No point in whinging about Ebay, just move on

LeosMum_2

I feel compelled to write this as an on line business seller. All I ever see on forums and articles are people whinging about Ebay, Amazon and other large selling platforms.

The fact is that every time you purchase / sell something on line there is always going to be a small element of risk, albeit the parcel goes missing / gets damaged in transit, the buyer receives goods not matching their expectations the list goes on.

This is where good old fashioned face to face selling will always win with certain products because you can see them and try them on, something on line will never be able to offer you.

I have decided going on with my business, as a vintage fashion specialist in rare garments that selling at Trade Shows and Portobello are an excellent addition to the on line aspect of my business, in essence what I am saying is that if you are a business seller why not try it instead of sitting in front of the laptop all the time moaning about the larger selling platforms.

I highly recommend it not too mention it keeps you fit!

fishybusiness

This is where good old fashioned face to face selling will always win with certain products

Only works for some products, many many products need the exposure eBay/ Amazon can give to sell enough units to turn a profit.

Flyonthewall

People mostly use forums for advice, but having a bit of a moan every so often isn't a bad thing!

Aside from it not being good for your health if you feel angry and bottle it up, it can benefit other people as they realise that they're having the same problem. It can highlight glitches users need to be aware of and potential save accounts when talking about issues such as defects.

It's not just about risks. The platforms are far from perfect and there are numerous issues and for business sellers especially it can be something that is really affecting their life. For example, not being able to add a photo to a listing and therefore not being able to list an item which means it doesn't go up for sale, no one buys it and the business isn't gaining profits. A business can't survive like that.

Not everyone has the choice of selling elsewhere or using offline options as well.

People have the right to moan if they want and it can be interesting to read others peoples thoughts, opinions and experiences on things.

You may see it as negative, but it can be a massive positive. Best part is that if you don't want to read it you can just ignore it, you don't have to write a post complaining about people complaining.

theonlywayisup

I make a very good living selling online. It's not for everyone but then neither is cleaning toilets.

If all you see are the moaners, then I feel compelled to tell you to open your eyes.

charlies_mum

theonlywayisup wrote: »

I make a very good living selling online. It's not for everyone but then neither is cleaning toilets.

If all you see are the moaners, then I feel compelled to tell you to open your eyes.

I am always moaning about EBay, usually about the defect system and never ending glitches

However, I admit to doing quite nicely on there. Yes, it is frustrating sometimes, but I find dealing with the general public face to face can be far more stressful sometimes.

RFW

There's a whole world online and off.

I'm just about getting a business to where I want it to be with a plan for the future. I faffed around with Ebay for about two years longer than I should have. It ended up not being a good fit for my business. That said, retail in the offline world is not for me any more either. I seem to have hit a formula with Amazon and my own website that works pretty well.
Some will have similar with Ebay, some with Etsy, some on a market stall, etc.
I do agree with OP that some people will moan and moan about how bad Ebay or Amazon is and then carry on as though that is the only options. For some people markets and trade shows are a great way of life, enjoyable and profitable.

soolin

charlies_mum wrote: »

I am always moaning about EBay, usually about the defect system and never ending glitches

However, I admit to doing quite nicely on there. Yes, it is frustrating sometimes, but I find dealing with the general public face to face can be far more stressful sometimes.

I'm the same, I do let off a bit of steam on here , that's what part of this board is for, but actually I'm doing very nicely and I actually quite enjoy it.

I also agree with RFW that different business models need different venues. My items would not go well on Amazon , but perhaps in the future if I change my stock I might go there as well.

I have done retail but my stuff didn't really reach enough people, I can see vintage clothes doing very well in the trendier London areas, but my stock isn't like that. I do still do specialist fairs and events- but by the time I take Into account my expenses I probably make more on ebay. Just a stand at an event can cost me £40-£50 , plus I have transport costs, often some truly awful parking costs and then I tend to buy cups of tea or cold drinks - all eat Into my profit.

I used to have a cabinet in an antique centre but the costs really mounted up- and again I can get a wider audience on ebay as a lot of my stock goes overseas.

I adjust my selling model depending on my stock, but that won't stop me having a lovely old moan on here sometimes.

RFW

The cost to stand at some shows is astounding.
The amount you'd need to take in a day to break even is insane. I've just attended a fair as a customer and knew how much it was to stand, some of those retailers would have been better off standing on a street corner with a suitcase.
That's certainly one advantage to Ebay and Amazon, there's virtually no set up cost. I could run a fairly successful business without ever leaving the house, it's easy enough to get stock delivered and parcels collected.

Ting-Tang

For me, there was a golden ebay period about 10 years or so ago when you could go to a big fair like Newark, spend a couple of thousand on tat, and quite easily double your money within a few weeks selling it on ebay.


Those days are pretty much gone and I don't put much on ebay nowadays although I still buy a heck of a lot of things on there to sell elsewhere. Selling-wise, I've mainly gone back to the old fashioned methods. I do enjoy selling at fairs etc. but I can't say I ever got much of a buzz from spending whole days wrapping up parcels to send.

soolin

This reminds me of something I saw in a high street shop 2 days ago, I was going to start a thread about how we sometimes forget that it is not only online sales that are a pain- but it seems appropriate to post it on this thread.

I was returning something and the lady in front of me wanted a refund on a pair of shoes, even from behind her I could see a little wear in the shoes. She insisted they were not worn but she had taken the labels off only. The manager was called who explained that couldn't refund as shoes were worn, but the woman was becoming very agitated, she kept waving her arms about at the rest of us telling us the store was rubbish and she wasn't moving unless they gave her the refund which she was entitled to as per the back of her receipt. It all got rather heated with woman just shouting 'they are not worn'

Eventually manager agreed to a refund and woman still wouldn't shut up and as she took her card for the refund out of the machine was yelling 'I only wore these home on the bus, they aren't worn- I'm going to the papers, you've wasted half hour of my time and I want paying for it'. As I left manager was explaining that wearing shoes home on the bus was wearing them, and he would not have refunded if she had said that and calling security to have her removed was being mentioned as I took my own refund and left.

Flyonthewall

soolin wrote: »

This reminds me of something I saw in a high street shop 2 days ago, I was going to start a thread about how we sometimes forget that it is not only online sales that are a pain- but it seems appropriate to post it on this thread.

I was returning something and the lady in front of me wanted a refund on a pair of shoes, even from behind her I could see a little wear in the shoes. She insisted they were not worn but she had taken the labels off only. The manager was called who explained that couldn't refund as shoes were worn, but the woman was becoming very agitated, she kept waving her arms about at the rest of us telling us the store was rubbish and she wasn't moving unless they gave her the refund which she was entitled to as per the back of her receipt. It all got rather heated with woman just shouting 'they are not worn'

Eventually manager agreed to a refund and woman still wouldn't shut up and as she took her card for the refund out of the machine was yelling 'I only wore these home on the bus, they aren't worn- I'm going to the papers, you've wasted half hour of my time and I want paying for it'. As I left manager was explaining that wearing shoes home on the bus was wearing them, and he would not have refunded if she had said that and calling security to have her removed was being mentioned as I took my own refund and left.

There's a website called notalwaysright. It's experiences just like that where the customer is in the wrong. There are some over the phone stories, but most are in-store situations.

There's currently 2561 pages, but new stories are always being added and there are multiple stories per page.

While face-to-face has its advantages it very clearly has disadvantages lol.

Btw I take no responsibility for anyone who finds hours of their life have gone by without them realising because they went to that site and started reading the stories