Is eBay worth it anymore as a private occasional seller

Ted77

Does anyone think selling the odd thing as a private seller on ebay just isn't worth the hassle anymore?

I've had an ebay account since the late 90s and before it had a UK site.  In recent years I've noticed that the "quality" of buyers has fallen off a cliff and a significant number of sales will cause you one problem or another.

If I sell DVDs, Blu-Rays or games, it seems quite often the buyer will claim the item was lost in the post, meaning I have to make a claim and then refund.  This is odd as I've ordered hundreds of these over the years and don't remember a single one ever going missing on route to me.

The latest issue is where two buyers are claiming an item doesn't work when I know it went out working perfectly and the packaging was very secure.  One has given up when I made suggestions, the other is pushing for a return, ignoring simple steps they can try to get it working for them.  I'll now have to pay return postage as I know eBay will likely take the seller's side.

Almost invariably the buyers causing issues write in barely legible sentences with no punctuation and won't accept any guidance you give on how to rectify the problem without returning the item.

Fees have gone up hugely since the early days and factor in the losses from unjustified returns plus the hassle you get with grammar-free, rude communication, I'm thinking it's time to finally say goodbye yo eBay after 23 years.  I definitely won't risk selling something of significant value.

Do any of the alternatives come with less hassle?

bris

Been with Ebay since the start many moons ago. I loved it for a good few years but it changed gradually over the last few years with Paypal being the main reason. Everything became reliant on Paypal and the scammers came out to play.

I stopped selling after more than my fair share of items not received, not as described etc so it became just not worth the hassle as the fees crept up and up too.

If I have anything to sell now it goes on Gumtree for a face to face sale, if it's worth buying, Gumtree has a buyer for it.

jon81uk

I mainly sell clothes I no longer want, but occasionally other bits and pieces including video games. No problems at all. Had a couple of non-paying bidders. One issue where I didn’t package well enough and had to refund. But overall for me it’s just about worth it once I filter out the stuff that I know won’t really sell and take it to the charity shop instead.

Spoonie_Turtle

I am an extremely infrequent seller and not once had a problem, thankfully.  For me it was more a case of recouping a little money on some things that were no longer wanted (or no longer fit me), so no profit but also better than nothing.

mimi1234

I used to sell a lot but it's just here and there now.  

Like you I have found it quite off putting lately.  One claimed an item I sent recorded was delivered with the half the parcel missing but then I found that the same buyer was selling the whole lot of what I had sent her so not sure why she wanted a refund for half the items, hmmm!  Royal Mail have also lost a few items I sent recorded over the last 6 to 12 months.

I've sold a few high ticket items like old laptops and mobiles but thank God, I have not had any of the dodgy buyers I have read about.  I'm still waiting for feedback on the last mobile I sold about 2 months ago!!!

Some buyers are very impatient.  They expect items to arrive the next day when it is clear I have been sending items 2nd class so it might take a good few days.

I think Facebook selling is the way forward, a lot of people I know use it and have not had any issues.  

steviebuk

Someone else mentioned Facebook selling the other day but looking, its just their version of Gumtree.

Ted77

I've been thinking about it some more and realised that the real turning point was some years back when they stopped you being able to leave negative feedback for buyers.  Now a buyer can behave completely unreasonably, you end up out of pocket and can even get negative feedback too.  They can do this again and again and get away with it.

It's no longer a forum that connects buyers and sellers - it's just a consumer oriented site that buyers can take their chance on.
Once my current auctions are over I'm not going back.  Thanks for the tips on gumtree - I'll give that a go. 

Ted77

Above should have read: consumer oriented site that sellers can take their chance on.

maisie_cat

I must admit I use facebook/nextdoor now to sell the odd private thing, still using paypal and shipping if needed and have not had a problem yet. I've sold 5 items on my Ebay account and 2 had a problem, one dismantled the item, took some parts and sent it back in pieces. The other claimed it didn't work, but it worked perfectly when it came back, I think he forgot to switch on the remote control.

