I think I am just about finished with Ebay
By sweetdesign
@sweetdesign (5142)
United States
October 5, 2008 2:38pm CST
I just listed three bears the other day and not a single bid on any of them. It has been this way all year for m on Ebay (and etsy too for that matter). I am fed up with it. I hate paying fees and having nothing to show for it.
I will only owe $3.15 if none of them sell and I am not holding my breath for that to happen. So I am pretty much not going to list much else on there in the future. I just don't believe in Ebay anymore. For that matter I don't think I will have much luck on selling anything in the future as the economy gets worse and worse and it is effecting other countries as well as the US.
this sucks as I only work half the year as a tax preparer and finding another job in this town is like trying to pull teeth out of an alligator.
Is anybody out there having any luck with ebay?
6 people like this
25 responses
@jillbeth (2705)
• United States
5 Oct 08
I have been doing eBay for over three years, and I am just about done with it, too! Now I only list vintage and collectible items I am pretty certain will fetch a good price. I have had more problems with customers in the last few months than I have ever had before, too!
3 people like this
@sweetdesign (5142)
• United States
5 Oct 08
I have been with ebay for over 6 years. I have been with this ID for 3 years since moving to FL. It has gotten worse every year to date where I have had 1 sell all year!!! I have listed over and over and paid out the nose in fees and NOTHING.
2 people like this
@coolseeds (3919)
• United States
5 Oct 08
I normally do very well on ebay. I have stopped due to lack of time. It is hard to do both during the summer because I own a landscaping company.
Do you have a lot of products? Have you tried opening an ebay store? It is $15 or $16 per month and costs 3 cents to list an item.
2 people like this
@sweetdesign (5142)
• United States
5 Oct 08
glad someone is doing well. I had a store but closed it due to no sells.
1 person likes this
@sweetdesign (5142)
• United States
5 Oct 08
I have them on ebay right now. Nothing is happening no bids nothing.
1 person likes this
@coolseeds (3919)
• United States
5 Oct 08
Sorry to hear you didn't have any sales. There may have been things you could have done. An example would be to sell them now. It is getting cold. More people are inside. The gifting holidays are around the corner. Therefore more people are shopping online.
If I were selling hand made bears I would sell them in the fall and not during the summer. I think you have to have seasonal items to do well in the summer when there is less traffic.
If you have a lot of products it is easier to make money on ebay. You get more traffic which will result in more sales.
2 people like this
@rusty2rusty (6751)
• Defiance, Ohio
5 Oct 08
I am sorry you are having such a hard time with ebay. I don't sell on ebay. I have in the past. But I am more of a buyer. My problem i9s getting out bidded on everything left and right. It could be 5 of the same item. But for some reason I could have the winning bid up til the end. Than I get out bidded. So, I tend to get things that are buy now items.
have you tried selling your things on craigslist?
1 person likes this
@sweetdesign (5142)
• United States
5 Oct 08
I have sold some things on craigslist but not my handmade bears or other craft items. I have that problem with getting outbid all the time on the same items like yesterday I bid on a light box setup...outbid....bid on another one that is from the same people I am close to being outbid again. I think there are a lot of people on ebay that have friends or whatever bid and drive up the selling price on thier items.
1 person likes this
@rusty2rusty (6751)
• Defiance, Ohio
6 Oct 08
I think you are right about some sellers having friends who bid the price up. Those ones will loose my business. I don't do ebay all the time. I am not there to play games. I do however use paypal alot when buying online.
1 person likes this
@Barbietre (1438)
• United States
6 Oct 08
Rusty do you know about auction sniper? That is how you are getting out bid at the end. http://auctionsniper.com/
1 person likes this
@danishcanadian (28953)
• Canada
5 Oct 08
Have you thought of something like freewebs.com, creating your own site there (it's free hense the name) setting something up with PayPal, and selling your stuff that way? Get the word out to people, and see what happens. The Holidays are coming up, and people are going to need to buy presents for their loved ones, so maybe you'll start selling before long.
1 person likes this
@sweetdesign (5142)
• United States
5 Oct 08
Well to date I have not seen any bears on ebay that are not mohair or fur. None of my bears are mohair or fur they are made of fabric. Even little Liam is made of chenile. I have not seen ny with scarfs hand crocheted in the color of flags from other countries either. So I would say that my bears are different from others out there.
@unusualsuspect (2602)
• United States
5 Oct 08
This isn't a criticism of your teddy bears, because they may be beautiful and well-made, but they're so common that unless they're very different, they would have an awful lot of competition. On eBay or Etsy, it's the unusual item that stands out. I see a lot of listings on Etsy for the kind of crochet and other crafts that are more suited for neighborhood craft fairs. Distinguishing yourself from the rest of the crowd, and placing your items on the right sites can make all the difference.
Have you taken a look at ioffer.com or blujay.com? Some people do very well with both of them.
@opinions (6)
• United States
7 Oct 08
I, too, have found my sales this year to be almost nothing. Most of my items are under 5.00 and till the final value fees and listing fees are in, my profit is zilch. Looking into other sites, I have found 3 that might interest you. This one I found last night, so I don't know anything about it. It's called Strictly Handmade.com. AtomicMall.com is developed by folks who are fed up with ebay. NO listing fees, just a final value fee and something else is free too, I just don't remember right now what it is. Another one I found is onlineauctions.com. perhaps with the gas prices falling, something will pick up. I sold 3 items this past week, but it isn't enough to cover my store fees for the month, since there were no sales for the previous 3 weeks. Hope your day goes well.
