fleabay screwing its users again.

[GuntherHess]

It seems the site always has some type of glitch that messes something up while I'm trying to list an item. Which results in me having to start back at square one

One of the few good things fleabay did was offer a free listing tool ... Turbolister.
http://pages.ebay.com/TURBO_LISTER/
Download it, use it, its simple, its free. You only need to set up a listing ONE time then you can just copy it for your other items. Just make sure the first one is CORRECT.
I would never list anything if I had to use the old caveman broswer listing method.

 

[GuntherHess]

One thing I have decided to do now that fleabay has changed the rules is to no longer offer combined shipping. Buyers are always asking me to combine items and lower shipping costs and I normally obliged them when possible.
Now that I am totally responsible for getting each item verifiably to the buyer at a higher cost to myself that charity has to end. Buyers can thank fleabay.

 

[justanolddigger]

I understand the hard feelings, but overall that sounds like a bad business practice and a good way to get lousy feedback. How is not combining purchases helping anybody out?? You just need to charge whatever you need to cover shipping and pass it on, it is the only fair way. When I sell, I try to get just what I need to cover all charges, including insurance and confirmation, and as a buyer, if a seller is not being fair with shipping, people just stay away and that gives them sales lost and bids lost.
Bill

 

[GuntherHess]

exactly. That's what fleabay fails to realize, thier changes raise thier stock prices in the short term but have drive away small dealers. But I beleve like Chris said that thier overall marketing plan doesnt include the small collectible sellers and is geared to the big lot wholesellers. At some point I wouldnt be surprise if they separated off the used merchandise into a separate section like ebay automotive.

 

[Plumbata]

ORIGINAL: milkglassbottles

(note the spelling)

ORIGINAL: milkglassbottles

I am not a "for profit" seller parse

Indeed! [][][]




Ebay is still the best place to get rid of stuff in general, in my opinion. Some things will sell better in the local market, and ebay can likewise provide access to desirable local items that sell cheap in the nationwide market, but more often than not I am pleased with the profit margin obtained for local antiques as well as general desirable items. For example, today I sold 54 bucks worth of steatite at a bit over 2 bucks a pound, plus shipping, and i picked up well over 100 pounds of it for free several years ago so the fees don't matter at all. No way in hell I could give that crap away locally, let alone sell it, and with flat rate priority boxes shipping is kept reasonable. I love ebay for the wide customer base. It allows me to sell U-238 for 20 times what i paid, as well as other things that have no solid market in a context where bottles or antiques would have a decent demand. It is just plain impossible to sell lots of stuff at flea markets or shows that can otherwise fetch good money when the whole world can see what you've got to offer. The ebay antique/bottle market is weird. Alot of it has to do with how well the item is presented versus the qualities inherent to the item itself, and naturally, the number of interested people who see it during the short window that it is active. This is why BIN and store format with best offer are great ways to sell, even with the fees. Diversify, protect your assets with fixed prices if you are worried, and it will ultimately be worth it. I guess it depends how much free time you've got available though; I'm young and have time to waste so listing those 5-20 dollar items works for me. It pays the bills and provides tasty dinners for the GF anyway, so i won't be doing anything but getting more diverse stock to list. Leaving ebay on principle might feel good, but it doesn't help anyone except those who think their crap is worth more than it will actually go for, and want to preserve their inflated pipe dreams for as long as possible. If you can get better money locally then go for it, but you can never get the best money for everything you have from a regional market. Play ebay, just be sure that ebay doesn't play you too.

 

[redbeardrelics]

This is obviously an interesting thread to many of use here. As both a regular buyer and seller on Ebay, I too get frustrated and pissed every time Ebay changes the policies on us. After awhile though I calm down and do not hold it against Ebay for trying to run a more profitable business. Capitalist principles will work in limiting how far they can push their plans, and the last thing I would want in any free market business is government intervention and regulations. Let us just be thankful Ebay is not collecting government taxes yet.

