posted on January 25, 2004 12:23:33 PM new
I've gotten tired of no pays and those claiming lost in the mail. Others want to negotiate after receipt.
I quit for a while.. Maybe things will settle down with ebay and the zero feedback types get NARUed. Most of my bidders were those with zero and the pay rate is now below 50%.
posted on January 25, 2004 01:23:57 PM new
Hi Robbie and Tom,
You know, I've pretty much decided to hang it up too.
Just not much fun anymore, what with, as OP says, NPB's and very low sell through. The fees on the non-sales eat up the profit on the sales.
I wonder if the newbies all the eBay ads have attracted think it's just another fun video game... I did have slightly better luck, NPB-wise, changing to PayPal only.
Lucy
I grow old...I grow old...I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. T.S. Eliot
posted on January 25, 2004 01:28:41 PM new
Gee, I hate to see you guys leaving us! Please continue to come here and give us your good advice.
___________________________________
"I have resolved to allow my friends their peculiarities." -- Samuel Johnson
posted on January 25, 2004 01:36:56 PM new
I sell antiques on eBay, and I can't say I have had the customer problems others post about here (maybe just a few minor annoyances). Do certain types of merchandise attract these people?
posted on January 25, 2004 02:44:11 PM new
I'm wondering the same thing Damariscotta I sell rubber stamps & have very few problems with NPB.
Of course in my case almost all my sales are under 10.00, not too difficult to come up with that small of an amount.
Lucy, I do agree it's not as much fun as it used to be. I used to list 100 auctions a week & now just list about 15
posted on January 25, 2004 02:56:17 PM new
I too sell relatively low-end items, rarely over $50 and usually under $30. I've had very little trouble with my buyers of collectibles and books. But I'm finding the listing process, with the cumbersome item details chart, a real pain in the neck. Do any of you just blow those off? Is there any proof that potential buyers are using that information as they look?
___________________________________
"I have resolved to allow my friends their peculiarities." -- Samuel Johnson
posted on January 25, 2004 02:59:18 PM new
Roadsmith - I'm with you. My sales are much in-line with your's - and I blow off the item details too! I don't see where it's hurting my sales. Honestly, I have never filled them in!
__________________________________
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to the people who sleep under the very blanket of freedom I provide, and then question the manner in which I provide it. I'd rather you just said 'thank you' and went on your way." - A Few Good Men
posted on January 25, 2004 03:03:27 PM new
I had been lucky up until this past 2 weeks. I had 2 NPB's in this time for over $300.00
I was lucky to recoup $155.00 of it so far. Both times it was a newbie.
[ edited by sanmar on Jan 25, 2004 03:04 PM ]
posted on January 25, 2004 03:16:00 PM new
Except for last week when I sold an antique chandelier and a 10 gram gold ingot, I think I sell pretty much what Roadsmith, Tom and some of the others sell. Eclectia is what I call it. It's possible I've just run out of anything interesting. I don't buy new stuff to sell.
I used to have at least 10-20 auctions going all the time with new ones starting before the old ones ended.
Problem and NPB bidders have been on books, general collectibles and vintage jewelry. I have one jinxed ring that's been around the NPB block three times. Nothing wrong with it, actually it's very nice. Each time it had multiple bids but I'm tired of listing it now. Second chance offers went nowhere.
As far as item details, I skip it unless I can see it would be important. Brand, etc.
Lucy
I grow old...I grow old...I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. T.S. Eliot
posted on January 25, 2004 03:23:04 PM new
Never used to have problems until about 4 months ago... Lots of newbies bidding at the last minute and then not paying.
Was fun before but now it is just agonizing.. I can earn some extra money other ways and the effort required of ebay and the fees now are just not worth it.
It's too bad because the "ebay community values" went down the drain and now there is a certain nastiness and jaded attitude among sellers and bidders.. Just read many of the auctions as the sellers have spelled out every contingency and the bidders are frightened away.
Some people say it is natural that things slow down and that you should only get one or two bids for items. But the offerings have become more shoddy over time and the starting bids are very high now. I can't see Staples or any other brick and mortar operation say that "although the number of bids are down (i.e., fewer people looking at the items with an intent to buy), we have jacked up our prices and lowered the quality and we still get greater sales from the few who actually buy." "Our refunds are way up, but we charge more to begin with and make the refund process very cumbersome, so many customers just go for the flow as we are a monopoly."
That's what's going on. Ebay will become one large Dollar store/flea market with mass bulk items from a few willing to step up to the table.
