ebay = rip off

still a good site for selling a car, but anything else- figure at least 15% to sell.


cheaper to sell a Duesenberg on ebay then a rare set of 2000. headlights!


I basically only buy there and do get some really good deals. Especially when they offer ebay buck bonuses.
 
Mom pays 35% which seems to be on the low end of the scale for stuff she sells in in the vintage consignment shop and hand made goods stores she has her stuff at. Ebay is on the low end in comparison. I feel the pinch when I pay the fees, but it gets the goods out there. Some might suggest swap meets, but really, how much time and money would you end up spending to sell a few things there. Sit down and figure the cost of doing the last swap meet you might have done against what was brought in. Talking live with people is fine, but I for one do swap meets to make money to put food on my table and pay bills. I would rather pull a few things out of the boxes, list on Ebay and drop at the post office on my way to the shop when/if they sell.
 
I used to use Ebay to sell, but no more. Ebay is not a friend of the seller, just the buyer. Hence, I only buy on Ebay now.

I miss good swap meets. Back when I got started in this hobby, they were the only way to find or sell parts. Growing up in SoCal, we had good automotive swap meets virtually every Sunday all year long. Most were put on by local car clubs. Some were large, some were small. Some were known for hot rod parts, some were known for stock parts.This usually depended on the club that sponsored them. They were all a lot of fun. Most would start at 4 or 5 AM Sunday morning and be finished by 1 or 2 pm. The bigger ones started on Saturday and typically there was "swapping" done throughout the night.

The usual plan was to get there as early as possible, get a space , run around and buy stuff and then set up sell stuff. It worked out really well. I remember always having a cargo van full of original pre-1940 parts for sale. Mostly Ford but also big brass era, big classic era and speed equipment. The inventory just kept rotating and a good time was had by all. I am glad to have been able to experience that part of the hobby in its early days.
 
I agree the seller's fees and the like are getting kind of pricey, but this summer I sold some parts that brought a lot more than I thought they would, plus at a local auction they would have been a buck item on a hayrack, so I came out well in the long haul.

But if they hadn't sold well I would have not done very well so it is a gamble.
 
It costs $.35 to place a listing on eBay. You pay 10% if it sells. I know of no other place where you can get this many "eyes" (world wide) on your stuff for a fee this low.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4364&st=3&pos=1&query=Selling%20fees&context=DEFAULT_BUYER


Craig's List and Swap Meets only cover your metropolitan area. For our hobby, there are not many potential buyers in one metropolitan area. eBay sellers BUY at swap meets and off of Craig's List since they can get more on eBay for the same item with its world wide audience.

I hardly ever BUY from eBay. If I'm patient, I can generally find lower prices for the same item elsewhere. Too many people bidding the item up on eBay. I generally SELL on eBay. (Buy local...sell global!)
 
RE the .35 listing fee. While still low, and maybe because of my seller rating, I don't pay listing fees on most stuff I sell. There are lots of promotions on Ebay and I have yet to exceed the 100 per month. True there are extra fees for buy it now, reserve and larger photos that cost up front.
 
Dick,
I can sell items for free everyday on ebay. no listing fees- but you also forgot to add the 3-4% payal fees, which are now going to alternate cos, as everything isnt any longer paypal.
you also forgot the fee that ebay takes on all your shipping.


that is over the top and downright greed!
Makes you gouge the customer.
 
Don't know that I 'd call it rip-off; ebay is in business to make money and I bet it costs a fair amount of money to run the place.

I have bought a lot of stuff on ebay and never felt gouged; but then I shop wisely and don't buy blindly either on ebay, Amazon, Walmart.com, etc

I sell a lot on ebay also and found it is the best place to sell many items. I don't gouge my customers on shipping; but I also take into account ebay's fee on shipping and I do not lose money on the shipping.

There are other places to sell stuff and I guess it is up to you to find the best place for your items.

Of course there are some things you just have to have, even if you have to bid up and pay more than they may be actually worth. True, no matter the auction format.
 
eBay is an excellent example of free enterprise ... don't like it? Don't use it!

God bless America and the ability to create yout own small business ... inexpensively.

Want a rip off? Try hearing aids. $3500! You can buy a cheap cellphone and talk around the world. $3500 to listen to your wife in the same room.

CAUTION: Be fully aware of eBay's return policy. That's the worst part of the deal. Buyer can purchase your distributor puller (as needed in another thread), use it, and return it. That's an example of a rip off.
 
Hoop said:
eBay is an excellent example of free enterprise ... don't like it? Don't use it!

God bless America and the ability to create yout own small business ... inexpensively.

Want a rip off? Try hearing aids. $3500! You can buy a cheap cellphone and talk around the world. $3500 to listen to your wife in the same room.

CAUTION: Be fully aware of eBay's return policy. That's the worst part of the deal. Buyer can purchase your distributor puller (as needed in another thread), use it, and return it. That's an example of a rip off.
Click to expand...

What hearing aids for $3,500. I just bought a pair for $5,600.:mad:
 
I sell a lot of stuff on Ebay and sell things I would never get rid of otherwise. They do nickel and dime you, but that is free enterprise. I wish they didn't charge you on the shipping fee, too, but those are the rules. Sometimes I make a little on shipping, but you have to package it and take it to the P.O. Sometimes it isn't worth it, but I get rid of stuff.
 
The reason Ebay started charging the fee on shipping, too many people were asking huge prices on shipping to get around the fees on the sale of their items. Like they were selling for less then $1.00 but charging $50 for shipping. Didn't take Ebay long to figure that one out and put end to it by charging fees on shipping. The bad apples ruined it for the honest ones.
 
Redmodelt, I never thought of that. I guess it makes sense.

Some people gouge and some people put rules in place because people are always trying to pull the wool over folks' eyes. Me, I am not smart enough to scam anyone. I try to be honest and above board. Sometimes I get stung, but otherwise things don't keep me awake at night.
 
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Like eBay or not I would have never found some parts for my "other" car (1955 Ford Ranchwagon, Y-Block powered of course) looking locally. Some parts I have gotten off of eBay were NOS, many with the Ford part tag still attached. So it does serve a purpose, at least for some of us.

I don't use "Buy it now" and look for auctions that start low and have no reserve. hat way the customer (me) sets his price.
 
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