Any way what I really wanted to offer here was a different opinion on the issue of seller handling fees. At first glance I would also get upset at a seller who listed what I might consider excessive handling fees for an item. But when you really think about it, it should not be an issue for an intelligent buyer, and actually helps us slap back against Ebay’s rising fees.
Follow the math with me on this if you will.
Example #1. An item is listed that is generally considered by the buyer and seller to have a fair market value of $20. If the item is listed with a $10 handling fee (ridiculously excessive I know), and an actual $5 shipping charge (fair), then an intelligent buyer knows that his maximum bid should be $5, because he would end up paying $20 for the item after the $5 shipping and $10 handling charges are added to his $5 bid right?
So the buyer gets the item for $20 total which he considers fair price, and shipping is included in that. The seller
gets the buyers $20, and has to subtract the $5 it cost him to ship it, and also Ebay’s final value fee on the $5 bid. The seller gets to keep the entire $10 handling fee (except of course Paypal’s cut which comes off the total payment sent including S&H).


Example #2. The same $20 value item is listed, with the same $5 shipping charge, but in this instance the seller has zero handling fees. So now the intelligent buyer knows that he can bid up to $15 on the item and still get it at his doorstep for $20 total after the $5 shipping charge is added.
So the buyer still gets the item for $20, no difference to him. The only difference is that the seller now has to pay Ebay final value fees on $15 instead of $5 as in the original example, and Ebay ends up getting more of the buyer’s money, rather than the seller.

As a buyer, I would personally much rather that the sellers get more of my money for their item, than Ebay. This is one way as buyers and sellers we can keep more of our money out of Ebay’s hands. Unfortunately it would require buyers to understand the reasons behind inflated handling fees, and how to bid accordingly.

In regard to Ebay’s recent policy change eliminating shipping insurance as an option to buyers, I have tentatively decided to list my auctions with a $2.50 handling fee. With this $2.50 handling fee I will purchase insurance on each item from either the USPS or a 3rd party supplier. On items that sell for less than $100 this will more than cover the $1.75 or $2.25 that the USPS will charge me for the insurance, and I just hope that buyers will understand and adjust their bidding down to compensate for the higher handling fee as shown in the two examples above. It is a net loss for me as a seller with the lower bids, but at least I will not be paying Ebay final value fees on the $2.50 handling charge.
On items that sell for over $100, the $2.50 handling fee will not cover my costs to insure the package, but what the heck; I can absorb that if the item sells for over $100.

Note: All a buyer would have to do is email me letting me know they do not want their package insured, and I would not charge the handling fee.
Does this make sense, what are your thoughts? Thanks

 

[jays emporium]

Redbeard, thanks for your input. That made a lot of sense to me. Many buyers though, see a high handling fee as a deceptive practice by the seller to make more money. When I bid I look at what the total delivered cost will be and adjust my bid, as you suggested.
Ebay of course wants to get their percentage cut on as much of that price as possible. That is why they push Free Shipping so hard.
I have not started charging a handling fee yet but I am considering that to pay for shipping supplies and now for insurance. For now I have started insuring items that sell for over $50. at my own expense.

 

[bottle_head9]

Personally, I give a quick glance at shipping,I like it when it says free, but if the shipping is somewhere between $8.00 to $12.00, I don`t give it a second look.After $12.00. I start reading the fine print.We all know about how much it is to send a bottle. There are extremes in everything, but in general, it costs around $8.00 to send an average size bottle accross the country.Give or take a few bucks.

 

[GuntherHess]

Capitalist principles will work in limiting how far they can push their plans

Not true when you have a monopoly. Would anyone here argue that flEabay is not the only game in town for general online auctions?

 

[bottlingco]

One thing we must always remember: The customer is always in charge. (That is not eBay.) If I go into a place of business and get lousy customer service, poor quality products, etc., especially if I get poor customer service, I will give the business a chance to rectify the problem. If they willfully choose not to, I discontinue patronage to that place of business and do not recommend them to others in conversation.
With eBay: I do not sell there any longer because they no longer provide adequate customer service to me, and I do not recommend selling to others in conversation. Buying: I continue to buy on eBay because I find many, many sellers that provide top notch customer service.
A couple of things I do: 1) change the Best Match to something else when searching. 2) Select auctions only button when searching. Ebay is not in charge of me. It is my money and if they don't want it, there are plenty of businesses in town that want it.
We must always remember that we, the consumer, are always in charge. We think that we have to do certain things, but we don't. If most buyers searched "Auctions Only" for example, changes would be made. We as consumers, allow eBay to fleece us. No website can rip you off unless you allow them to.
Consumers take charge!