I'm bookmarking less and less items lately, so the buying is down too... Good luck to everyone! I'll pop in occassionally to see how the inertia is carrying the joint.
posted on January 25, 2004 03:29:54 PM new
Well stated, Robbie.
You mentioned bookmarking fewer auctions. I noticed a definite and immediate drop in bids when the eBay watch list was started. Before people would put in a bid to keep track of items they might want. After there was no reason.
If I had to point to one single change in eBay that started the downhill slide it would be the watch list.
Lucy
I grow old...I grow old...I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. T.S. Eliot
posted on January 25, 2004 05:43:11 PM new
I still say that 13 million items is way too many for the number of browswers and regular buyers. Also, there is no rush to buy anything on ebay as the stuff will always be there next week or next month.
-------------- sig file ----------- *There is no conclusive evidence that life is serious*
posted on January 25, 2004 06:30:24 PM new
Well, according to another poster in another thread, all the above are just conspiracy nut wackos.
I got NARUed, and I am staying off of eBay. But, I am honorable. A dis-honorable person will just get right back on with a different name. Does anyone see the flaw in this methodology? Then, once the dis-honorable person is back on, I postulate that they probably 'get even' with anyone that helped in getting them NARUed. IMHO.
posted on January 25, 2004 07:51:38 PM newAlso, there is no rush to buy anything on ebay as the stuff will always be there next week or next month
AuctionAce-- How true. I was just thinking the other day about some eBay purchases and actually put them off for that very reason. Why buy now ? The items will be there again next week or next month or next year. The urgency to buy something is gone since there are so many and alway available.
I am beginning to look at my fellow eBay sellers as mere warehouses until I absolutely must have the item.
posted on January 25, 2004 08:48:12 PM new
I was cleaning out my bookmarks section and saw an old ebay auction from early November. It was a stores item that is still there. I may create an ebay stores bookmark folder.
-------------- sig file ----------- *There is no conclusive evidence that life is serious*
posted on January 25, 2004 09:04:31 PM new "Just read many of the auctions as the sellers have spelled out every contingency and the bidders are frightened away."
Robbiec is right. As a buyer, I am really turned off by some of the arrogant and lengthy instructions and warnings that sellers are stating in their auctions. I simply don't bid on those auctions. Problem bidders will bid anyway while good customers will be turned away.
posted on January 25, 2004 09:27:09 PM new
You have a point helen, as a buyer I'm sometimes put off by overly detailed TOS, but as a seller, if you don't specify in your TOS, buyer can always come back at you and complain later....I sell in a pretty limited collectibles area, and not many items. I often go months without posting anything, and sell about 90% of my stuff on the first post. I require no more than 1/2 of 1% negative feedback, or 1 neg in 200 fb's, or I cancel bids. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. If I'm losing bids, it doesn't show in my sales.
___________________________________
Mi abuelita me dijo "en boca cerrada no entran moscas".
posted on January 25, 2004 10:19:43 PM new
It was just a thought...Actually, it's not so much the detail but rather the negative tone of the sellers TOS that I dislike. I'm sure that you aren't guilty of that, Profe.
posted on January 26, 2004 12:10:40 AM new
Ms Lucy, I hope you will stick round here and still post a "Huh?" every now and again, though?
I dont buy much anymore because if even I did want something, I am almost sure I could find it myself without shipping charges. Though there are exceptions and sometimes I open an auction and think, "boy thats nice, or different or whatever." But The shipping charges are the killer in my book. Even though you'd pay 9.99-19.99 or almost always more than considerable weight on items bought from a catalogue, website, or television ad -- which how those call 1-800-give-me-your-money-jackazz companies last, I'll never know, but they do.
Have to say it turns me off as well, to open an auction and be lectured by the seller who presumes I am somehow out to screw them.
My selling is sporadic but I am still new to it compared to most here. Havent had too many NPB's, a few, but I am always more suprised something sells than not; and that cant be a good sign.
posted on January 27, 2004 03:29:49 PM new
In reading all of these comments, my feeling is that there's a certain cycle to selling on eBay.
In the first stage, you look at eBay and think: "I can't do this; there are too many other listings - who's going to buy from me?; oh, all this electronic payment stuff - it's all too much."
Then you do a couple of auctions, and they sell, and it's *great.* You feel that you've conquered one of the toughest markets in the world.
