getting a little disappointed with ebay

[mom-from-missouri]

Once again, I had a non-payer on ebay. Also bought 2 items I never received. So, right now I have 5 open cases on ebay due to deadbeats.....

I think ebay is going downhill, esp since they have changed the feedback system --it won't let a seller leave neg feedback when a buyer doesn't pay.

A friend of mine has had the same issues lately.

I think it is sad that ebay is going down hill, as I feel safer using ebay than I do craigslist.

Anyone else noticing this??

Also, you can't send an email to ebay customer support anymore. You have to call them and be on hold for ever. All the other contact us links take you to a FAQ site.

[MonkeyMama]

I stopped selling on ebay over a year ago. Too many people not paying, or claiming we never shipped (when we did). They took away a lot of seller safeguards a couple of years back and has gone very downhill since. {We now sell on Amazon instead - MUCH better}.

A trick that works is you usually get the buyer's phone #. Our collection rate when we called people was 100% - I think it shocked the hell out of them. "Um, hi, I'm that ebay seller you haven't paid?" Worked every time. So I am not sure if there was ever a time we didn't get paid.

Selling video games, we were having issues with 1 out of every 5 buyers all of a sudden, and the buyer was *always right* according to ebay. I don't recall all the details, but it just became clear to us the buyers had all the rights and as sellers we had none. Which is an impossible situation for sellers - buyers were definitely taking advantage. We felt scammed several times, but had no recourse.

For reference, maybe sold the same products for several years with never one issue. No issues with Amazon, that is for sure.

[disneysteve]

I stopped selling on ebay a while ago. Between their fees, Paypal's fees and rising postage costs, it was just too hard to make any money. It is really a shame. I LOVED ebay when it started (I started selling in 1997). I made loads of money and shipped to buyers all over the world. I really enjoyed it. It is too bad that they ran it into the ground.

[crazyskunk82]

I also stopped selling on Ebay a while ago. I used to be able to sell books and DVDs and make some money. The fees kept going up and then because some sellers abused the shipping prices, they capped them to the point where I was actually chipping in to pay for postage.

It's not what it once was. I wonder if someone has seen the need and started another online auction site.

[disneysteve]

because some sellers abused the shipping prices, they capped them to the point where I was actually chipping in to pay for postage.

This is so true. It got to the point where buyers were giving bad feedback to sellers who were charging the actual postage cost and not a penny more. Ebay started pushing the 'free shipping' option which wasn't required but started becoming expected by buyers. Sorry but I can't sell a $20 item that costs $6 to ship and bury the shipping cost and fees in the item price and still make any profit.

I have a friend who is in the collectibles business - not just online but with bricks and mortar stores. Selling online is pretty mandatory today in his business but he loses money on most online sales because of this. Drives him nuts. He pays $25 to ship something, only charges the buyer $10 postage and they still complain about his high shipping costs.

This is true on Amazon, too. Lots of sellers, especially those in China, sell items dirt cheap with free shipping. I don't know how they do it. Just the other day I ordered two iPhone wall chargers from an Amazon seller in Hong Kong. The chargers were $2.88 each with free shipping. If I walk into any local store, I'm going to pay about $15-20 each.

[MonkeyMama]

Oh - forgot about that postage thing too - so annoying. It seems to me buyers should be able to deduce when sales price plus shipping costs = ripoff. Instead, sellers are supposed to be charging for shipping AND handling, but often were limited to charging less than actual shipping - was ridiculous.

Just one pet peeve of a list a mile long, for me.

[ecoadapt]

It's a sad thing that E-bay has been facing this issues. I really do hope that they'll get through this! After all, they are one of those trusted online!

[skruggie]

I also sold on eBay for years and years - it stopped being fun and the fees are out of control. After a complete burnout I've been in the process of donating most of my excess inventory to my local thrifts.

Just not worth it anymore, I'd rather put my energy into my full time job where I'm not working for less than minimum wage when all is said and done.

[jordanjanet47]

I agree ebay is a big brand, but quick and reliable customer should have been their first priority. I have heard of a friend experiencing same.

[AccountantSalary]

If the stuff you're selling is relatively new, consider Fulfillment by Amazon. Put two new DVDs there that were duplicates of ones I had. One sold immediately while the other took about a month. I shipped everything off to Amazon, so they handled boxing, shipping and fulfillment. Plus, it was eligible for their free shipping when a customer bought since each was over $25. No hassle on my part -- but the commission was fairly high. I could've lowered the commission considerably by doing the shipping and customer service myself.

[DogDiva]

It is a shame how much fees etc come out of ebay sales now...pretty obnoxious as they now charge you a fee for the shipping portion because so many abused it and put so much into shipping to avoid fees...

I have used another site, mostly selling designer goods, but have had luck...they have lower fees. It is called Bonanza. My sister who runs an ebay shop has not had luck on Bonanza, so it does depend on what you want to sell...ebay has more traffic for sure.

I will have to look into Amazon.