1 person likes this
@sweetdesign (5142)
• United States
7 Oct 08
I don't know about the other two but strictly handmade.com charges a $25.00 upfront registration fee per catagory you want to sell in. Granted it is $25.00 for a year but I don't have that kind of cash right now.
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
5 Oct 08
I was selling on ebay at the beginning of this year, but with having my young daughter at home demanding so much of my time, I just could not concentrate on it. I stopped selling for a while, until last week when I just put four things on and they all sold, which was a nice surprise.
2 people like this
@angelface23 (2494)
• United States
6 Oct 08
I have a few things I am selling on ebay. I always get freaked out cause when it's down to 2 days and I have no bids. I am selling 6 random items. My friend just gave me a bunch of clothes that are name brand that I am too big for so I am gonna sell them. I think they'll do good. I start my auctions at .99 cause Ebay said that's a good idea. None of my items are particularly expensive where I need to make a certain amount. But I find if I start it at .99 then that's all it goes for. I am thinking of raising my starting prices a little bit. Sorry to hear that you aren't doing good on there. Is there any other sites out there like ebay you could try??
1 person likes this
@unusualsuspect (2602)
• United States
5 Oct 08
I quit eBay a long time ago. The site is a pain to navigate, the fees keep going up, and now, you can't rate your buyers even if they shaft you. I always had good customers, but I've heard a lot of stories by sellers who've had customers take advantage of their ability to downrate the seller. I seel used books once in a while, and I do best on half.com or Amazon. If I get back to crafting, which I plan to do next year, I'll sell on Etsy. There are plenty of other places to sell odds and ends without having to depend on eBay.
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
6 Oct 08
i know the feeling because i have had a lot of problems with that too. i have listed a bunch of stuff and have sold some stuff but have had a bunch of stuff bought and the person(s) have not paid for anything after winning the item, yet ebay puts the burden on me to try and collect the money. its not fair!
1 person likes this
@dvschic (1795)
• United States
6 Oct 08
ebay suck a$$, i hate them, i hate that i cant leave negative or neutral feedback from buyers who make me jump through hoops and then don't pay. i hate their fees and their listing costs. i do most of my selling on craigslist, but thats hard too, since its constantly being updated. CONSTANTLY!
good luck!
1 person likes this
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
5 Oct 08
eBay has made some major changes in the last year or so and sales have gone way down as people have pulled out from selling.
I used to buy and sell quite a bit several years ago, but I don't even look any more, and I don't have a market of things to sell either.
Nope, a lot of folks have moved on, and I'm afraid eBay is but a shell of the great site that it once was.
I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. Are there any craft fairs that you can go to?
1 person likes this
@sweetdesign (5142)
• United States
5 Oct 08
Nope this city is not crafty nor is it agricultural. No farms no craft shows (well there is one a year and it costs a HUGE FEE and you have to have a license and a lot of other stuff to sell at it) no nothing. The flea markets are all about cheap imports.
@1131958 (19)
• United States
6 Oct 08
I have been using ebay for quite some time now!I have found that the bigger it got and all the ebay stores buyers just pass the little guy up (not fair)I now have a new way of making money online to keep gas in the automobile..give my profile web sit a look and send me a mesage if you have questions
1 person likes this
@cgobble (171)
• United States
6 Oct 08
I was doing really well on ebay until this last year. Buying and selling vintage sports cards and making a good profit. And the thing I don't get is this, the actual market of sports cards hasn't diminshed any even with the suffering economy, but something about this last year completely diminished my sales and profits.
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
6 Oct 08
I quit Ebay a while back because of how hard it was getting just to make anything at all. When all was said and done I was making a few cents and hour and it wasnt any fun anymore. I know with the economy I am not shopping as much, but now that Christmas is comming so fast I will be on the lookout again.
@LittleMel (8742)
• Canada
6 Oct 08
the last time I listed 26 items and 6 were sold
they were outdated inventory I didn't expect making money from selling them and it's true I didn't
I was a new seller on Ebay I started 2 years ago but was inactive for a long time
when I returned they have changed the feedback system and it just turned me off
but since I only listed outdated inventory there I never expect much so I don't get disappointed
I don't have Ebay store it's just not worth it for me since I don't sell at high frequency or qty.
@anawar (2404)
• United States
6 Oct 08
sweetdesign - I think you got it when you mentioned the money crisis. Maybe people are over-reacting, but I think sales will decline.
I deal in antique bottles on ebay, and if I want to buy something, those prices never drop. I look at them for resale, not collection. When I finished selling all mine a year ago, I sold every last one. I did drop the price below the value.
You can host your pictures on another website for free. (sorry I don't remember the name). I object to all the fees both from paypal and ebay.
About your bears, maybe you have to consider a redesign, because they're not selling anywhere. Life can be such a pain sometimes.
travel lightly
anawar
@eagle_f15 (1827)
• Malaysia
6 Oct 08
I am selling stuff in ebay. Mostly children books and collector's item. I am doing okay though at the moment there are no bids on my items. I am from Malaysia so I don't have to pay any listing fees or any subscription unless we choose to..like open a store or put listing designer. Its a matter of waiting for your items to be sold. I don't only sell in ebay but I am also selling in another local selling website. My husband's advise to me is don't depend only on one selling site. He has his own website selling tech stuff and also two ebay accounts. So there's mupltiple streams of income.....maybe you should try other websites available in your place to generate more traffic
1 person likes this
