worth using...so, they know they have you by the nuts.

[Frizzle Fry]

ebay is 10% of sale value now, some categories is 15%! and paypal is 4.9% Its pretty rediculous, but none of the other auction sites are worth using...so, they know they have you by the nuts.

^
I noticed that. I'm thinking of trying Craigslist for some of this stuff - if only they had a national forum.

[bumbabeef]

I sold 4-5 cell phones this year. What I did was make the shipping higher. I charged around $300 for shipping for a blackberry torch and in my description I would state why I did this to avoid ridiculous ebay fees. At that time white torches went for $400-450 in lnib conditions. So my auctions went up to $100-150 and only got charged on that amount. worked pretty well until this girl didn't read my auction till she won it and asked why my shipping was $300. Auction ended at $80 and she thought thats what she was going to pay and $20 tops for shipping. She got mad and said I was immoral.

[OPBN]

I sold 4-5 cell phones this year. What I did was make the shipping higher. I charged around $300 for shipping for a blackberry torch and in my description I would state why I did this to avoid ridiculous ebay fees. At that time white torches went for $400-450 in lnib conditions. So my auctions went up to $100-150 and only got charged on that amount. worked pretty well until this girl didn't read my auction till she won it and asked why my shipping was $300. Auction ended at $80 and she thought thats what she was going to pay and $20 tops for shipping. She got mad and said I was immoral.

Yet it was completely moral for her to think she was getting a $450 phone for $80.... Gotta love people.

[Hobbez]

I sold 4-5 cell phones this year. What I did was make the shipping higher. I charged around $300 for shipping for a blackberry torch and in my description I would state why I did this to avoid ridiculous ebay fees. At that time white torches went for $400-450 in lnib conditions. So my auctions went up to $100-150 and only got charged on that amount. worked pretty well until this girl didn't read my auction till she won it and asked why my shipping was $300. Auction ended at $80 and she thought thats what she was going to pay and $20 tops for shipping. She got mad and said I was immoral.

Be careful with this. Ebay has been know to ban users for jacking shipping to avoid fees. Its even against the terms of service now. Several categories on ebay have shipping caps already (you CANT charge more than $4 for shipping for dvds and video games now, ebay wont let you) and I expect them all to before long.

[bumbabeef]

Yet it was completely moral for her to think she was getting a $450 phone for $80.... Gotta love people.

I agree. I told her I've seen other sellers do it with iphone where shipping is $499 and the smart bidders most of em bid $1. There were bidders who asked before hand and when I explained they thought it was smart. I asked her if she knew how to read because it was clearly stated in the description. I remember when xbox 360 first came out and some guy sold just the box and of course people didn't read the description. Some guy bought the box for I believe around $700. I felt bad at first but it was clearly in the description and now hey its the buyers fault.

[ProblemKinder]

because legal deception isn't immoral at all...

[wetwrks]

My issue with the whole situation is that ebay used to be all about protecting the entire transaction. The buyer, the seller...everyone.

Now all they protect is the buyer. There are so many reports of the seller who has proof of what they shipped, how it was shipped, that it was even signed for by the buyer, yet ebay sides with the buyer who claims they didn't get their package.

I quit selling thru ebay almost 2 years back as I could see where it was headed.

Personally I sold mainly books...limited editions, signed, numbered, out of print. Things that you don't want damaged or destroyed. Ebay stepped in and put a shipping cap on all books. I would get about $2.00 to ship a book valued at over $200. Yet the buyers wanted insurance on it, tracking, and quite often wanted it overnight...and thought there shouldn't be extra shipping fees for it. Or they would complain that it got damaged while shipped Book Rate.

I started putting in my description that I wouldn't be responsible for the items once they left my hands. At that point it was between the buyer and the shipping company. Ebay had "issues" with me putting that in the description.

So...I quit selling. Not worth it.

[Frizzle Fry]

I have similar issues. I work in the gaming industry, and I have lots of goodies popping in and out of my personal collection, but $4 will not safely and effectively ship a Bioshock 2 Collectors Edition that includes an LP record, CD, 16"x10" art book, game, guide, and carry case... Technically, it's a "game" so I can't charge over $4, which would barely cover the packaging.

[Hobbez]

A little creativity when selecting your category will get you around shipping caps. I used to sell a lot of antique games. I sold them all under "consoles" so that I can charge more than $4.

[going_home]

^
I noticed that. I'm thinking of trying Craigslist for some of this stuff - if only they had a national forum.

You realize you can post in any area dont you ?
Only problem is some of the craigslist people only want to pick up.
Like peopleofwalmart.com some of them are out there.