Then, reality sets in. eBay is an awesome amount of work, and most of the things you sell aren't rip-roaring successes. If you're lucky, you get more than one bidder and a little more than your initial bid price.
I've been on eBay for two years as a seller of my father's collectibles. If it weren't for eBay, much of this stuff would have been tossed out when my father died in 2001 - collectible beer cans from the 1970's; kits for building wooden ships from the 1940's (boy, did those do well).
So, it's definitely been worthwhile for the emotional satisfaction of passing this stuff along to other collectors or hobbyists who are happy to have it.
But, I'm feeling some burnout, too - and I'm not even quite sure why. I haven't had any great number of problem bidders or NPBs and more than 90% of my auctions have sold - so I think it's just that the amount of work involved in this stuff gets to you after a while. It takes a lot of concentration and attention to detail to sell successfully on eBay. And, maybe after some period of time, it becomes more of a burden to maintain that.
You are right about the work! I'm a relatively small seller and keep about 80-100 auctions going in a week. That's hard for me because I also have a full time day job. I come home from work and it's straight to the computer. Oh heck, let's be honest, I wake up in the morning and it's straight to the computer. Those who have never sold on eBay or who don't do it regularly just don't see the work: the description writing, the picture taking, the pricing, the organizing (ya, right), the bookkeeping (I use QuickBooks Pro), the purchasing (inventory tracking is a bear), the packaging, the trips to the post office, the trips to the bank, the trips to buy supplies. On and on and on.
The steps I take when an auction ends successfully are tiring especially when several are ending at the same time. I print out the first page of the completed auction. I send out the WBN. More often than not, I am paid rather quickly. If a payment is made with PayPal, I go onto the PayPal site and print out the payment information. I enter the sale and payment into QuickBooks and print out a sales receipt. I staple all my paperwork together and file it. I then package the item, address the package, fill out the necessary forms (DC or Customs) and then lug it all to the post office. It's not so bad if only a couple are ending. Last week I had a box full to lug to the post office.
My boyfriend thinks this is a breeze job. If I didn't like my business so much, I'd let him try it for a week. I'm afraid I wouldn't have a business after that.
posted on January 27, 2004 05:16:42 PM new
K.C. - I get tired just reading about everything you do in a week for your ebay biz - and you have a regular job, too. wow
At least you're selling jewelry, where the boxes you carry to the PO won't be big & heavy
80 - 100 auctions in a week seems like a lot to me. Do you think it pays off - that is, the ratio of auctions that sell vs. the unsold auctions, where you absorb the fees?
posted on January 27, 2004 05:55:01 PM new
Fortunately, I have a great couple of wholesale sources so my profit margin is pretty good. Still, I went from selling just a few items a week and having a $35-50 eBay bill to one that is sometimes over $200. Talk about sticker shock! I sell the jewelry mainly in the fall and winter months. Come spring and summer I hit the fleas and yard sales. I got a few really great items last year that brought enough money in to buy my inventory for this fall and winter. I still won't count on it for a living though. I enjoy it and I enjoy almost all of my customers. I won't let the few bad ones I've had lately ruin it all. A couple of my customers are now email friends. Someday I'd like to be like fluffy and use my eBay profits for a well deserved vacation!
eBay helps to keep us above water. My boyfriend is an independant contractor carpenter and right now there just isn't any work.
posted on January 27, 2004 08:07:48 PM new
Hello All, You are so right about all the work it takes to make money on ebay. I sell antiques and collectibles and make very good money but work my butt off. Something that I feel hurts my sales and bottom line is sniping. I am guessing that about 1/2 of my bidders are not real good with computers so they loose a lot of bids to snipers. I have had several emails through the years from bidders saying they are giving up bidding because they never seem to win a auction. If ebay would set up a program that keeps a auction open until there is no bids for say 3 minutes I think my bottom line would be much better. I also think it would make a lot of bidders happy and I really don't think the snipers would leave they are too much into buying and selling to leave. I have been to a lot of auctions in my day and have never saw one that ends a sale until bidding is over. That's just my 2 cents and how the hell cares anyway. LOL
posted on January 27, 2004 08:17:25 PM new
I doubt that many leave ebay because they can't win an auction due to the snipers. I think those bidders are just too cheap to bid higher and then get pizzed when they get blown out of the water.
posted on January 27, 2004 08:30:24 PM new
I get a lot of snipers, too ...I'm waiting for a sniper collision ...what happens if two or more bid in the last 6, 7 seconds? ...would eBay's system be overwhelmed?
