Should ebay get rid of free sub-99p listings?

DaveAshton

Am I the only one that's getting really !!!!ed off with the sheer number of sellers listing 100s of items at a time, all for less than 99p? With many of them, it's so obvious they're a business a blind person could see it :mad:

So, free sub-99p listings. Time for them to go (or at least be capped to a maximim of 20 items a week or so)?

OnceUponADream

DaveAshton wrote: »

Am I the only one that's getting really !!!!ed off with the sheer number of sellers listing 100s of items at a time, all for less than 99p? With many of them, it's so obvious they're a business a blind person could see it :mad:

So, free sub-99p listings. Time for them to go (or at least be capped to a maximim of 20 items a week or so)?

I agree that the amount some sellers list at a time is beyond a joke in some cases and maybe volumes should be capped to stop businesses doing this.

I sell under one account (private) and I always start my listings of at 99p so it does benefit me. If I'm not selling it with the intention of making a profit (ie it's old stuff of ours/unwanted presents) I always start at 99p even if it's worth alot more because I think its half the fun watching the price soar (or in somecases not!:p).

y5d

It has been great for me selling off some unwanted items to have a free listing, but yes, a limit to the number listed at any one time would be sensible.

cyberbob

Worst thing ebay ever did was to start those free listings. The amount of rubbish that is listed. In the Free P&P categories you get all the muppets that list at 99p then pull out of the sale as they dont get enough to cover the postage, I'm sure there more trouble than they are worth.

trrk

It's been good for me since I mostly sell low value items like books I've finished reading and it's hard enough to make even a small amount without having to pay more to list it. I agree with limiting the number per person though.

It is pretty much pointless having free sub 99p listings in the free postage categories- I would support increasing it to free listings below £ 2.99 in these categories so people could list things like DVDs and games for free (and books from October) and still have something left if it goes for the minimum. If they did this they could limit it to 10 or 20 items per seller.

For every bit of rubbish listed there might be something that someone actually wants although it may take a few listings to find that person who wants it.

mrcol1000

trrk wrote: »

It's been good for me since I mostly sell low value items like books I've finished reading and it's hard enough to make even a small amount without having to pay more to list it. I agree with limiting the number per person though.

It is pretty much pointless having free sub 99p listings in the free postage categories- I would support increasing it to free listings below £ 2.99 in these categories so people could list things like DVDs and games for free (and books from October) and still have something left if it goes for the minimum. If they did this they could limit it to 10 or 20 items per seller.

For every bit of rubbish listed there might be something that someone actually wants although it may take a few listings to find that person who wants it.

The whole point of listing something at 99p with free postage is your working on the assumption that the low price will attract lots of bidders and so boost the price. If there is a load of people selling the same stuff as you then maybe you need to sell something else.

trrk

mrcol1000 wrote: »

If there is a load of people selling the same stuff as you then maybe you need to sell something else.

Depends on my reasons for selling stuff - In my case the reason is just to get rid of old stuff and make a few ££ to contribute to my travel fund. The only alternative is to give my old stuff to charity shops and then I don't even have the chance of making a few ££.

mrcol1000

trrk wrote: »

Depends on my reasons for selling stuff - In my case the reason is just to get rid of old stuff and make a few ££ to contribute to my travel fund. The only alternative is to give my old stuff to charity shops and then I don't even have the chance of making a few ££.

Well if there are loads of people selling the same thing cheap then its probably not worth selling on Ebay and better off at a car boot sale.

trrk

mrcol1000 wrote: »

Well if there are loads of people selling the same thing cheap then its probably not worth selling on Ebay and better off at a car boot sale.

I assume one needs a car to sell at a car boot sale so that's out for me!

Quite a few of the books and small items I've listed on Ebay have sold eventually but sometimes after several listings. I accept that there are some things that will never sell so these will go to a charity shop but sometimes the things I think will never sell do and the things I think are more likely to sell don't. That's why I like the free listings as they allow me to try out what will sell.

GreenNinja

trrk wrote: »

I assume one needs a car to sell at a car boot sale so that's out for me!

Quite a few of the books and small items I've listed on Ebay have sold eventually but sometimes after several listings. I accept that there are some things that will never sell so these will go to a charity shop but sometimes the things I think will never sell do and the things I think are more likely to sell don't. That's why I like the free listings as they allow me to try out what will sell.

If you can't sell it, what makes you think the charity shop will be able to?

trrk

GreenNinja wrote: »

If you can't sell it, what makes you think the charity shop will be able to?

Do you have a better suggestion? As a book lover I'm loathe to see books in a perfectly readible condition go in the bin.