Weathergirl_76

I have been buying and selling on eBay for about 20 years, I would say I use it occasionally. I can honestly say, hand on heart I can count any ‘problem’ transactions over the years, on one hand. I have been lucky. Whenever it’s happend, although annoying, the vast majority of buyers are fine.  

More recently, I notice you have less control over listings (ebay decide when you can accept offers) and I also don’t understand why a listing can’t stay on until it sells, it now keeps renewing. I try to take a chance on anything under £10-15 by posting using a basic RM service, if it gets lost I will have to reimburse and be out of pocket, anything else goes tracked. 

I still don’t understand how much commission they take, is it 10% of total? 

That said, I have sold some things on there I never thought I would get much for, and it is handy when looking for something specific.  For example, the timer for my boiler is no longer being manufactured, and I got a replacement on eBay (second hand) where someone was upgrading their boiler system and didn’t need it. This was a lifesaver for me. If I sell I tend to use ‘buy it now’ and wait. They all sell eventually.   

More recently I have been using Facebook market place, primarily to get rid of things I don’t want to throw away and literally everything goes. Also furniture etc can be sold on there, just ask for cash on collection. If you post then that’s up to you. There are no fees on Facebook...but until when I wonder. Facebook is good for local buying and selling where you don’t need to post. I have got rid of a lot on there and I recently purchased a kitchen bin for £10 in immaculate condition, selling in shops for £60-70. 

jon81uk

Weathergirl_76 said:

I have been buying and selling on eBay for about 20 years, I would say I use it occasionally. I can honestly say, hand on heart I can count any ‘problem’ transactions over the years, on one hand. I have been lucky. Whenever it’s happend, although annoying, the vast majority of buyers are fine.  

More recently, I notice you have less control over listings (ebay decide when you can accept offers) and I also don’t understand why a listing can’t stay on until it sells, it now keeps renewing. I try to take a chance on anything under £10-15 by posting using a basic RM service, if it gets lost I will have to reimburse and be out of pocket, anything else goes tracked. 

I still don’t understand how much commission they take, is it 10% of total? 

That said, I have sold some things on there I never thought I would get much for, and it is handy when looking for something specific.  For example, the timer for my boiler is no longer being manufactured, and I got a replacement on eBay (second hand) where someone was upgrading their boiler system and didn’t need it. This was a lifesaver for me. If I sell I tend to use ‘buy it now’ and wait. They all sell eventually.   

More recently I have been using Facebook market place, primarily to get rid of things I don’t want to throw away and literally everything goes. Also furniture etc can be sold on there, just ask for cash on collection. If you post then that’s up to you. There are no fees on Facebook...but until when I wonder. Facebook is good for local buying and selling where you don’t need to post. I have got rid of a lot on there and I recently purchased a kitchen bin for £10 in immaculate condition, selling in shops for £60-70. 

If you are using Royal Mail you can still claim from them if it’s under £20 as long as got proof of posting. Also small parcel has proof of delivery which can be entered into the eBay tracking and should prevent buyers claiming non-delivery if Royal Mail shows as delivered.

not sure what you mean by eBay controlling when you can accept offers? I’ve got best offer turned on for most of my listings and I can control the minimum offer and then accept/reject.

buy it now can stay on for longer, I think you can have good ‘til cancelled or sold. But of course auctions need an end date to decide the winning bidder, but they bow auto-relist 7 times if not sold.

eBay takes 10% of the combined sale price including postage charges. Then PayPal takes 2.8% plus 30p. Unless on new eBay managed payments when eBay takes the full 12.8% plus 30p.
but if you expect an item to go for more than £10 then there are frequent Max £1 fee weekends.

I sell clothes and similar and like you I can count the number of problem transactions on one hand. A couple of non-payers that I just reported, one where I didn’t pack adequately and it arrived damaged but I’ve only ever had one or two returns not as described. One return I stuck to that I had described it properly and I think in the end eBay paid out to the buyer and I didn’t need to refund. 

I find it relatively good, much better than 20 years ago when I was plugging in a digital camera to a PC to get the photos and upload to the site, waiting for a cheque to arrive, cashing the cheque and then posting an item. Now I can manage most of my sales from the iPhone app!