What ebay has done to sellers.

That doesn't sound like an eBay problem, though, that sounds like a market problem. The competition is willing to price their products at a lower price to beat you and other sellers.


Either come up with a way to differentiate your product to make it worthwhile for the customer to pay a higher price, or lower the price to match the other sellers. That's just the way a market works...

Yup, agreed. I have been spending a lot of money on eBay lately as I have been on a retro-gaming kick lately. I need to find better places to buy things, I have found that the prices really aren't all that great and the products are often in pretty shitty condition. There are very few auctions where the seller actually lists things out honestly and in detail, and I have been willing to spend a little bit more on those items versus other auctions that very well may be the same product and condition but there are no details.


I became a lot more wary of who I buy from on eBay after purchasing a used NES that was advertised as fully restored. When I got it I discovered that the RF box was rusting, there were dead bugs inside, etc. and when I contacted the seller, he called me a liar and a thief and accused me of trying to return a different broken NES instead of the one that he shipped out. I called him at his business phone number to try to work things out, but before I could discuss anything with him he cursed me out and insulted me. I did get my money back and send the products back but from now on I'm going to be looking for details in auction listings and definitely not purchasing important things based off of stock photos.

 

I never buy items with stock photos.

Real photos of GTFO.

Honestly, what has a seller got to hide that they use stock photos?

 

I think it mainly comes down to laziness and/or the seller being too busy to put a photo for each item. It annoys me too. What really boggles my mind is when someone is selling something for $400+ and can't bother to put any image at all. Is the $400 not worth the 5 seconds it takes to snap a picture of the item?

 

No, that would be the right thing to do.

 

$266 profit for refurbishing something doesn't sound too bad, although that depends on the time spent on it, I guess. The problem is that you know someone will pay $650 and you're getting a lot less. I'm sure most of us would rather maximize on profit - ultimately it comes down to our greed. Back in the Eighties and Nineties, army surplus gear would be sold for whatever you can get. Now, you get sellers asking the Earth for it (and collectors paying) - same as video games. Shipping costs are up to you - either factor it into the price or take the hit, sadly.

eBay is a great way of getting exposure for your items, but it's also become over-saturated, so you do have competition. I'd say the worst thing about eBay, besides the amounts they now charge (not forgetting shop fees which you didn't mention), is that they're hideously anti-seller. You have to keep your positive feedback AND seller rating up, and there's nothing to stop people rating you under 5 stars for a silly reason - and it costs you. You have to either factor the shipping cost into free shipping option, or take the hit. You have to ship tracked and probably insured, or it may come back on you. You can get your PayPal frozen because of an arsehole buyer. Buyers can leave you negative feedback, but you can't do the same to them. And sometimes, eBay will tell you that you have to not only refund a buyer, but pay for that item to be shipped back to you! All in all, highly anti seller, especially when something goes wrong.

Ultimately, the best way to sell something is privately. The problem with that is exposure. Over here at least, we have fairs for old army equipment, so that may be one avenue. We also have army surplus dealers, so you could try selling to them (or through them, with commission). Or go through a magazine related to the field. Ultimately, paying for a stall at a fair or advertising in a magazine is going to be a risk, but ultimately cheaper and less hassle than listing on eBay!

 

Set up a website. Advertise in the classified section of relevant magazines, forums etc. When people contact you for one item, direct them to your site for a full list. You retain control, get exposure in the right avenues and all for a minimal outlay. If you have enough stuff, even putting a small ad in such a magazine could prove useful. Even if you only have ten items with that sort of profit margin, it'd be worth the spend if you sell them.

Of course, that's what people don't appreciate - eBay is basically free advertising, in that if you don't sell your items, you don't lose much - unlike traditional advertising.

 

Compare this to a traditional sale and you actually make out better. After state and federal income tax (that you don't have to report to IRS on ebay/paypal sales till $20,000), Credit card gateway, percentage fees and shipping, time it takes to advertize.... you might be making out really good with E-Pal. Unless you have more than $20,000 a year in E-Pal income.


Also imagine if you were a brick and morter, add rent/mortgage, income tax, credit card %, employee income tax(yes you pay half), insurance, business license, and utilities. Additionally airplane parts don't do well in local markets. You have even less of a profit margin.

 

Why not its a sound idea unless there is hidden business fees to setup. ASSEMbler already has a Trade / For Sale thread why not impose a cost on people for a listing (obviously cheaper than ebay or it would defeat the purpose). That would help cover tax costs, server costs and his expenses as well?

EDIT - I'm no expert on this and was merley an idea. How practicle or whatnot I have no idea on lol I'm no businessy person.